Golf Clubs And Equipment For High Handicappers

Golf Monthly

The Golf Monthly team tests equipment at which golf clubs would best suit high-handicap golfers.

Transcript

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 so meaning this golf club is really easy to hit high and it's really forgiving on off-center

03:07hits which 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 I

03:23think 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 slower

04:23swinging golfers get a more playable ball flight and get the ball stopping into greens a bit more

04:27quickly. We're 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

04:34I think for slower swinging high handicappers. But then my best all-rounder I think for all-round

04:38playability, forgiveness, looks and feel would be the Ping G430. I think this is an excellent

04:44iron for forgiveness. It's got quite a long blade length. You can see how wide the sole

04:48is. So that means it's going to give you a lot of forgiveness both off centre and also

04:52through the turf as well. That nice wide sole means if you do catch the ground slightly heavy,

04:55your margin for error is a little bit bigger. The feel of this iron is also really fantastic.

05:01It's got a nice solid stable feel to it and its generous size means it does inspire a lot

05:05of confidence at address. That white bottom groove helps you align the face as well. So

05:10that would be my best all-round option for high handicap golfers. But I think across these

05:13three that I've chosen, there's some really good options there to help you hit longer, more

05:17accurate iron shots. When it comes to wedges, I think if you're a higher handicap player then

05:21what you need is a wedge with a little bit of forgiveness. There are models on the market with some

05:25peripheral weighting and a nice wide sole. One of the best examples is a Cleveland CBX Full Face 2

05:31which I have here. By having a sort of peripheral weighting on the club it will match into a cavity

05:35back set of irons which you probably might have and that's going to stabilise the club through

05:38impact. It tends to have a wider sole which is going to make it a bit more forgiving and on this

05:42particular one we've got a bit of relief in the heel and toe to give you a little bit of versatility.

05:46And then on the face we've got grooves that cover the entire face and these are the same grooves

05:50that are in the RTX 6 which is a better player's wedges so you're going to get a lot of grip from that.

05:54I think it's very easy to play as well. You don't necessarily need to open and close the face

05:58so 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

06:06to the hole. When it comes to putters for high handicap players I think what you're looking for

06:09is a lot of forgiveness and you get that from these large high MOI heads with weights in the corners.

06:15Now there are several models that do this. You've got the PXG range which has a lot of heads and a

06:19good choice of hosels and shafts which you can put into that to be custom fitted. I think if you

06:23wanted a face with an insert in it then the Odyssey 11 putter is very good. It's a nice large very

06:29stable head and you've also got a choice of alignment lines whether you want a plain head

06:33or a line or a triple track marking system which will get you pointing in the right direction.

06:37But for me I think for this particular category then I'd recommend the Innesis High MOI putter.

06:43It does what it says on the tin. It's a very high MOI head. It's got a nice clean look with a nice very

06:49stable head with weights in the corners and the face has got an insert on it as well and it gives

06:54very good roll and the key thing is it's very good value for money. You're probably going to find this

06:58for around about £150. So if you're in the market for a high MOI putter with a bit of forgiveness

07:03that would be my choice. So there you have it the ultimate bag for high handicappers. Hopefully that's

07:09given you some great ideas of what you can go and test or some recommendations on what to go and try

07:13at the driving range and depending on what part of the bag you're looking to upgrade.

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