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 it's
00:19worth sharing the biggest gear howlers that even experienced golfers make to ensure that the same
00:25thing doesn't happen to you. Now mistake number one is not getting your lofts and your lies
00:30checked regularly. This applies to pretty much every club through the bag, but especially
00:34with your irons and your wedges. You think about the fact that with an iron and a wedge you're
00:39hitting the ground a lot and that force generates a lot of repercussions into the head in terms
00:44of the shaft. Over time, especially if the ground is hard, you take big divots, you've
00:49got quite a fast swing speed, that could well alter the lie angle of the head and also the
00:54loft of the club. Especially if your club is forged, that material is a bit softer. Over
00:59time, shot after shot could cause the club to be pushed out of line, so it's very important
01:05that you get your lofts and your lies checked. In terms of the loft, if your loft is out,
01:09if it's too strong or weak or it's creeping one way or the other over time, it will lead
01:14to bad distance gapping, so it might go longer or shorter than it's supposed to go. In terms
01:19of the lie angle, if the lie angle is off, you could get the toe or the heel entering
01:24the turf too much, which can cause the face to open or close, it can cause bad turf interaction,
01:30and it will 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 lie angle is 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
01:53guilty in clubs through the bag, but especially with driver to pick the maker model that goes
01:59the furthest when we hit it out in the middle without considering how playable it is in a
02:03golf course environment. I think that's one of the main problems with custom fittings.
02:06You get in a groove with your swing and over time you'll learn to exactly strike the club
02:11out of the middle of the club face, and therefore the results can provide almost an alternative
02:15reality of what the performances of this club is like versus what it's like on the golf course.
02:20I think you really need to consider how playable certain drivers are. We know low spin drivers,
02:26like for like out in the middle, are going to go further than kind of more forgiving,
02:30higher spinning drivers, but think about how much control you really have over that low spin
02:35option when you take it out onto the golf course. And more often than not, something that provides a
02:39little bit more spin but is a little bit more forgiving will give you a nice balance of distance and
02:44playability. So don't get kind of bogged down into what your performance is like in a fitting.
02:50It's a different environment. You're getting in the zone. Think about the golf course. Think about
02:54what's going to be playable for you over a longer spectrum of shots, and that should give you better
02:59performance in the long run. Mistake number three is not getting your grips changed regularly enough.
03:05The amount of good golfers I see using worn out grips, whether that's kind of you can see the
03:11metal underneath or there's a complete shine to the grip. They're very smooth. They've lost that
03:16tackiness. You know, as good players, we feel like, oh, it doesn't really matter. We can still
03:21swing the club the way we used to. But actually, a new grip can completely reinvigorate the feel and
03:26control you get over a golf club. And if they're starting to show signs of wear, signs that the grip is
03:32clearly beyond its best, it's well worth making that investment in a new set of grips to reinvigorate
03:37that feel and give you that control that you had when you first got them. And also making sure you
03:41have the same type of grip through the different clubs in your bag. Generally speaking, that is a
03:46rule that you should probably be following, apart from your putter, of course. But getting new grips
03:51on your on your clubs really important. I think it's going to give you that extra level of control
03:55that maybe you didn't think you needed. But when you get it, I think you'll really appreciate it.
03:59Now, mistake number four relates to fairway woods and specifically a reluctance to upgrade this
04:04area of the bag versus others. We know keen golfers, avid golfers, very good golfers are very
04:10happy to invest in a new driver, a new set of irons. But when it comes to the fairy wood,
04:14there's often some old favorites that stay in there for longer than they probably should do. And yes,
04:18that familiarity breeds a bit of confidence. What you are losing out on is modern technology,
04:24and that is going to deliver an awful lot of speed and performance. In our testing that we've done,
04:29you can see some big gains in new fairy woods versus models from one or two generations previously. So
04:36if you've got an old favorite in there that's maybe five or even more years old, I think you should
04:40definitely think about upgrading to the latest model. It's going to give you a much more forgiveness,
04:45a much more user-friendly package versus those from yesteryear. It's going to help make those shots a
04:51little bit easier, 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
04:59sizes that's going to suit your eye, different alignment needs as well. So definitely worth
05:03investing in 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 fittings,
05:19you kind of get into a bit of a groove, you start hitting the middle more often than not, and you 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 that's a little bit more feel-orientated and more compact versus one that's a bit larger,
05:33a bit more forgiving. And you've got to think about the performance you're going to experience
05:36on the golf 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 I was getting
06:06some consistent results. When I got them out on the course, I wasn't able to translate that ball
06:10striking experience with that onto the course. As a result, my dispersion was a bit all over the place
06:16and I've since opted for a slightly larger model in the I-230. So really think about what's going
06:22to 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
06:33consistency 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 to
06:54hit the ball out the centre of the face. But actually, when you're striking the ball low,
06:56it's going to launch low with a little bit too much spin. I also tend to find you tend to hit more of
07:01a cut with that shape, which I think obviously is more important if you're looking for control. But
07:06generally speaking, you want to be striking the ball slightly higher up in the face. And when you're
07:10teeing the ball up, I would always recommend having about around about half the ball above
07:14the kind of crown of the driver. That's going to give you that optimum combination of high launch,
07:19low spin from this top part of the face, while also preserving the integrity of the front part of
07:24the crown. Because obviously, the other mistake is people that go too high, trying to get that high
07:28launch, low spin, kind of booming ball flight is going to give them maximum distance, they often overdo it.
07:34And you get to see those sky marks on the front of the driver, which is not something that you want,
07:38especially if you just spent five or six hundred pounds on a completely new model. So try and get
07:42that ball around about halfway above the top of the driver. That should give you the optimum launch
07:47and spin, and also help you with your direction as well. Now, the next mistake experienced golfers
07:53make is buying a new club based solely on how it looks. Now, I'm not saying that isn't important,
07:58and if there's a toss up between two clubs that perform very similarly, yes, you should absolutely
08:03choose the one that you prefer the look of. That's going to give you the most confidence. But that said,
08:07if there's a particular driver, for example, maybe you like the look of a compact head.
08:12In drivers, we see that compact heads are also the least forgiving and also probably the lowest
08:16spinning. So just because you like the look of a compact head doesn't necessarily mean it's going
08:20to give you the best performance versus other drivers in the range that might have a slightly
08:25larger profile or a bigger footprint that's actually going to give you a bit more playability and
08:29consistency on the golf course. So yes, it applies to drivers. I would definitely say it applies to
08:33irons as well. Certainly when it comes to things like sole width and turf interaction,
08:38you might not prefer the look of a wide sole, but it's probably going to give you a better
08:42playability and a bit more margin for error on your strike three shots, especially if the
08:46conditions are slightly 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 and
08:55playability. And then when it comes to a toss up between clubs that perform similarly,
08:59that's when you decide based on looks. This is a three iron and for the majority of golfers,
09:05it needs to be nowhere near your golf bag. There's a lot of experienced golfers that persist
09:10with these long irons. Yes, you might prefer the look of an iron versus a hybrid, but over a longer
09:14period of shots, I think you're going to experience an awful lot more consistency in terms of
09:19front to back dispersion and also stopping power as well from a hybrid like club. It might take you a bit
09:24of time to get used to the look of it, but the playability that it delivers both off the tee,
09:30off the deck, in the long run is going to hit you much better shots over that like a longer time
09:34span. So really consider switching your long irons, especially in the three iron or maybe even a two
09:40iron if you're struggling with that one. Consider switching into a hybrid or two, it's going to give
09:44you much more user-friendly performance in the long run. Now the last mistake golfers make is choosing
09:50a shaft the flex that's too stiff for them. I think it's a bit of an ego thing. We don't want to be
09:55transitioning down in flex. We always want to feel like we're playing a stiffer shaft as humanly
10:00possible for whatever reason. It's a bit ridiculous, but I think it's the way a lot of golfers think,
10:04especially good players maybe who probably could be transitioning from an X into a stiff. They want
10:09to carry on playing the X because it's something they've always played. And that's something you really
10:12think about. Just because you play an extra stiff shaft five years ago doesn't mean necessarily that
10:17you've got the power in the locker to use one and benefit from one. Now, you know, if you are playing
10:22a shaft that's too stiffy, especially in the driver, you're going to see a shot pattern that's probably
10:26going to move to the right. You're going to struggle to square the face. It's probably going to not flight
10:30the ball as high as you want to, which means you might not be carrying those hazards that you've been
10:34accustomed to carrying down the years. So just because you want to play an extra stiff shaft or a stiff
10:38if you're between stiff and regular doesn't mean that you should be. When it comes to getting fitted,
10:43put your ego to one side, pick the flex of shaft that gives you the best performance.
10:46So that concludes our look at the biggest equipment mistakes even experienced golfers make. I hope
10:51you found it useful and not too patronizing. I think we could all take a look at the equipment
10:55we're using and maybe improve certain areas. And even myself, in researching for this video,
11:00there was a couple that really stood out to me that rang alarm bells, for example, checking my lofts
11:04and lies. I haven't done that as much as I should do. I'm definitely going to get that done. And also some
11:08of the grips, especially on my wedges, they're looking a bit shiny and they're not giving me the grip that I
11:13probably should be getting on those kind of finesse shots around the green. So that's going to give
11:17me better feel. I think I'm going to upgrade my grips when I get back to the golf course next week.
11:21So it's been useful for me. I hope it's been useful for you. Do let me know in the comments
11:25down below. I'd love to hear from you. And if we missed any, do let us know in the comments as well.
11:29I'd love to know what you're seeing of the golf bags around your course that we maybe haven't
11:33mentioned in this video. But that's all for me from Peterborough Milton Golf Club. I'll see you next time.