Club Heads

The design features of a club head are of great importance from both a technical and aesthetic aspect.

Shape, weight distribution, centre of gravity location, face angle (woods), swing weight, loft, M.O.I. (moment of inertia) and material all have an effect on performance, some to a greater effect than others.

Regarding the woods, loft and face angle make the most noticeable differences in ball flight in terms of launch angle and direction. Launch angle, especially off the tee is a major consideration for distance. In order to achieve the most advantageous launch angle the correct loft of a driver has to be determined. Two main areas a clubfitter will look at in order to recommend a driver loft for a golfer are club head speed through impact and the angle of attack of the clubhead as it approaches the ball.

The centre of gravity (C.O.G.) in a driver head can also influence the launch angle of the ball. The further back and lower the C.O.G. the higher the launch angle can be. In irons there is far less scope for moving the C.O.G. back because of the nature of iron head shapes but certainly an iron head design with a wider sole & lot of bottom weighting to it; thereby moving the C.O.G. lower & a little further back, will help in terms of getting the ball a little higher; assuming a reasonably well struck shot.

The position of the leading edge of the club face in relation to the centre line of the shaft plays a big part in the resulting ball flight. Club heads with a certain amount of ‘offset’ are generally easier to get the ball airborne & can promote a straighter ball flight for those who tend to slice. Again this is because the C.O.G. has been moved further back from the shaft line.

Offset Driver

Driver with "Offset"

No Offset Driver

Conventional Driver - "No Offset"

Don’t be fooled into thinking that a stronger lofted driver will make you hit the ball further. It all depends on those two important factors of clubhead speed & clubhead angle of attack. We all know of someone who constantly moans about their driver saying they hit their 3 wood twenty yards further. A quick analysis of their driver & we’ll probably see too little loft on the clubface to achieve a decent launch angle of the ball given their swing speed. That fact coupled with the driver probably being too long in the shaft to achieve consistent striking & its no wonder their 3 wood out performs the driver. A properly fitted driver for that golfer would undoubtedly see consistently longer, higher & straighter drives.

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