How To Choose Golf Clubs

Learning how to choose golf clubs that will improve and bring more enjoyment to your game starts with an honest evaluation of your skills.

A NASCAR racecar is fast, but it is faster in the hands of Dale Earnhardt Jr. than it is with Joe Racefan behind the wheel. Along these lines, Tiger Woods would perform better with a three thousand dollar set of golf clubs than would Joe Golffan. For that matter, Tiger Woods would perform better with a two hundred dollar set of golf clubs than would Joe Golffan.

Picking the highest priced clubs is not necessarily how to choose golf clubs. The price tag is not inversely related to your handicap.

Retuning to the NASCAR analogy, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s racecar will be faster with Dale Jr. behind the wheel than it will with Michael Waltrip behind the wheel. Why? Because the car has been set up not only for the track it is racing on, but for the driving style of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Learning how to choose golf clubs suited for your playing style and the courses you frequent can have a significant improvement on your game and does not have to cost a lot of money.

If you are the type of person who has to have brand name everything, than there is an expensive set of golf clubs out there that will improve your game. But the key to knowing how to choose golf clubs is to analyze your game, honestly discover your shortcomings and purchase a set of clubs that will help improve upon them.

If, despite a hundred trips to the driving range, you cannot quite seem to get any more range out of your tee or mat shots, then maybe it is time to choose a different set of woods.

Modern design and materials research has resulted in woods with the following improvements to increase range:

Graphite and composite shafts allow more shaft flex when driving through the ball. This allows the shaft of the wood to have an almost spring effect as it comes through the contact area, adding more impact to the drive.

Higher loft angles and lower centers of gravity are now designed into most woods. This allows for most of the weight in the club head to be below the equator of the ball, promoting more loft for better trajectory and more travel distance.

Lighter shafts and club heads improve your ability to increase head speed through your swing.

Learning how to choose golf clubs to improve your game extends beyond woods, of course. After one or two strokes, getting the ball from the fairway to the green usually requires the use of irons.

Again, composite materials used for the shaft and head can greatly improve distance and consistency of shot. The length of the head on an iron, as measured from the head to toe, affects accuracy, as does how the head is weighted.

Parameter weighted heads are more forgiving, while more weight behind the center of the head will improve distance but require more accurate contact with the center of the ball.

Getting to the green can sometimes be the easiest part of the game. Getting the ball into the cup in the fewest strokes once you get there can be the most challenging.

If you find that you tend to putt long, consider a blade type putter, which is lighter and offers better feel. A blade type putter made of brass will absorb more energy from the swing, slowing the ball down even more.

If you find that you to put too short, perhaps a mallet type putter is for you. With more weight behind the ball, the ball will travel further with the same stroke.

Regardless of the subtleties (or exaggerations, for that matter) of your game, learning how to choose golf clubs can inspire drastic improvement.