You've been thinking about purchasing a set of clubs for a while and then magically, an offer appears in your email box offering an amazing price for a set of high quality clubs. You're ready to purchase them based on price alone because it's a top quality brand name. I recommend you think again.
It's a common myth that if a club costs more, it will improve your game. But just like having a Porche doesn't make you a better driver, a better club doesn't make you a better golfer. Think about it: are drivers really worth $650 to $1100? Are a set of irons worth $1,500 to $3,000? If you ask the manufacturers who spend millions of dollars trying to promote their clubs, they'll say yes. The fact is that paying higher prices does not lower one's handicap, but buying a properly chosen club will do that, even if it ends up being a less expensive one.
Once you have achieved a decent level of play (which I understand means different things to differnet golfers), you can then consider purchasing custom clubs with proper fitting. And even then, I recommend you go for value rather than show.
Below are some tips to consider to help choose the best set of clubs for you and your game:
1. The shaft is the axle of the club. The better the shaft, the better the club. The shaft flex has a major effect on the feel of a golf club and a medium effect on distance. If you do not know your speed swing, some local golf shops can measure it for you.
3. Shallow face metalwoods (such as Adams Tight Lies) are some of the bigggest game improvement clubs available. These clubs are easy to hit and extremely accurate due to their low center of gravity. Great for golfers of any level.
4. Beginners and novice players choosing a set make-up should consider eliminating the 2 and 3 irons from their set, replacing those hard to hit irons with a 5,7 or 9 wood, preferably shallow face models. Again, like the tip above illustrates, the shallow face metalwoods are an easy way to demonstrably improve your game.
5. Unless you shope at Big & Tall or Small & Short, all golfers should use standard length clubs. Standard length clubs allow players to hit the ball on center a higher percentage of the time, thus increasing distance and accuracy. In recent years, light weight titanium driver heads and Ultra-light graphite shafts have extended driver playing lengths from a standard 43-431/2" to 44-46". This is good news and bad news. The good news is, when you increase length, you increase distance. The longer the club, the more club head speed generated and thus more distance. The bad news though, is that the longer the club the more difficult it is to control, resulting in less accuracy. It is not worth sacrificing accuracy for the minimal amount of distance gained past 44". Keep driver playing lengths to 44" or less.
Hopefully these tips will help you to purchase the best golf clubs for your game, your experience and your size. Remember that the price and the clubs don't make the golfer, but practice does!
Author: Gary Gold
Author Bio:
Gary Gold has been playing golf for 26 years on some of the world's best courses. A retired management consultant, he now offers advice to golfers via his website: www.golfclbs.com. Visit him there for more tips on everything related to golf clubs.
