Category Archives for Beginners

Getting hooked on golf is a terrible terrible thing! You want so desperately to improve every single round and when you do, you expect every shot and round to be the same but it never is!

In this guide, I want to help you if you're want to know how to break 100 in golf, consistently.

Too many guides out there don't really show you the actual way that a beginner or 100+ shooter plays, meanwhile some pro is telling you to do this and do that without seeing it in reality. 

About Brian

• Lowest score 121 - average score unknown because of picking his ball up on so many holes
• Pain in his left wrist, forearm and shoulder from swinging made him always want to leave the course after 3 holes
• He hadn't completed 18 holes in since 2012 due to the pain in his arm from swinging
• When he did play 9 holes, he would pick his ball up after eight shots 7 out of 9 holes

Sounds like an impossible task right? Well truth be told, we didn't break 100 first time out. Brian shot 105 and that's amazing - 16 shots off his best score! With some extra work on bunkers and putting and Brian can easily shoot in the 90's.

But what was even more amazing than finishing every single hole and actually posting a completed scorecard?

Brian actually enjoyed a full round of 18 holes for the first time in years. Why?

Because I showed him how to THINK like a golfer and use good habits and solid fundamentals. And you'll learn these things from this guide. That's the main point of this guide, to show you how to better think your way round the golf course.

I was so confused every time Brian told me about the pain in his left shoulder and arm when he swung a golf club. He never wanted to play golf because of some mystery 'pain'. I actually thought he just didn't like me.

So I forced him to go to the driving range one fateful Sunday.

For the life of me I couldn't see what he was doing wrong because his swing is quite good especially for a beginner who hasn't taken lessons. But then I saw it...

He was setting up to every shot like it was a chip shot, standing far too close to the ball and getting so cramped at impact, having to do something nasty with his left shoulder. In the left picture below noticed how cramped he was at setup. He fixed it very quickly and after a few adjustment hits, Brian was A for away.

This little trick will tell you if you're the right distance from the ball. You can do it on the range, just before you hit your shot or whenever you're feeling a bit cramped and it's how we fixed Brian.

Place the top of the grip on your front leg about an inch or two above the kneecap and where the club head rests on the ground is where the ball must go.

This works for every single club from driver to wedge.

Here is a video to help understand this little drill to ensure you're standing the correct distance from the ball.

With Brian swinging with no pain, we hit about 20 more balls on the range and went home and meditated on the changes we'd made. Aummm....

You want to understand the following and you can get it from a great coach if you have one near you.

1. The ball position
2. The posture and stance
3. The grip

If you can get those nailed down, and understand impact position, you will be a very good golfer quickly. For some people like Brian, they skimmed over lessons so we have to forget about it and play with what we brung.

I'm not going to bore you by telling you it's easy - just make 9 bogeys and 9 doubles. Yeah we all know that, but it's not realistic to expect you to score like a machine.

Brian certainly didn't but there are ways to work around your game and maximize your strengths and practice your weaknesses to make some pars and minimize the triple bogeys! These are outlined below.

You'll find out by reading further that the strategy of hitting shorter but straighter tee shots will keep you from going into bunkers in the fairways as well as not being able to reach the deadly out of bounds and water hazards. We'll also be hitting more short irons and wedges which are easier to control so it makes it very difficult to blast or slice them into the wet stuff.

If you're playing off the correct tees, you can reach these in one shot. If you can either hit the green or be chipping from green side, you're going to be making pars and bogeys here maximum.

These appear tough. But let's simplify them by saying we hope to be on the green or around the green in three shots.

A 420 yard hole is only three shots of 140 yards. Can you hit a 140 yard shot straightish? Yes you can! The reason you get into trouble is hitting a long club off the tee because you think it's a long hole and you need a boomer.

With this tactic of getting on or around the green in 3 shots, you don't need more than 150 yards off the tee and any club you have that goes further and straight is a bonus!

These will be easiest to make bogey on by being around the green in two shots. You might sneak in a few pars! If you're not in a position to hit a 7 iron or an 8 iron onto the green with your 2nd shot, I still say you should split the distance in two and hit two wedges onto the green.

Tee shots and 2nd shots need to be in play without penalties on these holes. Those two shots are important because most danger on these holes are 250 to 300 yards from the tee. Once you get past those two shots and have 200 to 250 yards into the hole, you can hit the green in 4 shots and target bogeys and at worst double bogeys.

This club needs to go 150 yards or more and reliably straight. Brian likes his 3 hybrid. Pick whatever club you really feel great hitting off the tee with full confidence. It's totally your game.

Avoid putting yourself in danger off the tee is the first step and the next step is to assess your approach and divide it into smaller shots. If you have 200 yards left to the green, two pitching wedges of 100 yards is much more reliable than a fairway wood and a 20 yard pitch from the rough or a bunker shot. Let's simplify this game. Look at the diagram above, it illustrates the strategy for all holes. Control and simplicity!

Be realistic with your game and if you need to move up a tee box, that's alright. Most courses have color defined tee boxes. A quick guide to know if you're playing the correct tees:

• You can reach three out of four par 3 greens quite easily
• Most par 4's are under 400-420 yards
• You can reach the fairways from the tee on almost every par 4 and 5

When it seems like every par 4 is 420+ and you're in the rough before the fairways on solid shots, you should move up a tee box.

Tell your playing partners that you don't want to know your score after 9 holes and don't keep track of it. 

Keeping track throughout the round will put more pressure on you. Imagine you find out you shoot 48 on the first nine. What's going through your head the second nine? All you're going to be thinking about is shooting that 51 to shoot a 99. Forget it all! Just play and count later!

Your perfect 7 iron goes 170 yards, right? That's great but what distance does your 7 iron go MOST OF THE TIME? That's the distance you need to use as a gauge for all your clubs. The distance they go MOST OF THE TIME.

Pulling the right club is essential and in this plan, you're swinging easy and not looking for more distance at all. We want to improve accuracy and consistency through shorter shots into the greens. If you hit your pitching wedge 160 yards once, please don't use it as the norm, because you're going to be in a lot of front side bunkers! A golf rangefinder like the ones in this guide I wrote can help you. 

It sucks when you're trying to break 100. You think everyone's impatient and waiting for you and your shots all the time. 

The truth is, we don't care about your score. We enjoy hanging out with good-humored and fun guys who enjoy the game and make it a blast on the course. There's only one thing other golfers in your group don't like and that's when you "cannot believe you hit that shot" or "cannot believe you missed that 6 footer". It's best not to stand with hands on your hips or head looking flabbergasted on every second shot.

Hit your shot, and then walk to play the next one without too much theatrics. It's the incredulity expressed at a bad shot that slows down play and annoys lower handicappers. Have fun, keep moving without rushing your shots and everyone is gonna love you 100%.

I won't be giving you tips on hitting long bombs here. Just practical advice that you can genuinely use if you stay disciplined out there on the course. Leave the driver at home. Remove problem clubs for you. Hell, you could break 100 with half your clubs if you wanted to. But resist the temptation to hit shots that are low percentage and high risk. Is it glamorous? No, but it's reliable and it can help you break out of that scoring barrier.

You need these shots to be able to avoid penalties like out of bounds and dropping the ball at the water hazards. The driver is alway the main culprit getting 100+ shooters into trouble and messing up the scorecard.

Pick anything you like - whatever you can hit really consistently from the tee onto the fairway. Whether it's a hybrid, 6 iron or 7 iron, I know you have one club in your bag that you hit straight! 

Like Brian did in our experiment, leave the driver at home. He says that it's the sole reason he would need to pick up his ball after exceeding his maximum on each hole because it gets him into too much trouble. He loves his 3 hybrid and he used that off the tee most often.

We really want to stay in play off the tee. We don't want to be hitting our second shot from the ladies' tee or reteeing after hitting it Out of Bounds. Our goal is to break 100, not audition for Bubba Watson impersonations.

We don't need your clubs to go far. We just need them to go straight and to the distance you determine through practice. This plan doesn't focus on increased distance but rather it focuses on splitting the course up into smaller shots to get you to score 99 by swinging easy and hitting it straight. You never really have to smash the golf ball with this plan but you do need to know how far you hit it.

By solid, I mean learn your distances and shot shape. Learn how much your ball fades or draws and aim for that shape when you're on the course. If you fade, aim left. If you draw it, aim right. By knowing your distance, you'll select the right club for each shot and be more likely to hit the green than be short.

The basic bump and run shot is a chip shot where you get the ball onto the green as soon as possible and let the ball roll up to the hole. I like to use a pitching wedge, but have used as low as a 7 iron. 

Sometimes we leave ourselves tough shots inside 50 yards. These are hellishly difficult and get more difficult when you put too much pressure on yourself to hit it close. Your sole focus should be to just get it on the green.

Pick a club like a sand wedge and focus on just hitting the green. It doesn't matter where it goes on the green, just get it on somewhere! Sometimes that even means hitting 30 foot right of the hole intentionally to avoid a bunker between you and the hole. More on this further in the guide.

We'll find in the videos below this is a key concept. When you do hit a green, you want to two putt everything over 10 feet and try hole your short putts. Three-putts are what we want to eliminate and if you can just eliminate the three-putts while keeping the ball in play off the tee, you'll find your scores drop quickly!

You actually don't even need THAT MUCH practice. You just need to practice the basics really well. Two hours at the range and two hours on the chipping and putting green a week and you can break 100 within two weeks. The biggest improvement is going to be when you combine your comfort on these shots with the strategy outlined in the next section.

You want to mix up your hitting on the driving range. You need to groove your main shots like your tee shot and your favorite iron as well as your wedge by hitting twenty of them in a row focusing on swinging easy. But you also want to 'play a round' on the range as if you were on the course. So you envision every hole you're playing and use the appropriate club for the imaginary distance to the green.Our subject, Brian did this:

• 20 x PW; 20 x 6 iron; 20 x hybrid off the tee
• Played 9 holes on a golf course in his mind. Fairways are decided by you before the shot, between markers on the range for example. Greens are generally the 100, 125 or 150 markers on the range. Pretend you're on a course for more mindful practice.

Remember on each shot to take your full pre-shot routine and focus on swinging easy. There's no need to try murder every shot as hard as you can. Concentrate on making a very nice, easy, Ernie Els style swing. Don't just beat balls for 20 minutes and go home with blisters and a dented ego.

This range session should be anywhere from an hour to two hours. Really be conscious of how it feels when you hit a good shot. 

Top tip: As silly as it sounds, when you hit a great shot on the range, pretend to put the 'fairy dust' of the shot into your hand and deposit it into a pocket in your golf bag so you'll have a supply of good shots in the bank to bring out when you need one on the course. Sounds stupid, but it works.

For short putts, you can use a rug or get yourself a piece of artificial turf. You can putt the ball into table legs, big coffee mugs or small plates. You must only focus on keeping your head down forever and hitting the ball into your target from 7 or 5 or 3 feet away depending on available space.

I have a step-by-step guide to putting right here. Try to hit the practice greens for two hours per week. One hour putting and one our chipping. 

What I worked on with Brian while we were on the course was the lag putting. You probably have an issue controlling the distance of your long putts. 

So what I did with Brian was make him look at the hole while he swung the putter back and forth to get the feeling of how hard to hit it. He showed immediate improvement and when he gets lethal inside 6 feet by following my advice in my putting guide, his scores, and if you follow the advice, yours too will drop.

Take your chipping club of choice: it could be anything you like. I used to use a 7 iron when I started playing but now I use my pitching wedge exclusively as my chipping club around the greens. 

Pick a spot on the chipping green where you want your ball to land. Put a large coin or poker chip exactly on the spot you want the ball to land. Try land your practice chips on the coin/chip. This is the secret to chipping. Learn your trajectory and how the ball runs out and then adjust where you land the ball. Pick a spot on the green and land the ball on that spot. There's nothing else you need to focus on!

1. Blue tees were the wrong tees. They measured 6550 yards while the whites measure 6250. This was an oversight by me and recommend he plays off the white tees in future.
2. Hitting a good tee shot is as important as chipping and putting. Choosing a reliable club that will get you in the fairway and not the water or OB will exponentially increase your chances of breaking 100. Hitting your 2nd or 3rd shot from the ladies' tee will hurt you.
3. Chipping and putting is vital. Chipping is not as complicated as you think. All you need to do is be aggressive enough to get the ball ANYWHERE on the green and then two putt from there. No need to get cute or try chip it in every time. Sometimes the best chip is one hit away from the pin, avoiding the bunkers or water between you and the pin.
4. Two putting from distances over 12 feet is essential. Meanwhile, draining your 3 to 6 footers is as important. Practice these by putting on the practice green from 20 feet or longer and try get the ball consistently within 2 or 3 feet of the hole. Practice 3 to 5 footers placed around the hole until you can drain them with ease. TOP SECRET: keep your head down forever! Brian and I didn't go through putting together but he improved over the round as I showed him.
5. Avoid bunkers at all costs. Leave yourself full shots into the greens and not the 30 to 75 yard pitch shots that are so difficult. Here is my guide to bunker shots.
6. Don't use your low wedge from the fluffy rough. The club goes right under it and results in 20 yard shots. Use a sand wedge with more bounce. 
7. Don't feel rushed by other people. Just play your game and if anyone behind you is on your butt, let them play through. Brian was a bit frazzled on the 11th hole because of some guys hitting balls within 40 yards of us. It affected his game later on. Keep up with the group in front of you.
8. Swing easy. Don't try to smash any of your clubs. This strategy to break 100 doesn't call for maximum power. It calls for finesse and control of yourself. You just need to get the ball in play and break up your approach shots into shorter shots. Smashing the ball results in freshies, slices and bladed shots.
9. Have fun! Don't count your score. Enjoy talking to your partners and have a great time. By being relaxed, you'll break 100 easily. 

You're equipped with everything you need to break 100 now. You have the swing, you have the game, now it's time to just use your brain! Go out there and do it!

• Beginner golf guide - 9 key tips  
• What to wear golfing for the first time
• Golf bag essentials for beginners 
  
• Best fairway woods for beginners
• Best golf clubs for beginners - ultimate guide 
• Best cheap golf balls
• Best golf balls for beginners  
• Basic rules of golf for beginners

You can slash a lot of shots from your game if you eliminate three-putts - and four-putts! 

Yes, you must learn how to hit the ball the correct distance and you must know how to hit the ball on the path you chose.

But your putter can drastically improve your chances of doing both those things. You might be playing a random putter someone gave you. That putter does not suit you and I can guarantee it.

I'm a 1 handicap now, but when I first began playing this game, I jumped around from cheap putter to junk putter a lot. 

You lucky scoundrel! If I could go back, I would definitely read this article on the best putters for beginners to save me so much time and money. I could just pick one off the list here and leap frog my progress by years!

Without a doubt, the Odyssey White Hot putter insert is simply the best on the market. Odyssey is #1 on the PGA Tour and #1 in golf. There are pretenders to the crown but the true king of putter face inserts is Jon Snow...I mean Odyssey.

Whether you like the blade, the mallet or the oversized heads, each model in this range gives you the same White Hot insert and trusted Odyssey putting technology. And with that you get consistent lag distance control, soft feeling club face and superb alignment on the rear of the club.

The consistency of the strike with Odyssey putters is only matched by other large brands that cost you three or four times the price. I've used every Odyssey iteration since this line and can safely say for this price, I'd use this putter if I were a new golfer.

Cleveland golf have made a superb set of putters in this range. I personally own THREE, yes 3 putters from this range. They are all unique yet have common features. They're all very high quality, well weighted and have milled steel faces.

In contrast to the Odyssey putters above with the insert, the ball comes off the steel face of the Cleveland with a totally different feel. Inserts make for a very soft feel like you're hitting something with a marshmallow or pool noodle. Okay it's not that extreme but it gets the point across, because when you hit it with a steel putter, you notice a much firmer 'hit'.

This is preference you should work out for yourself by hitting a few with inserts and a few with steel or metal faces. I prefer the milled face on the Clevelands because it feels like I have more consistent roll on the ball. The insert can sometimes disguise poor strikes. 

The Huntington putters come in a wide range of head shapes. You get mallet putters, fang-style, blade and there are also center shafted models. My top tip for picking a putter is to go with what you like the look of. That's 80% of the battle won and it's very easy to find one model in the Huntington Beach range to suit your eye,  I am sure. 

With putting, we often find the most difficult part is starting the ball on the right line. Now, it's not that difficult to do, but what is difficult is to know when we adjust the putter face just before we hit the ball.

With an extended back, the two-ball, triple track alignment system is perfect to keep everything going where you want it. These are great mallet putters for those who struggle with aligning their eyes, the putter face and their mind to their target. 

Cleveland make very forgiving putters and the Front Line range is a step above their Huntington Beach range. The black color makes a very nice contrast to the green color of the greens. 

The contrast in the colors makes it especially easy to line the face up to the line you want to hit the golf ball down. The rear of the Iso model has squares cut out of it with a thin solid line extending to the back, maybe it incredibly easy to align your eyes, which is important for confidence, to the line you expect the ball to take.

The Tungsten in the putter moves the center of gravity to a place that allows consistent energy transfer from the club to the ball so your stroke and hit on the golf ball is always the same, producing a pure roll and more chance of getting the ball close to the hole or in the hole.

This type of alignment aid on the back of the putter is especially helpful for short putts where confidence in your alignment is key. You can stand behind it, knowing that the putter is aligned correctly. These are the strokes you can eliminate very quickly and shatter your scoring barriers.

PING is and has been the most famous name in putters. Their blade putters have always been sensational in feel and consistency. If you're a blade putter fan, literally anything in the PING range will suit you.

Keep in mind though that this style of putter is best suited to players who have a slight arc in their stroke. It's quite difficult to stroke these blades straight back and through, which is easier to do with mallet style putters, especially center shafted ones. 

They have expanded into all sorts of shapes and sizes and they are all in fact exception. The balance, the craftsmanship and the feel of the PING blade is much like Mizuno in irons. Nothing feels like a Mizuno they say. That's similar to a PING blade putter. 

A PING putter is not merely something to plug the hole. If you invest in one of these for your game, you won't replace. A putter is a very personal thing and once you find the one that suits you, hold onto it. Once people try PING putters, they very very rarely move onto another brand. Choose wisely.

The PGA suggest "What you want to do is get into a correct address position. When you tilt from your hips, you want your eyes over the ball, hands under your shoulders, elbows bent but touching your rib cage, and hips over your heels. The putter needs to fit this set-up. If you grip a "standard" length putter and find you're gripping down the shaft, you will need a shorter putter. If you grip beyond the end of the putter, you will need a longer putter. Now with the correct length putter in your hands, the shaft would be in line with your forearms. I have found that most golfers play with too long of a putter."

Up until recently you could use a putter that was much longer than standard length and anchor it on your body for more stability. The two designs were broom handle and belly putters and while they're still permitted, you're not allowed to let them touch anything other than your arms and hands. I don't recommend these putters for beginners.

The broom handle was normally anchored to your chest with one hand and swung with the other hand and the belly putter was stuck into your abdomen with both hands on the grip swinging the putter like normal. 

Under rule 14-b enforced in 2016, all anchoring of putters to your body was banned. Pros who relied on this method of putting lost their advantage while celebrating the New Year as midnight struck on 1 January 2016. 

A  great fairway wood can revolutionize your game. It did for me when I started playing golf. 

I started this game with a 3 wood, but changed to a 5 wood after my friends dad told me it's easier and more fun to hit. He was right. No more topping the 3 wood, or slicing it into the water. That fairway wood laid the foundation for my love of golf.

Nowadays, you can get fairway woods that are so easy to hit, it would put my 5 wood from 1995 to shame!

Important to remember: the best fairway woods for high handicappers and beginners have high loft (more than 17°) which makes them fly higher and LONGER than lower lofted woods. The other thing is that you should buy the best equipment you can afford. Look for second hand versions if you like, but avoid the VERY cheap stuff you see online. 

The Titleist TSR2 fairway wood has the lowest center of gravity of any woods from Titleist because they removed the channel cut in the front of the club to make a fairway wood that is easy to hit high in the sky. That's why the TSR2 is my number one recommendation for high handicappers.

My experience with the TSR2:

The look of the TSR2 is traditional and clean. The club stands out from the competition instantly.

Titleist fairway woods are never loud and always make a subdued metallic pop that comes as quickly as it goes. The new low center of gravity on the fairway woods makes a center strike feel soft and light. When I mis-hit the ball, the club resisted twisting in my hands and the ball flew on target, with minimal distance loss. 

I was mostly impressed with the 16.5 degree and 18 degree TSR2. That's the correct loft for beginners and high handicappers. It was so easy to hit the ball into the air from any lie, fluffy or where there was minimal grass.

While there are so many low spin clubs, the TSR2 is a medium spin fairway wood. It was easy to keep the ball in play even on the worst strikes.

 I recommend the 16.5°, 18° and 21° Titleist TSR2 as the top pick for high handicappers  and beginners.

I game the 21 degree Ping G430 Max in my bag. I highly recommend either the 18 or 21 degree in the G430 range.

The low profile club face looks more like a hybrid than a driver which makes it incredibly easy to hit off the turf. The Ping G430 Max is easy to hit down with or sweep the ball off the turf.  

Off the face, the sound of the clubface is high-pitched and everyone around will know you're hitting a Ping. I enjoyed hitting the 18 degree from every lie on the golf course. It's easy to both elevate over trees or punch under branches. The 21 degree is one of the easiest fairway woods I have ever hit.

The higher lofts  and forgiving faces on these clubs allow me get the ball into play off the tee consistently with a baby draw. It's easy to hit on or near the greens from all lies and distances. The most impressive part is the soft landing when the ball comes down to earth. You can hit the Ping G430 Max all over the club face and get a towering shot that lands softly. 

Ping is known for consistency and ease of use. The G430 Max is in my bag because even as a low handicap, it simplifies my game so much. 

The Ping G430 Max comes in 15, 18 and 21 degree lofts but I would recommend only the 18 and 21 degree for high handicappers and beginners.

The Stealth is the prior model to the Stealth 2. I have tested both but don't believe you need to go for the latest TaylorMade Stealth 2 because the Stealth works perfectly. You may even find it cheap second hand.  

I felt confident with the ball teed up, and off the deck with the Stealth. Thin shots are not punished and I didn't hit many big slices.

The Stealth's looks are a very understated black color, with a V Steel sole that I find glides through the ground so easily. 

Recommendation: It's a very simple fairway wood to be honest. There are no special frills other than it is and always will be easy to hit. The ball flies off the face nice and high. Mainly, you can pick these up for a bargain as a high handicapper or beginner and that makes a difference. Cheap clubs with GREAT technology. 

I really believe you will get as much enjoyment out of this club as the newer model. 

Cleveland are the kings of game improvement clubs but very sneaky popular. There's not much fanfare out there, but a lot of golfers at club level jam Cleveland woods and irons. Their fairway woods have always been easy to hit and the Launcher XL Halo is a dream. 

The Launcher XL Halo 3 wood with 15 degrees is easy to launch but the 5 wood is where the game gets easy for the high handicappers. Cleveland have made a fairway wood that looks great and performs really easy because they moved attention away from developing the face.

They created variable stiffness and flexible areas of the sole and the crown to help focus more energy moving into the ball at impact with a bouncy face. 

The rails on the bottom of the club are reminiscent of the Cobra T rails and help prevent the fat shots. The club prefers to bounce through the turf gliding over a fat shot so the club still contacts the ball instead of digging in.

The face and hosel are created to be draw-biased to help eliminate that pesky slice. Now if you're slashing across the ball heavily, it's best to fix that swing, but if you're a light slicer, the offset can really bring the ball more left. 

BDog from the channel found it difficult to hit off the mats indoors and was just hitting hooks and big draws. He found it performed better on the grass and natural lies. For this reason, I think it works better on normal turf but not hardpan. But then again, which fairway woods do well on hardpan?

I found that at address, the toe and heel sit closer to the ground leaving more face area low down, where most golfers need help with fairway woods to get the ball airborne. The step-down shape of the crown also helps to get more weight lower, which also helps to get the ball in the air ASAP. 

Cobra golf clubs are always a hit with amateurs. The LTDx MAX is a really classic-looking fairway wood with a plain black carbon fiber head but with a touch of offset to get rid of a slice. The matte black crown looks inviting at address and stops any glare from the sun. 

If you're a slower swinger, the Cobra LTDx Max is a good choice

The inclusion of two strategically placed tungsten weights in the head, combined with a very lightweight shaft will help you get some more mph on your swing. Cobra placed the weight low and forward in the sole to reduce that spin down and reduce the weight on top of the club.

More swing speed means more distance. The weights in the head are also designed to eliminate a slice, so swing free and aim right down the middle. 

A very wide club face gives you a long surface area to make contact with. With more sweet spot areas to hit the ball, you'll find more forgiveness and straighter shots. I do not recommend getting a 3 wood in this range. It's a bit too big and cumbersome to hit off the deck especially as a higher handicapper.

You'll find the 3 wood good as a back-up driver but the 5 wood and up are going to be your best friend from the fairway. They are much easier to hit off the ground and at address, they just LOOK like they are easy to hit, giving you much more confidence. 

I recommend the 16°,  20° and 23° fairway woods. Combining a higher loft than normal fairway woods with light weight and the perimeter head weights means less slice and in turn tons more distance. The head is also adjustable meaning you can dial in you preferred loft. 

JMac from my YouTube channel is a Cobra fairway wood convert. Using them he has gone from a high handicapper to single figure player. 

Important information about fairway woods for high handicappers

Fairway woods for beginners and high handicappers are a tough subject. Because they're difficult to hit, I tried to simplify the whole process of finding a reliable wood for you.

1. Distance isn't everything 

Fairway woods don't need to be SMASHED and shouldn't be.

A smooth swing with a slight downward hit on the ball will produce a nice consistent and accurate shot that will travel straighter and with more height.

Hitting a fairway wood HARD hurts your accuracy and consistency because you lose control of the club and hit the ball all over the face, sometimes missing the ball completely.

My best advice for hitting a fairway wood is to relax and trust the club to do the work and swing EASY and SMOOTH. Trying to 'help' the ball up into the air will result in a lot of slices and thinned shots. The club has loft to do the work for you.

The clubs are designed in a way to make your life easier. Trust them.

2. Loft is your best friend

Low lofted clubs produce much lower ball flight. Usually, we would associate a lower loft with more distance. That is the case if your swing speed is fast enough. A slower swing speed and lower loft means a very low short shot.

The more loft a club has, the more forgiveness it has. This can be seen with a 3 iron vs a 9 iron. The 9 iron is much easier to hit. The surprising thing is that a golfer with a slower swing speed could hit the ball FURTHER with a higher lofted wood than with a lower lofted. 

For example, a high handicapper is often able to carry a 5 or 7 wood much further than 3 woods because the 3 wood flies lower with less forgiveness. If the swing speed is not adequate, then the 3 wood will only be airborne for a short time. The extra backspin and loft of a 5 or 7 wood produces much more elevation and in turn more carry distance, even on mishits.

3. Different skill levels for different clubs

Higher handicappers and beginners usually swing a little slower and require a bit more loft than normal and so a FIVE WOOD would be the best place to start for most higher handicappers - that's usually 17° or 18° of loft.

Lower and mid handicappers are more experienced and have developed a controlled faster swing because of their confidence and skill. They can play lower lofted fairway woods because the lower the loft, the more skill and speed you need to elevate the ball.

4. Fairway woods and hybrids can both help you

In my opinion, newer golfers should learn to hit DOWN on a fairway wood or hybrid as soon as possible. Hybrids have made long iron play much easier by blending an iron and a fairway wood into one club. I believe a 17°, 19° or 21° fairway wood is far more forgiving than a hybrid to start, and easier to hit than a hybrid of the same loft. 

Hitting hybrids requires a downward strike on the ball but learning to do that with a club that looks meatier like a fairway wood makes the transition to hitting hybrids so much easier. 

Learning to hit a 3 or 4 hybrid immediately as a beginner or high handicapper will be difficult because essentially it is still a 3 or 4 iron but it just has a chunk of metal stuck on the back. And you and I both know how difficult it is to master a long iron!

The best fairway woods for high handicappers and beginners must come in lofts higher than 17 degrees. You'll be able to hit them consistently and get these woods to travel longer distances. I also think you should have as many fairway woods as you can but never going below 17° of loft. 

The fairway woods you see the pro's hitting from 13° to 15° are much more difficult to get airborne off the tee and even harder to do off the fairways. The caveat to this is PING. PING woods are so easy to launch, it will make your hair stand on end!

Should I use a fairway wood off the tee?

Yes you can and very often for beginners, it is easier to keep the ball in play with a fairway wood off the tee.

If you want to use a fairway wood off the tee, you want a taller face so you can tee it higher. If you have a shallow face, you must tee it lower.

Is a fairway wood easy to hit off the ground?

The fairway woods in my list above definitely are the easiest to hit off the ground. It's very difficult for a lot of golfers to hit fairway woods 'off the deck' but I've tested every single one possible and I selected only the most forgiving woods for you.

It's easier to launch a shallower face fairway wood from a hard lie, a soft lie, a fairway lie or a lie in the rough. It's far more difficult mentally, to hit a tall-faced fairway wood because it feels like you have to 'help the ball' into the air., so I tried to find the shallower faced fairway woods.

I really suggest finding yourself a set of fairway woods that start at 16.5 or 17 degrees and work in intervals up to 24 degrees because these clubs are going to be your new favorites! High, long, floating shots instead of topping the ball and trying to help the ball inot the air.

Whatever gets the job done is what you play and with the assortment of woods and hybrids out there, you can practically fill your bag with them! Get out there and find what works for you!

You're new to golf and that's the best time to be alive.

You’ve come to the right place! My mission is to help you find great clubs so you can enjoy golf quickly and play forever. 

We'll take a look at the best beginner golf clubs, both complete sets and building your own bag, and I'll share some insights so you can make an easy decision so you can enjoy this game forever.

If you would like to save on the budget, look for the clubs listed here, second hand. That is always a good option as beginners for all equipment. 

The Wilson Profile is a ten piece set with all the essentials.

Very forgiving driver

Fewer clubs so you don't feel over analysis paralysis.

There are multiple options for this set. Players over 6'2 are encouraged to go for the 'LONG' set. 

The Callaway Strata set has a perfect high loft driver for a beginner.

There are multiple sets to choose from but I really do recommend going with as few as possible. 

The 14 piece set includes a sand wedge.

Easy to aim mallet putter.

Remove the 3 wood and don't hit it. Use the 5 wood. 

*For golfers 6'2" and under

The Prosimmon X9 +1 is for the taller player over 6'2". 

Includes two hybrids. 

Five iron down to pitching wedge.

A large mallet putter is included.

There is no Sand Wedge

For golfers 6'2" and over

• Forgiving clubs have larger clubfaces - this increases the striking area, increasing the chance of actually hitting the golf ball
• Forgiving clubs have larger sweet spots - this allows you to get good distance even when missing the center of the club face.
• Forgiving irons have the weight of the club head distributed around the perimeter of the back of the club and a hollowed out back to get more weight behind your shot. These clubs are are called Cavity Back and are the easiest to hit.

Alignment is key for good putting. Get that part hacked and all you need to do is work on the feel of hitting it the right distance. You're going to be three-putting quite a lot in the beginning of your golf career, but it gets better with time.

Having a putter that has a little offset to keep your hands in front of the ball is ideal. This promoted a forward roll of the ball instead of a skidding hit up into the ball with hands behind it. The mallet patter is easy to align with the lines on the back of the club.

Check out our putters for beginners guide to get some budget ideas for decent putters.

The PING Glide comes with a specially designed grip with white markings on it to use as a guide for where to put your hands when gripping down. They designed the wedge from the hands down so you can be in control as much as possible.

Weighting has been shifted to the perimeters to improve the off center strikes on the longer shots so there is less distance variability. This is a massive help because those partial shots are everyone's worst nightmare.

Site contributor Joe from the UK has a 54 degree PING glide sand wedge and he uses it for a variety of shots on the golf course. He finds that the forgiving look of the club makes it easier to hit committed three quatre swings and he loves the amount of bounce the club has. This is ideal for the different ground conditions he can find on his home golf course. 

Bounce, club head style and loft are important factors to create forgiveness in a wedge for high handicappers. Forgiveness is our priority as higher handicappers so we can get the ball off the ground and going where we want when we want. Bounce helps us do that.

What is bounce?

Before we get into that below, understand that it’s the most important characteristic of a wedge to give us more forgiveness.

To help you find the best wedge for high handicappers & beginners, I focused on bounce as the main criteria.

Bounce refers to the lowest part of the sole, that part of the wedge sole that is actually in contact with the ground at address and that causes the front of the sole to be off the ground at address.

Bounce angle is a measurement, expressed in degrees, of the angle between the leading edge of the sole and that lowest point on the sole. The higher the bounce angle, the more the leading edge of the sole is off the ground at address.

What wedges should I use as a high handicapper or beginner?

If you only own the Sand Wedge from your set, you can try get yourself a gap wedge (GW) also known as an approach wedge (AW) to have a distance for a club between your sand wedge and pitching wedge.

WARNING: Do not get a 60 degree wedge until you are a much lower handicap, perhaps around 9 handicap. They are too technical and will make more bad shots than good ones.

1. Get out of bunkers first time: If your primary concern is just getting out of that damn bunker, I definitely would go with something with a VERY thick sole and loft between 56 and 58°. You can start with a Cleveland Smart Sole or one of the other crazy fat soled wedges like an X-out or Tour Edge 1out. These are great for JUST GETTING IT OUT OF THE SAND.
2. Chipping: Now here you can actually get away with chipping with your irons if you learn the bump and run style chip which I promote on my Youtube channel. But of course, you may find yourself in some tricky spots as a high handicapper and want to chip over bunkers and water and obstacles.
   You want a wedge that will be versatile from the rough as well as the fairway so something with a cavity back like a Ping Glide or a Cleveland CBX wedge can really do wonders for you. The Smart Sole is also very suitable for chipping as well. The G wedge in the Smart Sole range is a potent chipping club.
   
   The loft range for these types of shots can be 50° up to 56° and you will be fine with one or two of these wedges.
3. Shots from 30-100 yards: These are going to be clubs with 58° loft down to 50° which are swung more 'full'. The types of wedges that are best for this are up to you entirely. You just need to practice with the one you choose and find the distance you hit it with a FULL SHOT and a HALF SHOT. Then adapt your game to use that club and that swing for the specific distance it goes.

When do we use wedges?

We use wedges from bunkers and for pitching/chipping around the green. Most golfers find one club they like to hit out of bunkers; chip green side with; and hit three-quarter shots with. This is a good formula to simplify your game and have a consistent shot for each situation.

We also use wedges inside 100 yards. This is the most important part of golf and most professionals will tell you that if they took over the game for a 24 handicapper inside 100 yards, that 24 handicapper will be a 10 handicapper. That's how important the wedge game is!

Armed with a decent wedge and a LOT of practice, you can significantly SLASH strokes off your score. Treat yourself to a nice investment in a wedge and watch how you quickly nip tuck shots from around the greens. It's remarkable.

The choice is yours and there is no right or wrong way, but starting with these guidelines will serve you well.

What are the Four Main Wedges?

Pitching wedge

The pitching wedge is most common and has a loft between 44° and 48° which you will get in your set of irons. These are great for greenside chipping.

Gap Wedge

50° to 53° which fills the gap between PW and SW for when you need to close the gap in distance. You will need to get this separately because most good high handicap iron sets don't come with one.

Sand Wedge

The sand wedge normally has 54° to 58° loft with fat soles that have 10° to 12° bounce which is essential for bunkers and shots within 100 yards. The thick underside helps to glide through longer grass and sand while also getting the ball airborne off shorter grass. The sand wedge is essential in every bag.

Lob Wedge

The lob wedge at 60° to 64° loft is perfect for hitting over bunkers around the green, short bunker shots and within 80 or 90 yards. It can add another dimension to your game allowing you to take fuller swings inside 100 yards instead of those tricky half swings with sand wedges! Lob wedges over 60° are not practical for the average golfer however. 

Here is how all four wedges work:

How important are wedges?

Specialized wedge clubs are a dream to play and the number of shots you'll hit with a wedge will surprise you:

• Pitch from 20 to 100 yards
• Green side chipping
• Chipping and pitching over hazards and bunkers
• Green side sand shots
• Chips from the rough

If we add up the total shots you play per round with these few clubs in these situations, you’ll see it can be up to 40-50% of your of the game.

The best wedge for high handicappers and beginners are from the Cleveland Golf Smart Sole 4 Wedge range.

My main aim is to help you pick the best clubs for your game without breaking the bank or being lured into buying crappy clubs that will disappoint you. I hope this guide was helpful and you find yourself a decent wedge or set of wedges to take your game to the next level from within 100 yards.

There's no better feeling than hitting a ball in play, stress-free. You know where it's going and you feel it in your bones. It's easier than ever to find a forgiving driver to help you bomb it down the middle and get that tuning fork ringing in your loins. 

For a driver to be easy to hit, it must:

• Get the ball into the air easily, nice and high
• Make bad strikes go further and straighter
• Give you a confident feeling

I've tested and played so many drivers in search of my own simple to hit club so I selected only the most forgiving drivers in the world in this list. 

The Srixon ZX5 Mk II comes with loads of technology such as a head made entirely of titanium including the crown.  Carbon has become so popular but not on the Srixon.

• The crown saved so much weight that the designers moved weight around to make it easy to get the ball in the air
• Peter found the Srixon ZX5 to bounce off the face nice and high - he sometimes struggles to get the ball up in time
• Matt was hitting high trajectory shots while his normal flight is medium-high
• We liked the matte black crown because the shiny crowns of prior generations were off putting
• The ZX5 MkII is clearly a forgiveness-first driver and the ball went straight but with a lot of spin

The ZX5 Mk2 driver is definitely not for high spin hitters. The driver spins quite a lot compared to the low spin models on the market but if you are a low spin hitter, who wants to keep the ball in play without the need for shot shaping, this is the driver.

The Srixon ZX5 MkII is for any golfer who wants to have more reliable straighter shots off the tee, with the premium being on 'in play' as opposed to 'super long and wild'.

The Launcher XL Lite is aimed at handicaps above 16 who need some help with swing speed.

Our experience with the Launcher XL Lite:

• We liked the perceived size of the head - it made us feel like the ball was tiny
• We felt like we could see the full face of the club, compared to so many drivers that pull the face closed
• The Launcher XL Lite definitely works better with a smoother, less-jerky swing. 
• We discovered that you cannot slash wildly at the ball - there were no gains to doing that
• The driver is not super low spin so we found the ball easier to control than very low spin models

There is also a XL Lite Draw model if you do struggle with a slice. We enjoyed that the driver created mid spin numbers on the Trackman because the trend is always to go low spin. Sometimes higher spinning drivers can help to keep the ball in play just a little easier. 

The Launcher XL lite is for the mid to high hanidcapper who swings with a moderate to slow swing speed, under 85 mph.

The worlds most forgiving driver is the Ping G430 Max due to its forgiving face and interior club head weighting. If you haven't hit a PING driver before, you MUST try out the G430 Max and you will be amazed. 

If you decide to put a driver in your golf bag to take your game to the next level, always have it fit with a shaft by a professional club fitter to fully maximize its potential. It can literally change your life.

You can find confidence off the tee, which will put you in a better position for your approach shots and that puts you in a better position to score.