Not using this simple tool could be costing you shots

With the Masters in the rearview mirror, many golfers are headed to the driving range or first tee for the first time in a while to shake off the winter rust. But if you’re struggling off the tee to start the season, there could be a simple fix in the bottom of your golf bag.

Let’s talk wrenches

Unless you are using a reduced-weight driver without an adjustable hosel, there’s a good chance you have a golf club torque wrench or two kicking around in one of the pockets of your bag. This simple little tool allows you to quickly and easily change the lie and loft of your driver with tour-level precision — which was completely unavailable to consumers not too long ago.

For any golfer worried about using a wrench on their adjustable driver, remember that these wrenches are purposefully designed to release and click the moment you’ve reached the right amount of tightness, so you don’t have to worry about over-tightening. Just hear that click and you’ll know it’s firmly locked in place.

A quick adjustment guide

So now that you’ve got that wrench out, let’s look at the most common ball flight issues and how to correct them.

Issue: Hitting it too high with too much spin

Solution: One of the biggest contributors to hitting the ball too high and with too much spin is too much loft delivered at impact. Adjusting to the lower loft setting on your adjustable hosel can quickly reduce the initial launch angle and help reduce spin. 

Issue: Hitting the ball too low 

Solution: If your ball flight has an extremely flat trajectory, it’s a good sign you need more loft and more spin to maximize your distance, especially if you play in soft or wet conditions. Adjusting to the higher loft setting on your adjustable hosel can quickly increase the initial launch angle and help increase spin and height. 

Issue: Slicing the ball

Solution: When available, you want to put any adjustable weight into the heel side of the club. Most OEMs have this marked as the draw weight setting, and whether it’s marked on the driver or not, it’s the placement that puts the weight closer to the shaft side of the head. This setting makes it easier to close the club face. 

The hosel settings you want to utilize will be to increase the loft and or make the club more upright. Like with irons, an adjustment in lie angle will help improve the start line and reduce curvature. Combining an upright setting with heel bias weight is your best bet to reduce your slice.  

Issue: Hooking the ball

Solution: For any adjustable weight, you want to have it placed in the back of the sole or out towards the toe.

As for hosel settings, you want to open the face by using a lower loft setting or if you are using a driver that has dual adjustments you want to place the hosel in the flattest possible setting to alter the start line.

PING G430 Max 10K Custom Driver

$599.99

The G430 MAX 10K is PING’s straightest and highest MOI driver to date, eclipsing the 10,000 g-cm2 combined moment of inertia threshold first surpassed by the G400 MAX five years earlier.
FIXED BACK WEIGHT
The fixed back weight allows for the record-setting MOI as it drives mass down and back to increase forgiveness and optimize the center of gravity position.
LARGER HEAD PROFILE
PING’s biggest head profile to date maximizes the USGA-allowable heel-toe and front-back dimensions while staying within the 460cc volume limit. This eye-pleasing shape helps square the golfer to the target and inspires the confidence to hit longer, straighter tee shots.

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So track those misses and don’t be afraid to use those wrenches!

Want to overhaul your bag for 2024? Find a True Spec fitting location near you.

Golf.com Editor

Ryan Barath is GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com’s senior editor for equipment. He has an extensive club-fitting and -building background with more than 20 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. Before joining the staff, he was the lead content strategist for Tour Experience Golf, in Toronto, Canada.