Choosing the right golf clubs can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be if you simplify it and understand the basics.
Whether you’re a seasoned golfer or are a novice, having the right golf club is critical.
With the right clubs, you can easily change your ability to play on the golf course. What’s more, you’ll also cut down your handicap. If you’re buying golf clubs for the first time, here are tips to help you the right choice.
Don’t be in a Hurry
Today, there are numerous golf clubs in the market such that finding one that meets your standards becomes a challenge not only for novice players but also for seasoned players too. The golf club you choose will depend on your set budget as well as your playing ability.
Remember, purchasing a new golf club can be a huge investment and you want to conduct sufficient research before making any concrete decision.
Don’t Focus on the Brand
If you’re a fan of international events, you’ll think that purchasing a certain brand of golf clubs will have an impact on your ability to score as you’ve seen your favorite professionals do. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with wanting good quality products.
However, you want to be flexible enough to try other brands and get a feel of the diverse brands.
Just as any other industry today, the golf club continues to advance as technology evolves. The only way to discover new designs and technology is by purchasing hardly known brands. Often, they come with advanced technology which you can leverage to improve your playing skills.
Consider the Grip ThicknessÂ
The grip thickness can highly influence the impact of your swing. A thin rip will give golfers huge hand actions and this can proceed to the swing. If the grip is too thick on the other hand, your hands will be restricted and this will have a negative impact.
More on golf grips.
With a proper grip, you can easily hold the golf club with your left-hand ring and middle fingers. If your finger doesn’t get into contact with your thumb while you’re holding the club, this is an indication that the rip is extremely big.
The Shaft
When it comes to the shaft, you should get the right length depending on your body type, height, and physical strength. The rule of thumb, in this case, states that tall players require a longer shaft to maximize their playing. Another thing you need to factor in is the shaft flex and how appropriate it is to your swing.
If you choose a shaft that’s too stiff, chances are high that you’ll struggle with the loss of distance and low ball flight. If your shaft is too soft on the other hand, you’ll struggle with ballooning which will result in a loss in distance. How then can you determine the correctness of the shaft flex? If you notice that your ball is taking the left direction on impact, your shaft is too soft. If it flies to the left, your shaft is too stiff.
Loft
The loft or loft angle is the edge that a line traversing across the shaft’s center and the club’s face forms. It’s measured in degrees. If a golf club has a low loft, it will hit the ball further compared to a club that has a high loft. On the other hand, a club with a higher loft will hit the ball u in a descending manner on a steep angle.
You can check the status of the left by assessing the section of the club’s face that’s angled upwards, as well as checking the section of the face that’s directed further away from the shaft. If a clubface has a low level of loft, it’ll seem to be more vertically angled compared to one with a high level of the loft.
The Club Head
Get varied club head sizes to maximize your golf experience. Many of the available sizes include midsize, standard, and oversized heads. The size you choose depends on how experienced you are.
In general, the bigger the club head the better your swing will be. Still, you can achieve a good result from a poor hit especially when you’re using an oversized head. One important factor to remember when it comes to oversized club heads is: controlling them can be a difficult task.
Essential Golf Clubs for Novice Players
Starting u on a new sport can be exciting and you’ll want to buy the best gear there is in the market. If you’re a beginner, however, you’ll need to be cautious before you proceed to buy your golf gear. To get the best golf gear, you need to take time as we’ve already mentioned above. Desist from purchasing advanced golf clubs before you’re experienced enough in the sport.
Where possible, beginners can start their journey by first watching a proper grip golf video just to get a glimpse of what to expect. From there, experts say that borrowing a set of golf clubs would be ideal. If you can’t borrow, then purchasing second-hand pieces is better than investing in new ones before you’re sure about what you want.
Best Golf Clubs for Beginners – The Perfect Guide
Understand the Game and Clubs First
It takes familiarity with the game and the clubs to gauge your expectations and single out your preferred clubs. You want to forego top brands at this point. Your beginner set should include 3-wood and a driver, a putter, and odd-numbered irons that is 9,7,5, and 3.
In addition to choosing between correct golf grip right hand and left and women’s and men’s clubs, you may want to choose between graphite or steel shaft clubs. As a beginner, steel shafts are ideal because they’re less expensive and more durable.
Essential Golf Clubs for Slightly Experienced & Seasoned Golfers
If you already have more than one year of experience, you want to proceed to the next step of the sport by having a collection of clubs customized to meet your ability and physical features. Slightly Experienced players, for instance, need to start getting more club heads as they build their experience and enhance their performance.
Experienced players can purchase golf clubs from some of the top brands and models. At this point, many of them are aware of their weaknesses and strengths and can leverage that to choose the clubs that work best for them.
Seasoned Golfers
Experienced players may also consider personalized fitting which involves customizing the club flex, shaft length, loft, and club head lie to fit their specifications. These steps are a great investment for you if you’re considering playing golf for the long term.
Here is a great blog post on how to make your own custom clubs.
Type of Golf Clubs
Let’s check out the various types of golf clubs you can choose from.
Driver
The Driver is utilized off the tee on long holes. The driver helps you hit the ball as far as possible. The driver is measured in cubic centimeters and the biggest recommended driver head is 460cc. Many drivers are made using carbon composite or titanium because the materials are lighter compared to steel.
This allows the manufacturers to increase the head size without making the club too heavy. If you plan to buy second hand or drivers produced before January 2008, you want to make sure that they are still valid for use in club competitions. Currently, the maximum authorized coefficient of restitution is 0.83. What this means is that when you hit the golf ball at a 1mph clubface, the rebound will be 83mph. In cases where the rebound is higher than that, the driver is said to be illegitimate.
Wedge
The wedge golf club is ideal if you’re looking to improve your scores. Having the right wedge is critical if you want to enhance your entire game. The wedge loft comprises of:
- Pitching wedge. With a 46 and 50 degrees loft, the pitching wedge comes in handy to execute shots of approximately 12 yards into the hole.
- The sand wedge is usually used for bunker play and comes with a 54 to 58 degrees loft.
- Gap or Approach Wedge is more lofted compared to the pitching wedge. It comes with a 50 to 55-degree loft.
- Lob wedge comes with a 6 to 64-degree wedge and is perfect for achieving high flights from short distances.
Other golf club types include:
Remember:
When a golf club comes with a higher number, it’ll often have a short club shaft length
If the golf club number is higher, the loft will be higher
When it comes to shafts, steel woods help you to gain a low and more accurate ball flight while graphite woods are more popular because they propel the ball further
In terms of design, manufacturers provide various choices to choose from. They include: draw, offset, and neutral designs. Further, the weight has been accumulated inside the clubhead and this comes in handy to keep the club square on impact.