Even good golfers sometimes fall foul of mistakes when it comes to their equipment, which can have a big impact on the outcome of their shots and the resulting scores. In this video, Joel Tadman runs through the eight most common gear mistakes even experienced golfers make, ranging from not checking your lofts and lies to choosing an iron model that doesn't reflect your true ability.
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00:00It's amazing, no matter how long people have played the game of golf, they still fall foul
00:04of some pretty basic mistakes with their equipment that can have a real impact on performance
00:09and the ability to shoot a good score.
00:11Now, even as a low-handicapper golfer myself, in researching for this video, I discovered
00:16that I'm guilty of quite a few of these mistakes, so I think it's worth sharing the biggest
00:21gear howlers that even experienced golfers make to ensure that the same thing doesn't
00:26happen to you.
00:27Now, mistake number one is not getting your lofts and your lies checked regularly.
00:31This applies to pretty much every club through the bag, but especially with your irons and
00:36your wedges.
00:37You think about the fact that with an iron and a wedge, you're hitting the ground a lot
00:40and that force generates a lot of repercussions into the head in terms of the shaft.
00:46Over time, especially if the ground is hard, you take big divots, you've got quite a fast
00:49swing speed, that could well alter the lie angle of the head and also the loft of the
00:54club, especially if your club is forged, that material's a bit softer.
00:59Over time, shot after shot, could cause the club to be pushed out of line, so it's very
01:04important that you get your lofts and your lies checked.
01:07In terms of the loft, if your loft is out, if it's too strong or weak or it's creeping
01:11one way or the other over time, will lead to bad distance gapping, so it might go longer
01:17or shorter than it's supposed to go.
01:19In terms of the lie angle, if the lie angle is off, you could get the toe or the heel
01:23entering the turf too much, which can cause the face to open or close, it can cause bad
01:28turf interaction, and it'll widen the dispersion of your shot.
01:31It's really important to see your local pro, get your lofts and lies measured on a machine,
01:36get them calibrated so the distance gaps are nice and even, the turf interaction is spot
01:41on, the lie angle's perfect, and that should lead to better gapping and more consistent
01:45shots.
01:46Mistake number two is picking a club based on out and out distance potential versus the
01:51control that it offers.
01:52I think we're all guilty in clubs through the bag, but especially with driver, to pick
01:57the make and model that goes the furthest when we hit it out of the middle without considering
02:01how playable it is in a golf course environment.
02:04I think that's one of the main problems with custom fittings, you get in a groove with
02:07your swing and over time, you'll learn to exactly strike the club out of the middle
02:12of the club face, and therefore, the results can provide almost an alternative reality
02:16of what the performances of this club is like versus what it's like on the golf course.
02:20I think you really need to consider how playable certain drivers are.
02:24We know low spin drivers, like for like out of the middle, are going to go further than
02:29kind of more forgiving higher spinning drivers, but think about how much control you really
02:33have over that low spin option when you take it out onto the golf course.
02:37More often than not, something that provides a little bit more spin but is a little bit
02:41more forgiving will give you a nice balance of distance and playability, so don't get
02:45kind of bogged down into what your performance is like in a fitting.
02:50It's a different environment, you're getting in the zone, think about the golf course,
02:54think about what's going to be playable for you over a longer spectrum of shots, and that
02:58should give you better performance in the long run.
03:01Mistake number three is not getting your grips changed regularly enough.
03:05The amount of good golfers I see using worn out grips, whether that's kind of you can
03:10see the metal underneath or there's a complete shine to the grip, they're very smooth, they've
03:15lost that tackiness.
03:18As good players, we feel like, oh, it doesn't really matter, we can still swing the club
03:21the way we used to, but actually, a new grip can completely reinvigorate the feel and control
03:26you get over a golf club, and if they're starting to show signs that the grip is clearly beyond
03:32its best, it's well worth making that investment in a new set of grips to reinvigorate that
03:38feel and give you that control that you had when you first got them, and also making sure
03:41you have the same type of grip through the different clubs in your bag.
03:46Generally speaking, that is a rule that you should probably be following, apart from your
03:49putter, of course, but getting new grips on your clubs are really important.
03:53I think it's going to give you that extra level of control that maybe you didn't think
03:56you needed, but when you get it, I think you'll really appreciate it.
03:59Now, mistake number four relates to fairway woods, and specifically a reluctance to upgrade
04:04this area of the bag versus others.
04:06We know keen golfers, avid golfers, very good golfers are very happy to invest in a
04:11new driver and a new set of irons, but when it comes to the fairway wood, there's often
04:15some old favorites that stay in there for longer than they probably should do, and yes,
04:19that familiarity breeds a bit of confidence.
04:22What you are losing out on is modern technology, and that is going to deliver an awful lot
04:26of speed and performance.
04:28In our testing that we've done, you can see some big gains in new fairway woods versus
04:32models from one or two generations previously.
04:36If you've got an old favorite in there that's maybe five or even more years old, I think
04:40you should definitely think about upgrading to the latest model.
04:43It's going to give you a much more forgiveness, a much more user-friendly package versus those
04:48from yesteryear.
04:49It's going to help make those shots a little bit easier, going to give you more playability
04:53from different lies.
04:54There's definitely a few more options out there versus what we've seen previously in
04:57terms of different spin profiles, different sizes that's going to suit your eye, different
05:02alignment aids as well.
05:03Definitely worth investing in a new fairway wood if that's an area that needs some attention
05:07for you.
05:08Now, the next mistake relates to irons, and in particular, choosing an iron that's perhaps
05:13too good for you.
05:14What I mean by that is when you get fitted for irons, as I mentioned before in fittings,
05:19you get into a bit of a groove.
05:21You start hitting the middle more often than not, and you start to maybe get a full sense
05:25of confidence about the type of iron that you could play.
05:28Maybe you opt for something that's a little bit more feel-orientated and more compact
05:32versus one that's a bit larger, a bit more forgiving.
05:34You've got to think about the performance you're going to experience on the golf course.
05:38Obviously, on the golf course, you get different lies, different slopes, different conditions.
05:42It's not going to be as easy to strike your irons out of the middle consistently versus
05:46when you're on the range, you've got a nice, clean mat and a perfectly flat lie.
05:51It's a different ballgame altogether.
05:53Really think about the type of model that you pick when it comes to playability on the
05:57golf course.
05:58A classic example of falling foul of this, went for a fitting for the I-59s from Ping,
06:03really liked the feel out of the middle, felt like I was getting some consistent results.
06:07When I got them out on the course, I wasn't able to translate that ball striking experience
06:12with that onto the course.
06:14As a result, my dispersion was a bit all over the place, and I've since opted for a slightly
06:17larger model in the I-230.
06:21Really think about what's going to work for you.
06:22Yes, you might hit them well in the fitting, but think about your ability, how consistent
06:26your ball striking is.
06:28I would definitely always air towards the club that's going to give you a little bit
06:31more forgiveness, because I think you'll really appreciate that consistency out on the golf
06:35course.
06:36The next mistake I see golfers make is not teeing the ball at the correct height.
06:40Yes, there's some wiggle room in terms of what is optimum for you, depending on your
06:45attack angle and the way you deliver the driver, but I'd say generally speaking, I see a lot
06:49of golfers teeing the ball too low.
06:52They feel like that gives them the best chance to hit the ball out of the center of the face,
06:55especially when you're striking the ball low.
06:57It's going to launch low with a little bit too much spin.
06:59Also tend to find you tend to hit more of a cut with that shape, which I think, obviously,
07:04is more important if you're looking for control, but generally speaking, you want to be striking
07:08the ball slightly higher up in the face, and when you're teeing the ball up, I would always
07:11recommend having around about half the ball above the crown of the driver.
07:16That's going to give you that optimum combination of high launch, low spin from this top part
07:20of the face, while also preserving the integrity of the front part of the crown, because obviously
07:25the other mistake is people that go too high, trying to get that high launch, low spin,
07:30kind of booming ball flight that's going to give them maximum distance, they often overdo
07:34it, and you get to see those sky marks on the front of the driver, which is not something
07:38that you want, especially if you've just spent five or six hundred pounds on a completely
07:41new model.
07:42Try and get that ball around about halfway above the top of the driver.
07:46That should give you the optimum launch and spin, and also help you with your direction
07:50as well.
07:51Now the next mistake experienced golfers make is buying a new club based solely on how it
07:56looks.
07:57Now I'm not saying that isn't important, and if there's a toss-up between two clubs that
08:00perform very similarly, yes, you should absolutely choose the one that you prefer the look of.
08:05That's going to give you the most confidence, but that said, if there's a particular driver,
08:09for example, maybe you like the look of a compact head.
08:12In drivers, we see that compact heads are also the least forgiving, and also probably
08:16the lowest spinning, so just because you like the look of a compact head doesn't necessarily
08:21mean it's going to give you the best performance versus other drivers in the range that might
08:24be having a slightly larger profile or a bigger footprint that's actually going to give you
08:28a bit more playability and consistency on the golf course.
08:31So yes, it applies to drivers, and I would definitely say it applies to irons as well.
08:35Certainly when it comes to things like sole width and turf interaction, you might not
08:39prefer the look of a wide sole, but it's probably going to give you a better playability and
08:43a bit more margin for error when you strike three shots, especially if the conditions
08:46are slightly damp.
08:48So looks play a part, but I don't think they need to be the overriding factor when it comes
08:52to choosing your golf clubs.
08:53It really needs to be about performance and playability, and then when it comes to a toss-up
08:57between clubs that perform similarly, that's when you decide based on looks.
09:02This is a three iron, and for the majority of golfers, it needs to be nowhere near your
09:07golf bag.
09:08There's a lot of experienced golfers that persist with these long irons.
09:11Yes, you might prefer the look of an iron versus a hybrid, but over a longer period
09:15of shots, I think you're going to experience an awful lot more consistency in terms of
09:19front-to-back dispersion and also stopping power as well from a hybrid-like club.
09:23It might take you a bit of time to get used to the look of it, but the playability that
09:28it delivers both off the tee, off the deck, in the long run is going to hit you much better
09:33shots over that longer time span.
09:35So really consider switching your long irons, especially in the three iron or maybe even
09:39a two iron if you're struggling with that one.
09:42Consider switching into a hybrid or two.
09:44It's going to give you much more user-friendly performance in the long run.
09:48Now the last mistake golfers make is choosing a shaft, the flex that's too stiff for them.
09:52I think it's a bit of an ego thing.
09:54We don't want to be transitioning down in flex.
09:57We always want to feel like we're playing a stiffer shaft as is humanly possible for
10:00whatever reason.
10:01It's a bit ridiculous, but I think it's the way a lot of golfers think, especially good
10:04players maybe who probably could be transitioning from an X into a stiff.
10:09They want to carry on playing the X because it's something they've always played.
10:12And that's something you really think about.
10:13Just because you played an extra stiff shaft five years ago doesn't mean necessarily that
10:17you've got the power in the locker to use one and benefit from one now.
10:21If you are playing a shaft that's too stiff, especially in the driver, you're going to
10:24see a shot pattern that's probably going to move to the right, you're going to struggle
10:28to square the face, it's probably going to not flight the ball as high as you want to,
10:31which means you might not be carrying those hazards that you've been accustomed to carrying
10:35down the years.
10:36So just because you want to play an extra stiff shaft or a stiff if you're between stiff
10:39and regular doesn't mean that you should be.
10:41When it comes to getting fitted, put your ego to one side, pick the flex of shaft that
10:46gives you the best performance.
10:47So that concludes our look at the biggest equipment mistakes even experienced golfers
10:51make.
10:52I hope you found it useful and not too patronizing.
10:53I think we could all take a look at the equipment we're using and maybe improve certain areas.
10:58And even myself in researching for this video, there was a couple that really stood out to
11:02me that rang alarm bells, for example, checking my lofts and lies.
11:05I haven't done that as much as I should do.
11:07I'm definitely going to get that done.
11:08Also, some of the grips, especially on my wedges, they're looking a bit shiny and they're
11:12not giving me the grip that I probably should be getting on those kind of finesse shots
11:16around the green.
11:17So that's going to give me better feel.
11:18I think I'm going to upgrade my grips when I get back to the golf course next week.
11:21So it's been useful for me.
11:23Hopefully it's been useful for you.
11:24Do let me know in the comments down below.
11:26I'd love to hear from you.
11:27And if we missed any, do let us know in the comments as well.
11:29I'd love to know what you're seeing on the golf bags around your course that we maybe
11:33haven't mentioned in this video.
11:34But that's all for me from Peterborough Milton Golf Club.
11:36I'll see you next time.