The Golf Monthly team tests equipment at which golf clubs would best suit high-handicap golfers.
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00:00Now here at Golf Monthly we test a lot of golf clubs and a lot of them are very suitable for
00:05high handicappers. Now that's what we're going to focus on in this video. We're going to build
00:09the ultimate bag for high handicap golfers. Now I've gathered together all of the equipment
00:14experts here at Golf Monthly to give you some two or three recommendations on each section of the
00:19bag and we're going to build the ultimate bag for you. So you're going to hear from Neil Tappen on
00:24drivers, Sam Diath on fairways and hybrids, Joel Tappen on irons and Martin Hopley on wedges
00:29and putters. And by the end I think we're going to build a pretty comprehensive bag for you high
00:34handicap golfers out there. Right let's get started with drivers. Okay so I'm going to kick things off
00:40with the driver and we've seen a whole host of really good models aimed at higher handicap players.
00:47There's a reasonable amount of research that you'll need to do but a few that I would call out. So if
00:51you are a slower swinger then I would consider testing something like the Titleist TSR. One it's
00:57a lightweight design that should help you generate a little bit more club head speed. If you're
01:01fighting a slice then maybe think about something like the Cobra Aerojet Max. Not only does it have
01:07a draw bias but it also sits a little bit offset a little bit closed so it will provide that
01:12confidence inspiring look that might help you prevent against hitting too many right. But for
01:16me the one that I would definitely suggest you consider is the Ping G430 SFT. It has that draw bias
01:23but it sits nice and square down behind the ball. It's really forgiving and easy to hit. Generous
01:28the profile down behind the ball so it looks easy to hit but it also offers really good distance. It's
01:33a great all-rounder for those who are higher handicappers who are looking for that little bit
01:37more help. So when it comes to Fairway Woods for high handicapper golfers any of the Max versions that
01:43are released this year are perfect. But for me personally I think the Yonex E-Zone Elite 4
01:50is the best offering for high handicappers this year. Now there's a few reasons as to why.
01:55The diagonal grooves on the face really do frame the ball well. Very easy to align and it gives it a
02:01shallow look at address. Really inspiring confidence to be able to hit it high off the deck.
02:06The large profile head also offers really high MOI making it super forgiving on mishits. And then
02:12they offer a premium stock shaft which is really lightweight but also flexible and stable allowing for
02:18higher launch, more carry and more speed. And one of the final reasons why this is perfect for a high
02:23handicapper is it is designed for an entry-level golfer and comes at a slightly cheaper price point
02:29than a lot of the premium brands. A trend we've seen in 2023 when it comes to hybrids is the larger
02:34profile head. Now my pick for the best hybrid for high handicappers is the Callaway Paradigm.
02:40There's a couple of reasons behind this. It is the largest profile head we saw out of the hybrid range
02:45apart from the X model which is perfect for those who slice the ball and maybe want to touch more
02:50draw bias. But this does have the adjustable hosel meaning you can tune in certain ball flights or
02:56promote a ball flight or fight against a certain ball flight as well. And the central gravity has been
03:01lowered meaning this golf club is really easy to hit high and it's really forgiving on off-center hits
03:07which is something high handicappers will really appreciate.
03:10So when it comes to a high handicapper choosing a set of irons I think there are some boxes that
03:15need to be ticked. The first would be it needs to be a forgiving golf club. It needs to inspire
03:19a composite address and be really stable when you don't catch it out of the middle. And the second
03:23I think it needs to offer a lot of assistance in launching the ball. I often see high handicappers
03:28struggle to get the optimum ball flight that maximises carry distance. So one that's going to help
03:32launch the ball high I think is a really important box to tick. And I've got three options here.
03:36One that's more of a cost effective option. One that's going to help slow swingers get a digital
03:41launch. And one that's a really good all-rounder. So starting with that cost effective option for
03:45high handicappers I think the Wilson Dyna Power really stands out here. For the price you're getting
03:50an awful lot of performance. It's really really long. It helps it definitely gets the ball up in
03:54the air really easily despite being quite strong in loft. And it's very forgiving as well. I think it
03:59looks pretty good as well. There's a lot of shelf appeal on this iron too. Now if you're a slower
04:03swinging golfer and you need a bit more help in getting the ball up in the air. One really good
04:08option is the Mizuno JPX 923 Hot Metal High Launch. It's a bit of a mouthful but it really does
04:13perform for those slower swingers who you know with the trend that we're seeing in game improvement
04:18irons getting stronger. This kind of goes against that and I think it's really going to help
04:22slower swinging golfers get a more playable ball flight and get the ball stopping into greens a bit
04:27more quickly. But also getting the forgiveness off centre that you need. This is a very user-friendly
04:30iron. It's really going to get the ball up in the air. So that's a really good option I think for
04:34slower swinging high handicappers. But then my best all-rounder I think for all-round playability,
04:39forgiveness, looks and feel would be the Ping G430. I think this is an excellent iron for
04:45forgiveness. It's got quite a long blade length. You can see how wide the sole is. So that means
04:49it's going to give you a lot of forgiveness both off centre and also through the turf as well. That nice
04:53wide sole means if you do catch the ground slightly heavy your margin for error is a little bit bigger.
04:58The feel of this iron is also really fantastic. It's got a nice solid stable feel to it and its
05:03generous size means it does inspire a lot of confidence at address. That white bottom groove
05:08helps you align the face as well. So that would be my best all-round option for high handicapped
05:12golfers. But I think across these three that I've chosen there's some really good options there to
05:16help you hit longer more accurate iron shots. When it comes to wedges I think if you're a higher
05:20handicap player then what you need is a wedge with a little bit of forgiveness. There are models on the
05:25marker with some peripheral weighting and a nice wide sole and one of the best examples is a Cleveland
05:29CBX Full Face 2 which I have here. By having a sort of peripheral weighting on the club it will match
05:34into a cavity back set of irons which you probably might have and that's going to stabilize the club
05:38through impact. It tends to have a wider sole which is going to make it a bit more forgiving and on
05:42this particular one we've got a bit of relief in the heel and toe to give you a little bit of
05:45versatility. And then on the face we've got grooves that cover the entire face and these are the same
05:50grooves that are in the RTX 6 which is a better players wedges so you're going to get a lot of
05:54grip from that. I think it's very easy to play as well you don't necessarily need to open and close
05:58the face so much because the sole is there to give you that forgiveness so just stand up square make
06:02a confident swing and you should get the results to get you out of trouble and get the ball close to
06:06the hole. When it comes to putters for high handicap players I think what you're looking for is a lot of
06:10forgiveness and you get that from these large high MOI heads with weights in the corners. Now there's
06:16several models that do this you've got the PXG range which has a lot of heads and a good
06:19choice of hosels and shafts which you can put into that to be custom fitted. I think if you want a
06:24face with an insert in it then the Odyssey 11 putter is very good. It's a nice large very stable head
06:30and you've also got a choice of alignment lines whether you want a plain head or a line or a triple
06:34track marking system which will get you pointing in the right direction. But for me I think for this
06:39particular category then I'd recommend the Innesis high MOI putter. It does what it says on the tin it's a
06:45very high MOI head it's got a nice clean look with a nice very stable head with weights in the corners
06:51and the face has got an insert on it as well and it gives very good roll and the key thing is it's
06:56very good value for money. You're probably going to find this for around about 150 pounds so if you're
07:01in the market for a high MOI putter with a bit of forgiveness that would be my choice. So there you
07:05have it the ultimate bag for high handicappers. Hopefully that's given you some great ideas of what you can go and
07:10test or some recommendations on what to go and try at the driving range and depending on what part of
07:15the bag you're looking to upgrade.