- 5 minutes ago
Even good golfers sometimes fall foul of mistakes when it comes to their equipment, which can have a big impact on the outcome of their shots and the resulting scores. In this video, Joel Tadman runs through the eight most common gear mistakes even experienced golfers make, ranging from not checking your lofts and lies to choosing an iron model that doesn't reflect your true ability.
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00:00It's amazing, no matter how long people have played the game of golf, they still fall foul
00:04of some pretty basic mistakes with their equipment that can have a real impact on performance
00:09and the ability to shoot a good score. Now even as a low handicap golfer myself, in researching
00:14for this video, I discovered that I'm guilty of quite a few of these mistakes, so I think
00:19it's worth sharing the biggest gear howlers that even experienced golfers make to ensure
00:24that the same thing doesn't happen to you. Now mistake number one is not getting your
00:29lofts and your lies checked regularly. This applies to pretty much every club through
00:34the bag, but especially with your irons and your wedges. You think about the fact that
00:38with an iron and a wedge you're hitting the ground a lot and that force generates a lot
00:41of repercussions into the head in terms of the shaft. And over time, especially if the
00:46ground is hard, you take big divots, you've got quite a fast swing speed, that could well
00:51alter the lie angle of the head and also the loft of the club. Especially if your club is
00:57forged, that material is a bit softer. Over time, shot after shot could cause the club
01:02to kind of be pushed out of line. So it's very important that you get your lofts and
01:06your lies checked. In terms of the loft, you know, if your loft is out, if it's too strong
01:10or weak or it's creeping one way or the other over time, will lead to kind of bad distance
01:15gapping. So it might go longer or shorter than it's supposed to go. And in terms of the lie
01:20angle, if the lie angle is off, you know, you could get the toe or the heel entering the turf
01:24too much, which can cause the face to open or close, it can cause bad turf interaction
01:29and it'll widen the dispersion of your shot. So it's really important to see your local
01:33pro get your lofts and lies measured on a machine, get them calibrated so the distance
01:38gaps are nice and even, the turf interaction is spot on, the line goes perfect and that
01:42should lead to better gapping and more consistent shots. Mistake number two is picking a club based
01:48on out and out distance potential versus the control that it offers. I think we're all guilty
01:54in clubs through the bag, but especially with driver to pick the maker model that goes the
01:59furthest when we hit it out in the middle without considering how playable it is in a golf course
02:03environment. I think that's one of the main problems with custom fittings. You get in a
02:07groove with your swing and over time you'll learn to exactly strike the club out of the middle
02:12of the club face. And therefore the results can provide almost an alternative reality of what
02:16the performances of this club is like versus what it's like on the golf course. I think you really
02:20need to consider how playable certain drivers are. We know low spin drivers like for like out the
02:27middle are going to go further than kind of more forgiving higher spinning drivers, but think about
02:32how much control you really have over that low spin option when you take it onto the golf course.
02:37And more often than not, something that provides a little bit more spin, but is a little bit more
02:41forgiving will give you a nice balance of distance and playability. So don't get
02:45kind of bogged down into what your performance is like in a fitting. It's a different environment.
02:51You're getting in the zone. Think about the golf course. Think about what's going to be playable for
02:56you over a longer spectrum of shots, and that should give you better performance in the long run.
03:01Mistake number three is not getting your grips changed regularly enough. The amount of good golfers I
03:07see using worn out grips, whether that's kind of you can see the metal underneath or there's a complete
03:13shine to the grip. They're very smooth. They've lost that tackiness. You know, as good players,
03:18we feel like, oh, we don't, it doesn't really matter. We can still swing the club the way we used
03:22to, but actually a new grip can completely reinvigorate the feel and control you get over
03:27a golf club. And if they're starting to show signs of wear, signs that the grip is clearly beyond its
03:32best, it's well worth making that investment in a new set of grips to reinvigorate that feel and give
03:38you that control that you had when you first got them. And also making sure you have the same type
03:43of grip through the different clubs in your bag. Generally speaking, that is a rule that you should
03:47probably be following, apart from your putter, of course. But getting new grips on your clubs are
03:52really important. I think it's going to give you that extra level of control that maybe you didn't
03:56think you needed, but when you get it, I think you'll really appreciate it. Now, mistake number four
04:01relates to fairway woods and specifically a reluctance to upgrade this area of the bag versus
04:06others. We know keen golfers, avid golfers, very good golfers are very happy to invest in a new
04:11driver and a new set of irons. But when it comes to the fairy wood, there's often some old favourites
04:16that stay in there for longer than they probably should do. And yes, that familiarity breeds a bit
04:21of confidence. What you are losing out on is modern technology, and that is going to deliver an awful
04:26lot of speed and performance. In our testing that we've done, you can see some big gains in new
04:31fairy woods versus models from one or two generations previously. So if you've got an old
04:36favourite in there that's maybe five or even more years old, I think you should definitely think about
04:41upgrading to the latest model. It's going to give you a much more forgiveness and much more
04:45user-friendly package versus those from yesteryear. It's going to help make those shots a little bit
04:51easier, going to give you more playability from different lies. And there's definitely a few more
04:55options out there versus what we've seen previously in terms of different spin profiles, different sizes,
05:00that's going to suit your eye, different alignment needs as well. So you're definitely worth investing
05:04in a new fairy wood if that's an area that needs some attention for you.
05:08Now the next mistake relates to irons, and in particular, choosing an iron that's perhaps too
05:14good for you. What I mean by that is when you get fitted for irons, as I mentioned before in
05:18fittings,
05:19you kind of get into a bit of a groove, you start hitting the middle more often than not, and
05:23you start to
05:24maybe get a full sense of confidence about the type of iron that you could play. Maybe you opt for
05:28something
05:29that's a little bit more feel-orientated and more compact versus one that's a bit larger, a bit
05:33more forgiving. And you've got to think about the performance you're going to experience on the
05:37golf course. Obviously on the golf course, you get different lies, different slopes, different
05:41conditions. It's not going to be as easy to strike your irons out of the middle consistently versus
05:46when you're on the range, you've got a nice clean mat and a perfectly flat lie. It's a different
05:51ball game altogether. So really think about the type of model that you pick when it comes to
05:56playability on the golf course. I was a classic example of falling foul of this, you know, went
06:01for a fitting for the I-59s from Ping, really liked the feel out of the middle. I felt like
06:05I was
06:05getting some consistent results. When I got them out on the course, I wasn't able to translate that
06:09ball striking experience with that onto the course. As a result, my dispersion was a bit all over the
06:16place, and I've since opted for a slightly larger model in the I-230. So really think about what's
06:22going to work for you. Yes, you might hit them well in the fitting, but think about your ability,
06:26how consistent your ball striking is. And I will definitely always air towards the club that's
06:30going to give you a little bit more forgiveness because I think you'll really appreciate that
06:34consistency out on the golf course. And the next mistake I see golfers make is not teeing the ball
06:39at the correct height. Yes, there's some kind of wiggle room in terms of what is optimum for you,
06:44depending on your attack angle and the way you deliver the driver. But I'd say generally speaking,
06:48I see a lot of golfers teeing the ball too low. They feel like that gives them the best chance
06:53to
06:53hit the ball out the centre of the face. But actually, when you're striking the ball low,
06:57it's going to launch low with a little bit too much spin. I also tend to find you tend to
07:01hit
07:01more of a cut with that shape, which I think obviously is more important if you're looking
07:05for control. But generally speaking, you want to be striking the ball slightly higher up in the face.
07:10And when you're teeing the ball up, I would always recommend having about around about half the ball
07:13above the kind of crown of the driver. That's going to give you that optimum combination of
07:18high launch, low spin from this top part of the face, while also preserving the integrity of the
07:23front part of the crown. Because obviously, the other mistake is people that go too high,
07:27trying to get that high launch, low spin, kind of booming ball flight that's going to give them
07:32maximum distance. They often overdo it. And you get to see those sky marks on the front of the driver,
07:37which is not something that you want, especially if you just spent five or six hundred pounds on a
07:41completely new model. So try and get that ball around about halfway above the top of the driver.
07:45That should give you the optimum launch and spin and also help you with your direction as well.
07:51Now, the next mistake experienced golfers make is buying a new club based solely on how it looks.
07:56Now, I'm not saying that isn't important. And if there's a toss up between two clubs that perform
08:01very similarly, yes, you should absolutely choose the one that you prefer the look of. That's going
08:05to give you the most confidence. But that said, if there's a particular driver, for example,
08:09maybe you like the look of a compact head. In drivers, we see that compact heads are also
08:14the least forgiving and also probably the lowest spinning. So just because you like the look of a
08:18compact head doesn't necessarily mean it's going to give you the best performance versus
08:23other drivers in the range that might have a slightly larger profile or a bigger footprint that
08:27are actually going to give you a bit more playability and consistency on the golf course.
08:31So yes, it applies to drivers. I would definitely say it applies to irons as well.
08:34Certainly, when it comes to things like sole width and turf interaction, you might not prefer
08:39the look of a wide sole, but it's probably going to give you a better playability and
08:43a bit more margin for error when you strike three shots, especially if the conditions are
08:47slightly damp. So looks play a part, but I don't think they need to be the overriding
08:51factor when it comes to choosing your golf clubs. It really needs to be about performance
08:55and playability. And then when it comes to a toss up between clubs that perform similarly,
08:59that's when you decide based on looks.
09:01This is a three iron and for the majority of golfers, it needs to be nowhere near your
09:07golf bag. There's a lot of experienced golfers that persist with these long irons. Yes, you
09:11might prefer the look of an iron versus a hybrid, but over a longer period of shots, I think you're
09:16going to experience an awful lot more consistency in terms of front to back dispersion and also
09:20stopping power as well from a hybrid like club. It might take you a bit of time to get used
09:26to the
09:26look of it, but the playability that it delivers both off the tee, off the deck in the long run
09:31is
09:31going to hit you much better shots over that longer time span. So really consider switching
09:37your long irons, especially in the three iron or maybe even a two iron if you're struggling
09:41with that one. Consider switching into a hybrid or two. It's going to give you much more user-friendly
09:46performance in the long run.
09:47Now the last mistake golfers make is choosing a shaft, the flex that's too stiff for them. I think
09:53it's a bit of an ego thing. We don't want to be transitioning down in flex. We always want to
09:57feel
09:57like we're playing a stiffer shaft as humanly possible for whatever reason. It's a bit ridiculous,
10:02but I think it's the way a lot of golfers think, especially good players maybe who probably could
10:07be transitioning from an X into a stiff. They want to carry on playing the X because it's something
10:11they've always played. And that's something you really think about. Just because you play an extra stiff
10:14shaft five years ago doesn't mean necessarily that you've got the power in the locker to use one and
10:19benefit from one now. You know, if you are playing a shaft that's too stiffy, especially in the driver,
10:24you're going to see a shot pattern that's probably going to move to the right. You're going to struggle
10:28to square the face. It's probably going to not flight the ball as high as you want to, which means
10:32you
10:32might not be carrying those hazards that you've been accustomed to carrying down the years. So just
10:36because you want to play an extra stiff shaft or a stiff if you're between stiff and regular doesn't mean
10:40that you should be. When it comes to getting fitted, put your ego to one side, pick the flex of
10:45shaft
10:45that gives you the best performance. So that concludes our look at the biggest equipment
10:49mistakes even experienced golfers make. I hope you found it useful and not too patronizing. I think
10:54we could all take a look at the equipment we're using and maybe improve certain areas. And even
10:58myself in researching for this video, there was a couple that really stood out to me that rang alarm
11:03bells, for example, checking my lofts and lies. I haven't done that as much as I should do. I'm
11:07definitely going to get that done. And also some of the grips, especially on my wedges,
11:10they're looking a bit shiny and they're not giving me the grip that I probably should be getting on
11:15those kind of finesse shots around the green. So that's going to give me a better feel. I think
11:18I'm going to upgrade my grips when I get back to the golf course next week. So it's been useful
11:22for
11:22me. I hope it's been useful for you. Do let me know in the comments down below. I'd love to
11:26hear
11:26from you. And if we missed any, do let us know in the comments as well. I'd love to know
11:30what you're
11:30seeing other golf bags around your course that we maybe haven't mentioned in this video. But that's all
11:34for me from Peterborough Milton Golf Club. I'll see you next time.
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