degrees on a driver

Hi all,
I just recently picked up golf and im hitting consistantly with my irons now... so ive decided that i need to get a driver now... the only question i have is that which degrees on a driver is recommended for a begginer... ie 9.5 degree versus a 10.5 degrees. I know the higher the number, the more loft you will get from your swing... please post your input. Thanks inadvanced!

As a beginner just starting out, I would suggest buying a 14º driver in regular flex. For those that like numbers, something in the 235-245 CPM range.

This makes the assumption that your swing is not efficient, and that your clubhead speed will be less than 100 MPH with a 45" driver.

Speaking of 45", the other thing I would do is buy a driver (or have it cut down and re-swingweighted) to 44" or even 43.5".

You may have to see your local clubfitter for this, but I promise you it will be better than any club you buy off any rack in any store. I'd even put money on it.

__________________
PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter - www.pcsgep.com
True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

As a beginner, I would use a driver with slightly more loft since most people who have just started struggle to get the ball up in the air with the driver. In my opinion, 10.5 degree is plenty these days since current technology actually allows the ball to come off much higher. Shaft has a lot to do with the trajectory off the ball flight also, e.g. a shaft with low kick point will launch the ball much higher than a high kick point shaft (Shaft flex and kick point is another can of worms....Most standard shafts are mid kick point).

If you have never really used woods before and you were to get something with 14degrees, I recommend getting a decent 3 wood as the loft starts from around there. (I have two 3 woods, 13degrees and 15degrees).

This way when you are comfortable with that, you can go out and buy a driver as you will most likely know if you naturally hit it high or low. I hit my shot quite high naturally and I cant really use anything with more than 8.5degree loft. Know how your swing is first before spending money as drivers can get very expensive. 3 woods are much cheaper.

The loft on a driver (or any other club) also tends to nullify sidespin, and it's sidespin that makes slices and hooks. This is why someone who might hit a 3W with just a slight slice may find that they get a really nasty slice with a 10* driver.

I'm not a beginner, but I do tend to play like one. I didn't buy a driver until about this time last year (i.e., I had been playing for about 4 or 5 months). I didn't know anything about lofts or anything else, so I just picked up a 10.5* Cougar X-cat driver with a 400cc head at Target, for not much money. Getting enough loft on the ball is not usually a problem, but hitting it straight is. If I were buying one today I'd probably look for 12*. I don't know how much difference that would make, not having tried one, but my guess is that it would be a bit straighter.

The other variable is swing speed. The less lofted the driver, the less loft on the ball. If the ball flies lower, it needs to spend more time in the air to get decent carry, and that depends on swing speed. I'm told the way to do this is to go to a shop where they can clock your swing speed and then recommend a driver loft based on that. I haven't done this, but based on my own experiments, I estimate my swing speed at between 90 and 95 mph. At that speed, 10.5* degrees of loft is about the lowest I can handle. And in fact, when I hit the ball well, it goes about 250 yards.

I think that it's possible that my swing speed can still increase, even though I'm 52 years old, because I imagine that various inefficiencies in my swing slow it down. So I'm probably capable of a somewhat faster swing, maybe up to 100 mph. I doubt that I'll ever need less loft than 10.5*, but who knows?

__________________
Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

The dynamic loft on a driver changes depending on the shaft used. Higher kick points lower the loft and vice versa. The loft on a lot of the major brands of driver is misleading, even when they say 8.5 or 9.5 degrees they still bash the ball miles into the air. Check the callaway website and see if there is a demo day on near you anytime soon. They will let you try out a range of loft and shaft combinations so you can find out the best set up for you.


Some people find that they need a lower loft than they think, some higher. Mickelson uses a 9.5 degree driver these days as does Tiger. In the past pros used low lofts, tour spec drivers came with lofts in the 6.5 to 8.5 range. They dont need it now because of the advances in shaft technology.

Good Luck with your search but make sure you test a lot of drivers before making your decision, remember, theres 3 clubs you need to get right for better scoring, you need to get a Driver, a wedge and a putter you are comfortable with and that suit your game.

D.

__________________
Longniddry Golf Club Champ 2005.

In the Taylor Made Bag:

Titleist 905T 8.5 Degree

Callaway Steelhead 3 Wood

Callaway Steelhead 5 Wood

Callaway X-16 3-PW

MacGregor Tourney 52 Degree

Cobra Phil Rodgers 59 Degree Rusty

Odyssey DFX 2-Ball

Callaway Tour iX

While I'll agree that shafts can aid or hinder total yardage out of a driver, I still say that more loft is the way to go for a beginner.

More loft will eliminate some sidespin (which is why it's hard to slice a wedge, but easy for a driver).

The other thing that a more lofted club will do is maximise distance for slower swingers.

In my original post, I stated that a 12-14º driver would be best with someone who's swing speed is less than 100 MPH.

Now, bulge on a driver face will affect the effective loft on a driver. Hit on the bottom, you may lose a degree, hit on the top, gain a degree.

While a shaft will alter the launch conditions (and may help change your carry to roll ratio), it won't add distance per se.

__________________
PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter - www.pcsgep.com
True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

I agree with lowpost. but instead of using a driver and getting the shaft cut down just buy a 3 wood, with a 12 or 14 degree. The more loft the higher the ball will fly and less side spin you can put on it. Most slower swingers find that they hit 3 woods just as far or further than their drivers. I wood use a 3 wood till you can hit it about 200 yards before you look for a driver.

I go one step further - and cut down the 3 wood as well. Or better yet, don't carry a 3 wood. A high lofted driver would be more forgiving than a 3 wood the same length.

If I've got a driver at 44", my 3 wood is 42 or 41.5.

This must be surprising but my driver is a Ping G2 15.5* loft, 400cc. The shaft is Grafalloy 65 Stiff. My swing speed is in the low 90s.

I am averaging about 280 yards on my driver. Just hit a 320 yarder today. I am not kidding. Couldn't believe this myself. I have golfed for 5 years without a driver. Just bought this baby about three weeks ago. I had to test drive about 6 drivers with different lofts and different manufacturers to finally get this one. I was custom fitted.

Just the way I swing, I tend to come down on the ball and so a conventional lofted driver does not work for me as I tend to get grounders.

My $ 0.02 is that try as many drivers as you can before you make your decision on one because this is one of the toughest clubs to hit and will probably make or break you on the hole you use it on.

__________________
Driver: Ping G2 15.5* with Grafalloy Pro Launch 65 Stiff Flex
Woods: Dunlop 3 Wood 16*, 5 Wood 19* with Graphite Reg Flex
Irons: Ping G2 3HL, 4HL, 5-PW with Steel Reg Flex
Wedges: Ping G2 SW 54* with Steel Reg Flex
Putter: Odyssey DF 330