High Loft Drivers

Filed in archive Golf Equipment on January 15, 2007

Courtesy: Golfindustryonline.com

Golf is not an easy game to play. We all know that. It's an on-going battle to get length off the tee and keep the ball in the fairway at the same time.

But when it happens, what a wonderful game golf is!

Equipment manufacturers have been making huge strides in playability and the amateur golfer with a fundamentally sound swing is seeing remarkable gains in distance and accuracy.

But these days, it almost seems as if we need a basic course in physics to choose one driver from another, for example. With terms like Moment of Inertia, Coefficient of Restitution, kick-point, etc., many of us are left scratching our heads.

And then there are the new hybrid clubs. Virtually every PGA touring pro has at least one hybrid in the bag; the LPGA pros often have several. Should we hackers have hybrids in our bags, too? Will they help?

Over the next couple of days, eagleparbirdie.com is going to focus on equipment and try to unravel some of the mystery behind the science.

To begin with, let me direct your attention to a great website: golfindustryonline.com.
There, you will find a terrific article under "equipment reviews" by Dr. Barry Lotz who is the director of the Professional Golf Teachers Association of America.

Dr. Lotz explains, very simply, the benefits of high lofted drivers and clarifies those weird terms like MOI and COR so that they make sense. When you read it, you'll have one of those "aha!" moments.

He also confirms exactly what former LPGA star, Sandra Post stated here at eagleparbirdie.com recently.

Sandra, who is now a top teaching pro in the Toronto area, said the first club she would encourage a new female golfer to buy is a high lofted driver.

Coupled with the right shaft for a slower swing, a high lofted driver can be a tremendous boon to both women and men whose flexibility is not what it once was, she told me.

Lotz obviously agrees. He says high loft means more hang time and that equals distance.

But read what he has to say, yourself!

Tomorrow, Sandra Post on hybrid clubs: why you should use them and which ones to buy.