Who should use an 8.5 degree driver?
Noah Mitchell
Published Jan 21, 2026
Anywhere between 8.5-10° will usually suffice. If you have a mid swing speed of 95-104 mph, a driver loft of between 10-11.5° will normally be a good starting point.
What does 8.5 mean on a golf driver?
Loft Angle
Loft is the angle of the face of the club relative to the ground. Besides putters, drivers have the smallest loft angle of any club in your bag. An 8.5 driver has a loft of 8.5 degrees, while a 10.5 driver has a loft of 10.5 degrees.
What loft driver should a senior use?
What loft driver should seniors use? Most seniors should use a driver loft of at least 11 degrees. While some players might get away with 10 or 10.5 if they still have a higher swing speed, most golfers should between 11-13 degrees.
What degree driver do most pros use?
Driver lofts used by the top 100 PGA Tour golfers range from 4.2° all the way up to 12.4°. The most common degree of driver is 9° with 36 players choosing that loft. 10.5° and 9.5° are the next most used lofts making these 3 loft choices the preference of over 60% of the best 100 players on Tour.
Who should use a 9 degree driver?
A 9-degree driver will be best for golfers who have an upward angle of attack on the golf ball. Hitting the ball on an upward angle with a lower lofted driver will increase distance and lower spin. The way to get the most distance out of your driver is to use less loft and make contact on an upward angle.
40 related questions foundWhat degree driver does Tiger Woods use?
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When Woods showed up at the 2021 PNC Championship, he had a new TaylorMade Stealth Plus 9-degree driver in the bag, equipped with his familiar Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60TX driver.
What driver does Bryson Dechambeau use?
Bryson was using a Cobra King Radspeed driver which had only 7.5 degrees of loft but in 2022 he has switched to a Cobra LTDx which only has five degrees of loft.
Is an 8 degree driver hard to hit?
A 9-degree driver is a lot easier to hit than a 7 or 8 degree lofted driver. Because of its more obtuse angle, a 9-degree driver has a lower moment of inertia, making it much less forgiving than lower lofted clubs. But with that comes a sacrifice in distance and power through the shot.
What degree driver does Rory McIlroy use?
McIlroy has decided to join Tiger Woods by sticking the new TaylorMade Stealth Plus Driver - a brand new carbonwood from the company - straight in his bag. The four-time major champion is using the new red-faced driver in 9 degrees with a Fujikura Ventus Black 6-X shaft.
What degree driver does Justin Thomas use?
The most significant change Thomas has made in his driver recently is he switched from a 9-degree head to a 10-degree head. However, by adjusting the SureFit hosel into the D-1 setting, its actual loft is decreased back down to 9 degrees.
How far should a 65 year old man hit a golf ball?
The ranges are very wide, as you'd expect, with 25-year-old scratch players averaging 271 yards and 65-year-old 30 handicappers averaging 180. Check out the fascinating data in this video and below...
What is the easiest golf driver to hit straight?
Cobra Air X Straight Neck Driver
The Cobra Air X is one of the lightest drivers on this list and ideal for beginners. Or, individuals who don't have as much natural swing speed as they would like. This club is so light at only 277 grams, it'll make adding extra distance to your drives easy!
Should I use a 8.5 degree driver?
Anywhere between 8.5-10° will usually suffice. If you have a mid swing speed of 95-104 mph, a driver loft of between 10-11.5° will normally be a good starting point.
What loft driver should a high handicapper use?
A higher handicap player is going to do best with the 12 degree driver. With this club in their hand, the golfer can get plenty of ball speed, distance, and ball flight as well. IF a faster swinging player were to attempt to use the 12 degree driver, they might struggle with getting the control they need.
What driver shaft does Dustin Johnson use?
Full Specs. *The seven-wood, hybrids and utility come in and out of the bag regularly. Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind (52°, 60°) All have KBS Tour 120S shafts.
What's in Dustin Johnson's bag 2022?
Dustin Johnson WITB 2022 (January)
- Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (10.5 degrees) Shaft: LA Golf Prototype.
- 3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth HL (16.5 degrees) Shaft: LA Golf Prototype.
- 7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (21 degrees) ...
- Hybrid: TaylorMade Stealth Rescue 4 (22 degrees) ...
- Wedges: TaylorMade MG (52-09SB @54 degrees, 60-10SB)
What length driver does Phil Mickelson use?
Mickelson uses a 47.5-inch driver — it was 47.9 inches at Kiawah Island when at age 50 he became golf's oldest major champion — and Lefty was not pleased in August when he heard this limit was close to being announced, calling it “pathetic.”
How can I tell my swing speed?
Divide the ball speed by 1.5 to get the estimated swing speed for your drive. Alternatively, you can divide the carry distance by 2.3 to estimate the swing speed at impact, but the result will not be as accurate.
Can I hit a 9 degree driver?
Slower swing speed will experience difficulty to generate sufficient spin to get the golf ball airborne and likely lose distance using a low lofted driver. Golfers with an average carry distance of 250 yards or a total distance of around 280 yards can successfully implement a 9-degree driver into their arsenal.
Does more loft reduce slice?
Although many slicers want to hit the ball lower, remember the additional loft provides backspin that will reduce the amount a golf ball slices through the air.
What driver do long drivers use?
Miller uses a Callaway XR 16 LDA driver with a Fujikura Joe Miller proprietary 3x shaft that is 50 inches in length (the USGA limit is 48 inches, but for long drive the limit is 50 inches).
What driver does Jon Rahm use?
Rahm's Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond LS driver is set up for high launch and low spin. It's not uncommon for pros to play a 10.5-degree head and turn the loft down to hit a fade, but Rahm's more than content playing his driver in the standard loft, neutral face angle setting.
What golf ball does Brooks koepka use?
His ball is a Srixon Z-Star Diamond and it has been reported that it was a big factor in him signing with the brand. Speaking to Golf.com Koepka said; “To be honest with you, that ball is what I practiced with on the range. I used to practice with that ball all the time.
What driver does Brooks koepka use?
At the top end of the bag, Koepka has a new Srixon ZX7 driver at 10.75 degrees, equipped with a Mitsubishi Diamana D-Limited 70 TX shaft that he's used for years. Like Koepka said, he matched up his previous specs, so it makes sense he didn't switch up his driver shaft even though he switched the heads.