Although there are no “magic clubs” that will gain you 40 yards off the tee, there is a magic formula you can follow to help play the game to your fullest potential. You must find a professional club fitter who understands how the club you swing affects the motion you make.  Unfortunately, there is often no linkage between fitting and teaching.  Therefore many players never gain the results proper equipment could give them.

The single biggest killer of a player’s golf swing is a driver with too little loft. Think of a water hose at full blast held level to the ground. How far does the water reach? For the water to carry the greatest distance the hose would need to be raised higher. Loft on the driver works much the same way. Almost all players are swinging drivers with too little loft. In an effort to gain distance players attempt to overcorrect this by hanging back through impact to subconsiously increase the loft. This will cause shots to go high and right, not longer and straighter. Most players need more loft to attain greater distance and accuracy.

At impact the sole of the club must be level to the ground for the ball the fly straight. If the sole of the club strikes the ground with the toe down (flat) the face of the club will be looking to the right.  Soon the player will tire of hitting shots right and begin to close the face through impact. This may solve the problem with the shorter clubs but will cause low hooks with the driver and longer clubs. Sound familiar?

The opposite is true for the player who’s club strikes the ground with the heel down. The face will be looking left and so goes the ball.  This player, in an attempt to straighten out the shot, will open the face of the club at impact and typically hit the ball shorter than his playing partners. He or she may also start hitting the driver and longer clubs to the right. Several tour players have missed cuts for weeks in a row before discovering the problem was simply an incorrect lie angle.  This one change can lower your scores immediately.

Is longer better? Most of the drivers sold today are 45” to 46”.  The theory is the longer the club the more speed it will create and the farther the player can hit it. The truth is you will only hit it higher and more right with a longer shaft. With distance being a big part of professional golf today, one would think a tour player would use a 45”  to 46” shaft in their driver. This isn’t the case. Most tour players use a driver that is no longer than 44”. Follow the tour players lead and go with a shorter driver. The results will surprise you!

Several years ago manufacters decided to produce clubs with lighter driver shafts with the belief that players could swing the club faster and gain more distance. Is this the way to go? Unfortunately, this is another area of fitting that will cause the player more harm than good.  Players of all abilities need the heaviest shaft possible to gain both power and accuracy. Using a heavier hammer to drive a nail will give you more power with less effort, resulting in a harder hit. If lighter was better you would see 55-65 gram shafts in tour players bags. The bags on tour have 70-80 gram shafts which produce more power and accuracy.  Follow the tour players lead, heavier is better.

Contact Randy Joyner Golf to learn more about what equipment you need. We will show you what LIE, LENGTH, and LOFT you need to LOWER your scores.