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Driver Lofts - 10.5° vs 12°?

SuperStroke
shaner

shaner

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Has anyone moved from 10.5 to 12 ? If so what results are you seeing in terms of distance and dispersion? What caused you to up the loft?

I've been going back and forth with 2 drivers with these lofts and wondering if others are/have recently made this decision. I realize that shafts and head shapes play huge role but wondering specifically about lofts.

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I lofted up from a 10.5 TM Jetspeed R flex to a 12 TM R15 S flex. The nature of my swing tends to not release the club a lot so I have a rather low ball flight. 12 got me better launch conditions. The jetspeed couldn't find a fairway with a map. The R15 has been an awesome fit for me. Is it loft/length/flex? Probably all three. The R15 is shorter off the tee for me, but that was an easy trade vs being constantly OB.
 
There is another thread about going down in loft, but I have played with different lofts a bit the last couple years. Going up in loft with the same swing should get higher launch and slightly higher spin (250-400 rpm would be my uneducated guess). Depending on the swing (angle of attack, swing speed, etc) that could equal more or less distance as well as better or worse accuracy.

If you find you hit the ball too low, than upping the loft should get you a higher launch which would hopefully equal more carry and possibly more total yards. That doesn't always work out, but in theory that should be what happens.
 
I hit down on the ball so I'm currently set up at 12* on my '16 M2


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M127c said:
I hit down on the ball so I'm currently set up at 12* on my '16 M2


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Just curious, why are you lofting up if you hit down on it? Were you fit that way?
 
M127c said:
I hit down on the ball so I'm currently set up at 12* on my '16 M2


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That's the same reason I play a higher lofted driver now, I hit down on my drives way too much and the added loft helps me get the ball up and also gives me the added confidence. I know in the end it's a swing thing, but the higher lofted driver has been a big help for me as of late.
 
cbaker2882 said:
Just curious, why are you lofting up if you hit down on it? Were you fit that way?
Click to expand...

I don't hit down on it that much, but my fitting resulted in going to 12* because my launch angle was just a little low. He said once I get use to the driver and start hitting up on it more i can lower the loft some.


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I have my 16-M2 which is 10.5 standard turned up to 11.5. I like it a lot better that way. Numbers on a monitor a while back support this set up works for me.
 
M127c said:
I don't hit down on it that much, but my fitting resulted in going to 12* because my launch angle was just a little low. He said once I get use to the driver and start hitting up on it more i can lower the loft some.


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Interesting, thanks for the information. Hitting down on the ball is the reason I actually need to go lower loft. I generate a lot of spin and my launch angle/spin gets higher with higher loft. Weird that the same type of thing can cause two completely opposite reactions to the ball.
 
My last two drivers have been 12*, and when I had the X2Hot I played it at 12.5*. Lofting up made my dispersion much better and gave me more distance as a slower swinger. When I get a new driver, it'll be adjustable so I can keep it right around 12* still... unless I go for a 13.5* head, in which case I'll probably leave it right there.
 
I game 11-12* depending on head. I need loft to get the proper launch and spin numbers as I have a pretty flat driver swing.
 
I went up to 11.5 and have seen distance gains and a very tight dispersion. This was the Cobra Bio Cell in 10.5 verse 11.5.
 
I have a Cobra Flyz + adjustable driver which I can adjust the loft on it from 8.5 - 11.5 and have tried the high and low setting but have found that 10 works best for me. I get the best loft, distance as well as a tight dispersion with it at 10. About 85% of my balls fly straight as a arrow and the majority of them end up in the fairway.
 
I moved from 10.5 to 12 degrees after being fit into a new driver. I've always struggled to get height on a driver, but I can hit this one up in the air ok most of the time. Wasn't my choice to lift up like this, the fitter was the one that decided. I'll be honest, my ego took a little bit of a hit, but I decided to try it out on the course. I'm glad I did. I'm still at 12 degrees.


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I played 12* in the M2 but I now play 10.5 in the Epic Sub Zero. They launch and peak the same.
 
I bounce around.
2016 played a G 10.5 set to 11.5*
2015 played a G30 SF Tec 10* set to 11*
2014 played a G25 12*

I got away from the 12* in 2014 because my swing was pitiful and I was seeing launch angles of 19-22* with it and 4k spin. I am not sure if I was hitting down on the ball causing it or if I was flipping at the ball but nonetheless the ball was getting zero roll and on a wet course would actually plug. I switched to a 10.5* and picked up some yardage due to increased roll.

Flash forward to end of 2016. I don't get as many reps as I once did and my swing speed is down a little. I found playing in cooler temps, especially on my misses, its just an ugly low snap hook with my 10.5.
Also during a recent Trackman session I noticed that adding loft on the tip is closing the face and actually reducing my launch angle vs the same club set to neutral loft.
I had better results with a high lofted driver adjusted down in loft as this keeps the face squarer at impact for me.

So I am on the hunt for the right high lofted driver that I can loft down and still get adequate launch.
 
Mark_UK said:
I moved from 10.5 to 12 degrees after being fit into a new driver. I've always struggled to get height on a driver, but I can hit this one up in the air ok most of the time. Wasn't my choice to loft up like this, the fitter was the one that decided. I'll be honest, my ego took a little bit of a hit, but I decided to try it out on the course. I'm glad I did. I'm still at 12 degrees.
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Ego, schmeego... whatever works, works. I could ask 20 of my golfing buddies what loft my driver is and not one of them would know. People don't pay attention to stuff like that.
Heck I believe Dustin Johnson plays a 10.5 head and latest WITB for Camillo Villegas, he's in an M1 12* head. Doubt anyone is critiquing them.
 
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