With marketing budgets of some equipment companies today, it's hard to know which clubs really are the best for a player. I think I still have an "old school" mindset when it comes to clubs: the best clubs are the clubs that suit you the best.
As a coach I believe that the equipment has to be correct for the player, otherwise it will make it very difficult to correct a swing fault that is directly caused by a club that is not fitted correctly. On the flip side, sometimes it is better to correct a swing fault before doing a fitting, as the fault may give a faulty "reading" when doing the fitting. So, club fitting and coaching go hand in hand.
The golf club is made up of 3 components; the grip, the shaft and the club head, and there are certain elements of each component that need to be looked at when choosing a club. Let's start with the club head. The first thing to consider is what type of club head will suit you best: a blade, semi blade or a full toe-heel weighted head. Once that has been decided on, the next thing is to check the lie angles. Lie angles have a huge impact on accuracy, especially with the shorter irons, and also play a part in the quality of the strike. In theory, if the toe of the club is down too much (called flat), the ball will go to the right. The problem is that we, as humans, will compensate, and when we hit with the longer clubs, that same compensation could cause a hook or a pull shot! If the club is too upright the ball will go to the left. The next element to check is loft. Sometimes the easiest way of correcting shots that fly too high or too low is to adjust the lofts. Once you get the set of clubs it would probably be a good idea to check the lofts too, as often the lofts aren't 100 percent correct!
Let's move on to the shaft. The most important aspect of the shaft is weight. I think that may surprise some people but the shaft is very important in giving the player the correct weight to match their swing style. Generally, somebody with a fast, aggressive swing will favour a heavier shaft, while somebody with a smoother swing will feel more comfortable with a lighter shaft. Graphite shafts are lighter than steel, going from as light as 40 grams, up to around 90 grams. Steel shafts would start at around 80-85 grams, going up to 135 grams. There are basically 5 different flexes to choose from, namely ladies, seniors, regular, stiff and extra stiff or tour flex. In my opinion, the element of "kick point" is given way too much time and energy as the difference between a high and a low kick point is very small. The last factor regarding the shaft is the length, and after lie angle is critical in helping a player to reach their potential. I have so many poor postures and swing faults originate from incorrect shaft length. The length will either give the player balance or take away from their balance during the swing, not to mention how it will affect the quality of the posture.
The last component to consider is the grip. The most important factor is to determine the correct size of the grip, which is determined by the length of the fingers and the size of the palm. So often I see ladies that have grips that are too thin for them because they have nice long fingers, while often you'll see a man with short, fat, chubby little fingers that need much thinner grips. When gripping the club with the left hand, the last three fingers should just touch the palm. The next factor is the composition of the grip, which could come in a cord type grip, which is quite hard on the hands, or a velvet rubber type grip which is much softer on the hands.
If a player has these few elements in place, I believe they will be able to develop their swings without the need for compensation in their swings.
Lastly, the mental factor. Some people love Titleist, others Taylormade etc etc. You have to like the look of the club, you have to "feel" good about it. This gives you confidence too, and I don't think this element should be taken lightly!
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