More and more golf clubs are coming with the ability to adjust the loft or face angle.
It makes so much sense to purchase the adjustable golf clubs because it is like getting a few golf clubs for the price of one.
When your golf game changes as you improve, sometimes the club that you need to suit your game is also going to change.
For golfers, this can get quite costly.
You will have to purchase a new golf club and then get used to the way this club performs and feels in your game.
Another option would be to purchase a golf club that is adjustable and then change the club as you feel is necessary when your golf swing needs it.
Let’s take a look at the things you should know about the loft and face angle that you will be adjusting on your golf clubs.
How Does Changing Loft Affect Face Angle?
When you lower the loft of a golf club, you are also going to close the angle of the clubface.
If you increase the loft on a club, you will open the face angle on the club.
This applies when you are adjusting loft on the driver as well as irons or hybrids.
Have you ever had someone tell you that you need to deloft the club a bit to hit a golf shot?
Sometimes you will close the club down a little so that you can hit a shot that is a bit lower to the ground.
If you think about what you must do to the club to achieve these results, you will quickly see how and why lowering the loft of the club will also close the clubface.
The same can be said when you try and open the face of a golf wedge to hit the ball a little higher.
As you open the face, the loft on the club will increase.
There are a few situations where you need to be aware of the adjustments you are making to the club so that you can achieve the best results.
Let’s take a look at these situations so that you don’t make one correction only to have it cause another problem.
When To Adjust The Loft On Your Golf Clubs
Golfers who want to adjust the loft on their golf clubs will likely be in a few different situations and scenarios on the golf course.
We have tried to break this down to make it a bit easier to understand.
Here are some of the situations you may find yourself in and the ways to use the loft of the golf club to help you get out of the situation in the fewest number of strokes.
1. Greenside Chip With No Green To Work With
One way that golfers will refer to this situation is a “short side”.
You have “short sided” yourself when you hit a shot that is very close to the pin, but it is not on the green.
When this happens, you will have to hit a chip shot that goes up quickly and then lands quickly on the green.
The greenside short side is a difficult situation to be in.
It takes a shot that is going to spin and be able to stop quickly on the green.
Most amateur golfers tend to chip with a bit more of a bump and run type shot.
However, if you are in this situation, you will have no room for the ball to run.
Instead, it makes sense to hit a short chip with a lot of spin or a lot of loft.
A higher lofted chip shot tends to land a little bit harder and stop where it lands.
One of the best ways to achieve this result is to use a golf club that will have a bit more loft.
You can look at your wedges which will likely have about 56 to 60 degrees of loft, and sometimes feel as though even this isn’t enough.
This is where you can simply open the face of the wedge a bit, and you will notice that it lands on the green quite easily.
The thing to remember is that when you increase the club’s loft by turning it up a little, you are also going to open the clubface.
This opening of the clubface could leave you aiming a bit too far to the right of your target.
The best way to adjust this is to turn your stance so that you are just a little on the left side of the pin and then take your swing.
The increased loft and the higher launch angle will help to ensure that you are going to get that nice soft landing on the green that you need to properly control the golf shot.
The greenside chip is a perfect place to experiment with increasing and decreasing the loft on your golf clubs.
2. Punch Out From Under A Tree
We have all hit that awful tee shot that leaves us right next to a tree with nothing to do but hit a punch shot out onto the fairway.
This is an unfortunate shot in golf but one that is quite common.
Most of the time, when you need to hit a shot out of the woods, you are going to have to keep it low so that the ball does not get in the way of any other branches.
In addition, these types of shots are also going to better if they are low because they will continue to run through the fairway.
Since you won’t be able to get the same distance as you normally would with a full swing approach shot, getting any distance you can from a low running shot will be ideal.
When you have to take the loft down on the club to get out from under the tree, you will essentially close the clubface.
This is an effective method, but it will sometimes bring up other issues.
You will have to ensure that you are going to finish with the club straight.
If you take the club and wrap it too much around you on the finish, you could experience a hook.
The quick wraparound combined with a closed clubface tends to send the ball to the left, and it happens hard and fast.
Keep your swing under control a bit more, and you should not have to worry as much about the left side of the course coming into play.
Overall, the slight delofting of something like a seven or six iron can be precisely what you need to escape from the woods and get back into play.
3. Setting A New Driver For The First Time
If you have just received a brand-new driver, you are going to want to make sure that this club is set exactly for your needs.
Most of the time, you will notice that you can adjust both the loft and the face angle of a new driver.
If you are adjusting the loft, make sure you are aware of the impact that this will have on the face.
It is a good idea to take a new driver to the driving range before you take it out on the course.
Play around with the different combinations and settings until you find something that would work for your needs.
Most of the time, if you lower the loft, you may have to open the face a little.
Setting a new driver for the first time can be a bit tricky.
If you look at a company like Titleist, they provide a fitting chart to help golfers who struggle with how to adjust their clubs.
Sometimes they can take a look at the chart and see the exact setting they would need to get the ball flight that they desire.
Once you have your driver set, you will likely not change it all that often.
Of course, if you start to struggle with your game and you notice that you can’t get the ball to perform the way it did in the past, this is a time to look into changing the settings.
4. Windy Day On The Course
For windy days on the golf course, it is a good idea to keep the ball as low as you can.
A lower penetrating golf shot is going to keep the ball cutting through the wind.
With a little practice, all golfers can learn how to keep the ball flight down and hit shots that are often referred to as wind cheaters.
Having this type of ability makes it much easier to score and play some better golf.
For a windy day, you will want to adjust your swing to lower the loft of the club a bit, but you have to be careful of the left side of the golf course.
Players who overdo it when it comes to a loft adjustment are going to notice that the left side of the golf course can get in their way and cause them some harm.
The best way to avoid this is to make other adjustments in your swing that will slightly lower the loft.
Instead of closing the clubface so much, try and simply play the ball a bit further back in your stance.
In addition, try to hold the finish of the shot so that you don’t completely release the club with its full loft.
A windy day requires some adjustments to your game, but don’t get so involved that it can end up harming your score.
5. Soft Landing On A Green
Last, you may want to increase the loft of a shot that is heading into a green.
There are a few reasons for this, including the pin being upfront or the greens are really hard.
In addition, there could be times when a soft landing on the green is necessary to avoid the trouble that is behind the green.
Whatever your reasoning is, it is important that you understand all that is involved with these softer landings.
The best way to go about this is to increase the loft of your club slightly.
When you increase the loft, you are going to turn the club up a little, and as that happens, the face angle will also become a bit open.
Hitting a shot with an open clubface will lead to a fade.
A fade can be a great shot for a soft landing.
However, you will have to make sure that you make the necessary adjustments in the swing so that the fade does not put you into trouble on the course.
Try to position your body so that you can hit the ball just left of the pin.
So many golfers take this situation to the extreme and start positioning their bodies so that they are much too far to the left of the target to prepare for a fade.
If, for some reason, the ball does not fade (which does happen), you will be in a situation where you may not even be on the green.
Instead, ensure that you are going to keep the ball on the green and that things look as they should in your own swing so that, regardless of how you hit it, you still get a piece of the green.
Overcorrecting is one of the biggest mistakes that golfers make.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you now can see that loft will impact the face angle of a golf club.
You will need to adjust your golf stance and swing accordingly to make sure that the loft adjustments are not going to cause you to hit very poor or erratic shots.
The more you learn how to manipulate the face of a club and play around with these parameters, the more golf shots you can learn to hit.
Overall, to be a great player, you will need to know how to hit a variety of different golf shots.
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