By Dave Kendall
I think you would expect a golf instructor to suggest that the best way to better golf scores is to improve your technique and understanding. I believe this is true, but let’s go beyond that for a minute. Becoming a better golfer is a matter of eliminating the obstacles to success.
Here at Miles of Golf we see a great number of students who have equipment that truly compliments their pursuit of good golf. Others, however, fall into two categories:
1) players who do not use many of their clubs because they are too hard to hit, thus do not work well, or
2) players who insist on trying to use clubs that do not work because they think they should be able to hit them, but consistently miss them, usually because the loft is too low.
I try to practice a couple of simple concepts. I will not pull a club out of my bag on the course that I do not believe to be reliable. I do not have room in my bag for a club that I will not pull out of my bag on the course.
Using myself as an example, I do not carry a 3-wood, a 3- iron or a 4- iron, and my 5 iron may be leaving soon. Instead, I carry an 18-degree fairway wood and three hybrids, 19 degree, 23 degree, and 26 degree. My driver is also built for reliability, 10.5 degree with a shaft that allows me to work the ball both right and left.
Another priority in building your set is putting together a team of wedges with lofts and bounce angles that give you the ability to create various shot trajectories out of various lies.
Virtually all golfers who putt well have the ability to start the ball on the line they aim, have an ability to control speed, and have an ability to read break, and uphill–downhill slope. The putter you use should be of a design that is easy to aim and should be of an appropriate length and appropriate loft that allows for a proper roll easily and predictably.
Club fitting is far from simply fitting for length, lie, shaft flex and grip size. Although fitting involves these things, it involves putting together a set of clubs that value reliability rather than a spectacular result, not very often. This approach will contribute to more consistent scoring.
