How To Measure Golf Club Loft

Most golfers understand and know what golf club loft is and how it affects the height and spin of the ball, but measuring it is another story and can be difficult if you don’t have the right equipment.

The golf club loft is calculated by measuring the resting angle of the clubface relative to the perpendicular line of the golf club shaft. This can be measured using a protractor which will not be as accurate as using the loft and lie machine that professionals use.

Let’s get into the workshop to understand what a golf club loft is and how to measure it, and then look at a step-by-step method to measure your golf club loft at home.

What Is Golf Club Loft

Before measuring golf club loft, we need to understand this term. Golf club loft is the angle created by the lie of the clubface on the ground and the 90-degree angle of the shaft in this position.

When the club is lying flat and the shaft is perpendicular to the ground, the clubface has an angle, and depending on the club, the angle can be steep or shallow.

When you see a sand wedge, for example, with the number ’56’ emblazoned on the sole, this indicates the club has 56 degrees of loft. You will often see this on the wedges, but you won’t see this information on the irons.

The driver may often indicate the loft on the shaft settings, so you can check your driver loft if your club has this flexible option.

What Does Golf Club Loft Mean

The loft describes how high the ball will go when struck, and higher lofted clubs will have a higher trajectory and less distance than lower lofted clubs.

While most iron sets will be increasing degrees of loft from the 3-iron / 4-iron through to the pitching wedge, most sets do not come with utility, sand, or lob wedges, and the individual golfer will determine the lofts of these clubs.

For example, an average 7-iron would have a loft of between 30 and 35 degrees and an average distance of 140 yards, depending on the age and skill of the golfer, while a sand wedge with 56 degrees of loft would only average around 90-100 yards.

So you can see the loft difference of 30 degrees decreases distance by around 40 yards. Knowing the loft on your clubs will determine how far and how high you hit each one, and this is vital for proper distance and flight control.

How Can You Measure Golf Club Loft At Home

This is not that easy to do, as your main challenge will be keeping the shaft upright as you try and measure the angle of the clubface.

If you have a vice, you could use that to secure the golf club by the clubface or the grip, but you need to be careful not to damage either part.

Use some protective material like rubber or cloth, place it around the clubface’s perimeter, and then set it in the vice, ensuring that the shaft is 90 degrees to the ground. The shaft must be at this angle so you can accurately measure the loft angle.

Once the club is secured, you can use a protractor to check the angle between the club face and the shaft. Place the protractor on the vice and then check where the clubface angle lines up on the protractor.

While this is not the most accurate method to measure golf club loft, it will give you a pretty good idea of the golf club loft.

If you don’t have a vice, you can ask one of your golf buddies to hold the shaft straight so you can at least get an idea of the loft.

How Does The Lie And Loft Machine Work

The best way to measure lie and loft is to get a lie and loft machine, the same device the pro club fitters use.

This tool uses specialized grips to ensure the club stays locked in the same position throughout the process.

Because the club is always in the same position, it gives the club fitters consistency in measuring the club loft and then being able to measure it accurately once the adjustments have been made.

The T-Handle is the rotating crank that operates in conjunction with the toe-stop and sole rest to secure the clubface. While this device looks more like something out of brain surgery, it is a highly specialized gear.

Once the club is secured, the club fitter will use the loft angle scale on the machine to accurately measure the club loft and then measure it again once the adjustments have been made.

Remember that this machine is used by professional fitters to ‘tune’ the golf club loft and lie angles for pro players so they can hit the ball the precise distance they need to.

Do You Need To Measure Your Golf Club Loft

Knowing your precise distance with every club is vital to professional players, and this can often mean the difference between being on target to a few feet or yards and being short or long off the tee or to the green and losing shots.

For the average weekend player, measuring your club lofts will make no difference to your game other than from an interest perspective, as you don’t have the skills, consistency, and accuracy in your swing mechanics to warrant knowing or measuring your loft.

At lower handicap levels, perhaps sub-12 or better, having your lie angles sorted out and getting fitted will make a difference, but anything over that level is an exercise in futility.

This is not a slight on your ability, but at that level of 14-handicap or higher, your focus is really on getting and keeping the ball in play. At the same time, the shape, flight, and distance are educated guesses rather than pinpoint reliability.

While wedges will have their lofts marked, the rest of your clubs will not be, provided you can hit them straight; measuring your golf club loft does not matter.

Conclusion

You can measure your golf club loft at home or have it done professionally if you wish, and using the home option with a protractor will certainly give you an indication of the loft; and, while not in tenths of degrees, it will be sufficient to determine the loft angle.

References

• https://franklygolf.com/howtomeasurewedgeloft
• https://www.golfcartreport.com/how-to-measure-golf-club-loft-angle/
• https://sites.google.com/site/learngolfbasics/golf-kit/club-loft-distance