Golf is a very popular sport worldwide. Men, women, and children have the benefit of watching Golf, including the major tournaments, on a weekly basis. In addition, and somewhat unique versus so many other sports, golf is also a favorite hobby for many everyday people. Yes, the sport takes significant skill, and concentration, but the right golf equipment can make a dramatic difference. When heading out to the course, it adds to the experience if one is prepared with the best and most suitable equipment possible:
Identify Your Level
When you’re choosing golf equipment, there are a few things to keep in mind. The first thing to think about, and to come to grip with, is your ability and skill level. If you’re a beginner, it’s important to start off with a baseline of clubs. Simplistically, you will have woods, irons and a putter. From here, you can begin expanding your equipment selection with the experience you gain playing. Some types of clubs are easier to hit than others and some types of clubs hit the ball longer than others. typically, those two concepts are inversely related. Other clubs such as hybrids try to bridge the gap between irons and woods with the idea of being easier to hit without sacrificing distance. Even though a lot of emphasis is placed on minimizing the forgiveness while maximizing distance, there is an equal amount of focus on clubs that are involved with the shorter shots, like wedges. Every golfer is allowed 14 clubs in their golf bag at a time. The longer you play, the more you will understand your preferences and which clubs you’d like to switch out or replace with every round you play.
DIfference Between Irons
When looking at irons, there are two basic styles to consider. The main styles of irons are cavity-back and blade. Cavity-back style has a hollowed-out rear head and is mostly used by beginner-to-intermediate golfers. The design of this type of club has perimeter weighting which tends to add some forgiveness to shots that are not hit on the center of the club face. However, with this wider sweetspot concept, you give up performance. Golf professionals and experienced players prefer the blade style that has the solid back on the rear feature of the club. Of course, the equipment industry is constantly trying to be innovative and produce the best of both worlds, performance and forgiveness. Otherwise, there might not be a billion dollar industry that provides so many options. Just when you figure out what style of iron is best for you, hybrid clubs will throw you back into the confusion. The club is simplistically a cross between a wood and an iron. With this approach, you get a rather wide sweet spot with a larger profile and a lower center of gravity. This helps to make better contact with the ball and have a greater chance of getting the ball up in the air.
What to Consider
Understanding the baseline of clubs is the easy part. Making the purchase is where it can get complicated. There are certain components to look at when looking at club clubs to buy, starting with the four categories of golf clubs. The major categories are woods, irons, wedges, and putters. From there you must consider the next set of basic attributes, grip, shaft, clubhead design, and angle of the clubhead to the shaft/ground.
The grip allows a comfortable and effective hold of the club, so it’s important to choose the right size, design or texture for you. In this decision, you will deal with the tradeoffs between durability, comfort and performance. When looking at the shaft, determine if you’d prefer it to be more stiff or flexible. Some shafts offer more flex than others. Your skill level, swing speed and personal preference will all factor into this decision. The hosel will control the lie angle of the club between the shaft and the clubhead. This will sometimes need to be adjusted according to your height or your swing style.
At any level or ability, it important to know which style of golf equipment works for you. It is not an easy decision and the help of a golf professional is always recommended. Regardless, if all else fails, you can always blame your success or failure on the equipment you are carrying in your bag.