Is It Time To Upgrade Your Clubs?

By Jeff Jackson

Has the era of high-tech passed you by? Are you still using the same set of clubs for the past ten years? If that’s the case, it may be time to look for some new clubs – or at least look at updating what you have now.

Today’s models are longer, lighter and have larger heads than those of a decade ago. Many more options are available when it comes to choosing your 14-club set. Whether you are thinking about woods, irons or a putter, if you answer “yes” to a few of these questions, it’s time to go club – or club repair - shopping.

1. Are you always hitting first from the fairway?

If that’s the case, take a look at your driver. Today’s models are longer and lighter than those of the past. The longer the club, the more potential for distance – longer clubs offer the possibility of longer shots.

Lighter shafts allow the clubs to be made longer – so longer and lighter is a good thing when it comes time to search for distance. Plus, driver heads are larger today. More than 60 percent of drivers today are made from some form of titanium. Titanium is a strong, light material that allows a club head to be made larger.

Larger club heads effectively increase the “missing area” for most players. In other words, a player can now hit the ball slightly off center and the ball will still go relatively straight. Bigger heads twist less on off-center hits – this is known as having a higher moment of inertia – less twisting means straighter shots.

Another phenomenon of today’s clubs is something called COR. COR is “Coefficient of Restitution.” A club with a higher COR may tend to add a few yards to your shots when struck on center. Generally a club with a thinner face or specialized face construction will have a higher COR.

There are limits on just how high a club’s COR can be. The USGA (United States Golf Association) has set a limit of .83 on COR. To determine COR, tests are done by shooting a ball at the club’s face at 100 miles per hour. The speed of the ball rebounding from the face is then measured. If the ball comes off at 83 miles per hour, the COR is .83. Adding a high COR driver with a lightweight graphite shafts at longer length will offer you the potential to be hitting last from the fairway instead of first. Take a trip to your pro shop or club maker for a test of the latest in today’s long distance drivers.

2. Is directional control a problem even though your playing partners tell you that you have a good swing?

Next time you are on the range, take a look at where most of your shots travel. Look at your irons and woods separately. Looking at your iron shots, is there a trend toward either missing shots to the left or right? If so, lie angle again could be the culprit.

If an iron’s lie angle is too upright for your swing, especially in shorter irons, you will tend to pull a lot of your shots. If the lie is too flat, often pushes result. In effect, if you think your alignment is correct and you feel like you have made a good swing but the ball either consistently goes left or right of target, have the lie of your clubs checked.

Through no fault of your swing, you could be missing a couple of greens per round, adding costly strokes to your score. While you’re visiting the range, hit some woods as well. Concentrate on the driver and if you hit most of your drives straight - especially with your new, larger-headed model - no problem. But, if you tend to slice or hook a majority of your shots, the face angle of your club may not match your swing.

If you slice most of the time – as nearly all golfers do, your club face could be open. A more closed club face should help improve accuracy. The converse is also true: for a player who hooks the ball too often, a more open face may be helpful.

3. Do others tell you to “stand up” or “bend over” when you address the ball? It could be your clubs and not you.

If your answer to this question is “yes,” the lie or length of your clubs may be incorrect for you. A club’s length is a key element in how a player stands at address. Any unnatural posture at address will most likely lead to inconsistent impacts.

A club that is too long may lead to hitting behind the ball; a club too short may cause topping of shots. In any event, consistency will suffer.

If the lie of the club is too upright, a player may have to raise his hands at address, an unnatural thing to do. The chances of that player delivering the club to impact with his hands in that same position is virtually non-existent.

If the club is too flat, the player’s hands will be held too low, again a difficult thing to match at address and impact. Thus, if you feel like you have to manipulate your hands at address to make the club look or feel “right,” chances are your clubs have a length or lie that is not matched to your swing.

4. Do your playing companions laugh at how high or low you hit your shots?

Watch the height of your tee shots the next time you play. Compare the trajectory to that of your playing companions. If there is a big difference, either high or low, the loft of your driver may be suspect. Too much loft leads to higher trajectories – and often lost distance. Too low of a loft generally leads to inconsistencies, often in the form of slices.

If you suffer from inconsistent, slicing tee shots, more driver loft will add more backspin to your shots, helping to straighten them. Find a club fitter who has a launch monitor. By comparing the loft and ball spin rates for a number of clubs, you can find the one that is best for you.

Swing speed is a factor in choosing a club, particularly when looking at the shaft. But, with the variety of club lofts and golf balls available today, it is wise to utilize launch technology when choosing a driver. The launch monitor will determine the optimum angle of launch for your swing. In doing this, club design and loft will be considered, as will ball type. Fitting is no longer just about the club; the ball plays a key role as well.

5. Do you have a set of “sledgehammers” or “feathers?”

Feel is a very difficult parameter of a club to describe. It is a very personal thing. What feels good to one player may not feel good to another.

The weight of a club – and the distribution of that weight – forms the basis of how a club feels to a player. If a club feels too heavy, the player often perceives that he will have to “heft” the club in order to swing it. This leads to jerky moves, ruining any chance for a smooth swing.

If a club is too light, there is almost an absence of feel. With no balanced feel to a club, it will be difficult to swing consistently, leading to errant shots. If the weight or balance of your clubs does not feel good to you, it will almost certainly lead to a reduction in accuracy; when checking out your current clubs, swing each one to see how it feels – not only be itself, but in relation to the other clubs in the set.

6. Feel like every shot is like hitting a board? It might not be your fault!

Your hands hurt? No feedback? No flex? Are any of these common after a number of your shots? If so, you may be hampered by shafts that are too stiff for you. They could also be too heavy.

Shafts that are too stiff will not provide much positive feedback to a player, often causing the player to say the club feels “dead” or that it has no feel. Typically the softer the shaft, the more feel it provides to a player. Heavy shafts are often said to be less responsive, especially among slower swinging players.

The kick point of a shaft plays a role too - on a lesser scale. A shaft with a higher kick point may feel too stiff to many players. Lower kick shafts often provide more feel to a player. Kick point does not play a large role in how high or low a shot goes as once thought, but does have a definite effect on feel.

What about graphite shafts? Most drivers today have graphite shafts, as do a high percentage of fairway woods. Irons are increasingly available with graphite. When looking at graphite shafts, torque becomes a factor. Torque is how much a shaft resists twisting during the swing. A lower torque shaft (with 2 degrees, for example) will twist less than a higher torque 5-degree model. Shafts with low torque often feel “boardy” to many players, while higher torque shafts feel more responsive during the swing.

If your clubs feel dead, a shaft change may be in order. Look as well to the ball for a change in feel. There are literally thousands of choices today when it comes to balls. Don’t play a ball just because Tiger plays it. Cover type and construction materials and layering play a role in ball feel and performance. If your shots lacks feel maybe a softer cover ball will help. Your golf professional can recommend a number of ball options for you to try.

7. Do your hands slip when you swing?

Players come in different size and so do grips. The vast majority of players are playing with grips that are either not sized for them correctly or that are worn and in need of replacing.

Replacing grips is easy and inexpensive; it is the most cost-effective way to improve your play and confidence. Grip one of your clubs and look at the top hand on the grip. If your middle two fingers touch the heel pad of your hand, the grip is probably very close to the proper size. If there is a gap or if the fingers dig into your hand, the grip may be too large or too small. A grip that is either too small or too large will create the tendency for a player to re-grip the club during the swing. Any re-gripping will reposition the clubface, leading to errant shots. Properly sized grips eliminate this potential for re-gripping during the swing.

Take a look at your grips. Are there any shiny spots? Is the design worn from the grip at any point? Has the grip lost its tackiness? If any of these are true, it’s most likely time for anew set of grips. It’s also the best time to make sure the grips are properly sized for you. The grip is the only direct contact a player has with the club. It must offer a non-slip feel in the proper size.

Grips are a starting point toward good feel and better play. There are mind-boggling choices when it comes to the types of grips on the market today. A best recommendation is to find the type that feels best to you and then have it sized to match your hands – a common repair task for today’s club repairman.

8. Get rid of the clubs you can’t hit – right now!

All of us are faced with the decision of how to fill our bag with 14 clubs. Which should we carry and which should stay at home?

In the case of amateur golfers, there is not one club that should stay home, but probably two or three. By far the most difficult clubs to hit for most players are long irons. The lower loft makes it difficult to get the ball airborne for most players – especially those with slower swing speeds. Plus, the less loft a club has, the less backspin on a shot. Backspin can help to reduce hooks and slices.

Think about it – you certainly don’t slice a wedge as much a No. 4 iron, do you? Backspin from loft is one reason. Add in the fact that longer irons are just that – longer in length – making it more difficult for most amateurs to return them to impact consistently and it’s easy to see why most players need not carry the 2, 3 or 4 irons.

So what do you replace them with? Look to any number of utility woods on the market. These clubs have larger, more forgiving heads, are often shorter in length and have centers of gravity designed to help get the ball airborne.

Look for clubs of specific lofts rather than just looking for a No. 7 or No. 9 wood. Keep in mind that different manufacturers use different loft standards. So not all clubs stamped with a “No. 7,” for example, have the same loft or playing characteristics.

Your pro or club maker can help in your decision-making. More and more touring professionals are going to utility clubs. If it’s good enough for them, it should be good enough for you!

9. What needs fixing: Are my clubs in good shape or not?

OK, you don’t have the cash to buy new clubs right now. What can you do to ensure your clubs are as good as they can be?

Initially, look at the clubs to see if there are any dented steel shafts or frayed graphite shafts. These need attention right away. Dented or frayed shafts will break eventually, leading to potential injury. Don’t take chances with such shafts.

Next, look for rust spots or mineral deposits on the clubs. A lubricant such as WD-40 will remove the marks and will help to prevent their reoccurring. Examine the grips. If they are dirty, clean them with soap and water. If they show obvious wear, replace them. As mentioned, new grips offer an inexpensive way to possibly improve club performance.

Loft and lie alterations may help improve your accuracy – again such alterations are fairly inexpensive. Length and weight changes are more expensive, so if saving a buck is a necessity, save these for later. If you have to do a lot of maintenance on your current set, it may be time to start a “golf club fund” for next season – it will be here before you know it.

10. Do you look like all of the other golfers you play with? If not, your equipment shouldn’t either.

The simple answer to this one is that you are unique and your equipment should be unique as well.

Each of us swings in a certain way, regardless of whether we are a 20-handicapper or a touring pro. Having clubs matched to your individual swing can only help to improve play.

While we might all want to be like Tiger, playing with their equipment probably would actually hurt our games. Tall players or short players may require length or lie adjustments, fast or slow swingers require different shafts, players of different abilities will opt for different head designs, and so on.

Having clubs that are matched to your game – either brand new or with updates on your current ones – can only help your game.

Editor’s Note: Jeff Jackson is the Owner/Operator of Granville Golfland www.granvillegolfland.com and Managing Director of Peerless Golf (www.peerlessgolf.com).  He can be reached at 740-587-4147 or by e-mail at jeffjackson@granvillegolfland.com.