A Small Golf-Club Buying Guide for Beginners

Even if you finally got the driver of your dreams for Christmas, hopefully, the wonderful person who gave it to you knew that you had gone through all the proper steps before choosing it.

Beginner golfers and more advanced golfers alike are not always experts on choosing the right clubs for their game. But, a golf swing is such a complex thing and the intricacies of each one can mean significant differences in scores depending on the club used.

Very often, the cost of a club is the main determinant of its suitability for your game. While less expensive clubs, bought from a non-golf retailer can save you money, you might not learn the game properly or gain the confidence you need due to a higher rate of duffed shots. And, no matter how good you are, your swing may not suit the stiffer shafts of some of the more expensive drivers.

Without further ado, here are just a few tips for better golf-club buying, for both beginners and experienced golfers.

1. Buy from a Golf Specialist

It’s easy to think that, because you’re just starting, it’s a waste of money to get clubs that are more expensive. But, on the contrary, it might be a waste of money if you don’t buy clubs that give you the highest chance of successfully picking up the game. Specialized golf stores and pro shops at golf clubs are the best places to buy clubs because they understand what beginners need, they know how to assess your swing (even if it isn’t fully developed), and they understand a range of clubs so they can make the right choice for your particular game.

2. Try Them Yourself

One of the things a specialty pro shop can help you with is giving you the opportunity to try different clubs. The best pro shop will suggest options, but the rest is up to you. You’ll need to take a few swings and determine for yourself which club is the best one.

3. Consider a Half Set of Clubs

Most beginners just need to keep swinging and try to make good contact to get their game into shape. Having every iron available can be a waste. The differences in the shot between consecutive irons is so subtle, it can be difficult for beginners to appreciate. Opting for a half, or at least smaller set of clubs can save you money while giving you more time on each club so you can better appreciate the differences when you begin using other clubs later on.

4. Try Perimeter-Weighted Club Heads

Golf club heads are usually weighted closer to the ‘sweet spot’, or the center of gravity of the club, to maximize driving distance. But beginners can have a more difficult time hitting that sweet spot, which can affect your swing in two ways. First, hitting outside the sweet spot will reduce your driving distance. Second, it will also increase the amount of vertical twist the club might go through due to an off-center hit, which will further reduce driving distance.

Like the name suggests, perimeter-weighted clubs distribute the weight of the club head around the perimeter of the club face, thereby greatly increasing the size of the sweet spot and reducing the incidence of club rotation due to off-center hits.

There are lots more ways of choosing the right clubs for your game, but many of them depend on your swing. The Pro Shop at the Royal Ashburn Golf Club is open throughout the winter, so you can take your time in finding the perfect clubs to optimize your game.