INCREDIBLE, finally the core issue

[shooter]

No ego required.......
ever seen el-Tigre hit the ball (I have), trust me 90% of us could use some air time...
as an ex CPGA apprentice, and ProGolf employee. Just watch for the commissioned staff, pumping the 8* driver with the big comm. ;--) (all stores)

GOLF DIGEST......

To achieve the optimum distance-producing trajectory, even tour players have gone to higher lofts. For example, about half the pros recently teeing up TaylorMade drivers on tour used lofts of 9 degrees or higher -- including Hank Kuehne, the new big bomber on tour. Nearly 40 percent of tour players using Callaway drivers play at least a 9-degree driver. About 40 percent of Titleist tour players use drivers with 9.5 degrees of loft or higher. * Woods and Ernie Els each used a driver with 9.5 degrees of loft in 2003.

Average golfers could experience the same kind of benefits, the kind that could mean carrying the lake on No. 10 or reaching the top of the hill on 18. Some research suggests that a launch angle approaching 20 degrees is the best way to maximize distance. Although it's not yet practical to launch a tee shot with low spin at such an angle, the closer you can get to the paradigm of "high-launch, low-spin," the better.

Dr. Tetsuo Yamaguchi, senior director of product development for Srixon and the man who pioneered the concept of high coeffecient of restitution (springlike effect) in drivers, believes the benefits of more loft are only beginning to be discovered. "It used to be that the faster-clubhead-speed players favored drivers with 8 degrees of loft," he says. "I could see in the future faster swingers using 14 degrees."

[PowerFade]

No surprise there. It's technology. Today's drivers are different, imparting less spin which means less lift. The low spin driver heads of today have higher launch angles and a flatter trajectory, and with less spin balls are less prone to drop out of the sky or be affected too much by the wind.

What I find interesting is the number of X-flex shafts on tour even from the relatively slow swingers. Here's an interesting combination that I understand is catching on: higher lofted drivers, stiffer shafts, and higher torque!

No ego required.......
ever seen el-Tigre hit the ball (I have), trust me 90% of us could use some air time...
as an ex CPGA apprentice, and ProGolf employee. Just watch for the commissioned staff, pumping the 8* driver with the big comm. ;--) (all stores)

GOLF DIGEST......

To achieve the optimum distance-producing trajectory, even tour players have gone to higher lofts. For example, about half the pros recently teeing up TaylorMade drivers on tour used lofts of 9 degrees or higher -- including Hank Kuehne, the new big bomber on tour. Nearly 40 percent of tour players using Callaway drivers play at least a 9-degree driver. About 40 percent of Titleist tour players use drivers with 9.5 degrees of loft or higher. * Woods and Ernie Els each used a driver with 9.5 degrees of loft in 2003.

Average golfers could experience the same kind of benefits, the kind that could mean carrying the lake on No. 10 or reaching the top of the hill on 18. Some research suggests that a launch angle approaching 20 degrees is the best way to maximize distance. Although it's not yet practical to launch a tee shot with low spin at such an angle, the closer you can get to the paradigm of "high-launch, low-spin," the better.

Dr. Tetsuo Yamaguchi, senior director of product development for Srixon and the man who pioneered the concept of high coeffecient of restitution (springlike effect) in drivers, believes the benefits of more loft are only beginning to be discovered. "It used to be that the faster-clubhead-speed players favored drivers with 8 degrees of loft," he says. "I could see in the future faster swingers using 14 degrees."

[el tigre]

No ego required.......
ever seen el-Tigre hit the ball (I have), trust me 90% of us could use some air time...

OK, I'm pretty sure, but just to be clear - we are talking about Eldrick here, right? I mean, I know I hit a high ball but it's not that well-known, and I've played golf with a lot of people but I don't think I know you.

[LobWedge]

I've been most effective with a 9.5 degree driver for the last few years. I create a lot of clubhead speed at the ball (115-120 mph) but my hands are forward at impact so I'm delofting the club. I find that if I go with less loft the ball will just fall out of the sky, and with too much loft my shots will just balloon up with too much backspin.

It's all about launch angle and spin rate. Now that there are limits on spring effect, head size, club length, and ball limits soon to follow, the next big emphasis will be on loft/shaft flex combinations. Shafts are going to be the next battleground between the rules makers and the manufacturers.

FYI. The big "secret" in drivers now is something called the "hot spot" which is just north of the sweet spot on the driver face. Tests show that if you hit the ball there you will increase the amount of carry on your drives pretty substantially. The only drawback I can see from this is a substantial increase in "sky marks" from teeing the ball too high.