Your Golf Clubs—Forget The Marketing, Use Your Head!

The bottom line when it comes to equipment—a good player is going to be good no matter what equipment they use (as long as their clubs are fit properly and they like what they are playing), just as a bad player is going to be bad regardless of their equipment.

Golfers seem to be willing to spend a lot of money on new clubs in exchange for marginal, if any, improvement in score. Rather than spend a ton of money on new equipment, what do you think would happen if you were to spend that money on developing a better golf swing?

I know why golfers would rather spend their money on equipment. It's easy, it's quick, it's relatively painless, and you get something shiny and new with which to play. Let's face it, buying new golf clubs is exciting and we all like to do it.

On the other hand, when you learn the basics of sound fundamentals and try to apply them to your golf swing, it's painful and frustrating, and you don't get anything material to show for it. But if you stick with it, you'll develop a better swing, which will translate into better scores and more enjoyment. Anyone who plays golf would love to improve, whether they will admit it or not. The question is, how hard are they willing to work for that improvement? If the answer is not much, then try new clubs, but make sure they are fit for your swing and physique.

When you do buy a new set of golf clubs, the brand really doesn't matter as long as they come from a quality manufacturer (for quality control) and you like what you see and you like the way they feel when you hit them. Whether you are buying a new set or playing with an old set, what really matters is that your clubs fit your body and swing. As far as fitting goes, for irons, lie angle and golf shaft characteristics are the most important aspects to consider. You should also have the lofts on all irons checked to see if they meet manufacturer's specs, as they tend to be inconsistent. For metal woods, fitting is getting more detailed. The idea is to find the optimum combination of such factors as launch angle, spin rate, clubhead speed, ball speed, etc.

Be sure to go to a skilled professional—a club fitter who has extensively studied the art of club fitting. There are many stores and professionals out there who claim to fit clubs, but many of them are not well trained and tend to not be thorough! With these less skilled club fitters it's very possible that your clubs won't come close to fitting properly!

Ideally, you will hit each and every club off of a lie board to determine correct lie angles and have your clubhead speed, and shaft load measured so that the proper shaft will be selected—the shaft is the most important part of your club! There may be a number of other measurements a skilled fitter will take, but not being an expert in this field, I really don't know what they're doing these days. As you can imagine, a thorough and precise club fitting will be somewhat expensive, but it is money well spent if you're serious about your game. I highly recommend that every golfer wanting the most from their clubs, whether buying a new set, or not, have their clubs checked and adjusted to fit their swing. Don't let ill fitting clubs hinder your game!

Next Page—What drills and training aids, if any, can help your golf swing

Contents—descriptions and links to the varied topics at CEgolf.com

Casey Eberting Instruction Information—lesson options and a description of what I teach

Casey Eberting Golf Schools and San Antonio Golf Lessons and Golf Instruction
In Texas Hill Country just north of San Antonio
(35 minutes north of San Antonio International Airport)