5 Gear Checks Every Golfer Needs To Make

Golf Monthly

In this video, Golf Monthly's Neil Tappin runs through 5 gear checks every golfer needs to make. These range from checking your yardages to making sure your grips are in a good state ready for a powerful, athletic golf swing. If you are looking to play better golf, then keeping an eye on your gear is a must - here's how to do it!

Transcript

00:00 - Hello everyone, Neil Tappan here from Golf Monthly

00:02 and welcome to the London Club and this video

00:04 on the five golf gear checks that every golfer needs to make.

00:08 Now obviously you've got 14 clubs

00:10 that you can carry with you,

00:11 plus a whole host of different accessories

00:13 and golf balls as well.

00:14 So it pays to make sure that what you're carrying with you

00:17 is set up exactly right for you

00:18 so that there aren't any silly mistakes

00:20 that could end up costing you shots.

00:22 And now if you're new to the Golf Monthly channel,

00:24 please do hit the subscribe button

00:25 to make sure that you don't miss any of our videos.

00:27 But let's get started looking at the first

00:29 on our list of five golf gear checks.

00:32 Now the first check to make is to ensure

00:34 that each of the clubs in your bag

00:35 goes the distance that you think it goes.

00:38 And this is something worth doing

00:40 maybe once or twice during a season.

00:42 I would pick a driving range with good quality golf balls,

00:45 well-defined targets, and if possible,

00:48 ball tracking technology that will give you an idea

00:51 about how far each of the clubs in your bag carries.

00:54 Now it's the carry distance that you're after,

00:56 not the total distance.

00:57 The total distance will depend on ground conditions.

01:00 The carry distance will give you an idea

01:01 when you're out on the golf course

01:02 what hazards you can fly over,

01:05 where you need to pitch the ball

01:06 in order to get the ball close to the flag.

01:09 So it's carry distances that you're after.

01:10 Now ideally, you will be able to get

01:12 those reliable carry distances that we're talking about

01:14 for every club in your bag.

01:16 But I appreciate this may or may not be possible

01:19 depending on the access you have

01:21 to things like good quality golf balls at the driving range

01:23 and the technology to track the shots.

01:25 If you're struggling on that front,

01:27 one thing you can still do is you can still check

01:30 to see that the gaps between your clubs are even.

01:33 This can be really helpful.

01:35 Now it might well be that over the course of the season,

01:37 the loft of one of your irons has changed a little bit

01:39 and actually has made it a little bit stronger

01:41 or a little bit weaker.

01:42 If you go through this process,

01:43 you might well be able to identify anything

01:45 that really stands out in the data as being wrong.

01:49 And likewise, it could be that either you're

01:52 getting a little bit older or maybe not swinging the club

01:54 as fast as you used to and perhaps your five iron

01:58 doesn't go as far or is going the same distance

02:00 as your six iron, in which case you're carrying a club

02:02 that you don't need to carry and there will be

02:04 an equipment solution out there for you.

02:06 This is just good housekeeping,

02:08 good to make sure that each of the clubs

02:10 that you're carrying is going as far as you think it will

02:12 so that when you get to the course,

02:14 you've got confidence in the numbers

02:16 that you're able to carry the ball,

02:17 but also that you're not carrying anything

02:19 that isn't doing exactly what you want it to.

02:22 Now the next check to make is your grips.

02:24 Now your grips are your only point of contact

02:27 with the golf club, so making sure they offer

02:28 plenty of traction for as much control as possible

02:31 while you're making a full and athletic swing

02:33 is absolutely essential.

02:35 And here I've got an older golf club with an old grip on it

02:39 and this is what you're looking out for.

02:40 So this grip has a bit of a, I'd say a bit of a sheen to it,

02:44 which you can tell isn't offering as much grip

02:46 as you'd want it to.

02:48 Now if this was in my bag, which it isn't,

02:50 but if this was in my bag, I'd give this a good clean,

02:52 I'd give it a scrub with some hot, soapy water

02:54 to see if I was able to resurrect this grip

02:57 because I think over time, grips get dirty,

03:00 if you've been out on the course on a really sunny day

03:02 where you've had sun cream in your hands,

03:04 they can get that sort of grease

03:06 sort of baked into them slightly

03:08 that causes you to have less traction than you would hope.

03:11 So I would give that a clean

03:12 and see if I was able to recover it.

03:14 If not, then obviously I think I'd probably look

03:17 to invest in a new grip for this golf club.

03:19 Now in my hands here, I've got two clubs

03:22 that I am currently carrying in my bag

03:24 and this shows you why you need to make a check

03:26 about your grips because in my right hand here

03:28 is my 50 degree wedge, this grip is in a great state,

03:31 you can see it's really clean,

03:32 offering plenty of traction, that's fine,

03:34 no need to clean, no need to replace.

03:36 But in my left hand here, I've got my three wood

03:40 and obviously when you make a swing with a three wood,

03:42 you want to be as athletic and powerful as possible

03:44 and you want as much grip as possible

03:45 but as you can see, especially when you compare the two,

03:49 this grip is in need of a bit of care and attention.

03:52 Again, I'd give this a clean and if it still wasn't offering

03:55 as much traction as I want, then I would replace it.

03:58 These are the sorts of checks that are worth making,

04:00 probably with your grips, again, maybe once,

04:02 maybe twice a year, make sure they're in as good a state

04:05 as possible because as I said, if you're looking

04:07 to make full, athletic, powerful swings,

04:09 you want as good a control of the club

04:11 as you can possibly get.

04:13 Okay, so the next one on my list is about golf balls

04:16 and actually this is less about the state

04:18 of the golf balls that you carry

04:19 because I don't know about you,

04:21 but I tend to lose balls before I retire them.

04:24 It's actually more about the sheer number of makes

04:27 and models of golf balls that you're carrying

04:28 around the course with you.

04:29 So during the course of a normal season,

04:32 you'll probably spend enough time searching for golf balls,

04:35 whether it's your own or your playing partners,

04:36 that you will pick up quite a few different makes and models

04:39 so if I were you, I'd go and have a look at your golf bag

04:41 and have a look at the sheer number of different makes

04:43 and models, take out anything that you can't imagine

04:46 yourself actually playing with because otherwise,

04:49 you're just adding weight to your golf bag for no reason.

04:51 Once you've done that, then maybe identify the one make

04:55 and model that you really like, the one that offers you

04:58 what you feel like is the best performance

05:00 and then maybe invest in a few more of those golf balls

05:02 so that you have one ball in your bag

05:05 that is your kind of favored option

05:08 because if over time you get used to the way

05:10 in which that golf ball performs,

05:11 particularly in the short game,

05:13 then understanding exactly what to expect

05:16 could make a big difference.

05:17 Okay, so the next one on my list relates to wedges

05:20 and in particular, the state of the face of your wedges.

05:23 Now it's a natural thing about golf

05:25 that over the course of a period of time,

05:27 you will not get as much spin with your wedges

05:29 as you did when they were brand new.

05:31 Of course you won't, most golfers know that

05:33 but there's an important distinction to make here

05:35 between the wedges that you carry.

05:37 In particular, if you're somebody that uses the same wedge

05:40 for all of your short game shots

05:42 and you practice with it a lot and in particular,

05:44 you hit a lot of bunker shots with it,

05:46 that wedge will probably need to be upgraded

05:48 on a slightly more regular basis

05:50 than the other wedges in your bag.

05:52 If you think about a bunker shot,

05:53 it's a bit like sandblasting the face of your wedge.

05:56 It's going to really dampen down those grooves

05:57 and it's not going to just affect

05:59 the amount of spin you're able to generate

06:01 but it will also change the ball flight

06:03 that you create with your short game.

06:04 So it's something to think about.

06:06 This wedge that I'm carrying here,

06:07 this is an old favorite, I absolutely love this wedge

06:10 but there's no two ways about it.

06:11 It's coming towards the end of its lifespan.

06:13 I'm not able to generate anywhere near as much spin

06:15 with this wedge as I was when I first got it

06:17 and if I compare it to a newer wedge,

06:20 the face of which I can actually see the difference

06:22 in the grooves.

06:23 So I think that's a kind of a warning sign

06:25 that you might think to yourself,

06:26 actually a new wedge, fresh grooves might allow me

06:30 to be a little bit more aggressive with my short game shots

06:33 which could actually really help.

06:35 Okay, so the next check to make is about your golf gloves

06:38 and if you're anything like me,

06:39 you'll have quite a few different golf gloves in your bag

06:42 and it's worth taking a look at them all

06:43 to figure out which stage of their lifespan they're at.

06:46 Now there might well be a few in your bag

06:48 that have got wet and then dried

06:49 and as a result become quite hard and are maybe cracking

06:53 or alternatively, they've got really significant wear marks

06:55 on them in which case I would just get rid

06:57 of those golf gloves.

06:58 Now you're also likely to have a few gloves

07:00 like I've got in my hand here.

07:02 This glove is pretty old.

07:04 As you can see, it's pretty dirty

07:05 and there are some wear marks on the thumb

07:07 but when I put it on, it still feels really good,

07:09 it's still nice and soft.

07:10 Now I would continue to carry this glove

07:13 but I probably only use it to practice with

07:15 and by doing that, I know that I'm extending the lifespan

07:18 of the good gloves that I have in my bag

07:20 and another tip that will help you do that

07:23 is to carry some wet weather gloves.

07:25 So wet weather gloves come in a pair

07:27 and they're really good when the weather's bad,

07:29 they'll offer you excellent traction

07:30 but crucially, by carrying some wet weather gloves

07:33 in your bag, you know that you'll be able to extend

07:35 the lifespan of your good gloves.

07:37 Again, so that you're not wearing them

07:38 in really bad weather conditions

07:39 which can accelerate the degradation of those gloves.

07:42 So by just doing those couple of simple things,

07:44 I think you'll find that you'll have a better quality

07:46 of golf glove in your bag,

07:48 waiting to be used in competition play.

07:50 Okay, so that's my list of five golf gear checks

07:53 that every golfer should make.

07:55 Please do leave some comments below.

07:56 Is there anything that you think I've missed?

07:58 It's always worth sharing ideas around.

08:01 There might be some other people there

08:02 that can really benefit from any ideas

08:04 that you have about how to keep your clubs

08:06 in as good a condition as possible

08:08 because I think by doing these checks

08:09 and doing them on a fairly regular basis,

08:11 you'll be ensuring that you're not making

08:12 any of those silly mistakes that we can all make

08:14 from time to time and ensuring that the clubs

08:16 that you carry are really doing the business for you

08:18 out on the golf course.

08:20 Thanks for watching.

08:21 That's all for now from the London Club.

08:22 We'll see you next time.

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