Unless the only reason you play golf is to get fit, there really is no reason to carry your bag of golf clubs all over the course. Not only is it bad for your back, it will render you tired and out of breath for all your important shots.
Golf trolleys take almost all the effort out of transporting golf clubs, especially if you invest in a motorised one! What’s more, they raise the bag off the ground; removing the need to bend over as far, every time you need to change clubs. Although this may seem like a minor point, an average course of 72 holes requires at least this many changes of club, which involves enough bending and straightening that many golfers actually suffer back problems. Of course, if you invest in an electric golf trolley, you should ensure you buy something durable and with enough battery power to get you around the course.
When you consider how much money people pour into trainers and clubs to get as much out their game as possible, it seems ridiculous to risk tiring yourself out early by carrying all your clubs around.
By the time you’re an advanced golfer, you can start letting go of some of the club features that helped control the subtler aspects of your shots as a beginner and intermediate player. Where before it was important for you to have some perimeter weighting on your Game Improvement irons, you are now ready to swap these for some Player irons, which will give you some real control over the ball. Although you will sacrifice some forgiveness, you should be hitting consistently already, so this shouldn’t matter.
You can also start reducing the loft on your drivers; do so gradually, however, to make sure you don’t dump yourself in at the deep end with a club that you struggle to use well. At this stage, golf becomes more and more about the feel of the clubs, the feel of the swing and the feel of the shots. Less-advanced clubs protect you when you make mistakes, but they don’t allow for the fine-tuning that makes a good player into a great player.
A huge difference in the club set of an advanced player is that it must cover the whole range of shot-distances, as well as trajectories. Try to get a set of clubs that allow for no more than 15 yards between one club and another and alternative clubs for situations where the course or weathers is against you.
The key difference between beginner and intermediate golf players is the consistency with which they make good contact with the ball, the speed of the club head and the well-centred contact between club and ball. All these things contribute to an increase in shot length and accuracy, which changes the type of club they are best-suited to using.
So, when it comes to choosing the right clubs, keep all this in mind; although you’ll still need a degree of forgiveness, you can sacrifice some of that for an increase in club control. Don’t be too tempted to drop the amount of loft in your clubs just yet, or even to down-size your club heads. You may feel a little foolish playing with your bigger heads when others have down-sized but, chances are, you’ll outplay everybody else of a similar standard if you stick at it! What’s more, your game may well go downhill if you change before you are ready, which can be crippling for your morale. The most important thing to do is take a good look at your shots and choose the clubs that will best support your strengths and weakness; watch your ball flight and choose clubs that will help you develop as a golfer as well as making support technique problems. If your shots have started moving left to right, consider a shot with more of a draw bias on it, for example.
If you are looking to expand your choices, consider adding in a lob or gap wedge to your clubs. You should, however, probably stick with a set of game improvement irons; you’ve still got a lot to learn, so don’t go compensating too much for bad technique!
Choosing beginner golf clubs is similar to Christianity; forgiveness is central to the whole operation. Given the high frequency of mistakes, swing problems and fluctuating hits, you should make sure you choose a set of clubs that won’t punish you too severely for your golfing sins.
For one thing, consider oversized club-heads; they might not look cool, but they’ll help you connect better with the ball, resulting in fewer miss-hits and momentum-related injuries! To further help these contact issues, a set of slightly shorter clubs will also help your accuracy when it comes to actually hitting the ball. Of course, you’re still likely to malfunction a few times, so choose club features that will help reduce the negative impact your beginner swing will have on the flight path of the ball; perimeter weighting on the irons will keep flight as straight as possible, offset club-heads will help you hit the ball squarely and additional loft will increase the length of your shots, as well as keeping them on the straight and narrow.
In case that’s confusing; lofted clubs created extra backspin, which will help reduce the sidespin most beginners get on their shots.
When it comes to putting; practise makes perfect. There’s not a lot a club can do for your putting accuracy, just keep playing!
A couple more myths you may have heard floating around!
Myth 3: the power of your golf swing comes primarily from your arms.
This seems to be quite a modern myth, possibly caused by Tiger Woods' bulging biceps... Whatever the cause, I've similar things spouted around my club in the last few months, as we've sheltered from the horrible weather outside. So, for the record, powerful golf swings aren't caused by powerful arms. Sure, they'll help, but the most important thing is a fluid weight shift acorss the proper axis. It is technique far more than it is strength; otherwise Tripe H would have a 600 yard drive!
Myth 4: your club should be parallel to the ground when it reaches the top fo the back-swing.
Although this is an indication of good form, the exact position or angle of the club at the end of the backswing is not as important as the technique you are using to achieve it. Your left arm must not bend (or should bend only very slighty) and, as your club goes back, your back should rotate to face the direction you are aiming. If you keep you wrists at the correct angle, you shouldn't have to concern yourself with whether or not your club is perfectly parallel to the ground at the height of the back-swing - it will all come together naturally. Check this out - the perfect backswing, but the club isn't quite parallel to the ground.
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