00:00If you're a beginner golfer, it can be difficult to know which direction you need to go to when
00:04it comes to choosing your first set of clubs. So in this video, myself and Sam Diath on the
00:09Golf Monthly Equipment Team, we're going to talk through some of the equipment decisions that
00:13beginner golfers often get wrong. So if you're a beginner golfer, you don't make the same mistakes.
00:18Let's get into the video. Right, so Sam, we're going to throw to you first, what is the number
00:22one biggest equipment decision that beginner golfers get wrong? I would say that beginner
00:27golfers typically make the wrong choices when it comes to choosing their golf clubs. There are
00:33three things that I think are notable, and that would be choosing clubs based on their looks,
00:38essentially based on their feel as well to an extent, but also what their favourite players
00:42are using. I feel like that last one there is pretty key. Choosing clubs that your favourite
00:47tour player plays. While you may like the idea of that brand and that specific range from that
00:54brand, but those exact clubs, they're probably not going to be good for you as a beginner golfer.
00:59Most tour pros are using, whether that be bladed irons or low launch, low spinning drivers, which
01:03just isn't going to give you the performance you need as a beginner golfer. And then when it comes
01:07to looks, obviously you want to like the look of the club to some extent, but choosing it based on
01:13the graphics or the colour on the club, that's really not going to do you any favours.
01:16Okay, so what are the things that golfers should be prioritising when it comes to
01:21their equipment? What are the performance characteristics that are really going to help
01:24them out initially?
01:25So there are a few things to look for. I think as a beginner golfer, you're going to want something
01:28especially that is more forgiving, probably the more forgiving model in the range if you're going
01:32to go premium. You know, the likelihood of you hitting the ball consistently out the middle of
01:37the face as a beginner golfer is pretty slim. So you're going to want something with a lot of
01:40forgiveness when you're hitting those heel and toe strikes, still going to give you the carry
01:44distances that you look for. You're going to want something that's probably a bit lighter and launches a bit
01:48higher, give you a bit more carry and a bit more speed, and also something with a bit more spin.
01:53Going back to carry again, I feel most beginner golfers don't quite get the carry that they'd
01:57even look for or want out of their clubs. So a bit more spin, keep the ball in the air
02:01a bit longer,
02:02and therefore you're going to get a bit more distance out of those clubs as well.
02:04Yeah, so there you have it. I think with beginner golfers, it's important to choose clubs that are
02:08function over form. So obviously it helps if you like the look of them, but choosing a set of clubs
02:13that's
02:13going to really work for your game initially can hopefully help you get around the course a little bit easier,
02:17and then you can get into your game, find your swing and maybe upgrade down the line.
02:22Okay, so Joel, there has been conversation about how almost every golfer should go and get custom fit
02:27golf clubs, but is that the case for beginner golfers?
02:31Yeah, I mean generally speaking, I'm an advocate of custom fitting, but I think beginner golfers,
02:37if you're just starting, you haven't yet found your swing. So there's a good chance that,
02:42you know, as you start to play more rounds, your swing will change over time. If you're having lessons,
02:46maybe you're copying someone that you're watching on telly, your swing will change. And therefore,
02:51if you've been through a custom fitting, after a few weeks, months, few rounds, those clubs will
02:57therefore no longer be suited to your swing. So as you're starting out and just trying to find your
03:02groove in terms of your swing, how it looks, the shape of the swing, how you attack the ball,
03:05it's probably worth just getting a basic set of clubs that isn't custom fit. And then once you've found
03:11your swing, you know your tendencies, you can then go to a PJ Pro and they can look at your
03:16swing and
03:16you've got a bit more of a pattern that they can work with and therefore tailor those clubs to suit
03:21your swing, which is hopefully a little bit more consistent than it was at the start.
03:25The other consideration is the fact that premium custom fit clubs are a lot more expensive. So
03:30it's a bigger financial outlay at the start in a game that you might not like playing after a few
03:36months. You might think it's too hard, you haven't got the time or the patience to play golf.
03:39So having an expensive premium set of custom fit clubs is going to cost you a bit more money and
03:46it might not work out for you financially like it would have done if you had a low cost investment
03:50at the start and then you can upgrade once you've really found your swing.
03:53Yeah, so that was some really good advice there, Joel. I think, you know, it's important to remember
03:57that if you have been given some hand-me-down clubs or you've bought some second-hand clubs,
04:00whether that be from a friend or a family member, that you can also go and get the Lofton Lies
04:04checked,
04:04maybe with your PGA professional and they should be able to give you some solid advice on whether you need
04:09those altering, maybe some more upright or flatter lie angles depending on your height
04:12and your golf swing. So yeah, some really good advice there.
04:16Right, so some good advice so far. If you have enjoyed the advice that you've listened to in
04:20this video, make sure you click the like button and subscribe to the channel. We're here at the
04:24beautiful Caversham Golf Club in just outside Reading where, Sam, you're going to talk us through
04:28another equipment decision that beginner golfers often get wrong. What is it, please?
04:33For me, I think one of the big things that I see beginner golfers, you know, they make this
04:39bad decision all the time and that is becoming overly loyal to a certain brand. Whether you've
04:44got the driver from a certain brand that you've been given or whether you've been fitted into that,
04:48for example, it doesn't necessarily mean that the rest of the metal wood range even is going to suit
04:52you. So, like I've got here the QI35 tailor-made driver, it doesn't necessarily mean that the
04:58QI35 fairway wood, the three wood or five wood is going to be best for me. So, getting out there,
05:03trying different brands, different ranges within those brands as well is going to open your eyes
05:08and provide you with the best opportunity to build your bag that's going to suit your needs.
05:14Yeah, and there are some examples of where you can choose specific type of clubs in certain areas
05:19of the bags that I think beginner golfers will really benefit from. What are some of those?
05:23Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we've seen it this year with the Ping Bunker. So,
05:27beginner golfers, you know, it's a stereotype, but a lot of beginner golfers do struggle out the
05:31sand. You know, you're learning the game and you're taught to hit the ball first before
05:36turf interaction with every other club in your bag. As soon as you get in a bunker,
05:39you're told to hit the ground before the ball and it doesn't really make sense and a lot of people
05:43struggle with that. So, having a really wide lofted wedge in your bag to help you get out of bunkers,
05:49you know, it's just another example of specific clubs in specific areas of the bag. But, you know,
05:54as you get, you know, more progressive within your game and you get better at the game, you're going
05:59to want different clubs for different areas of the bag in general. So, most people will fill their
06:03bag with a maximum 14 clubs, but you don't necessarily always need 14 clubs in your bag,
06:07do you, Joel? No, and I would actually say as a beginner golfer, you're probably better off not
06:12filling that full quota of 14 clubs. We know 14 is the maximum number of clubs in your bag you
06:17can have,
06:17but it's not a target. If you look at most package sets out there which are designed for beginners
06:22who are just starting the game, they normally have between 9, 10, 11 clubs in there. So,
06:29the fact is that with 14 clubs, obviously, for highly skilled golfers, they all do a specific job,
06:35but for beginner golfers, inconsistent strikers of the ball, you probably only need eight or nine clubs to
06:41get your golf ball around the course. So, obviously, you're going to need a high lofted driver, you're going to
06:46need a putter, you're going to need some irons. Obviously, we see a lot of half sets out there,
06:50which is good, where you're sort of missing an iron in the set, so it could go five, seven, nine,
06:55and then a couple of wedges. That's perfectly enough clubs to get around most golf courses,
06:59and if you throw a hybrid in there, you've got more than enough. So, don't feel obliged to ram your
07:05golf bag full of all 14 clubs. Start with a half set, see how you get on, and then you
07:09can see which
07:10gaps you want to fill first, depending on where you're struggling with or the course that you're playing.
07:15There might be certain holes where you need a four iron or a six iron that's really going to help
07:19you out and give you that yardage that you need on a particular hole. So, that's definitely somewhere
07:23to start. Now, just to expand on Sam's point, there are a lot of sort of unconventional clubs that are
07:29out there that would really serve beginner golfers as well. So, it could be some really high lofted
07:33fairwoods, it could be some zero torque putters, arm lock putters, broom handle putters. There's all sorts of
07:39different types of clubs that are really designed to help beginner golfers, high handicappers, get
07:44around the course in the few shots as possible. Just definitely experiment as much as you can,
07:49and that should definitely help you out if you're a beginner golfer. Right, so Sam, we've moved on to
07:53equipment beginner golfer mistake number five. What is it please? So, for me, mistake number five would
08:00have to be beginner golfers using lake balls or recycled balls. There's a reason these companies spend
08:06millions and millions every year in research to create golf balls and come up with new ways of
08:12designing new golf balls. So, finding one that's been in the bottom of a lake for god knows how long
08:17and then taking it out on the course, it's just not going to have the same performance. The cores on
08:21these balls are designed and balanced in a certain way. They're designed for that reason, to keep the
08:25ball flying straight. You'll often find that cores deteriorate or that even the casing deteriorates once
08:31they've been in lakes. So, no matter how much they're polished up, they're just not going to perform the same.
08:35Yeah. You know, there's so much, you can get advice from your PGA Pro, often on the back of the
08:40boxes,
08:40it even tells you all the specs for what golf ball, what they're designed to do, whether it's
08:43a softer or a firmer feeling ball, whether it's a spinny or non-spinning ball. And as a beginner
08:48golfer, consistency is key in golf, no matter what level you play at. But especially as a beginner
08:54golfer, you want to get used to how a ball flies off the face, whether you're trying to carry it
08:59over
08:59a bunker or how it reacts when you're chipping and putting, coming off the face. That's how you're going to
09:03get
09:03more consistent results throughout the bag. So yeah, my advice would be to stay well away from
09:10secondhand golf balls, as it were. But that's not necessarily the case with golf clubs, is it, Joel?
09:15No, I think actually the secondhand golf club market is a bit of a treasure trove when it comes to
09:21clubs. Obviously, the main thing it allows you to do is invest in premium brands without the premium
09:27prices. So, you know, your tailor-made, your tight lists, your callaways, you can get some
09:32clubs from those brands at a much more affordable price that's comparable with
09:36new clubs in package sets or new clubs from lesser-known brands. And the other thing about
09:41the secondhand market is it allows you to experiment a bit more. So often with secondhand
09:46websites or retailers like Golf Clubs for Cash, for example, you get a 30-day trial period. So you can
09:52try a club. If it's not working for you, you can trade it back in and try something else. So
09:56that freedom to experiment, if you're a beginner golfer, is particularly valuable because,
10:01as I said before, you're still working out your game, you're still working out what's
10:04right for you. And so the ability to try clubs quickly with no obligation to invest
10:09large amounts of money in them is an absolute godsend. So definitely,
10:14the secondhand market is good. There are obviously some drawbacks to it. The clubs are not going to be
10:18custom fit for you in any way, but obviously you can, if you know roughly what your spec is,
10:23you can sort of match it up using the filters on websites like Golf Clubs for Cash to get something
10:28that's vaguely similar for you. Obviously, they're secondhand, so they're not going to be
10:31in the best condition, but you sort of get what you pay for in that regard. And
10:36Golf Clubs for Cash can make adjustments if you need to. I don't want this to turn into an advert
10:40for Golf Clubs for Cash, but clearly there is some value in the secondhand market, especially if
10:45you're a beginner golfer. So that's some really good advice there, Joel. Just throwing it back to
10:49golf balls to end here. I think consulting with your PGA professional, once they've seen you hit
10:54a few shots, they'll be able to give you a really clear understanding as to what ball may suit your
10:58game the best, whether you need something that launches a bit higher or even a bit lower.
11:02I think there's a few balls on the market in particular that we really enjoyed and we tested
11:07this year. So you've got the Titleist Truffill, you've got the Wilson Duosoft, and you've got the
11:11Strixon AD333, which I think is a brilliant ball for beginners in particular, because it offers you
11:15really good performance. But even at an intermediate level, you see a lot of guys kind of start with
11:19that ball and then actually continue their golfing career with that ball. And they all come in at a
11:23very low price point. A lot of them are the lowest price point balls in that select range. So, you
11:29know,
11:29beginner golfers are losing a lot of balls. So getting balls that are brand new, but at the cheaper
11:34price point is really important. So there you have it. I hope you found this compilation of equipment
11:39mistakes that beginners golfers often get wrong useful. If we've missed anything, do let us know in the
11:45comments below if you are a beginner golfer and there's other mistakes that you've made that you
11:49think other golfers would really benefit from knowing about. Again, put that down in the comments.
11:53We'd love to hear from you. Do hit that like button if you like it and subscribe to the channel
11:58if you
11:58haven't already. But that's all from me and Sam here at the Cavisham Golf Club. We'll see you next time.
