Many golfers are missing out on distance because they swing their drivers with a negative angle of attack. Everyone who plays golf knows that the driver hits the ball the farthest of any club. As the club head approaches the golf ball during the downswing, its path. If you assume that you cannot change your attack angle we will show you how to do that in the next segment, you need to optimize the effective loft of your driver to give you the best carry and rollout. Driver loft must be matched in combination to the golfers swing speed and their angle of attack into the ball.
We spoke with stephen aumock, pga master instructor and a north texas pga instructor of the year winner, about the role of angle of attack in the golf swing and in ball flight. If you hit up on the driver then you would need less loft to get the ball in the air than someone who hits down on the ball would. Accuracy, club delivery, and strike changed from swing to swing. May 21, 2014 how to change your attack angle and swing direction.
Spin loft is the difference in angle between your attack angle how much up. Angle of attack refers to the angle the club approaches the ball especially through the impact zone. Too often, an amateur golfer will choose the loft of his or her new driver based on what their favorite professional player uses instead of taking the time to assess the best loft to suit his skills. Nov 08, 2017 if you have a mid swing speed of 95104 mph, a driver loft of between 1011. The angle of attack with the driver should be ascending, because driver ball contact should happen with the driver on the upswing for maximum distance. Optimize driver loft for more distance dlance golfd. Attack angle myths and misconceptions adam young golf. Its shocking how much distance a player could potentially gain by moving from a negative to positive angle of attack with their driver. Youll increase the launch angle and spin, but not the angle of attack. Driver loft does make a difference, but your angle of attack is critical hitting down on the ball is devastating to the average golfers distance moving the ball up slightly, off the middle of your left toes, helps you catch it on the upswing and assures maximum club head speed at impact. Typically what we look for in dynamic loft with irons is a number that is a little less the static loft of the club attack angle. Conversely, a downward angle of attack, which results in striking the ball on. Dynamic loft, angle of attack and your launch angle golfwrx.
How to increase your angle of attack adam young golf. My bass was here, my divot started up here and it ended up about six inches in front of the ball so my angle of attack. The image below shows the trackman optimizer which we use to help guide our golfers to the best driver loft. Note that the maximum carry is about 167 yards for a driver loft of 19 degrees which is the loft of a 2iron and 5wood. Many factors affect launch angle, including swing speed, the angle of attack how the clubface approaches the golf ball and clubface position at impact. While this is a singular 3d value, we often split it into horizontal angle of attack or swing path and a vertical component, which we call angle of attack. An appropriate loft choice will maximize your distance. I want to keep playing while i work on my swing so what driver and fairway woods are better for a steep aoa. Jul 02, 2019 he tilts back, then swings up mcilroy uses a 9degree taylormade m5 driver, but that doesnt mean its the loft he sets up with. The loft of the golf club itself is the single biggest factor, of course. Aoa is which way the club, as a whole, is moving at impact. Long drive champions hit the ball so far because they strike through the ball with a severe upward angle of attack. Often we find most amateurs will swing too steeply into the ball, between a 4 and 6 descending blow. In fact, swings often got the most distance with driver lofts at 9 degrees or less.
The manufacturer is stating that the said vertical face of the driver head is at a 9. This proves that changing the angle of attack from a negative to a positive can result in an increase of distance with the same swing speed and impact factors. Gene is in the business of teaching golfers like you the math and science that make up a golf swing. If you have a negative attack angle, you may be launching the ball too high if. Stroker angle of attack has nothing to do with the loft of the driver. All of these variables allow fowler to keep his spin loft low, play a slight draw, and carry the ball well over 290 yards. For all the differing recommendations you might hear, there is one thing we can say for sure. How to create an upward angle of attack for more driver. Some require a change in your swing that might decrease your distance andor. When golfers hit down on a driver too much, they tend to. You want a negative angle of attack hitting down with more spin with your irons. Launch angle is determined by the clubs loft angle and the angle of attack at impact. Looking at fowlers swing at impact on gears compared to a typical. If you reach 181 yards with a driver your swing is about 70 mph.
You can see a player with a 95mph swing could go from hitting drives that carry 207 yards all the way up to 231 yards by significantly increasing their angle of attack. The club fitter will analyze your swing speed and angle of attack to help determine the optimal loft for your driver. If you swing over the top with an outside in path, it is likely you would have a downward angle of attack. The slower the swing speed and the more downward the angle of attack, the higher the loft of the driver has to be for maximum distance and vice versa. You can add all of the loft in the world to a driver, but you wont be changing the angle of attack. Optimize driver loft for more distance true fit clubs. Although most players buy drivers with 9 to 10 degrees of loft, they will probably get a. Setting up a goofy spreadsheet like that based on the angle of the initial velocity is easy, and id bet the nerd that created it confused loft for launch angle in completing his cs capstone or something. Dec 16, 20 most average handicap golfers will have a swing speed of around 8090 mph and would benefit from a driver loft of anywhere from 1012 degrees.
By optimizing the loft on your driver, you will maximize both the carry distance and the rollout of your drives. But the same club can produce very different launch angles in the hands of different golfers based on the other factors. The static loft of my 8 iron is 36 degrees, subtract 6. The angle of attack with irons should be descending, because irons are designed for golfers to hit down on the ball. Optimal driver numbers on trackman andrew rice golf. The below diagram shows trackmans driver optimiser. Carry distance varies by a large degree by where you golfie. Higher than desired spin on the driver typically comes more from the golfer having a little more downward angle of attack into the ball or, from the golfer allowing the clubhead to slightly pass in front of the hands so the dynamic loft on the face is higher at impact than the actual static loft. Streeter leckagetty images the attack angle, a measurement of how steep or shallow the clubhead is moving relative to the ground through impact, plays a vital role in how much distance youre able to generate off the tee. The influence of face angle and club path on the resultant. Its role in fitting over the past several years, the golf industry has said in countless magazine articles that the ideal conditions for maximising driver distance is to fit the golfer into a driver that generates a high launch angle with a low amount of backspin. Yet, the ball takes off at a higher launch angle and with a greater amount of velocity for any given swing speed because of the upward or positive angle of attack. Launch angle has a drastic impact on driving distance correcting a poor one will get you more distance today.
I have a steep angle of attack when swinging my driver and fairway woods leave irons out of the conversation for now. Dec, 2017 attack angle is measured relative to the horizon. How to change your attack angle and swing direction. Loft is the angle of the face of the club relative to the ground. A downward attack angle tends to reduce dynamic loft, as does having. A positive attack angle increases launch angle and reduces spin for a given cluhead speed thus creating more carry and roll. Rule of thumb is for every degree of change from level, add or subtract one degree of loft. Spin loft is the angular difference between the clubs angle of attack aoa. The attack angle, a measurement of how steep or shallow the clubhead is moving relative to the ground through impact, plays a vital role in how much distance youre able to generate off the tee. As technology has shifted, driver lofts have increased significantly, with many. The majority of drivers on the market today range between a 4degree and 20degree loft. Golfers with this swing speed would typically benefit from a driver. Below is a graph of balls hit by an 80 mph swing speed with different loft drivers note driver loft does not equal launch angle.
Conversely, the shallower the angle of attack the more a golfer hits upwards through impact, the higher the swing speed will become and the less loft is needed to achieve the optimal launch angle. The website doesnt differentiate between angle of attack, loft and speed. When the ball is hit on the upswing, the shots launch angle is greater than the drivers measured loft because the heads loft is tilted upward by the swing. Creating a negative angle of attack with your irons, youre going to hit the ball farther and more accurately.
Jan 28, 2019 an angle of attack that is too steep or too shallow can cause poor golf shots. But the golfer who can increase their launch angle with a positive angle of attack will always optimize their launch parameters to a greater extent. Club head speed also plays an important factor in attack angle. Taylormade 3d technology reveals the secrets to rory mcilroy. Understanding attack angle and why it matters for your. With your driver, you want to positive angle of attack hitting up creating less spin on the ball.
With a level attack angle and an attack angle of 3degree up, i averaged more than 20 feet of consistency in dispersion compared to swings with the attack angles of 5degree up or 3degrees down. With the driver, if your current shot trajectory is lower to much lower than the majority of other golfers using the same driver loft, you likely have a downward angle of attack. In fact, swings often got the most distance with driver lofts at 9 degrees. In the meantime, you can get a driver which has more loft so that you can get a higher launch angle and more distance. Mar 26, 2020 face angle largely determines the launch direction while shot curvatureshape is mostly determined by the club path relative to the face angle. The golfers attack angle, how the shaft bends, how the golfer releases the club head, whether the club face is open or closed to the club path, and where the ball makes contact on the club face can all impact the dynamic loft. In the example above, the 15 yard distance gain came by improving the attack angle, but that could also be accomplished by increasing the loft of the club from, say 9. It is not uncommon for national long drive competitors to generate launch angles of 12 to 15 degrees with driver heads featuring real loft angles of five to six degrees. The vertical up and down angle the club is moving on during impact. Jun 09, 2016 as you can see, fowlers attack angle allows for a shallower swing and he employs an insidetoout club path, with a slightly closed club face to the path.
Im hitting my driver just as far as my 3 wood golf. The standard assumption for attack angle is 0 degrees for the driver. Matt kuchar is known for having a shallow swing, but it helps maximize distance. Kyle morris driving attack angle tips golf channel. Match your driver loft to your swing speed back in the day, better players tended to favor very lowlofted drivers, often in the 7. Youre swinging approximately 80 mph if you drive the ball 206 yards, 90 mph if your drives reach 232 yards and 100 mph if you drive the ball 258 yards. Id suggest you see a pga professional to get help with your swing to improve your angle of attack. See how to optimize your driver for distance and accuracy when your swing delivery has a negative angle of attack. Driver loft helps determine this angle, but so does your angle of attack when you swing. For example the numbers below are from some 8irons i hit. If you have a negative attack angle, you may be launching the ball too high if you are hitting the ball off the top of the face. If you hit down on the ball, it comes off the face lower and requires more driver loft.
I can get them an extra 1015 yards just by putting them in the right head, loft, and shaft combination. A recent study by trackman revealed that by changing the attack angle on your driver swing from downward to significantly upward, you can boost distance by 23 yards and thats not for a tour. Dec 11, 2018 if possible, go to a pro shop and have a professional club fitter determine the best loft for your driver. In this short video, martin chuck of revolution golf shows you how important attack angle is when talking driver distance. What is the correct driver loft for the average senior golfer. Loft deg spin rate rpm launch angle deg carry yards club speed mph 75 80 85 90 95 166 178 187 176 187 197 199 211 223 215 228 239 243 244 256 total yards driver fitting chart. A negative angle of attack with your irons is positive. Golfers with this swing speed would typically benefit from a driver between 1214 of loft. Its still true that golfers who swing less than 80 mph would likely benefit from using drivers with 11 degrees. You can use clubhubs angle of attack parameter to achieve your optimum launch angle and greatest distance. Increase distance and reduce spin off the tee for the.
Although most players buy drivers with 9 to 10 degrees of loft, they will probably get a better launch. Driver loft does make a difference, but your angle of attack is critical hitting down on the ball is devastating to the average golfers distance. If a senior golfer has a steep angle of attack they must add loft to increase the launch angle and distance. Optimum driver loft calculator instruction and playing tips. Watch as gene explains driver attack angle, something every golfer should understand the science behind. How to determine which loft you should get on your driver. Simply put the definition of static loft is the loft on the physical club itself. Gain distance by changing your attack angle youtube. The driver is engineered to be hit with more of a neutral attack angle, where as the 3 wood needs to be hit a descending blow to access the center of percussion on the face. Below is a 2d representation of a steep angle of attack. Dynamic loft is the amount of loft on the club face at impact. Understanding that dynamic loft is 85 percent of your balls launch angle and angle of attack is 15 percent of your balls launch angle, we now see that the dynamic loft of this shot hit was a touch too low.
Given a choice between a longer ball flight and a longer roll, remember that the roll is less predictable. Golfers that have slower swing speeds need every bit of help they can get to optimize their launch conditions for distance. Jun 22, 2017 stroker angle of attack has nothing to do with the loft of the driver. First swing were going to look at the angle of attack here, its going to be just a normal eight iron shot. How to create an upward angle of attack for more driver distance. If yourswing speed is 100 mph or more you can often step up to a driver with less than a 10 degree loft 9.
If you are hitting down through impact, as you often would with an iron, youll have a downward angle of attack. Spin loft is the difference in angle between your attack angle how much up or down the clubhead is traveling at impact and dynamic loft the loft presented to the ball at impact. Rory positions the ball a hair farther back in his stance. The wrist of the robot was rotated so that shots hit from the centre of the face flew straight. Besides putters, drivers have the smallest loft angle of any club in your bag.
The general rule is that shots hit off the ground should have a negative attack angle, and shots hit with your driver should have a positive attack angle in order to maximize distance. Mar 14, 2019 typically what we look for in dynamic loft with irons is a number that is a little less the static loft of the club attack angle. The ball goes up due to the angle loft of the face. Jan 08, 2020 a recent study by trackman revealed that by changing the attack angle on your driver swing from downward to significantly upward, you can boost distance by 23 yards and thats not for a tour. Attack angle, dynamic loft and how they affect your game.
Dynamic loft what you need to know to hit better golf shots. You can check out this article to learn more, but the concept is fairly simple. For an upward angle of attack consider a lower loft and conversely for a downward angle of attack consider a higher loft. How to change your attack angle and swing direction youtube. Not unusual really, this is a helpful indicator in understanding what factors effect the club path.
More driver distance through angle of attack youtube. Your angle of attack greatly affects your driver loft. Sep 15, 2016 angle of attack refers to the angle the club approaches the ball especially through the impact zone. Some are simple, such as teeing the ball lower or reducing the loft of your driver. The main determining factor of driver loft is your angle of attack into the ball. Oct 30, 2017 launch angle is determined by the clubs loft angle and the angle of attack at impact. Face angle largely determines the launch direction while shot curvatureshape is mostly determined by the club path relative to the face angle. In the summer months on a fast running course you may be able to achieve more distance with 1 or 2 degrees less loft so consider purchasing a driver with an adjustable loft. Below we hit two drivers with a very similar swing speed, aiming to manipulate the angle of attack.
Its the optimum combination of ball speed with launch angle that produces the greatest carry. For example, many drivers have a loft stamped on the bottom of the club head such as 9. Most often, when numbers are associated with drivers it refers to the loft of the driver. Aug 07, 2019 match your driver loft to your swing speed. The condition of the golf courses you play on can also help you decide on the proper loft. May 28, 2017 accuracy, club delivery, and strike changed from swing to swing.
If your speed is between 60 and 80 mph, use 12 or more degrees of loft. Causes and fixes for negative attack angle trackman golf. As you can see, fowlers attack angle allows for a shallower swing and he employs an insidetoout club path, with a slightly closed club face to the path. Your angle of attack in the golf swing often referred to simply as the attack angle is the upward or downward motion of the club as it approaches the ball. The higher the spin loft, the more backspin you create.