Editorial: Before you buy clubs...

6. In case you are not 'standard', determining the proper length for your clubs is very easy and free of guess-work by taking a wrist to floor measurement. You need a helper. In street shoes, stand at 'attention' with your feet about a foot apart. Stand straight, shoulders up, but your arms relaxed by your side. Have your helper measure (RH players) from your left wrist at the crease where it meets your hand, to the floor. LH players measure from right wrist. Shorter players will measure in the low 30"s, the average height players in the mid 30"s, and tall players 35" & up.

The values in the table then show you (in inches) how much longer or shorter than the standard length your clubs should be. For a more accurate set of measurements you can visit the 'club fitting wizard' at Pinemeadow Golf or take a look at the eFit Guide at Giga Golf, both sites are free and easy to use.

7. STEEL SHAFTS vs. GRAPHITE SHAFTS - These are general recommendations:

8. Loft angle has a major effect on distance off the tee, so its important to choose the correct loft for your driving club. The slower speed swingers (ladies, seniors and some regular flex players) need higher lofted driving clubs. Increased loft will allow a better launch angle, higher trajectory, greater carry, thus more distance! This may be a surprise to a lot of long time players who have always thought less loft, more distance. Case in point. Many regular and senior flex players have fallen prey to the ProLine model hype and purchased $300.00+ drivers at 10 or less degrees, only to find they were hard to get airborn and produced low line drives. Live and learn. Faster speed swingers do require less loft to obtain maximum distance. The following information should be helpful in choosing the correct loft for you driving club.

RECOMMENDED LOFTS FOR DRIVING CLUBS:

NOTE: Because of certain swing movements high ball hitters may want to decrease 2 degrees from current driver loft.

9. Slicing the ball off the tee may be the single most problem confronting golfers. The face angle of the club has a major effect on accuracy off the tee. Face angles of drivers are open, square or closed. Closed face drivers come 1-6 degrees closed. Slicers need closed face drivers for correction (read our review of the GigaGolf GX Squared Ti Draw Driver, this is an example for an 'anti-slice' club). Expect a 5-7 yard correction in slice for every degree the face is closed if your current driver has a square face angle.

EXAMPLE: You aim for the middle of a 30 yard wide fairway using a square face driver, but your ball ends up 5 yards in the rough. Same shot, using a driver with a face angle 2 degrees closed, your slice would be corrected approximately 12 yards, which puts you 7 yards in the fairway!

10. DISTANCE - What makes a golf ball go far? There are 4 basic reasons to how far a player can hit a golf ball.
a. The composition of the golf ball. Some balls go farther than others. Any name brand 100 compression ball will go farther than a 70 compression driving range ball.
b. Loft of club. Less loft for faster speed swingers = more distance. More loft for slower speed swingers = more distance.
c. Length of club. The longer the club (up to a certain point, see above) the more distance.
d. Last and most important is swing speed. The more clubhead speed a golfer can generate at impact, the more distance. Why do you think Tiger Woods hits it as far as he does? He generates 200 km/h of clubhead speed with his driver. Most Pros are not close to that. Because #d has the biggest effect on distance, golfers should understand clubmakers and manufacturers are somewhat limited in trying to aid golfers to achieve more distance. We cannot change the physics of the game.

A final note on distance. Many players are led to believe metals (Titanium, Maraging Steel, Cyro Plasma, Cermet, etc.) have a major effect on distance. Once again, more hype. If metals have an effect on distance, its very minor at best.

Views expressed here are personal and not endorsed by any company. If you have a different opinion or still have money to give away, please contact LearnAboutGolf.com

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Being a total beginner at this game having only played twice on works outing society days, and having had to borrow clubs before now, I needed some advice on buying the right clubs to start off with. This has helped me considerably. I have found this site to be a great help and very informative.
Thankyou.
Gary Wright (email on file)

I read this just in time. I was about to buy a set of beginner clubs off the rack and never know about the right fit. Now I did the online fitting you mentioned, and I ordered a set from Pinemeadow. Not only are they fitted they are actually cheaper than the shop.
Thanks a lot, guys!
Tony Pobst (email on file)

An excellent guide for beginners like me. Helps to counter the glib talking salesmen who would normally sell you their most expensive sets without caring for your needs.
satish (email on file)

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