What Is Golf Club Loft?

What Is Golf Club Loft And Is It Important?

Loft is the angle measured between the clubface and the vertical. It’s measured in degrees. The higher the loft on the club, the shorter the distance the golf ball will travel.

Loft is important because it’s one of the main factors that determine how far the ball will travel. It also affects trajectory and spin. The different loft angles of each club in your bag help you to hit different shots.

The longest club in your bag, usually a driver, has the lowest loft angle (aside from the putter). This gives it a flatter trajectory and more distance. The shortest club, usually some sort of wedge, has the highest loft angle. This gives shots hit with it a higher trajectory and less distance.

Most golfers carry 14 clubs, traditionally sets of clubs included three woods (driver, 3-wood, 5-wood), and nine irons (3-iron through sand wedge). They also carry a putter. This would leave them the opportunity of an extra wood or iron to make up the maximum allowed number of 14 clubs.

The woods are used for tee shots on longer holes, while the irons are used for approach shots and for hitting from the fairway or rough. The wedges are used for short approach shots and for getting out of bunkers. The putter is used for putting on the green.

Golfers can hit different types of shots with different clubs depending on how they adjust their grip, stance and swing. For example, a golfer can hit a draw by gripping the club further down on the shaft, closing their stance & swinging across their body more than usual.

How Do You Find The Loft Of A Golf Club?

The only way you can accurately measure a golf club’s loft is to use a loft gauge. According to Frank Thomas the loft of a golf club is “the angle between the face plane and the vertical plane the shaft is in, when the club is in the normal address position and the grooves are horizontal.“

What Are The Standard Lofts On Golf Clubs?

It is important to note that there is no industry standard for the amount of loft a particular club should have. Ultimately it is all down to the manufacturer to determine the lofts of golf clubs that they produce.

Over a long period of time, most manufacturers tended to produce certain clubs at specific lofts which became a sort of de facto standard. The sand wedge for example was generally 56° from the majority of manufacturers. Each iron in the set would be four degrees less and the shaft would be progressively longer as well. This meant that each successive iron would heat the ball further. For an average golfer, the distance difference would be around 10 yards per club.

During his career Colin Montgomerie had his iron lofts tweaked so he had 5° difference between each club as that gave him distances he liked.

Different golf clubs have different lofts, which is the angle between the clubface and the shaft. The standard loft for irons ranges between about 20 and 44 degrees, while a wedge usually has a loft of between 46 and 60 degrees. Although modern irons tend to have had the lofts decreased significantly.

A hybrid is a cross between an iron and a wood, and usually has a loft of around 16-25°. A pitching wedge usually has a loft of around 46 degrees, while a gap wedge is between 50 and 54 degrees. A sand wedge has a loft of 56-58 degrees, while a lob wedge has a loft of 60-64 degrees. Putters have the lowest loft of all, between 2 and 5 degrees.

Drivers for amateurs tend to have lofts from about 8° to 11°. Fairway woods will range from about 12° to 25°.

How Much Loft Do Putters Have?

A putter is a golf club that is used to get the ball into the hole on the green. It is the shortest club in the bag and has little loft as you are;t trying to get the ball into the air. Typically putters will have 2°-6° of loft.

How Much Loft Do Wedges Have?

A wedge is a type of iron used in golf. There are several different types of wedges, each with a different amount of loft. The pitching wedge has the lowest loft, while the gap, sand and lob wedges have increasingly higher lofts.

The amount of loft on a wedge can make a big difference for a golfer. A higher loft means the ball will travel higher and land softer, while a lower loft will result in a longer shot with a lower trajectory. Choosing the right wedge for the shot can be the difference between making or missing the green.

How Much Loft Do Irons Have?

Irons are a type of golf club that have less loft than a pitching wedge, allowing you to hit the ball greater distances. The loft of an iron is measured in degrees and the higher the loft, the easier it is to keep the ball straight. Most irons have lofts between 16 and 45 degrees. They are usually sold as a set. Traditionally an iron set was 3-9, plus PW and SW.

How Much Loft Do Hybrids Have?

A hybrid is a cross between an iron and a fairway wood. They are designed for golfers who find it difficult to hit long irons or fairways. The loft of a hybrid is usually somewhere between that of an iron and a fairway. This makes them ideal for hitting from the fairway or rough. You will usually find hybrids have 16-25° of loft.

How Much Loft Do Fairway Woods Have?

Other than your driver (and putter) fairway woods are the least lofted clubs in your bag. The degree of loft on them affects the height and distance of the ball flight. Some players find them easier to hit than long irons particularly if they lack speed.

How Much Loft Does A Driver Have?

The amount of loft on a driver is usually between 8-11°. Although players with high swing speeds can usually manage less lofted drivers. Many modern premium models can be adjusted up or down slightly. Changing the loft on a driver can be beneficial for players of all skill levels, as it can help them hit the ball straighter and further. However, it is important to find the best golf club for your individual swing, as this will ultimately result in the best performance.

What Is The Maximum Loft On A Golf Club?

The maximum loft on a golf club is determined by how useful the club would be and how easy it is to do the job it was intended for. The lob wedge has the highest degree of loft, followed by the sand wedge, and then the gap and pitching wedges. Lob wedges usually fall in the 58°-64° range although the majority of golfers would be better off sticking to clubs in the 58°-60° range.

What Is Meant By Weaker Loft?

A weaker loft means that the club will send the ball higher in the air because it has a higher loft angle. For example, a pitching wedge has more loft than a 9-iron, so it will hit the ball higher. However, a 7-iron has less loft than an 8-iron, so it will send the ball on a lower trajectory.

What Is Meant By Stronger Loft?

A stronger lofted club has less loft and therefore will send the ball on a lower trajectory and it should also travel further. For example, a 3-iron has a stronger loft than a 4-iron and will hit the ball lower and further.

What Is Dynamic Loft?

Dynamic loft is a term used in golf to describe the angle of the clubface at impact. Dynamic loft is more important than actual loft, as it has a greater impact on launch angle and trajectory. For a more detailed definition see the TrackMan blog.

What Is Loft Creep – Is Your 5-iron Really A 3-iron?

What is loft creep? It’s the effect that means the loft on your 5-iron is now probably the same as it was on a 3-iron from 20-30 years ago. Over time, club manufacturers make small changes to the lofts on their irons, and that can impact your game. Every year or two new sets of irons are released claiming to hit the ball further. What you might not have realized is one of the main reasons for this is the lofts on irons have been gradually reduced.

The gap wage only exists because of this loft creep. You can see looking at the table above that clubs used to have a gap of 4° between them. So a pitching wedge would be 52° and a sand wedge 56°. As the loft on a PW was decreased it meant players had an increasing distance gap between the two clubs. This gave manufacturers an excellent marketing opportunity which they filled with the gap wedge to cover the hole in your distances.

It’s something to consider when you’re shopping for new clubs particularly if you haven’t changed your irons in quite a while. Be aware that your 5-iron from a few years ago is likely to have the same loft as a modern 6-iron or even 7-iron.

Can Lofts Change?

Iron lofts can be affected by wear and tear. Particularly a forged clubhead. If you owned a set of irons for some time and find two different clubs are going similar distances you might want to take them to a PGA professional to get the lofts checked.

What Is Golf Club Loft: Summary

The amount of loft a club has is largely responsible for the trajectory of your shot. The more loft then the higher the ball will fly. Lower loft equals a lower shot that will travel further.