What distance should i be able to hit a 13 degree driver? Am I giving up a much over a 10.5 degree driver?

Question

I know that I will get more accuracy, but I am curious if I will be giving up much distance. I am having a lot of trouble hitting my 10.5 degree driver accurately and am thinking of going to 13 (nike sumo lucky 13) for less sidespin.

What say you?

Answer 1

From your question, it sounds like you have a fade or slight slice. You are right that higher degree will be more accurate, however distance has more to do with club head speed than loft.  My thoughts are that giving up a few yards is better than being in rough or OB.

Answer 2

Golfrang... has the best answer.  You need to get fit to find the best loft for you in combination with all the other factors.  Sometimes a higher loft will result in more distance, not less.

Answer 3

You will lose approx. 10 yards due to the extra loft in the club.  You will create more backspin on the ball which will in effect reduce some of the sidespins.  Thus , you should have more balls in the fairway.

Answer 4

I don't know....for me it's hard to say.  I tried hitting a 10.5 Nike Saq and I hit it fine.  I hit the sweet 16 and I CRUSHED it.  I hit a fairly straight drive regardless, but the sweet 16 gave me more distance than the 10.5.

Answer 5

42

Answer 6

If you have trouble with the 10.5 I don't think the 13 is going to help.  My guess is you'll lose about 5 to 8% on your distance.

You may want to go to a different shaft.

Answer 7

Ok, this really depends.  You could actually GAIN distance... In driver fittings there is something called "optimum combination"  that is where the loft, shaft kickpoint, shaft torque, shaft length, swingweight, and grip are optimized to work best with your golf swing.  Usually the lower your swing speed the higher launch you need to keep the ball in the air.  But this is not a for sure thing.  A guy I fit the other day has 115+ mph swing speed and was optimized for a 12 degree because he delofted his club at impact.  Anyway, the only way to know for sure is go get fit by a trained pro using the latest in equipment such as the Vector Pro Launch Monitor and Vector Pro infrared swing gates that I use at my place.  Avergage guy gains 22 yards over just picking off the rack!

Answer 8

actually it depends on the shaft most higher lofted drivers have a shorter shaft comparable to a 3 wood thats why you have more accuracy i bought a 16* hibore for the heck of it i hit it alot shraighter but about 20 yards shorter your best bet have your shaft cut a little shorter that would be alot cheeper and most likley work thats what tiger did he only plays a 44/1.5'' shaft not 46'' and his accuracy has improved. as far as side spin goes unfornatly for us all a slice or miss hit is just that no driver on the planet can help that unfornatly no matter what they say. also try a new ball.

Answer 9

hey dont listen to the people saying that you will loose 10 or more yards... you will probably gain distance because a straighter driver is stronger than a slice by far, i dont think the loft will fix the slice much though... get a quick lesson and they can fix it fast

Answer 10

There's a lot to be said for hitting you second shot from the fairway. You'll probably lose 15 to 18 yards on average mainly because you'll be hitting the ball higher and with more back spin but the trade off may be well worth it. However, make a less drastic change and go with an 11 degree driver with a more flexible shaft. Try making your correction in smaller increments and I think you'll find something before you get to a 13 degree driver.

Answer 11

I have a twelve degree  taylormade  I  grip up a half inch and position it in the middle of my stance and try to make contact  just below center. This gives me an accurate tee shot but the distance is usually five to ten yards less then It is when I use  a 9.5* driver. I have read that some professionals are using higher lofted drivers. Im under the impression NIKE lucky 13 is a non conforming driver?

Answer 12

not as much as you would think . still would be hitting same club to green dont have to fight with the rough . much better choice enjoy