The less hard you hit the ball, the more loft you need to maximize your distance (because of air resistance). So more loft helps both because the shorter shaft

The less hard you hit the ball, the more loft you need to maximize your distance (because of air resistance). So more loft helps both because the shorter shaft of a wood vs a driver (which makes it easier to make good contact) limits how hard you can hit the ball, and also because amateur golfers can't hit it as hard as a pro would (and if you try to hit it as hard as possible, you're more likely to make poor contact).