What driver loft should I use for my swing speed?

As a starting point: 12–14° under 85 mph, 10.5–12° at 85–95 mph, 9–10.5° at 95–105 mph and 8–9.5° over 105 mph. Then fit it on a launch monitor.

What driver loft do pros use?

In our 38-bag sample the median is 9°, from 7.75° to 12.5°.

Is 9 or 10.5 degree driver better for an average golfer?

For most club golfers, 10.5°. A 9° head only suits fast swingers who launch the ball high or hit up on it.

Does more loft mean more spin?

Yes. Callaway's fitting protocol says adding loft increases spin and taking it off reduces spin.

Driver Loft Guide: What Loft Should You Use? (2026)

In short: most club golfers swing the driver at under 100 mph and should start at 10.5° or higher. Tour pros in our index use a median of 9°, but they swing much faster and hit up on the ball. Adjust from your speed and attack angle, not from what pros use.

Starting loft by driver head speed

Driver head speed	Starting loft
Under 85 mph	12°–14°
85–95 mph	10.5°–12°
95–105 mph	9°–10.5°
Over 105 mph	8°–9.5°

These are general starting points published by loft-fitting guides ^[1] ^[2]. They are not rules: a fitting on a launch monitor beats any chart.

Attack angle changes the answer

If you hit down on the driver (a negative attack angle), add about 1–2° to the chart's figure to get the ball in the air with less spin. If you already hit up on the ball, you can often go lower. ^[1] Callaway's fitting protocol says it plainly: adding loft increases spin, and taking loft off reduces it. Its fitters aim for 10–14° of launch and 2,000–3,000 rpm of spin as "a realistic target for a wide variety of players." ^[3]

What loft the pros actually use

Here are the 38 bags in our Tour Bag Index that list a driver loft, rounded to the nearest half degree. Where a report gave a stamped loft and an adjusted setting, we used the setting.

Loft	Players
8°	6 (16%)
8.5°	2 (5%)
9°	16 (42%)
9.5°	3 (8%)
10°	4 (11%)
10.5°	5 (13%)
11.5°	1 (3%)
12.5°	1 (3%)

Players at the ends of the range:

Tony Finau: 9° @7.75° (PING G440 LST, verified 2 November 2026)
Scottie Scheffler: 8° @7.8 (TaylorMade Qi4D, September 2026)
Collin Morikawa: 8° (TaylorMade Qi4D LS, September 2026)
Xander Schauffele: 10.5° (Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond, verified 2 November 2026)
Jon Rahm: 10.5° @11.5 (Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond, June 2026)
Dustin Johnson: 10.5° @12.5 (TaylorMade Qi35, May 2025)

Using an adjustable hosel

Most drivers sold since about 2011 have an adjustable hosel, which lets you raise or lower the loft by about a degree or two either way. Changing the loft this way also changes the face angle at address: more loft tends to close the face, and less loft opens it. If you are between two lofts, buy the higher one and turn it down if you need to.

Driver Loft Guide: Which Loft Fits Your Swing?

Starting loft by driver head speed

Attack angle changes the answer

What loft the pros actually use

Using an adjustable hosel

Sources

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