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GOLF

A GOLF BEGINNER’S WITB

This is what a purpose built Beginner Golfer set looks like. Each club is specifically selected to make the game easier. Whether it’s designed to increase Forgiveness, Straighten out my shot, hit out of the Rough, or increase the peak height and descent angle. Together this set has helped me become a Bogey Golfer in my fourth Season.

Driver
Ping G SFT
10.6 degrees
Ping Alta S 55gram

  • The straight flight technology has really helped me straighten out my Fade, and added 15 yards to my average Drive.

3 Wood
Adams Blue
15 degrees
Aldila Slimtech S 55gram

  • Quite simply the easiest 3 Wood to hit Off the Tee, and relatively easy to launch Off the Deck.

3 Hybrid
Adams Idea Tech V4
19 degrees
Mitsubishi Rayon Bassara R 60gram

  • Super easy to hit high launching Hybrid out of any lie.

4 Hybrid
Adams Idea Tech V4
22 degrees
Mitsubishi Rayon Bassara R 60gram

  • Super easy to hit high launching Hybrid out of any lie.

5 Hybrid *
Adams Idea Tech V4
25 degrees
Mitsubishi Rayon Bassara R 60gram

  • Super easy to hit high launching Hybrid out of any lie.

6 Iron *
Cobra F7
26 degrees
True Temper F7 R 107gram

  • Easy launch distance Iron that still has a really pleasing look at address which inspires confidence.

7 Iron
Cobra F7
30 degrees
True Temper F7 R 107gram

  • Easy launch distance Iron that still has a really pleasing look at address which inspires confidence.

8 Iron
Cobra F7
35 degrees
True Temper F7 R 107gram

  • High launching Iron designed to help hold Greens.

9 Iron
Cobra F7
40 degrees
True Temper F7 R 107gram

  • High launching Iron designed to help hold Greens.

Pitching Wedge
Cobra F7
45 degrees
True Temper F7 R 107gram

  • High launching Iron designed to help hold Greens.

Attack Wedge
Cobra F7
50 degrees
True Temper F7 R 107gram

  • High bounce Wedge perfect for Approach shots out of any lie.

Gap Wedge *
Cleveland RTX 2.0 Cavity Back
52 degrees 10 bounce
True Temper Dynamic Gold W

  • Mid bounce Approach Wedge that just cuts through the Rough.

Sand Wedge
Cleveland RTX 2.0 Cavity Back
56 degrees 14 bounce
True Temper Dynamic Gold W

  • Total utility Wedge that’s great out of any lie, and easy to manipulate for touch shots around the Greens.

Chipper
Acer XK
45 degrees
Apollo Wedge W

  • fantastic for Chip and Runs, short Pitches over hazards, and for punching out of awkward lies.

Putter
Taylormade Spider X
KBS CT Tour shaft

  • High MOI Putter with exceptional feel.
  • Clubs marked with an asterisk are cycled in and out of the set depending on the Course. I am a huge believer in having the right tool for the job. The 5 Hybrid and 6 Iron fly a similar distance but with completely different trajectories, and are effective from different lies. The Gap Wedge has significantly less bounce than the Attack Wedge, and is great for hitting out of Deep Rough. I also fly it around 10 yards shorter on average. For shorter courses with small Greens it’s beneficial to have every Wedge in the bag.
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GOLF

Golf essential extras – Beginner’s guide to Golf

What are the essential extras?

Now there are a few, but I’ll begin with the most obvious.  First and foremost is of course a Golf bag to carry your clubs in.  I would strongly suggest that you purchase a Stand bag.  Preferably a bag with flat feet.  I’ve owned both the rounded feet and flat feet models.  The flat feet are at least three times as stable.  Make sure that it has enough pockets to carry all of your items.

The second essential extra would be a good pair of Golf shoes.  If you plan on purchasing only one pair to begin with.  I would suggest that you begin with a spikeless pair.  They will be allowed on all courses, and can be worn from home to the course.  No need to change into another pair of shoes to play a round, and deal with storing, or carrying your other shoes around with you.  Select a pair that is waterproof.  Playing a round of golf with soaked feet is brutal.  Another advantage of Spikeless shoes is that they allow more freedom of movement during your swing.  This is particularly beneficial for Beginners.  A good pair of spiked shoes can effectively lock you in place.  Your body will be unable to properly rotate through the swing if you don’t generate enough power.   This is generally the case with Beginner Golfers.

The third essential is a towel.  You heard me right, a towel.  I had no idea how important a towel to wipe my clubs clean between holes would be.  Try hitting your Wedge off the grass the day after a rainfall.  One swing and the grooves get so completely filled with dirt.  Your next swing the face is about as smooth as your Driver.  The club face needs to be free of dirt to make proper contact.  If you are truly hoping to get the most out of your swing.  Then keeping your clubs clean during a round is a must.

The fourth essential is really overlooked by most Beginner Golfers.  I’m guilty of it as well, so don’t feel bad if this comes as a surprise to you.  Do yourself a favour, and do this now if you haven’t already.  Download a Golf GPS tracking Application!  I’ve tried a few, and I have settled on 18birdies as my Application of choice.  It keeps a great record of my Rounds.  It calculates my handicap.  It allows me to map out my game plan before a Round.  It also keeps detailed statistics.  The day before I play a Round of golf.  I use 18birdies to look at the layout of each hole, and make notes directly on the Application.  I plan which clubs to use, make notes of bail out areas, and figure out where all the blind hazards are.  Having a plan like that will help eliminate costly mistakes.  Your score will definitely benefit from proper preparation.

The last essential I’ll include is one you don’t want to forget on a clear day in summer.  When you pack your bags for a beautiful day of Golf.  Don’t forget to pack some form of sun protection.  Whether it’s sunblock, or just shades, and a hat.  A full Round of Golf with friends can take many hours.  Make sure you have sun protection, and a couple bottles of water with you.  Of course you can take full advantage of the beverage cart if the course has them.  Either way, the last thing you want is a great day of Golf ruined because you got sunburned, or heat exhausted.

Having the right essentials will help make each, and every Round of Golf that much more enjoyable.

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Beginner’s guide to Golf

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GOLF

Building your Golf set – Beginner’s guide to Golf

Assembling your first Golf set

(if you haven’t read my previous Starting from Scratch posts, I strongly suggest that you do)

Hopefully you have done your homework.  If you haven’t read it already.  Take a moment to read my Starting from Scratch SS-3  post.  It will properly prepare you to begin Assembling your first Golf set.

Golf clubs can be separated into 4 categories.  Super Game Improvement, Game Improvement, Player Improvement, and Tour clubs in order of easiest to hit to most difficult.  If you are only interested in becoming a casual golfer then I would suggest buying a complete Game Improvement set from Canadian Tire, or Walmart.  For the most part everything these stores offer are in the Game Improvement category.  They generally include a full selection of clubs from Sand Wedge all the way up to Driver.  Plus they aren’t going to break the bank.  Don’t sleep on the technology that goes into these sets either.  The majority of these sets are inspired by the top companies previous designs from a few years back.  Keep in mind that a popular set which can be found at big box stores is the Strata set.  It’s actually made by Calloway.  Wilson has some great entry-level mass market sets.  You will probably come across some Dunlop sets as well, and they are made by the same company that makes Srixon.  No one is going to judge you for playing any of those.  Buy one of these sets and you are ready to go.  Just head out to the range and start swinging.  As an added bonus the big box stores have excellent return policies.  If the set you picked doesn’t feel right.  Just take it back to the store and pick another.  You really can’t go wrong, or can you?

If you are a serious golfer the mass market sets can work for you as well.  In this case I would suggest choosing a set that includes two or more Hybrid clubs, and possibly buying an additional Putter.  Now if you are an obsessive golfer like me I would suggest a different route.  As an obsessive golfer you should already know your top 3 current irons through simulator testing.  If your budget allows.  Head back to your local store and swing your top 3 irons a few more times until you’ve reached a winner.  Then select the Hybrid/Irons combination set, and get fit for them.  The majority of these sets end at Pitching Wedge, so choose a Sand Wedge to buy also.  Which Sand Wedge you choose is entirely up to you.  I’ve honestly hit about six different Sand Wedges on actual courses, and there wasn’t a considerable difference in performance.  The one thing that my friends and I have noticed is that it’s easier to hit a cavity back wedge further with a full swing.  If you would like to really simplify things for yourself in the beginning.  You might consider buying a specialty Sand Wedge like the Cleveland Smart sole, or Calloway Sure Out Wedge.  You could also head over to the Putter section of the store and take some time to select a Putter.  I would strongly suggest against purchasing a Putter at this time though.  Your first few months of practice should be spent at the Range or in a Simulator where Putters aren’t necessary.

What about Fairway Woods, and a Driver you ask?  Forget about those for now as well.  The swing required to hit them properly is different than your Iron swing.  Learning both swings at the same time will only confuse things, and slow down your progress.

With a lower budget you can essentially begin your Golf set the same way.  What you will do differently is once you’ve decided which set is your favourite.  First check the clearance section of your local store for previous generations of that model.  If they aren’t available then you can definitely find them online.  That’s exactly what I did.  After testing a few Super Game Improvement, and Game Improvement sets.  I decided that the Adams Blue was the set for me.  At that time my local retailer was selling the Hybrid/Irons set with Graphite shafts for $899.00. I found an earlier version of the set with the same characteristics online.  They were on sale at a store in Ottawa for $199.00.  The set included a 3Hybrid, 4Hybrid, 5Hybrid, 6Hybrid, 7Iron, 8Iron, 9Iron, Pitching Wedge, and Gap Wedge.  This set was originally released in 2013.  Two years previous to the Adams Blues.  It didn’t come with a Sand Wedge so I eventually added a Cleveland Rotex 588 2.0 cavity back.  I also went through 3 Putters in my first year because I didn’t know what was required in actually picking the right one.  I’ll go over proper Putter selection in my next entry.

My first set

During my quest to select the right clubs I’ve tested so many.  If any of you have any questions about particular clubs just ask.  Also if you have recently made your first club selections.  Please feel free to share why you chose the clubs.

Beginner’s guide to Golf