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In this video Neil Tappin and Joel Tadman offer some pointers about your equipment choices. Many golfers have ideas about what might be best for them but sometimes these can be based on pre-conceptions that are wrong. Of course, this can lead to you spending money on golf gear that isn't quite right for you. In this video they look at what the 10 biggest golf gear myths are.
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00:04Hello everyone, Neil Tappan and Joel Turnman here from Golf Monthly and welcome along to
00:08West Hill where we'll be talking you through the 10 Golf Gear myths that can have a really
00:13negative impact on your game. Yeah, I think these are all theories that people have about
00:17why certain equipment might be right for them, but actually those theories are based on misconceptions
00:21that sometimes are wrong and they can sometimes lead to you buying things that aren't quite right
00:26for you. Guys, if you're new to the Golf Monthly channel, please do hit the subscribe button
00:30to make sure that you don't miss any of our videos. But let's take a look now at the 10
00:34biggest golf gear myths.
00:40OK, so the first myth we are going to look at is that higher handicappers should always
00:44go for more forgiving golf clubs. Now, there are lots of different reasons why you might
00:49play off the handicap you play off. It might be that you're a higher handicapper not because
00:52your ball striking isn't consistent, but actually because your short game is letting you down.
00:56It might well be that you're a higher handicapper looking for a new set of irons. If you automatically
01:01go for irons that are aimed at higher handicappers, those irons might well have offset built into
01:06them. But if your consistent miss is left, that actually, that offset isn't going to
01:10do you any favours. So it's just about nuance. There's a bit more to it than just thinking
01:14that just because you're a higher handicapper, you should go for a certain set of golf clubs.
01:17Think about your own game. Think about where you're throwing away shots. That's more helpful
01:21than just thinking, I pay off a certain handicap, therefore I should go for a certain set of golf clubs.
01:30Now, the second golf gear myth is that everyone needs a lower spinning driver. While some golfers
01:35out there will definitely benefit from lowering their spin to maximise carry distance, actually,
01:40it's more about optimising the spin that you generate and how you combine that with the launch
01:44angle and the ball speed that you bring to the table. It's all about bringing those factors
01:48together to maximise carry distance. So if you are quite a high launching player, then yes, potentially
01:54knocking some spin off could maximise distance. But there will be situations where taking spin
01:59off your drives actually will be a detrimental effect to the distance and the performance of
02:05your drive. So it's just something to bear in mind. Be careful. Knocking spin off doesn't always
02:09lead to more distance.
02:15The next myth is, and it's something that we get a lot of comments about on our videos,
02:19is that the shaft is the most important part of the club. Now, of course, it really is very
02:23important, but it's just one piece of the jigsaw. So take a driver fitting, for example,
02:28the fitter will have a whole host of different options available to them so that different shafts,
02:33of course, but then you've got lie angles, you've got lofts, you've got different weight settings
02:37in the head and they all make a difference to the performance of the driver. So just
02:41laying it all on the door of the shaft and saying that it's really important to get the right shaft
02:45for you. Yes, it is, but you also need to get all the factors right in the heads to make
02:49sure that
02:49you walk away with the clubs that are right for you.
02:56Now, the next Golf Gear myth is that some golfers think they're not good enough to generate spin
03:01around the greens. And as a result, they choose a golf ball that's orientated more towards distance,
03:05because that's where they feel like there are more kind of bigger, more significant performance
03:09gains to be had. But actually, if you're hitting chip shots around the greens, as long as the lie
03:14is clean and you're striking the ball relatively well, you've got fresh grooves, you've got clean
03:18club faces, you will be generating a decent amount of backspin. And actually, if you switch into a
03:23premium urethane-covered ball, you will see the amount of control that you generate increase. And that
03:28gives you more options around the greens. It should help you get up and down more often. So just
03:33because maybe your short game is a weakness, you're a bad chipper, or maybe you're a high handicapper,
03:38it doesn't mean that you can't benefit from the performance and the field benefits that a premium
03:43golf ball offers.
03:49The next one on our list is that draw bias drivers are for higher handicappers. Now, that's not the case.
03:55Instead, draw bias drivers are for those players that tend to hit a consistent fade and want a little
04:00bit more distance, want a slightly straighter ball flight, or for those players that hit quite a big
04:04slice and are looking for something that's going to guard against their bad shot. Now, draw bias drivers
04:09can be used by players of all handicap abilities. So just because you're a higher handicapper, don't
04:14automatically assume that a draw bias driver is right for you. It's based less on your handicap ability
04:26So the next golf gear myth on our list is that every golfer needs a gap wedge. And actually, in
04:32truth,
04:32every golfer needs even loft gaps between each of their wedges. And a lot of it comes down to what
04:38loft
04:39your pitching wedge is. You can find it out online. If your pitching wedge is quite strong in loft,
04:43the chances are you probably will need a gap wedge to plug that gap in between your pitching wedge and
04:48your
04:48sand wedge. And it also comes down to how many wedges you want to carry. And that will depend
04:53in turn on what clubs feature in the top end of your bag. So if you have quite a lot
04:58of clubs in
04:58the top end of your bag, maybe you've got an extra hybrid in there or a utility iron, you'll have
05:03to
05:03make sacrifices elsewhere in your bag to hit that 14 club limit. And therefore, you might need to opt for
05:08a three wedge makeup rather than a four wedge makeup. I use four wedges. I prefer the options around the
05:15greens. And also, I play quite a short golf course, so I have quite a lot of wedge shots into
05:20green.
05:20So I want to have more loft gaps covered off, more distances covered off with those different wedges.
05:25But if that's something that's not applicable to your course, if you feel like you get more
05:29performance benefits from having more clubs in the top end of your bag, then maybe you won't need
05:33a gap wedge. You can go from a pitching wedge to a sand wedge and then a lob wedge. As
05:37long as the
05:38loft gaps are relatively even, then it should be quite easy to control the distances on those shorter shots.
05:48The next myth is that some golfers think they're not good enough to get custom fitted,
05:52and there's a couple of elements to this. The first is that any fitting involves a series of
05:57static measurements. So those things that are going to enable you to find the right shaft lengths,
06:01the right lie angles for your game and the right thickness of grips, they will all make a difference
06:06and they will help you find the middle of the club face that little bit more often. And then on
06:10top
06:10of that, a key part of any fitting is to help a player guard against their bad shot. So it
06:15might
06:15well be that your bad shot tends to leak out to the right or that you tend to hit it
06:20low and left
06:21sometimes and that's your bad shot. The fitters can do things when they're setting the golf clubs up
06:25for you that will help guard against those shots that are really costing you out on the golf course.
06:35Now the next golf gear myth on our list is that graphite shafted irons are only for
06:39slower swingers and I would 100% argue that case because I've done some testing here at West Hill
06:43with Yonex testing their new irons with graphite shafts and I was actually blown away by the
06:48performance was on offer. Yes, it does feel a bit lighter and it takes some getting used to
06:52and yes, they do launch the ball a little bit higher than steel but the dispersion was really tight,
06:57it didn't feel whippy at all. If you get the right spec for you in terms of that flex profile,
07:02I think you'd actually really benefit from or really enjoy the feel of performance on offer.
07:07And the fact that they are a lot lighter means less effort is required, they feel a lot smoother
07:11and you might even be able to practice for a little bit more. So if you're a bit of a
07:14range rat,
07:15you like to hit a lot of balls, potentially graphite shafts could unlock a little bit of extra time
07:20for you to do that. And from what I've seen, there really isn't a sacrifice in performance
07:24if you go for a custom fitting. So definitely don't discount graphite if you're looking to upgrade your irons.
07:34Finding the right putter is all about feel. Now there's actually a lot more to it than that.
07:38The first thing I'll say is that when it comes to the mainstream manufacturers,
07:41all of their putter ranges offer a really good feel. There are some slight differences,
07:45but they all offer a good feel. So actually, finding the right putter is more about finding
07:49something that's the right length for you so that you can stand more consistently and in a better
07:53way over the ball so that your eyes are in the right position over the ball. And also, so that
07:57you can find a putter that complements your stroke. Some players will have more of a straight back and
08:01through stroke. Some players will have a stronger arc. Whatever it is, you need to try and marry up the
08:06putter with your stroke. If you can do that, then you should find a putter that's right for you.
08:15So the final Golf Gear myth is that Tour Pros are using completely different equipment to what us
08:21amateurs are using. And actually, in reality, the equipment that both of us are using is very
08:25similar. Of course, Tour Pros have access to the Tour Trucks with some specialist technicians that are
08:30able to make some very specific changes to the head, whether it's hot melting in drivers to position
08:36weight exactly where they want it, or special grinds for different course conditions on their wedges,
08:41which allows the wedge to interact with the ground in a slightly different way depending on the grass
08:45they're playing and things like that. But generally speaking, the heads that you can buy are the same
08:49as what the Tour Pros are using. So don't go thinking that they're playing a completely different
08:53game to us. It's very similar equipment. Unfortunately, they're just using it a lot better than us.
08:59So there you have it. That's our list of 10 Golf Gear myths. Guys, before you go, please do hit
09:03the
09:03pause button and let us know if you think we've missed anything. There's quite a lot of
09:07misconceptions that people have about golf equipment and finding the right equipment for them.
09:11If you think we've missed anything, let us know. Yeah, and thanks for watching. If you like what
09:14you're watching, make sure you click the like button and do subscribe to the Golf Month YouTube
09:18channel if you haven't already, so make sure you don't miss any of our equipment videos. But that's all
09:22from us from West Hill Golf Club. Just goodbye.
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