How to Choose Golf Clubs - Important Tips and Tricks • On The Golf Green

If you want to get serious with your golf game, you have to know how to choose golf clubs. With many types of clubs, brands, and club designs, it can be easy to get lost from these varieties.

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How to Choose Golf Clubs - Most Important Tips and Tricks

Golfing is a sport that starts with learning the equipment before honing your actual skills at the course.

With that, here are some essential tips on how to choose golf clubs.

How to Choose Golf Clubs: Club Construction

Let’s start your golf club learning with the club construction. It’s important to note that golf clubs come in all sizes and purposes.

However, there are general factors to consider for how many types of golf clubs are there when it comes to club construction.

By knowing this, you’re a step ahead on how to know what golf clubs to use.

Shaft Flex

One of the most critical elements of the construction of your golf club is the shaft flex. It determines the flight and distance that you can cover with your swing.

You have to find the right balance between a stiff and soft shaft.

Stiff or extra stiff shafts are best for golfers with an average swing of 100 mph. Meanwhile, you should you a regular flex if your usual swing goes as fast between 85-100 mph.

Finally, if your swing is below 85 mph, a flex shaft is your greatest option.

How to know what golf clubs to use when it comes to the shaft? Here’s a guide:

A shaft that is too still will often result in a slice to the right. This shot may then result in a lower ball flight and short distance shot.
A shaft that is too will often result in a hook to the left. This shot may then result in a loss in distance and a balloon shot.

To choose the right flex for your shaft, it would require you to evaluate your swing.

Here’s a guide on the right flex shaft on how to know what golf clubs to use depending on your swing range:

Extra stiff flex: 300 yards off the tee
Stiff flex: 250 yard
Regular flex: 225-250 yards
Senior flex: 200-225 yards
Ladies flex: Women with less 200 yard-shots

Three L’s: Length, Loft, Lie Angle

If you don’t know how many types of clubs are there, there are five major categories:

Woods
Irons
Putter
Wedges
Hybrids

Among these clubs, you will mostly be using the putter as your driver. The driver allows you to get through chokes along with the greens down to the fairway.

A good putter relies heavily on the quality of the three “L’s”: the length, loft, and lie angle. These three factors are also crucial for how many types of clubs are there.

To get the three L’s wrong for the putter is a crucial mistake as it can negatively affect your whole game. Using the driver, your primary goal is for the putter’s sole to be parallel to the ground.

Doing so would allow you to avoid pushes and pulls. Let’s dive deeper into the three L’s on how to choose golf clubs.

Length

You can evaluate the proper club length by measuring the golfer’s height and the shaft itself. The standard length is also different for men and women.

It’s best to visit a club-fitter on how to know what golf clubs to use that matches your height. Note that the longer the shaft, the further the ball would be away from your hands while swinging.

For longer clubs, such as irons, it would usually make use of graphite shafts. Graphite shafts consist of a flexible material so it can suit many different types of swings.

Loft

Next on the guidelines on how to know what golf clubs to use is by evaluating the loft. The loft is the angle of the golf’s clubface controlling the shot trajectory and affects the distance.

The right loft for how many types of golf clubs are there ensures that the ball doesn’t bounce. It will also allow you to hit straight shots and prevent off-line rolling to ensure that it reaches the hole.

You can determine how high the loft is by assessing how upward is the clubface’s angle. Hence, a high-lofted club would appear more horizontally angled.

What’s the difference between a high loft and a low loft when it comes to how to know what golf clubs to use?

High loft: A high loft allows you to hit a ball on a steeper angle when it rises into the air. Since it produces less sidespin, it enables you to consistently make a straight ball flight. High-lofted clubs are best to use by beginners.
Low loft: On the other hand, a low-lofted club would make the ball go further. However, it takes a higher level of skill to hit low-lofted clubs than high-lofted ones.

Lie Angle

Lie angle is the angle between the shaft’s center and the ground line when you measure the club at address position. The correct lie angle allows you to hit more accurate shots.

Do note that lie angle increases along with the loft.

How to know what golf clubs to use and not to use based on the lie angle?

When measuring the lie angle, what you will evaluate is if the club makes contact with the ground.
An off lie angle can result in hooks or slices when making a shot. It can result from a club that is either too upright or too flat on the ground at impact.

Choosing the Right Types of Clubs: Tips and Tricks

It can be tricky at the beginning to know how to choose cubs, depending on the types. Especially for beginners, it can be daunting to differentiate which club is which.

With so many golf club variations to choose from, how to choose golf clubs can be a challenging task. To ease your worries, here are some helpful tips and tricks on how to smartly choose your clubs:

Choose a Shorter Driver

When it comes to drivers, the general consensus is shorter, and closed clubs are better than long and neutral ones.

It is due to the fact that the longer the club, the more challenging it is to hit squarely for you. When it comes to slicing, a shorter club is also better with woods.

Use 3-Wood as an Alternative Driver

If you’ve been hitting just as far with your 3-wood club as your driver, then your driver doesn’t have enough loft. In this case, you might want to replace your driver with a wood configuration.

What you can do is to combine a 3-, 5-, 7- wood in your setup. This simple strategy may work better for you and increase your overall performance.

Opt for Hybrid Clubs

Hybrids are perhaps if not, the most flexible clubs in your bag. Since it is a mix of wood and iron materials, it provides you with the strengths of both.

Since its shape is closer to wood, hybrids are much easier to hit than irons.

Hybrids also have the length of irons so you can cover the same distance as you would from your iron. Furthermore, hybrids are conveniently forgiving when it comes to off-center hits.

The fun thing with hybrids is you can hit it easier and go the same distance as their matching iron at the same time.

Hence, the ultimate trick is to replace your irons with hybrids of the same length as not to lose any distance.

Buying the Right Wedge

Always keep in mind that wedges would highly depend on your home course structure. You have to take note of what obstacles you have to face in the course.

Here are the types of wedges that work for specific environments in the course:

Pitching wedge: The pitching wedge is best when approaching the green area from 50 to 120 yards.
Gap wedge: The gap wedge typically offers a shorter shot than a pitching wedge but more distance compared to sand wedge.
Lob wedge: The lob wedge works best for getting over hazards near the hole.
Sand wedge: The sand wedge is the club used to get the ball out of sand traps and bunkers.

Since each type of wedges has specific purposes, you have to make sure that you’re familiar with your home course.

The Ball Technology

The ball you’re playing with can also be a factor in how to choose golf clubs. The biggest one to consider when it comes to the ball is undoubtedly distance.

You also want a golf ball with a low spin-off when using a driver and high spin off a wedge. After all, your goal is to get to the green.

Important Guidelines Before Buying a Golf Club

After knowing the basics of how to choose golf clubs, you’re now a step closer to buying your clubs.

But before that, you have to consider a few more things before getting to the actual purchase. With how expensive golf clubs are, you don’t want to buy clubs hastily and regret it later on.

With that, here are some essential guidelines you need to remember before purchasing a golf club:

Assess Your Skill Level

Different skill levels require different sets of clubs.

Hence, you have to know where you currently are with your skill levels and handicaps. Note that a club choice that pro golfers use may be difficult or even impossible to use for beginners.

As such, it is important for beginners to be aware of the best clubs that work for their abilities.

Try it Out First Before Making Your Purchase

It may seem kind of obvious, but even average players can forget this once they’re in the middle of shopping. Take the time to try out and feel the golf clubs when you’re shopping at a golf store.

Most of these stores will have an area in their shop where you can try out clubs that they sell. Don’t ever make a blind purchase by not testing first before swiping your card.

Consider Custom Fitting

Or you can also consider custom fitting for your clubs. Custom fitting allows you to find a club that matches your unique skills and swings as precisely as possible.

Getting custom fitting can dramatically improve your overall game and make you more confident with the club you’re using.

Do Your Research

Don’t go straight to the store without having done your research. Besides trying it out and getting its feel, you have to know the specs of the club you’re purchasing.

Nowadays, you can find reviews of a specific golf club all over the internet. It allows you to be one step ahead before heading out to the store.

Know What Popular Brands Are

Part of your research is to know what the famous golf club brands are. If you regularly watch pro golf tours, you probably already have an idea what brands pros use.

Knowing the popular brands gives you an initial insight that can help you choose golf clubs.

These manufacturers typically have long been serving the market; thus, you can ensure that you’re buying a quality club.

Assess Your Budget

Finally, assess the budget that you have for buying golf clubs. As we may know, golf clubs are generally in the expensive range among sports equipment.

If you’re short on budget, you may want to consider buying second-hand clubs. You can find a lot of online sites and golf forums offering good condition second-hand clubs.

Ensure that you’re purchasing a club within your budget range and can cater to your standards.

Choosing Your Club With Care

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to how to choose golf clubs. With all the types and variations of golf clubs, it’s essential to equip yourself with the right knowledge before buying clubs.

Aside from the club itself, there are many other important factors to consider when choosing a club. Be sure to keep this guide in mind as you shop for your club.