The pendulum is swinging back:
Driver lofts on tour going lower
ball composition, Fitness and swing adaptations are among the reasons the average
loFt oF drivers on the pga tour has been coming down. the trend is likely to continue
at the Valero Texas Open Marc Leishman switched to a 7.5-degree driver. So did Ted Purdy. Both
became part of a trend. Since solid-core balls (specifically Titleist’s Pro
V1) got traction in late 2000, driver
loft on the PGA Tour had been on
the rise. Now it is beginning to go the
other way.
Early in 2000 the average driver
loft on tour was around 8 degrees.
In 2002 it rose to approximately 8. 5
degrees. By 2009 the average driver
loft had jumped to 9. 25 degrees.
In 2002 full-field PGA Tour events
averaged 28 drivers in play with
lofts of 8 degrees or less and only
five at 10 degrees or more. By 2009 those numbers were
nine and 28, respectively.
Fast-forward to 2012 and at the Texas stop there were
26 drivers in play with lofts of 8 degrees or less (including
a dozen at 7 or 7. 5 degrees). High-lofted drivers declined
with just 14 at 10 degrees or more. The average loft was
9.02 degrees, or about a quarter-degree less than three
years ago.
The shift is interesting. Since launch monitors started
dotting PGA Tour practice ranges and the test centers
jOin tHe (grOwing) crOwd
John Huh (T- 2 at the Valero) uses a 7.5-degree driver,
part of a growing move to less loft on tour.
at equipment companies, the distance mantra pounded into players’ minds has been “high launch,
low spin.” When golf balls went
from high-spinning liquid-center
wound construction to lower-spinning solid-core multilayer
models, the low spin aspect was
addressed and many players opted
for additional loft to complement a
higher launch.
According to several PGA Tour
reps, the move to lower lofts is eas-
ily explained. For starters, many
companies are now producing ver-
sions of multilayer balls that offer
a bit more spin, allowing for less
loft to be used. Swings also have
adapted. Ten years ago the majority of PGA Tour play-
ers still used the same swing they did with wound balls,
requiring a loft adjustment to take advantage of the new
balls. Now, not only have some older players altered their
swings, but younger players are starting their tour careers
having been taught a more modern swing, one where the
driver catches the ball on the upswing. Fitness also plays a
role because stronger players can produce enough speed
to get a lower-lofted club airborne.
In other words, expect to see this trend continue. n
tOur StOrieS matt EvEry // A more conventional look
Valero Texas Open co-runner-up Matt Every generated some buzz earlier this year when he used the massively oversize
Orion Black Hawk putter during a T- 6 finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He also used the putter, described by some as
a “hotel on a stick,” in finishing T- 3 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Still, Every sought something more conventional and
went looking for putters at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Intrigued by the Scotty Cameron by Titleist Select GoLo
mallet, Every worked with the club for a mere 20 minutes on Bay Hill’s practice green before putting the single-bend-shafted club in the bag.
One of the things that drew Every to the putter (which he set up with a touch less loft and a slightly flat lie angle)
was that while most mallets are face-balanced, this version of the GoLo had a touch of toe hang, which suited his
stroke. Every used the putter during a pair of top- 10 finishes in his last two starts at the RBC Heritage (T- 8) and the
Valero event (T- 2), where he was T- 16 in putts per round.
