Altering Driver Head Loft Without Adjusting or Changing Your Driver

A few years ago I reduced my driver head loft from 9d to 6d without having to swing faster / generate more power. How? Simply by learning to hit on the upstroke and thereby changing the driver head's dynamic (true) loft at impact.

A 9d driver only has a dynamic loft of 9d if one strikes the ball at the exact bottom of the down swing with a straight shaft. In any other scenario its dynamic loft varies from head loft.

Why do this? In order to create more ball run on as lower head loft creates less back spin. Take this to an extreme and hit severely on the upstroke and one can also induce top spin which only kicks in once the ball lands.

Most players imagine that hitting on the upstroke simply means hitting off a taller peg. Such is far from being the case although either a 3.25" or 4" peg is needed if using an elephant sized head i.e. 420cc to 460cc. Which sadly we appear to be stuck with for the moment.

No, hitting on the upstroke involves (at impact) keeping everything behind the ball, bringing one's right shoulder severely under; quickly transferring all weight off the right foot onto the left foot; tilting one's body a few degrees away from the ball; and hitting into a straight firmly braced left leg.

To increase dynamic loft set the peg further forward and higher, and conversely to reduce dynamic loft.

During this morning's dawn practice session I was reminded how much we adjust our play in accordance with the equipment we use.

During recent years I had been using a Geek DotComThis 6d head custom weighted to my spec. But this year had switched back to the Geek FailSafe3, again in 6d. I tend to switch heads from season to season and there is not always a sound reason for such. Usually I do this during a bad patch.

I accidentally took a DCT driver out with me today and so tried to give it a spin. Alas it completely over-powered me as its centre of gravity was significantly higher than the FS3 and thus launched the ball lower. This season I had lowered my peg height and was hitting with around 1.50d less dynamic loft which the FS3 head requires. Its head creates much higher ball flight as its CG is lower. Two 6d professional heads made by the same company but with completely different playing characteristics.

I then took the FS3 out of my bag and hit some of the best balls of my life.

For those readers who find the above far too technical, and possibly boring, I also re-discovered today that a ball with three yards of correctly induced draw (by keeping the right shoulder back) runs 5+ yards further than a well hit straight ball. It was good to be reminded of this and not to pat myself on the back for hitting beautifully straight balls! A straight drive is not usually the best drive in terms of achievable distance.

IN EVERY SCENARIO THE BALL SHOULD BE STRUCK OUT OF THE CENTRE OF THE DRIVER HEAD'S FACE.