Let you game choose your Golf Clubs
For over a hundred years golf has been played with basically the same
set of clubs. The traditional set includes 3 woods (1, 3, 5), 11 irons
(2-9, PW, SW) and a putter. Does this configuration work for
everyone. No way! It's time to take a brand new look at what
a
golf club set can and should be. Instead of selecting clubs based on
"tradition", why not select clubs based on what YOUR golf game
requires.
Playing the game of golf requires many kinds of shots. Sometimes a shot
requires distance and sometimes accuracy. Some shots we hit from a tee,
some from short grass and sometimes from ungodly places like rough,
sand and dry dirt (hardpan). Each situation requires a different club.
Based on our abilities, some shots will be relatively easy and some
will be very difficult.
If the shot requires a 200 yard carry over water to a tight pin on a
small green, the right club for a beginner, intermediate or advanced
golfer will be different. The beginner will need all the help and
forgiveness possible (they might even need 2 shots). The intermediate
may need a little less forgiveness but still wants to be comfortable
with their club. The advanced player may want more subtle
characteristics of feel and clubhead response that a beginner can't
even imagine. In the past all three were left with only a few choices.
Thankfully today there are many more.
Which Golf Clubs are most important
As mentioned, golf requires several kinds of shots - drives, long
approach shots, short approach shots, pitches, chips, sand shots, putts
and a variety of so-called trouble shots. By far the most frequent shot
is a putt. For an average golfer, the putter is used more than twice as
much as any other club. If a golfer shoots a score of 100, 35%- 40% of
those strokes will be putts. So based on shear numbers, the putter is
the most important club.
For most golfers, the driver is used the next most often-a possible 14
times from the tee, or roughly 12-20% of the time depending on ability
level and hole requirements. That first shot from the tee sets the tone
for the hole. That makes it a very important club. A good drive makes
the rest of the shots on that hole easier. A bad drive means ...well
trouble.
For beginners who have a hard time hitting the green in a regulation
number of strokes, the wedges may be the second most used category of
clubs. On a good day a beginner may hit 1-4 greens. So they spend a lot
of strokes chipping up to the green (15-20).
The remaining strokes in a round are spread among the rest of the set.
It is likely that no one club will be used more than a few times. So in
terms of frequency of use, the putter, driver and wedges are clearly
used the most frequently with the rest of the clubs bringing up the
rear.
On the other hand, the importance of a club has a lot to do with it's
effect on our games. A club that has the potential to cause problems
(strokes) must be given added weight. The more difficult a club is to
hit the more likely that it may cause disaster. The driver, the long
irons, and fairway woods are the most likely culprits to cause that
errant shot that never is heard from again. Good bye ball.
It's no coincidence that these problem clubs are also the longest clubs
in the set. We can all agree that the longer the club, the harder to
hit. As our abilities improve we can begin to take advantage of what
the longer clubs offer (distance) but to help our games now, finding
forgiving versions of these clubs is a priority. Thankfully, we have
many new possibilities with higher lofted drivers, fairway woods and
the new hybrid clubs.
Let's take a look at how a set for a beginner, intermediate and an
advanced golfer could be configured.
Beginners set of Golf Clubs
Profile
As a beginner you have a hard time making consistent contact with the
ball. Contact on the heel and toe of the club is common as well as
topped and fat shots (hitting the top of the ball or hitting the ground
first). You just plain have a problem hitting the ball with the center
of the clubface.
Your swing speed is slow due to inexperience with proper swing
mechanics (although you younger, athletic beginners may be the
exception). For you women and juniors, clubhead speed is slow due to
lack of strength. This causes difficulty getting the ball up in the air
as well as lack of distance.
As beginner you may also have trouble getting the clubhead back to the
ball in a square position. Your clubhead generally approaches the ball
from outside of the target line (out-to-in) and at a steep angle. That
usually means your typical shot shape is a slice - a shot that curves
right.
You often feel that it's difficult to get the ball up in the air. This
can be due to your slow swing speed or just from poor contact.
Beginners tend to want to help the ball up by scooping under the ball,
so you frequently hit fat shots particularly with your irons. You
haven't learned that hitting down on the ball makes it go up. This is
also caused by that out-to-in, steep swing path.
Profile
As a beginner you have a hard time making consistent contact with the
ball. Contact on the heel and toe of the club is common as well as
topped and fat shots (hitting the top of the ball or hitting the ground
first). You just plain have a problem hitting the ball with the center
of the clubface.
Your swing speed is slow due to inexperience with proper swing
mechanics (although you younger, athletic beginners may be the
exception). For you women and juniors, clubhead speed is slow due to
lack of strength. This causes difficulty getting the ball up in the air
as well as lack of distance.
As beginner you may also have trouble getting the clubhead back to the
ball in a square position. Your clubhead generally approaches the ball
from outside of the target line (out-to-in) and at a steep angle. That
usually means your typical shot shape is a slice - a shot that curves
right.
You often feel that it's difficult to get the ball up in the air. This
can be due to your slow swing speed or just from poor contact.
Beginners tend to want to help the ball up by scooping under the ball,
so you frequently hit fat shots particularly with your irons. You
haven't learned that hitting down on the ball makes it go up. This is
also caused by that out-to-in, steep swing path.
A beginner's driver should have a larger head (over 430cc) to increase
the size of the hitting area. Additional loft (12-15 degrees) will get
the ball in the air. Added loft once again will increase backspin and
make those left to right curves less pronounced.
Putting is something that, with practice, could be better. It doesn't
take great athletic ability to be a decent putter. It's still hard for
a beginner to judge distances so 3 putts are still common. Alignment is
an issue because you haven't learned that you want to keep your head
directly over the ball. Contact can still be inconsistent.
Beginner Golf Club Set Configuration
So what is a good club set configuration for a beginner?
To begin with, a beginner does not need as many clubs. You are allowed
14 clubs but a beginner needs no more than 10-12 clubs. Why make the
game more confusing? A new golfer will find that they hit many of their
longer clubs the same distance (especially women and seniors). Only
when they get down to their 7-PW will they begin to hit clubs different
distances.
Super Game Improvement irons are the choice for maximum forgiveness.
SGI clubs will offer maximum perimeter weighting, larger offset, a wide
sole, and low center of gravity. Club choices can be 6 iron through
pitching wedge or 6-sand wedge. The sand wedge selection should offer
extra "bounce." Bounce is the feature on the sole of the club that
helps it easily glide through sand or rough.
The first clubs to leave out are the long irons (3, 4). Your iron set
should start with the 5 or 6 iron and go up to the sand wedge (SW). For
longer shots use lofted woods (5, 7, 9) and hybrid clubs (3, 4, 5). You
may find you still hit them all about the same distance, so if you can
experiment, test them all to see which ones feel the best. Leave the
ones that you don't hit well in the bag or at home.
The right set also depends on swing speed. Swing speeds between, 65-80
mph (women, juniors and some seniors) will need more woods and hybrid
clubs and generally more loft to help get the ball up in the air.
Average male swing speeds of 80-90 mph can begin to add a few more
irons (5-6) but you still want to use hybrids and lofted woods instead
of long irons. Woods are always easier to hit for beginners. Their
larger heads and flat soles compared to irons create more confidence.
Slightly shortened versions of 3, 5, and 7 woods (-.5") are highly
recommended for all beginners regardless of swing speed.
The driver should have a 440-460 cc titanium head. The new large headed
drivers are easier to hit even though still the longest club in the
bag. Make sure you have extra loft to increase accuracy and distance.
If you find you still have problems hitting it accurately, try choking
up an inch or so.
For a putter, you want one of the new large headed mallet putters.
These new putters have greater MOI (they don't twist on mishits) and
their alignment aids make short putts much easier.
Set configuration - Woods (1, 5, 7), Hybrids (4,
5), Irons (Super Game Improvement) (6-SW), Putter (Mallet)
Recommended GigaGolf Set
Driver-Acer XP 905 (460cc) 12 degrees
Woods-Acer XP 905 (5, 7
Irons-Acer XP High Trajectory (6-SW)
Hybrids-Acer XP (4, 5)
Putter-Ecliptic 3-Ball
Intermediate Set of Golf Clubs
Profile
As an intermediate, you are beginning to make consistent contact with
the ball. Your irons are more accurate and going the expected distances
so you are hitting more greens (3-6 per round). Your club head speed is
going up, along with more consistent center of the face contact, so
you're starting to get more distance with all your clubs.
You still need help around the greens but now you know how to hit down
on the ball so you can begin to try some additional wedges. You'd also
like more options from 100 yards and in. You realize that your short
game is where you can take a lot of strokes off your score.
Your drives are still inconsistent. Your distance could be better but
accuracy may still be more of a problem. That great round is often
ruined by those 2 or 3 drives into big trouble.
You still don't hit those long irons very well (maybe you never will)
but given a good lie you can crank that 5 iron out there every once in
a while. You'd like more distance and consistency for those longer
approach shots (180-220 yards). Those long par 4s are still hard to
reach.
You still fight that slice but now it's often more of a fade. Sometimes
when you really get through the ball it can even move right to left - a
wee draw. You're starting to feel like you know where the ball is going.
The Ideal Set
The ideal set for the intermediate golfer would start with Game
Improvement irons. You still need forgiveness but you'd also like a
little more feel and control. If you tend to hit your irons well you
might be ready to consider a regular 4 iron otherwise stay with your
hybrid 4.
For your distance clubs add a little less loft on those fairway woods
and hybrids to maximize distance. You might be ready to drop your 5
hybrid and replace it with a 3 hybrid.
Your driver is still oversized with about 10-12 degrees of loft to
maximize distance and accuracy. Shaft selections may be the most
important component. You want a shaft that matches your swing speed and
ball flight requirements. Perhaps a draw bias to help get the drive
moving a little more right to left.
Your wedges can be reconfigured. A gap wedge or a lob wedge are
possibly good additions. If three wedges are your choice you may want
to distribute the lofts from your PW to your LW (46, 52, 58 degrees).
You may want wedges with less bounce so you can hit them off of tighter
lies.
For a putter an intermediate may have already settled on what works for
them, but if you are ready to try something new, one of the new MOI
maxed mallets would be a good choice.
Set configuration - Woods (1, 4, 5) Hybrids (3, 4) Irons
(Game Improvement) (5-PW, SW, LW), Putter
GigaGolf Set
Driver-Power Play System Q (455cc) 12 degrees
Woods-Power Play System Q (3, 5)
Irons-Power Max GX920 (5-PW, SW, GW)
Hybrids-Power Play System Q (3, 4)
Putter-Ecliptic 3 Ball
Advanced Set of Golf Clubs
Profile
Your game is strong but ready for fine tuning. It's about the details
for you. You hit most shots pretty solid. Now you want to be able to
work the ball and control trajectory better. You hit 8-10 greens in
regulation but to hit more you'll need clubs you can really feel.
Your drives are consistent but a little extra distance wouldn't hurt.
Those par 5s are starting to be reachable in 2 especially if you only
had just a bit more distance.
Your long irons are sometimes strong but still inconsistent. Those
200-230 yard shots to the green can still be a challenge.
From 100 yards in you are very strong. You just need to fine tune those
wedges and get the most short game options possible.
The Ideal Set
The ideal set for an advanced player would start with some Players
Irons. These clubs have less perimeter weighting and a thinner topline.
They have minimal offset and a more traditional look. They are easy to
move the ball right to left and left to right. You can really feel the
ball and tell where it's going.
Driver would have a little less loft (9-10 degrees). Make sure the
shaft is correct for your swing speed and ball flight. The trial and
error process may be required to get the shaft that feels just right to
you.
Fairway woods and long irons are the critical clubs to make those long
par 4s and par 5 reachable. You may want to find that perfect 3 wood
for the par 5s and that 2 hybrid for high soft-landings on those long
par 4s. This may also take some trial and error and certainly a solid
club fitting.
Your wedge options are where the details start to really count. Finding
the right combination of loft, feel and bounce to fit your requirements
is the name of the game. Much depends on what loft you have on your
pitching wedge. You want 5-6 degrees between clubs up from there.
For an advanced player, custom fitting of shafts and club lofts to your
game requirements becomes much more important. You want to make sure
you can cover every 10-15 yards down from your longest club. You also
want to be able to control trajectory for whatever shot requirements
pop up - high and soft for small or hard greens and low and boring for
wind and knock downs.
Set configuration - Woods (1, 3, 5) Hybrids (3) Irons
(Players) (4-PW, SW, LW), Putter
GigaGolf Set
Driver-Pursuit TC420, 9.5 degrees
Woods-Acer XP 905 (3, 5)
Irons-Pursuit m510 Blade (4-PW)
Wedges-Pursuit X-5 52 & 58 degrees
Hybrids-Acer XP (3)
Putter-Soft Roll Polymer
