In this video Neil Tappin and Joel Tadman offer some pointers about your equipment choices. Many golfers have ideas about what might be best for them but sometimes these can be based on pre-conceptions that are wrong. Of course, this can lead to you spending money on golf gear that isn't quite right for you. In this video they look at what the 10 biggest golf gear myths are.
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00:00Hello everyone, Neil Tappan and Joel Turnman here from Golf Monthly and welcome along to
00:08West Hill where we will be talking you through the 10 golf gear myths that can have a really
00:13negative impact on your game. Yeah, I think these are all theories that
00:16people have about why certain equipment might be right for them but actually those theories
00:21are based on misconceptions that sometimes are wrong and they can sometimes lead to you
00:24buying things that aren't quite right for you. Guys, if you're new to the Golf Monthly
00:29channel, please do hit the subscribe button to make sure that you don't miss any of our
00:32videos. But let's take a look now at the 10 biggest golf gear myths.
00:36OK, so the first myth we are going to look at is that higher handicappers should always
00:45go for more forgiving golf clubs. Now, there are lots of different reasons why you might
00:49play off the handicap you play off. It might be that you're a higher handicapper not because
00:52your ball striking isn't consistent but actually because your short game is letting you down.
00:57It might well be that you're a higher handicapper looking for a new set of irons. If you automatically
01:01go for irons that are aimed at higher handicappers, those irons might well have offset built into
01:06them. But if your consistent miss is left, that actually, that offset isn't going to
01:10do you any favours. So it's just about nuance. There's a bit more to it than just thinking
01:14that just because you're a higher handicapper you should go for a certain set of golf clubs.
01:17Think about your own game. Think about where you're throwing away shots. That's more helpful
01:21than just thinking, I pay off a certain handicap, therefore I should go for a certain set of
01:28golf clubs.
01:30Now, the second Golf Gear myth is that everyone needs a lower spinning driver. And while some
01:35golfers out there will definitely benefit from lowering their spin to maximise carry
01:39distance, actually it's more about optimising the spin that you generate and how you combine
01:43that with the launch angle and the ball speed that you bring to the table. It's all about
01:47bringing those factors together to maximise carry distance. So if you are quite a high
01:53launching player, then yes, potentially knocking some spin off could maximise distance. But
01:58there will be situations where taking spin off your drives actually will be a detrimental
02:03effect to the distance and the performance of your drive. So it's just something to bear in
02:06mind. Be careful. Knocking spin off doesn't always lead to more distance.
02:16The next myth is, and it's something that we get a lot of comments about on our videos,
02:19is that the shaft is the most important part of the club. Now, of course, it really is very
02:23important, but it's just one piece of the jigsaw. So take a driver fitting, for example. The
02:28fitter will have a whole host of different options available to them so that different shafts,
02:33of course, but then you've got lie angles, you've got lofts, you've got different weight
02:36settings in the head and they all make a difference to the performance of the driver. So just laying
02:41it all on the door of the shaft and saying that it's really important to get the right
02:45shaft for you. Yes, it is, but you also need to get all the factors right in the heads to
02:49make sure that you walk away with the clubs that are right for you.
02:53Now, the next Golf Gear myth is that some golfers think they're not good enough to generate
03:00spin around the greens. And as a result, they choose a golf ball that's orientated more towards
03:05distance because that's where they feel like there are more bigger, more significant performance
03:09gains to be had. But actually, if you're hitting chip shots around the greens, as long as the
03:13lie is clean and you're striking the ball relatively well, you've got fresh grooves, you've got clean
03:18club faces, you will be generating a decent amount of backspin. And actually, if you switch
03:22into a premium urethane-covered ball, you will see the amount of control that you generate
03:27increase. And that gives you more options around the greens. It should help you get up and down
03:32more often. So just because maybe your short game is a weakness, you're a bad chipper, or maybe you're
03:37a high handicapper, it doesn't mean that you can't benefit from the performance and the field benefits
03:42that a premium golf ball offers.
03:50The next one on our list is that draw bias drivers are for higher handicappers. Now, that's not the case.
03:54Instead, draw bias drivers are for those players that tend to hit a consistent fade and want a little bit
04:00more distance, want a slightly straighter ball flight, or for those players that hit quite a big slice
04:04and are looking for something that's going to guard against their bad shot. Now, draw bias drivers can
04:09be used by players of all handicap abilities. So just because you're a higher handicapper, don't
04:14automatically assume that a draw bias driver is right for you. It's based less on your handicap ability
04:19and much more on your ball flight.
04:27So the next golf gear myth on our list is that every golfer needs a gap wedge. And actually,
04:32in truth, every golfer needs even loft gaps between each of their wedges. And a lot of it comes down to
04:38what loft your pitching wedge is. You can find it out online. If your pitching wedge is quite strong in
04:43loft, the chances are you probably will need a gap wedge to plug that gap in between your pitching wedge
04:48and your sand wedge. And it also comes down to how many wedges you want to carry. And that will depend
04:53in turn on what clubs feature in the top end of your bag. So if you have quite a lot of clubs in
04:58the top end of your bag, maybe you've got an extra hybrid in there or a utility iron, you'll have to
05:03make sacrifices elsewhere in your bag to hit that 14 club limit. And therefore, you might need to opt for
05:08a three wedge make-up rather than a four wedge make-up. I use four wedges. I prefer the options
05:15around the greens. And also, I play quite a short golf course, so I have quite a lot of wedge shots
05:19into green. So I want to have more loft gaps covered off, more distances covered off with those
05:24different wedges. But if that's something that's not applicable to your course, if you feel like you
05:28get more performance benefits from having more clubs in the top end of your bag, then maybe you won't
05:33need a gap wedge. You can go from a pitching wedge to a sand wedge and then a lob wedge. As long as the
05:37loft gaps are relatively even, then it should be quite easy to control the distances on those shorter shots.
05:48The next myth is that some golfers think they're not good enough to get custom fitted. And there's
05:53a couple of elements to this. The first is that any fitting involves a series of static measurements.
05:58So those things that are going to enable you to find the right shaft lengths, the right lie angles for
06:02your game and the right thickness of grips, they will all make a difference and they will help you find
06:07the middle of the club face that little bit more often. And then on top of that, a key part of any
06:12fitting is to help a player guard against their bad shot. So it might well be that your bad shot tends
06:17to leak out to the right or that you tend to hit it low and left sometimes and that's your bad shot.
06:22The fitters can do things when they're setting the golf clubs up for you that will help guard
06:26against those shots that are really costing you out on the golf course.
06:35Now the next golf gear myth on our list is that graphite shafted irons are only for
06:39slower swingers. And I would 100% argue that case because I've done some testing here at West Hill
06:44with Yonex testing their new irons with graphite shafts and I was actually blown away by
06:48the performance was on offer. Yes, it does feel a bit lighter and it takes some getting used to,
06:52and yes they do launch the ball a little bit higher than steel but the dispersion was really
06:57tight, it didn't feel whippy at all. If you get the right spec for you in terms of that flex profile,
07:02I think you'd actually really benefit from or really enjoy the feel of performance on offer.
07:07And the fact that they are a lot lighter means less effort is required, they feel a lot smoother
07:11and you might even be able to practice for a little bit more. So if you're a bit of a range rat,
07:15you like to hit a lot of balls, potentially graphite shafts could unlock a little bit of extra time
07:20for you to do that. And from what I've seen, there really isn't a sacrifice in performance
07:24if you go for a custom fitting. So definitely don't discount graphite if you're looking to upgrade your irons.
07:34Finding the right putter is all about feel. Now there's actually a lot more to it than that.
07:38The first thing I'll say is that when it comes to the mainstream manufacturers,
07:41all of their putter ranges offer a really good feel. There are some slight differences,
07:45but they all offer a good feel. So actually, finding the right putter is more about finding
07:49something that's the right length for you so that you can stand more consistently and in a better
07:53way over the ball so that your eyes are in the right position over the ball. And also,
07:57so that you can find a putter that complements your stroke. Some players will have more of a
08:01straight back and through stroke. Some players will have a stronger arc. Whatever it is,
08:04you need to try and marry up the putter with your stroke. If you can do that,
08:08then you should find a putter that's right for you.
08:10So the final Golf Gear myth is that Tour Pros are using completely different equipment to what us
08:21amateurs are using. And actually, in reality, the equipment that both of us are using is very
08:25similar. Of course, Tour Pros have access to the Tour Trucks with some specialist technicians that are
08:30able to make some very specific changes to the head, whether it's hot melting in drivers to position
08:36weight exactly where they want it or special grinds for different course conditions on their wedges,
08:41which allows the wedge to interact with the ground in a slightly different way depending on the grass
08:45they're playing and things like that. But generally speaking, the heads that you can buy are the same
08:49as what the Tour Pros are using. So don't go thinking that they're playing a completely different
08:53game to us. It's very similar equipment. Unfortunately, they're just using it a lot better than us.
08:58So there you have it. That's our list of 10 Golf Gear myths. Guys, before you go, please do hit the
09:03pause button and let us know if you think we've missed anything. There's quite a lot of
09:07misconceptions that people have about golf equipment and finding the right equipment for them. If you
09:11think we've missed anything, let us know. Yeah, and thanks for watching. If you like what you're
09:14watching, make sure you click the like button and do subscribe to the Golf Month YouTube channel
09:18if you haven't already, so make sure you don't miss any of our equipment videos. But that's all from us
09:22from West Hill Golf Club. Just goodbye.