Five Equipment Myths: Fact Or Fiction

Good equipment helps you cut strokes from your golf handicap. Bad equipment helps you add strokes to your golf handicap. This is why smart golfers learn as much as they can about clubs, balls, and other golf equipment before buying. Knowing what your buying helps you choose the right equipment. Unfortunately, many equipment myths exist. These myths cover many areas. More importantly, they can prevent you from buying equipment that can transform your game. Below we debunk five long-standing equipment myths. Debunking them helps you determine fact from fiction when buying golf equipment.

Myth #1: Less Loft Equals Longer Drives

Golfers once used drivers with lower lofts to generate more distance off the tee. These players often opted for drivers with 7-to-8-degree lofts. But with today's shaft, clubhead, and ball technology, you can buy drivers with higher lofts and still hit the ball a long way. You can find the correct loft by determining how you ascend through the impact zone. If you have a steep swing, a lower loft helps. If you have more of a sweeping swing, a higher loft works best. Drivers with 9 to 11 degree lofts—combined with low spin balls and the right shaft—are sometimes better able to produce the optimal high-lunch ball flight needed for longer drives. Good technique refined through taking golf lessons and reading golf tips also help.

Myth #2: Stiffer Shafts Mean More Distance

Golfers with faster swing tempo may benefit from using more flexible shafts. The key is how you load the shaft. The transition from backswing to downswing loads the shaft, then unloads it at impact. If you have a short, quick backswing and a slow downswing, you may not want a flexible shaft. It may flex too much in the backswing and not unload properly in the downswing. On the other hand, if you have a slow backswing but a quick, powerful downswing, you may want a more flexible shaft. It may help you better load the shaft during the backswing and unload it at impact. So when deciding on shafts think both flex and load, as I've often mentioned in my golf instruction sessions.

Myth #3: Premium Balls are Good For All

Golfers appreciate high quality equipment. But not every golfer should use premium golf balls, like the Pro V1 or MC Lady. Often, premium golf balls have firm inner cores. To get the most from these balls, you have to have the kind of clubhead speed that can compress the ball's hard inner core. In other words, you have to have the kind of clubhead speed that pros, like Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, and Vijay Singh, have. Some lower priced balls may perform better for weekend golfers. These balls feature firm or soft outer layers with softer cores to help slower swingers better compress the ball for longer distance. If you're a fast swinger, try soft covers with firm cores. If you're moderate to slow swinger, try a soft-core model.

Myth #4: Larger Heads Have Larger Sweet Spots

Unfortunately for golfers with high golf handicaps, manufacturers can't expand the sweet spot on a club. That's because the sweet spot isn't really an area, but a pinpoint on the clubface where center of gravity is optimized. But club manufacturers can expand the area of forgiveness around the sweet spot by increasing perimeter weighting and back weight and by using variable face thickness—elements made possible by increased head volume. Normally, that's good. But sometimes it's not. Since the sweet spot is so small, a smaller headed driver may help you improver your ability to hit the sweet spot more often. In other words, for some increased forgiveness encourages off-center hits.

Myth #5: Forged Clubs Are Hard To Hit

Until recently, forged clubs came only with blade-style designs. Making anything but a blade-style design using the forging process was difficult. Blade-style clubheads are harder to hit than other designs. But today's high-tech forging methods enable manufacturers to produce designs offering more forgiveness and more feel—just right for golfers with low, medium, or high golf handicaps. Forged metals typically are softer than cast metals, making them better suited for fitting purposes. What's more, some argue that the forging process also produces a greater consistency in weight and density as opposed to cast metals.

To achieve a low golf handicap on today's courses, you need to get the most out of your equipment. Hopefully, this article provided some valuable golf tips. So don't let myths like those examined above keep you from buying equipment that can help your game. Just make sure you get as much information from technical experts as you can before buying. The information will help you separate fact from fiction.


Copyright (c) 2009 Jack Moorehouse