Choosing the right golf clubs is extremely important for your game. Building the right 14-club set will help you shoot lower scores and improve your game. While choosing golf clubs, it is very necessary to have an idea of your skill level, even if you do not have an official handicap since most golf clubs are designed in keeping with certain skill-level categories. Broadly speaking, these skill categories are PGA tour or professional golfers, low handicappers, mid handicappers, and high handicappers, which include game-improvers and beginners. Though your handicap gives you a broad idea of your ability, you should break your game down a little more before buying. Enlist your strengths and weaknesses from tee to green. Whether you are out to buy a new fairway wood, driver, irons, hybrid, wedges, or a putter, a golf club custom fitting is crucial considering your swing characteristics and the different shapes and sizes available. To begin with, there are four major club categories- woods, irons, wedges, and putters. Each type has several features common to all golf clubs.
Features of Golf Clubs
Grip: The grip covers approximately the top 10 inches of the shaft, and prevents the hands from slipping during the swing. Grips are sized as Standard, Midsize Oversize, or Jumbo to match the player’s hand size. They come in many different textures, designs, and colors.
Shaft: A cylindrical piece of graphite or steel, the shaft connects the grip to the clubhead. Based on the club type and loft, the length varies, and so does the flex. A club's shaft can be stiffer or more flexible depending largely on the golfer’s swing speed. Stiffness levels are represented by letters:
"L" is meant for Ladies.
"A," "M" or “S” are meant for Amateur, Men, or Senior.
"R" is meant for Regular, "S" is meant for Stiff, and "X" is meant for Extra Stiff.
While men commonly opt for "R" flex, the women go for "L."
Hosel: The hosel connects the shaft to the clubhead, and determines the club’s lie angle. It is the angle between the club’s shaft and the clubhead’s sole. An adjustable hosel is provided in some woods, drivers, and hybrids, allowing the players to adjust the club’s loft and lie angle.
Clubhead: Clubhead is the part of the club that strikes the ball. The height and distance the ball will travel are controlled by the club head. The club head is usually the first feature to consider when choosing clubs. They are designed with each manufacturer's specific technology attributes and cater to different player skill levels.
Lie angle: The angle that is measured in degrees is formed between the shaft and the ground when the club is placed in its intended address position. According to a player’s swing characteristics, the lie angles can be adjusted by a club fitter, or by a player using adjustable clubs.
Choose According to Your Skill Level
Now that you know the variable features, it’s important to identify your ability level or handicap. If you’re unsure, consult an expert. By consulting a qualified PGA professional, who is getting to see your game, you can not only benefit from expert advice, but you also get to try before you buy. At custom fittings, you can discover your launch angle, angle of attack, club and ball speed, and much more, besides advice on what shafts are suitable for you. With this data, the experts will ensure that your clubs are suited to your swing thus giving you the best chance to maximize your performance. The less skilled you are, the more help you will need from your equipment. Given below are the basic factors to consider for each scoring group
Average score: Below 80
If your skill level touches a score of 80, you have sufficient swing speed to use a less-lofted driver (between 9° – 10.5°) and yet achieve ample height and distance. The extra loft may cost you yardage. Also remember, the higher a club’s Moment of Inertia (MOI), the easier it is to make off-center strikes, but harder to curve the ball to the left or right. Hence, highly skilled players prefer lower-MOI drivers. When selecting irons, today, even the best golfers opt for cavity-back clubs rather than traditional blades or “musclebacks.” These days, many clubmakers offer forged irons in cavity-back designs, with a much better feel and workability than the cast irons in the past. Lower handicappers and pros should carry long irons-2 to 4- instead of hybrid clubs. Still. many great players prefer hybrids as they are easier to hit, and more versatile than the irons they replace.
Average score: 80 to 90
Shooting in the range of 80s to 90s means you are well skilled, but swing slower than a low-handicapper, and make more miss-hits. In this case, a driver with a higher MOI and more loft ranging from 10.5° to 12° will produce better height, carry distance, and overall accuracy. Cavity-back irons with slightly larger heads deliver similar benefits as forged blades. Though you may lose some ability to hit draws and fades, your misses will travel farther and straighter. Instead of an iron stronger than a 4- or 5-iron, using hybrids will produce much more consistent results from the tee, fairway, and rough.
Average score: Over 90
Golfers with higher handicaps are prone to hit shorter and with less accuracy, from tee to green. Hence, “super game improvement” clubs are recommended such as a driver, with a greater loft of 12° to 14°, and a club head with a maximum size of 460cc, and MOI. Instead of blade-style irons, oversized cavity backs, with a high MOI, and an extremely low Center of Gravity (CG) help you get the ball in the air, resulting in maximum game improvement. Your longest iron should be a 5-iron, or a 6, with hybrids filling the gap between your irons and longest fairway wood.
Shot tendency
The direction and height of your typical shot a major factors to consider. While most golfers hit a left-to-right fade or slice, some may hit a right-to-left draw or hook. Shot trajectory varies according to skills, wherein higher handicappers hit low drives, and better players get more height. Modern clubs especially the driver, fairway woods, and some hybrids, offer adjustable clubheads allowing you to fine-tune your clubs, to compensate for your common miss-hit, or to promote a particular trajectory and shot shape.
Swing speed
Your swing speed or clubhead speed is the No. 1 factor in determining which shaft flex will optimize the distance, trajectory, and backspin rate you get from each club. The faster you swing, the stiffer your shafts should be. More flexible shafts are ideal for slower swingers as they can help add distance and height. For instance, if you hit 150 yards with:
A PW or 9-Iron, then your optimal shaft flex should be Extra Stiff Flex (X).
A 9-Iron, then your optimal shaft flex should be Stiff Flex (S).
A 6- or 7-Iron then your optimal shaft flex should be Regular Flex (R).
A 5-Iron/Hybrid or 4-Iron/Hybrid (Male or Female) then your optimal shaft flex should be Senior Flex (A/M).
For any Iron/Hybrid lower than 4 or any Fairway Wood (Females or Juniors) then your optimal shaft flex should be Ladies Flex (L).
Distance by Club Type
A primary reason for the requirement of different types of clubs is the different distances they hit. Given below are the average distances hit by each club type for PGA and LPGA players.
The average distances hit by a Driver are 289 - 361 yards for PGA Tour players and 246 - 258 yards for LPGA players.
The average distances hit by a 3 Wood are 243 - 304 yards for PGA Tour players and 195 - 217 yards for LPGA players.
The average distances hit by a 5 Wood are 230 - 288 yards for PGA Tour players and 185 - 205 yards for LPGA players.
The average distances hit by a Hybrid are 255 - 275 yards for PGA Tour players and 180 - 194 yards for LPGA players.
The average distances hit by a 3 Iron (M) / 7 Wood (F) are 212 - 265 yards for PGA Tour players and 174 - 185 yards for LPGA players.
The average distances hit by a 4 Iron are 203 - 254 yards for PGA Tour players and 170 - 181 yards for LPGA players.
The average distances hit by a 5 Iron are 194 - 243 yards for PGA Tour players and 161 – 173 yards for LPGA players.
The average distances hit by a 6 Iron are 183 - 229 yards for PGA Tour players and 152 - 163 yards for LPGA players.
The average distances hit by a 7 Iron are 172 - 215 yards for PGA Tour players and 141 - 154 yards for LPGA players.
The average distances hit by an 8 Iron are 160 - 200 yards for PGA Tour players and 130 - 143 yards for LPGA players.
The average distances hit by a 9 Iron are 148 - 185 yards for PGA Tour players and 119 - 132 yards for LPGA players.
The average distances hit by a PW are 136 - 170 yards for PGA Tour players and 107 – 121 yards for LPGA players.
Hence, we hope the tips given above will help you select the perfect set of 14 clubs, ideal for your skill level, to maximize your performance at the game.
