Which Golf Club Is Designed To Hit The Ball With The Highest Launch Angle?

All things being equal the launch angle will relate to the loft of the golf club. This means that a lob wedge is designed to hit the ball with the highest launch angle because it is designed with more loft than any other golf club.

What Does Launch Angle Mean In Golf?

Launch angle is measured in degrees and is the angle between the ground and the initial direction of the ball after impact.

Assuming you are striking the ball correctly the more lofted the club you are using the higher the launch angle you will get.

Optimizing your launch angle for your ball speed and spin rate is important for improving the distance you can hit your clubs and increasing the consistency of your shots.

What Is Loft In Golf?

Loft is the angle between the clubface and the vertical when the club is sat with the shaft vertical to the ground.

The greater the degree of loft the higher the ball will launch and the more spin will be applied.

Clubs like the driver and fairway woods have the least loft and will hit the ball the farthest.

Short irons and wedges have the most loft and will hit the ball the shortest. Although the length of the shaft also affects this as well.

A putter will typically have around 4° of loft.
Drivers will generally have between 8° and 11° of loft.
Fairway woods will have between 14.5° and 23.5° of loft.
Hybrids would usually have between 17° and 34° of loft.
Irons usually have between 19° and 47° of loft. (power spec and retro spec)
Wedges will have between 44.5° and 60° of loft usually. (power spec and retro spec)

Different manufacturers will produce clubs with slightly different specifications. Modern iron sets for example tend to have less loft than has traditionally been the case. The above ranges are taken from the Ping G425 specifications.

What Is Static Loft In Golf?

Static loft is just another name for loft. It refers to the angle that the club is built with.

What Is Dynamic Loft In Golf?

Dynamic loft refers to the angle between the clubface and the vertical at the point of impact during your golf swing. With fairway woods, hybrids, irons and wedges the ideal swing would see you presenting less loft at impact to produce better quality strikes.

Touring pros in particular will tend to deloft their clubs at impact by quite significant amounts.

Conversely, many amateurs will add dynamic loft at impact leading to improper strikes and a lack of distance.

Which Golf Club Has The Highest Loft Angle?

Historically this sand wedge was the most lofted club in most people’s bags with a loft of 56°.

In recent years the lob wedge has grown in popularity and has lofts in the range of 58° to 64°. Although you can find lob wedges with up to 80° of loft!

How Do Loft And Launch Angle Relate?

Assuming you are not manipulating the face then the greater the loft of the club the higher the launch angle will be.

Launch monitor data shows that the launch angle is determined by a combination of the dynamic loft and the angle at which your club is traveling (the attack angle). The dynamic loft is the primary determinant accounting for around 80% to 90% of the launch angle.

So if you need to get the ball up quickly you need to maximize the loft on your club!

What Is The Best Launch Angle For A Driver?

This will depend upon your clubhead speed and spin rate. There is an excellent chart provided by Ping showing the optimal combinations of spin, angle of attack and launch angle to maximize the distance of your drives.

For example, if your ball speed is 150 mph and you have a 0° angle of attack then to achieve your maximum driver carry you need to launch the ball at 12.4° with 2600 spin.

See how far you should be hitting the ball.

What Is The Ideal Launch Angle For A Seven Iron?

Again this will depend on your attack angle, clubhead speed and spin rate. You should also consider that with a seven iron you are looking to achieve consistent distances rather than just hitting the ball as far as possible.