Equipment Roundtable
The New ‘Spin-Killer’ Drivers Research and development
has changed the landscape of the golf equipment industry again. Engineers at golf club manufacturers have discov- ered new ways to increase the distance of drivers by moving the majority of the weight in the clubhead toward the face, and lower toward the sole. By moving the center of gravity to this location, the golf ball is launched with incredibly low spin rates. By creating these “spin-killer” drivers, the ball launches much lower, so it is recommended that the player be fi t into a driver with more loft.
The mantra when fi tting
someone for a driver is “high launch, low spin.” So it’s not surprising to see PGA Tour players like Dustin John- son and Justin Rose hitting 10.5-degree drivers. When shopping or getting fi t for a new driver, I recommend a higher loft, and I also recommend getting fi t with a launch monitor by a fi t- ting expert. You should fi nd that more loft means more distance. The paradigm has shifted…again! –BENN MCCALLISTER McCal- lister is the vice president of sales and marketing for Worldwide Golf Shops, encompassing 35 stores, in- cluding six Golf Marts in Northern California.
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NCGA.ORG / WINTER 2014
Beginning with this issue of NCGA Golf, we will tackle important equipment issues with industry experts, in the hopes of helping you make a more informed decision the next time you update what’s in your bag. For our fi rst equipment roundtable, we explore WHAT YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR IN DRIVER SETUP, specifi cally loft.
W
Add 1 to 2 Degrees of Loft Golf equipment has been
improved to provide more distance in the last several years, without most golfers being fully aware of these changes. Due to regulations on ball/driver speeds, one way equipment designers produce more distance is with lower backspin. However, if you combine a lower-spinning ball with a lower-spinning club, this create issues for players who launch shots too low. Due to these recent design
changes, most players have been playing with too little loft. We (TaylorMade) recom- mend that golfers add at least 1 degree more loft on metal- woods from what they have been playing. In many cases, 2 more degrees would be more optimum. The best way to determine the loft of metal- woods is with an experienced fi tter and a launch monitor. This is a substantial
change to the way players have thought about loft. In many players’ minds, they were fearful of too much loft, since older products with too much loft would create too much backspin, robbing them of dis- tance and controllability. The best way to optimize distance is to launch high with lower spin. This re-
quires club design with a low, forward center of gravity that produces higher launch angle but lower spin. This added loft to improve
performance is relatively independent of player skill level; in fact, we have seen great recent success with many Tour players adding more loft than typical with the SLDR driver and fi nding substantial distance gains. –THOMAS OLSAVSKY Olsavsky is formerly the senior director of product creation for metalwoods for TaylorMade.
What do the pros do when they come to Northern California? Traditionally you need
more loft at the AT&T because it’s cold, wet and the ball just doesn’t go as far in the air, plus you’re not getting the run-out on the ground. Guys will tend to go up
anywhere from a half to a full degree of loft. When we’re working with
guys at the end of the year to get them into our new product, they are testing in warmer climates like Florida and Texas. We’re fi tting them
in optimal conditions, like they’ll see in Hawaii and Palm Springs. When they get to Pebble, all
bets are off. The ball is not going to go as far, and they’ll need a little more loft. But that won’t be the right trajectory when they get to Florida. We’ve got guys who are
down under 8 degrees on their loft, and then we’ve got guys who are in the low 11s. What really becomes more of a factor is face angle. If you give a guy a half a degree or a full degree of loft—let’s say between 9.5 and 10 degrees of loft—it’s more important to see a face angle that at the worst is square to slightly open. Guys are really sensitive to looking at a closed clubface. When you add more loft, you shut the clubface— that’s the only way to do it. As a generalized statement,
right-handed golfers don’t want to miss the ball left. Subcon- sciously, when you look at a face angle that’s pointing left, you’re going to feel like it’s going left. That’s where the sensitivity to the face angle is really important. –MIKE SPOSA Sposa is the Pro Tour representative for Callaway Golf, and travels to tournament sites on the PGA Tour throughout the year.
Equipment Roundtable is presented by
e know that shopping around for new equipment can be daunting and intimidating. The golf retail market is fl ooded with more customizable options and features than ever.
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