What are Loft Angles of golf clubs?
The loft angle of a golf club is the angle of the face of the head in relationship to the sole (or the bottom) of the head of the golf club.
Why is this angle important? Well, if we adjust this angle to the individual golfer, the distance of each shot for each club will be more uniform and consistent, thusly making them a better golfer.
Below you will see a chart that I put together of Standard Loft Angles... HOWEVER, please be very well aware of the fact that different club manufacturers have different "standards'! This chart does not represent the loft angles of all golf clubs on the market! This is my standard and is the standard for the O'Connor Golf Company.
STANDARD LOFT ANGLES
Club |
Loft Angle |
Driver |
10 Degrees |
3 Wood |
15 Degrees |
5 Wood |
18 Degrees |
7 Wood |
22 Degrees |
3 Iron |
18 Degrees |
4 Iron |
22 Degrees |
5 Iron |
26 Degrees |
6 Iron |
30 Degrees |
7 Iron |
34 Degrees |
8 Iron |
38 Degrees |
9 Iron |
42 Degrees |
PW Iron |
46 Degrees |
GW Iron |
52 Degrees |
SW Iron |
56 Degrees |
LW Iron |
60 Degrees |
The loft angle of a golf club is just as important as the
lie angle. In fact, they kind of work hand in hand. The main factor for the loft angles is to make sure that a set of clubs is tested and their lofts are found out! Just because a club is stamped with a 7 doesnt mean its a 7 iron! This is where there is a big difference on the market! Club manufacturer A does not have the same loft angles as Club manufacturer B!
Adjustments to the loft angles can be made for specific distances. A golfer usually gets 10 yards difference in distance between their irons. So a 6 iron basically travels 10 yards further than a 7 iron. However, if a golfer plays the same course each weekend, he/she may want to have one or a few of their irons adjusted for those 2 particular par 3 holes that they just have to hit a 7 iron and need it to go 5 yards further! On average, there are 4 degrees of loft difference between each iron so that averages out to around 2.5 yards per degree of loft.
Tour players and serious golfers will have the loft angles on their golf clubs checked many times a year as the loft angle can change over time from regular play as well as from dropping your clubs or for "banging" a club on the ground after a bad shot. Lie Angles should also be checked as well. What are
Lie Angles?