Perhaps the biggest mistake amateur golfers make when selecting a driver is the loft.
It has long been believed that the lower the loft of a drive the more distance you will achieve, but this thought process is slowly changing to what industry experts knew all along.
Low swing speed golfers (generally mature men, ladies and juniors) would actually benefit from having a driver that has a higher loft, and in some cases as high as 14º (which is similar to the old fashioned 2-wood).
If we take a look at the technology and thinking behind modern day drivers, we can quickly notice a pattern;
All manufacturers are trying to reduce club head weight and place the centre of gravity lower and further away from the face in an attempt to increase launch angles.
The angle at which we launch the ball into the air is paramount to the resulting distance that we can achieve.
Slow swing speeds do not compress the golf as much as higher swing speeds, which again results in a lower spinning golf ball, which affects the height that we can launch the ball at.
To help with this, low swing speed golfers should look to a club with a higher loft to increase the launch angle and inevitably increase in the distance that they achieve.
Let us look at this from another viewpoint;
Many golfers think that if they play on fast-running hard fairways then a lower loft will mean a flatter trajectory and more run, and they would be right, but they would ultimately be losing distance in thinking this way.
If you play on wet-soft fairways with little run a low lofted driver will result in no run and a game changing loss of distance as you ball will not travel any distance through the air.
And this is the reason; If you hit a ball high through the air the resistance that will affect the ball is far less than the resistance a ball will face running along the ground.
Another fundamental reason why a higher loft will help you is knowing the distance that you hit the ball, a vital piece of knowledge that will have huge effects on your game.
If you are using a low loft driver and hitting the ball varying distances, what would you do if you were faced with a carry over a pond or ravine? Hope for the best?
This is not good course management, and by using a driver that will carry the ball further through the air and a more consistent, measurable distance you will know whether you can carry the obstacle or if you have no choice but to lay-up.
Carry distance is the important factor, and increasing this number is the key to increasing your driving distance.
A high-lofted driver will do this.
Head to the range and test it out…you won´t be disappointed.
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