Golf Club Loft Chart

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Understanding how the loft of your clubs impacts ball flight is critical in becoming a better golfer. Our golf club loft chart covers all the standard measurements, plus learn how these lofts can affect your game.

A Quick Explanation of Club Loft

The golf club’s loft is the angle in degrees between the clubface and the ground.

This angle helps determine how high the ball will go and how far it will travel. If you were to bend your 8-iron down, it would travel closer to the distance of a 7-iron. Ideally, your clubs are gapped so you can find a suitable club to hit from any distance without overlapping.

Each club manufacturer uses slightly different lofts for their clubs, but they fall within a standard range. Typically, pro lofts tend to be a little higher, while game improvement lofts tend to be a little lower. This is due to higher handicap players having less power and valuing distance.

Average Golf Club Loft Chart

Here’s a table containing the average lofts for woods, hybrids, irons, and putters.

Printable Golf Club Loft Chart

If you’d like to print this chart, click the image below or download this golf club loft chart pdf.

Checking the Loft of Your Clubs

The expected loft of your clubs can be checked by looking up your manufacturer and club model. However, due to variations in manufacturing, your clubs may vary from these values slightly.

You can take your clubs to a golf club shop or fitter and ask them to measure your club lofts. They will use a loft and lie machine. Buying one of these machines yourself would cost $500 – $1,500, but you may be able to find a used one if you’re interested in learning to do this yourself.

Changing the Loft of Your Clubs

Many irons can be bent to adjust the loft. However, some types of metal are at risk of breaking, so they cannot. A club fitter will be able to advise on your options. Generally, an iron can be bent 2 degrees either way (sometimes up to 3-4 degrees). Each degree represents about 2-4 yards.

You might consider changing the loft of one of your irons if the gapping is not standard between them. For example, if your 7-iron goes 160 yards, your 8-iron goes 145, and your 9-iron goes 140, you might need to strengthen your 8-iron a bit.

Adjusting Club Loft at Impact

While your golf club has a set loft, this may not be the loft presented to the golf ball at impact. This is due to your unique swing. If you flip the club in front of your hands, you’ll increase the loft, while keeping your hands ahead of the ball will decrease the loft.

By practicing your hand position at impact on the range, you can learn how to hit slightly different distances and trajectories when needed. This is especially helpful when avoiding trouble like hitting over or under a tree.

Lofts for Different Types of Clubs

Driver

These typically range between 8 and 10.5 degrees but can also be much lower. Lower lofts often result in longer drives that roll further, but if you don’t hit the ball high enough with an upward angle of attack, you’ll see diminishing returns for going low. It’s best to get fitted for the right launch angle.

Woods & Hybrids

Looking at the woods and hybrids, you’ll see some similar lofts to the long irons; however, for many golfers, you’ll find it’s easier to get the ball launched in the air with these clubs than with an iron. The numbers on hybrids are typically similar to their corresponding iron (e.g., 3 hybrid and 3 iron). However, woods are numbered differently.

Irons

When considering iron lofts, the goal is to have a reasonable distance gap between each club, so you always have a good option for each distance. You may find it challenging to get the ball off the ground at lower lofts, and at this point, you should switch to a wood or hybrid.

Wedges

Wedges are often the most customized among club lofts and have the widest variety. What you pick here will be determined by the type of shots you like to hit and the courses you play on. A higher lofted lob wedge will stop faster on a quick green, while a slightly lower sand wedge is perfect for standard bunker play.

Putters

Finally, the putter has enough loft to prevent the ball from digging into the ground. But you also don’t want the ball to pop off the club and bounce, or it will be tough to control the distance. A proper putter fitting can ensure the ball rolls smoothly off the club.

Kyle J. Larson

Kyle is an avid golfer who has played since around the age of 12. Over the last few years, he's lowered his handicap from the mid-20s to a 5 through lessons and practice. When he's off the course, he is a professional web designer.