Choosing the Right Golf Clubs

Planning on becoming the next Tiger Woods? If so,spot you can miss hitting the ball directly on the
the first thing you might consider is getting somecenter of the club face and still end up with a decent
new golf clubs. Choosing the right golf clubs canshot. Forged irons are better for more advanced
make the difference between spending your time ongolfers because they allow for better control of
the fairways and greens and spending your time intrajectory, allowing you to hit the ball at a desired
the rough. Although famed golfer Ben Hogan onceangle to get the height necessary for the result you
said, "The only thing a golfer needs is more daylight",want.
for my money, having the right set of golf clubs runsThe next thing to consider is the size of the head. As
this a close second.a novice golfer, you'll find a definite trade-off here. A
First, I'll assume you aren't a pro. Otherwise, youbigger head equals a bigger sweet spot and more
probably wouldn't be here; you'd be out perfectingtolerance of miss-hits. However, at the same time, a
that already outstanding golf swing. For the amateurbigger head is also a little harder to control. You'll
golfer, choosing the right golf clubs hinges on twoprobably want to start with a set of irons with
factors - distance and accuracy - and, of these,medium-sized heads. They're easier to control than
accuracy is the more important. The ability to hit thethe oversized-heads, but they still have a bigger
ball half-way across town may sound great, but ifsweet spot than the traditional, smaller heads.
you can't keep it on the fairway, out of the bunkers,Bet you didn't know there were this many factors to
and heading for the flag, then all the distance in thechoosing the right set of golf clubs! Well, I'm not
world isn't going to help your game. So, the startingquite done yet.
point for all of us needs to be accuracy. Once the ballAnother factor to think about when choosing golf
starts going just where we want it to go withclubs is what the head is made of - cast iron,
reasonable consistency we can start working onstainless steel, or titanium. Titanium heads are best
building distance.for novice golfers as this light material allows for a
Of course, cost can be a big issue when choosing abigger head, without making the club too heavy.
new set of clubs, but since that's a personalBigger head equals bigger sweet spot! If the cost of
conversation between you your wallet - and maybetitanium heads is beyond your wallet's reach, then
your spouse - we won't cover it here. Don't forgetconsider cast iron rather than steel. They're durable
though that you don't need to buy tailor-made golfand the harder material can help improve both
clubs and that a good starting point may well be oneaccuracy and consistency.
of the many outlets for discount golf equipment.Swing speed is also important in deciding upon the
Another good starting point is to look at pre-ownedright golf clubs. Golfers with lower swing speeds can
golf clubs.benefit from more flexible graphite shafts that are a
Begin by analyzing what's going to best fit yourbit longer and lighter. With a higher swing speed, it's
needs. The primary set of clubs in every golfer's bagmore likely you want to focus on accuracy, so stiffer
is the irons, so that's what I'm going to concentrateand heavier steel shafts can help you develop that
on here. Irons have several characteristics to consideraccurate ball placement that gets your name on the
when you're choosing golf clubs. The first thing toleader board.
look at is the method of manufacture. Irons areObviously, there are many factors to consider when
normally made either by casting or forging. For thechoosing the right golf clubs. But consider what the
novice golfer cast irons are generally better becausecomedian Henny Youngman once said, "The other
they have a bigger sweet spot on the club face. Theday I broke 70. That's a lot of clubs." Choosing the
sweet spot is the area on the club face that youright golf clubs for your game and level of play can
want to contact the ball and, as a general rule, thereduce both your handicap and the number of clubs
larger the sweet spot the greater the room for erroryou get the urge to break!
in your swing. In other words, with a large sweet