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Making the wrong equipment choice can have a negative impact on your game. In this video, we break down common misconceptions about golf gear, from whether high handicappers always need forgiving clubs to the real importance of the shaft. Watch to avoid costly mistakes.
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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're going to be talking you through the 10 golf gear myths that can
00:12have a really negative impact on your game.
00:15Yeah, I think these are all theories that people have about why certain equipment might
00:19be right for them, but actually those theories are based on misconceptions that sometimes
00:22are wrong and they can sometimes lead to you buying things that aren't quite right for
00:27you.
00:27Guys, if you're new to the Golf Monthly channel, please do hit the subscribe button to make
00:30sure that you don't miss any of our videos, but let's take a look now at the 10 biggest
00:34golf 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.
00:46Now, there are lots of different reasons why you might play off the handicap you play off.
00:50It might be that you're a higher handicapper not because your ball striking isn't consistent,
00:54but 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.
01:00If you automatically go for irons that are aimed at higher handicappers, those irons might
01:04well have offset built into them.
01:06But if your consistent miss is left, that actually, that offset isn't going to do you any favours.
01:10So it's just about nuance.
01:12There's a bit more to it than just thinking that just because you're a higher handicapper,
01:15you should go for a certain set of golf clubs, think about your own game, think about where
01:19you're throwing away shots.
01:20That's more helpful than just thinking, I pay off a certain handicap, therefore I should
01:23go for a certain set of golf clubs.
01:30Now, the second golf gear myth is that everyone needs a lower spinning driver, and while some
01:35golfers out there will definitely benefit from lowering their spin to maximise carry distance,
01:39actually, it's more about optimising the spin that you generate and how you combine that
01:44with the launch angle and the ball speed that you bring to the table.
01:46It's all about bringing those factors together to maximise carry distance.
01:52So if you are quite a high launching player, then yes, potentially knocking some spin off
01:55could maximise distance, but there will be situations where taking spin off your drives
02:00actually will be a detrimental effect to the distance and the performance of your drive.
02:05So it's just something to bear in mind, be careful, knocking spin off doesn't always lead
02:09to 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.
02:22Now of course it really is very important, but it's just one piece of the jigsaw.
02:26So take a driver fitting, for example, the fitter will have a whole host of different options
02:31available to them, so that different shafts, of course, but then you've got lie angles, you've
02:35got lofts, you've got different weight settings in the head, and they all make a difference
02:39to the performance of the driver.
02:40So just laying it all on the door of the shaft and saying that it's really important to get
02:44the right shaft for you.
02:45Yes it is, but you also need to get all the factors right in the heads to make sure 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
03:00spin around the greens, and as a result they choose a golf ball that's orientated more towards
03:05distance because that's where they feel like they're a more kind of bigger, more significant
03:09performance gains to be had.
03:11But actually, if you're hitting chip shots around the greens, as long as the lie is clean
03:14and 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.
03:21And actually, if you switch into a premium urethane-covered ball, you will see the amount
03:26of control that you generate increase, and that gives you more options around the greens.
03:30It should help you get up and down more often.
03:32So just because maybe your short game is a weakness, you're a bad chipper, or maybe you're
03:37a high handicapper, it doesn't mean that you can't benefit from the performance and the
03:42field benefits that a premium golf ball offers.
03:49The next one on our list is that draw-biased drivers are for higher handicappers.
03:54Now, that's not the case.
03:55Instead, draw-biased drivers are for those players that tend to hit a consistent fade and
03:59want a little bit more distance, want a slightly straighter ball flight, or for those players
04:03that hit quite a big slice and are looking for something that's going to guard against
04:07their bad shot.
04:08Now, draw-biased drivers can be used by players of all handicap abilities.
04:12So just because you're a higher handicapper, don't automatically assume that a draw-biased
04:16driver is right for you.
04:18It's based less on your handicapability and much more on your ball flight.
04:27So the next golf gear myth on our list is that every golfer needs a gap wedge.
04:31And actually, in truth, every golfer needs even loft gaps between each of their wedges.
04:37And a lot of it comes down to what loft your pitching wedge is.
04:40You can find it out online.
04:41If your pitching wedge is quite strong in loft, the chances are you probably will need
04:44a gap wedge to plug that gap in between your pitching wedge and your sand wedge.
04:49And it also comes down to how many wedges you want to carry.
04:52And that will depend, in turn, on what clubs feature in the top end of your bag.
04:57So if you have quite a lot of clubs in the top end of your bag, maybe you've got an
05:00extra
05:00hybrid in there or a utility iron, you'll have to make sacrifices elsewhere in your bag to
05:05hit that 14 club limit.
05:06And therefore, you might need to opt for a three wedge make-up rather than a four wedge
05:11make-up.
05:12I use four wedges.
05:13I prefer the options around the greens.
05:16And also, I play quite a short golf course, so I have quite a lot of wedge shots into greens.
05:20So I want to have more loft gaps covered off, more distances covered off with those different
05:24wedges.
05:25But if that's something that's not applicable to your course, if you feel like you get
05:29more performance benefits from having more clubs in the top end of your bag, then maybe
05:33you won't need a gap wedge.
05:34You can go from a pitching wedge to a sand wedge and then a lob wedge.
05:37As long as the loft gaps are relatively even, then it should be quite easy to control the
05:41distances 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.
05:54The first is that any fitting involves a series of static measurements.
05:58So those things that are going to enable you to find the right shaft lengths, the right
06:02lie 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 clubface that little bit more often.
06:09And then on top of that, a key part of any fitting is to help a player guard against
06:14their bad shots.
06:15So it might well be that your bad shot tends to leak out to the right or that you tend
06:19to hit it low and left sometimes and that's your bad shot.
06:22The fitters can do things when they're setting the golf clubs up for you that will help
06:26guard 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 slower
06:39swingers.
06:40And I would 100% argue that case because I've done some testing here at West Hill with
06:44Yonex testing their new irons with graphite shafts and I was actually blown away by the
06:48performance was on offer.
06:49Yes, it does feel a bit lighter and it takes some getting used to, and yes, they do launch
06:53the ball a little bit higher than steel, but the dispersion was really tight.
06:58It didn't feel whippy at all.
06:59If you get the right spec for you in terms of that flex profile, I think you'd actually
07:03really 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.
07:14So if you're a bit of a range rat, you like to hit a lot of balls, potentially graphite
07:18shafts could unlock a little bit of extra time for you to do that.
07:21And from what I've seen, there really isn't a sacrifice in performance if you go for a
07:25custom fitting.
07:26So definitely don't discount graphite if you're looking to upgrade your irons.
07:34Finding the right putter is all about feel.
07:37Now 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, all of their
07:42putter ranges offer a really good feel.
07:44There are some slight differences, but they all offer a good feel.
07:46So actually, finding the right putter is more about finding something that's the right length
07:50for you so that you can stand more consistently and in a better way over the ball so that your
07:54eyes are in the right position over the ball.
07:56And also so that you can find a putter that complements your stroke.
07:59Some players will have more of a straight back and through stroke, some players will have
08:03a stronger arc.
08:03Whatever it is, you need to try and marry up the putter with your stroke.
08:07If 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
08:20what us amateurs are using.
08:22And actually, in reality, the equipment that both of us are using is very similar.
08:27Of course, Tour Pros have access to the Tour Trucks with some specialist technicians
08:30that are able to make some very specific changes to the heads, whether it's hot melting in
08:35drivers to position weight exactly where they want it or special grinds for different course
08:39conditions on their wedges, which allows the wedge to interact with the ground in a slightly
08:43different way depending on the grass they're playing and things like that.
08:46But generally speaking, the heads that you can buy are the same as what the Tour Pros are
08:50using.
08:50So don't go thinking that they're playing a completely different game to us.
08:54It's very similar equipment.
08:56Unfortunately, they're just using it a lot better than us.
08:59So there you have it.
08:59That's our list of 10 Golf Gear myths.
09:02Guys, before you go, please do hit the pause button and let us know if you think we've missed
09:05anything.
09:06There's quite a lot of misconceptions that people have about golf equipment and finding the
09:10right equipment for them.
09:10If you think we've missed anything, let us know.
09:12Yeah.
09:13And thanks for watching.
09:14If you like what you're watching, make sure you click the like button and do subscribe
09:17to the Golf Month YouTube channel if you haven't already, so make sure you don't miss any of
09:20our equipment videos.
09:21But that's all from us from West Hill Golf Club.
09:23It's goodbye.
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