Category Archives for Beginners & High Handicappers Guide

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 sets don't come with a wedge and it's vital to have a great wedge to get out of bunkers and for chipping around the green. 

We're price-conscious for beginners too so we've listed the most value for money options out there.

A putter can be the difference between enjoying golf and hating it.

We've found the best value for money putters for beginners so you don't blow the budget on stuff you don't need.

Forgiving irons that go straight and long are important when you're a high handicapper or beginner. They make it easy to hit the ball on the green.

Take a look at the most forgiving irons to help your game instantly.

Hybrids have changed the game in recent years. They're so easy to hit and are an instant replacement for 2, 3 and 4 irons in the set.

Even pros have put these in the bag in place of their long irons because they're just that effective

Fairway woods are a beginners secret weapon on the course.

They go longer and higher and are easier to hit than drivers. We've found the best possible solutions to hit more fairways and greens to slash your handicap and make golf more fun.

While not always 100% necessary, everyone wants to have a nice loud booming driver and we don't blame you!

We've outlined the best possible ones for you to make hitting those long bombs easier.

Knowing the distance to water, bunkers, and the green makes a huge difference to your game. 

These things are generally expensive but we've sourced the very best budget rangefinders out there.

Here we outline the absolute necessities to hit the golf course so you don't have to be that guy who needs to borrow stuff all the time off the other guys!

• Best golf balls for high handicappers
• Best golf balls for 85-90 mph swings
• Best high visibility golf balls so you don't lose them
• Best golf balls for 100+ mph swings

If you watch my YouTube channel, you will find out that you can shave a load of strokes off your score within weeks, eliminating three-putts (and four-putts). It's that simple and sometimes you just need a decent putter to do it. Guys don't like to admit it, but the putter is the most important golf club in your bag. 

Practicing only an hour a week can easily knock 4 or 5 strokes off your score within a month. I know it can, because I did it. New players and high handicapper take upwards of four 3-putts per round. That's at least 4 unnecessary shots you can eliminate right now with a bit of practice and of course, one of the best putters for beginners on offer.

It's easy to see how important putting is to lowering your score and handicap - just check out B-Dog's round of 98 here. He used an Odyssey 2ball putter I bought him. By just two-putting every green, you can knock off a minimum 4 shots!

1. Odyssey Hot Pro OG putters (best putter dollar for dollar)
2. Cleveland Huntington Beach putters (best budget modern putter for beginners)
3. Odyssey Two Ball Triple Track putter  (best top end putter for alignment)
4. Cleveland Frontline ISO putter  (Sleeper pick)
5. Ping Sigma 2 Anser (best quality blade putter)

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.

Please avoid the double sided putt putt putter if you're looking for a decent putter to improve your game.

This is a great putter for mini-golf, offices and beating up home invaders. It's not however a suitable putter for beginners on the golf course.

There are numerous sites advocating for it but I don't care what the reviews say and I don't care if it's a top seller. This club won't help you improve your golf one iota. I won't allow any future beginner golfing buddies to be taken advantage of.

It's basically a lump of metal that's been stuck onto a stick and marketed as a "two-way putter". AVOID

While I believe a great driver you can hit straight and consistently is the biggest asset you can have, the quickest win thereafter will be from being able to two-putt every single green.

Think about it. Let's say you hit the driver well and get around or on the green in 2 or 3 shots. Then if you three-putt 4 or 5 times on the green per round as well as once or twice from around the green BUT then you learn to two-putt from wherever, you're going to save between 5 and 6 shots a round!

Two hours per week is all it takes

Step 1

Take your putter and 5 - 10 balls. Putt from one hole on the green to another hole on the green 20 to 30 feet away. Putt them until every single one is within 2 feet every time. When you can do that every putt, move onto step 2...

Step 2

Take the 5 to 10 balls and scatter them in a circle around a hole, 3 feet from the hole. Putt from 3 feet until you can hole all of the balls. Then do it again at another hole until you can make all the 3 footers. Once you can do that, go home. Do not leave until you sink every golf ball without missing around five different holes.

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. 

If the driver costs you shots, over and over, leave it at home for now and find yourself a trusty fairway wood that can travel over 160 yards off the tee. That's your new secret weapon my friend. Oozing forgiveness and a soft-landing ball, fairway woods can quickly become your favorite club and allow you to play lots of different golf courses. 

On top of that, for slower swingers, higher handicappers and beginners, a fairway wood with more loft will go further and straighter than a lower lofted wood and work much easier than the popular hybrids. You might find that the best fairway woods for high handicappers is the biggest reason you break 90 or 100 for the first time. 

1. Callaway Big Bertha (easiest fairway wood to launch)
2. PING G425 Fairway Wood (most forgiving fairway wood)
3. TaylorMade STEALTH Fairway wood (best TaylorMade fairway wood)
4. Cleveland Launcher XL Halo (best for stopping a slice)
5. Cobra LTDx Max Black Fairway Wood  (ideal option for slower swingers)
6. Tour Edge Hot Launch E523 Fairway Wood  (best high handicapper focused club)

The Callaway Big Bertha fairway wood is the easiest club to get into the air and keep it there for longer. I found it to be the easiest fairway wood to hit in a very long time. This range has always been easy to hit, but wow this thing is like cheating. 

The Callaway Big Bertha fairway wood is offset but the neck is not so obviously offset like a lot of the draw-bias clubs on the market. What really makes this fairway wood one of my favorites is that it has a shallow face, similar to the Pings.

The effect of a shallow, low profile face cannot be overstated. When you have a very tall clubface, it can feel like you're hitting a big old driver off the ground. That is incredibly intimidating as you may know.

The shallow face automatically makes you think you can get under the golf ball without trying and that is its main advantage and why I prefer a shallow faced fairway wood. Because of the shallow face, you can hit this thing from every single lie you can imagine: fairway bunkers, hardpan, dry lies, as well as lush rough and fairway.

Along with the excellent face shape, the dark blue crown is a pleasant sight to look at - not black and boring but not bright like a Nike.  The standard simple alignment aid rounds out the simplified look.

Despite this being a game improvement wood, it still features the premium Jailbreak technology, coupled with the revolutionary Batwing design. This brings much needed stability to the club's structure which will help the high handicapper. This stabilization allows the face to flex, generating immense power and exceptionally fast ball speeds. The ball really does fly off the face. 

If you want the premium Callaway experience in a package that is designed to suit the high handicapper look no further than the Big Bertha. 

Available in 14.5,17.5, 20.5 and 23.5 degree lofts so you can pick any loft you need for the forgiveness of a PING fairway wood.

The look of the crown is a simple matte black and a traditional style head. The spikey things on the crown are gone now for alignment. They use three little dots on the crown making it a perfect and simple minimalist look to align the golf ball to the center of the face. A shallow face means it is not very tall. 

The low profile clubface is not driver-esque and so it feels easier to get the ball airborne. Off the face, the sound of the clubface is high-pitched and everyone around will know you're hitting a PING. it's easy to hit the ball from many lies on the golf course - the rough, hardpan, soft grass, fairway and the tee.

PINGs G425 is a simple golf club but it's not as easy to launch as the TaylorMade options. The golf ball comes off the face hot and if you're a PING fan, you'll love it. I have recently started to play Ping fairway woods and I'm converted. I have the Ping G425 3 wood and a Ping G410 seven wood in my golf bag and I've fallen in love with the game again. The seven wood has replaced my once trusty two iron and I am using it for a wide variety of shots. The higher lofts  and forgiving faces on these clubs allow me get the ball into play off the tee consistently and also hit greens from all lies and distances without too much trouble. 

If you're looking for a fairway wood that will help you straighten up that slice or fade, the SFT version is going to be much nicer for you. The PING G425 is definitely a consistent, easy to hit club regardless. 

First off you can ignore the 15 degree version my good man. The loft is too low. In addition to the 15° woods, they do have the 16.5, 18, 21 and 24 degree versions.

What's interesting about that is that 24 degrees is the modern 6 iron! But it's the traditional 3 or 4 iron loft. So don't be put off by the 24 degree idea. It's much easier to get one of these in the air than a jacked up loft on a 5 or 6 iron in todays irons.

It would be hard to beat the near perfect TaylorMade SIM fairway wood, but the STEALTH does just that. The excellent V Steel feature is still in this head with the addition of a 3D Carbon Crown and advanced Laser alignment. This new crown moves mass from the high toe area to the back of the club to maximise MOI and forgiveness. A laser etched alignment aid on the top of the club makes lining the face up a breeze.

As with all TaylorMade clubs, the tech keeps coming. We still have Twist Face technology to help compensate for off center hits, keeping the ball straighter and reducing dispersion left and right. The head shape of the stealth is really appealing to the eye at address. The matte carbon fiber crown and slightly shiny black detailing make you just want to rip one right down the fairway!

Site contributor Joe tested this club on a launch monitor at the Belfry Golf Club in the UK and was blown away. He tested the ball off a driving range matt and grass and the launch monitor was showing really consistent number for his swing speed and delivery. A high handicapper friend of his hit the high launch option with a regular graphite shaft and it was showing 20-30 yard gains on his current 3 wood, even at a higher loft! If you can, try to hit this club on a launch monitor, you won't believe the numbers! 

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 the best fairway 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 chances of that desired accuracy and consistency. My best advice for hitting a fairway wood is to relax and trust the club to do the work and swing EASSYYYYYYY. Trying to get the ball up in the air will result in a lot of slices and thinned shots. 

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 the 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. 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° of loft.

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

4. Fairway woods are better to start with than hybrids

In my opinion, newer golfers should learn to hit DOWN on a fairway wood before moving onto the hybrids. Hybrids have made long iron play much easier but I believe a 17°, 19° or 21° fairway wood is far more forgiving 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 them to travel longer distances. I also think you should have as many fairway woods as you like 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!

I absolutely recommend you start with fairway woods and add hybrids later - once you're used to hitting down on the ball. If you're looking for a beautiful driver to help you as a high handicapper looking for a driver guide helpful. 

For months I struggled to get a 15 degree 3 wood into the air and carry more than 140 yards. At the time, I was still learning to play golf and someone told me 3 wood was better than driver to start off with. So I tried. And tried and tried and tried.

I practiced and practiced and nothing ever changed - I may as well have used a putter. I didn't have a great set of high handicapper irons.

Until one day, a retiree golfer at the course told me 'try a 5 wood or a 7 wood'. I never even knew there was such a thing as a 7 wood! 

I saw the man again a few days later and he gave me a Slazenger 5 wood. 

Let me tell you, it changed my whole universe. I hit that thing perfectly immediately! Carried 180 with a little draw! You read that right - a 19 degree fairway wood went further than a 15 degree  3 wood. Needless to say, I also got a 7 wood, dropped my handicap to 11 and since then I've been preaching the virtues of fairway woods to anyone who'll listen.

So as you can see, fairway woods come in handy and are made in a wide range of lofts to get you around the course easily. They're just so easy to hit and I hope the woods I've tried and found for you will change your game for the better too...

Can I use a fairway wood off the tee?

If you want to use a fairway wood off the tee, you want a taller face. What that means is the distance from the bottom of the face to the top of the face is a longer distance. 

This type of tall face club looks GREAT behind a tee and makes the club feel like a mini-driver. You can hit a shallow face fairway wood off the tee, of course. But if you're looking for a more dominant look, a taller face will serve you well. 

Is a fairway wood easy to hit off the ground?

Most of us want a fairway wood that we can hit off the ground a lot. That is why I prefer a SHALLOW face. What I mean by a shallow face is that the distance between the bottom of the face and the top of the face is shorter. 

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. 

Tour Edge and Cleveland are well-priced because they do spend less on marketing and are a reputable brand. Their fairway woods will serve you well and you'll never regret purchasing from them. You make even use the same fairway wood for 5-10 years.

That will rarely, if ever, happen with a cheap brand that has thousands of reviews on it and under $75. There is no comparison between a decent brand and the cheap ones. You may enjoy the cheaper club but the day you switch it out for something better, only then will you realize what you've been missing. 

If there's just one thing I can recommend to any newer player or higher handicap, is that you should start at an advantage with decent clubs rather than cheap, ugly, awful golf clubs. It gives you a better start to your experience in golf and will help you stay with the game. The technology in the pricier clubs makes your life infinitely more enjoyable. 

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 babies are going to be your new favorites!

You never have to be ashamed of how many of any club you have in your bag. 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 the best fairway wood for your golf game. 

But don't worry, my goal is to get as many beginners started on the right track as possible.

A lot of us start with a hand-me-down set or an old set from dad's era. Sound familiar?

Sometimes you get lucky and find a decent set but they're often made for someone a bit better at golf. Some clubs are even counterfeit. A friend of mine, Stuart started playing with a beautiful set of Ping Eye irons about 20 years ago. Whenever I hit his beautiful clubs they went 15 yards shorter than mine. After asking around, it turns out they were knock-offs! So be careful out there guys. Keep reading for the lowdown on the best golf club sets for beginners.

Tl;dr - The best golf clubs for beginners are the Wilson Profile golf clubs. Learn why below. 

The Wilson Profile set is the best set of golf clubs for beginners. It's come as a ten piece set with great club selections for a new player. They come in a longer version as well if you're over 6 foot 2 inches tall.

The forgiving driver is 460 cc but be aware the loft is only 10.5° and can be more difficult to get in the air as a new golfer. The more loft we can get on a driver, the better so keep that in mind when contemplating the XD set.

You also get an easier to hit #5 fairway wood and a #5 hybrid which will almost certainly become your go to golf club over the driver. These are easier to hit than irons and with the hybrid in mind, they've included only 6,7,8,9 iron, pitching wedge and sand wedge. This is a perfect start to a beginners career, giving you the easiest to hit golf clubs without providing too many options to confuse you.

The woods and hybrids all have headcovers and the stand bag is quite a catchy color, depending on your tastes. 

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

The Callaway Strata range is a comprehensive starter set for beginners. It oozes forgiveness and at around this price it's the best value for money set for new players. There are multiple sets to choose from but I really do recommend going with as few as possible. 

This Callaway golf Strata 14 piece set will do well for you. That will give you 11 clubs, plus the bag etc. The reason I say go for the 14 piece set over the 12 piece set is in the 14 piece set, they include a SAND WEDGE.

This is actually one of the clubs you definitely will need when you start so you can get out of bunkers and learn to chip and pitch with. The 12 piece doesn't include it. You can get by without it no problems I am sure. But I'd say it's gonna be a club you'll need.

It's tempting to want to purchase the largest set possible but truth be told, by the time you'll be able to hit all those extra clubs and every golf club in the bag, you'll already be buying a new set of clubs. If you are tempted to get the 16 piece set, which I am sure you might be, here's some top tips.

Remove the 3 wood and don't hit it. Use the 5 wood. The loft on the 3 wood is too low to start hitting to start the game. A 5 wood has more loft and it will be easier to hit. You'll have a 4 and a 5 hybrid club. This is an iron that they add a booty to so it looks like a  fairway wood. Pick one to use...either the 4 or the 5 hybrid. You don't need to learn both. If I were you, I'd learn with the 5H first.

*For golfers 6'2" and under

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

The "+1" in the name is important so it is recommended you confirm it is the +1 when purchasing if you're a big guy because the normal X9 V2 set is made for us who are under 6'2" tall. The +1 means the clubs are made 1 inch longer than standard sets.

A titanium matrix 460cc driver with 10.5 degrees loft is included and as a taller player you'll usually be able to generate more swing speed because of your longer arms so 10.5° would be an acceptable loft. You also receive one fairway wood and two hybrids. 

Having two hybrids is a massive advantage because they're so simple to hit and also go a long way. Any time you see a set with two hybrids, you should be getting excited! The driver, fairway wood and hybrids give you 4 options off the tee which you can work out on the driving range. 

The rest of the set is five iron down to pitching wedge and the best part for you is the clubs are about an inch longer than the other sets listed for beginners. Having the right length of clubs is vital to playing good golf.

A large mallet putter which is easy to align to your target completes the set making these easily the best golf clubs for beginners who are taller than 6 foot 2.


*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.

No. Although, according to the rules of golf, you're allowed up to 14 clubs in your bag, it doesn't mean you HAVE TO have 14. And very often, starting with a handful of clubs is more beneficial.

Now as a beginner, you don't even need half of that to be perfectly honest. You just need a few sticks to get you around the course and learn the ropes as simply as possible.

Beginner sets come with between 9 and 12 clubs but the most important clubs for an absolute beginner are the hybrid, the 7 iron, pitching wedge and the putter. Learn to hit those ones first and golf will come easy as you start to build you game from the ground up. 

Here's part 1 in a video series of 6 episodes on How to Break 100. If you watch this, you'll begin to understand it's much simpler than you think to play golf.

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.

• How to hit a 9 iron 

• How to hit an 8 iron
• How to hit a 7 iron 
• How to hit a 6 iron 
• How to hit a 5 iron
• How to hit a hybrid golf club
• Driver Swing vs Iron Swing 
• When to use a 56 degree wedge 
• When to use a 60 degree lob wedge  

The game inside 120 yards is the most important part of golf and in this one area alone, you can drop from a high handicapper to a mid handicapper in weeks. You need to be hitting the greens when you have a wedge in hand. But if you don't, you want that same wedge to help you get up and down.

The confidence that you get on the golf course from a good wedge game, bunker game and chipping game is unlike any other high in golf. It's an emotional protective shield around you. You're untouchable when you have one of the best wedges for high handicappers in your hands. It filters up into the rest of your bag, relieving pressure on the approach, on the tee shot, and making you a happier golfer. 

If you're unsure what kind of wedge you need, if you’re only going to buy one wedge, get a great sand wedge with either 56 or 58 degrees of loft and at least 10 degrees of bounce. Keep reading to find out why.

1. Cleveland SmartSole 4 S Wedge (best sand wedge for bunkers and green side chipping)
2. Wilson Harmonized Wedge (best budget option)
3. Cleveland CBX 2 Cavity Back Wedge (most closely resembles the rest of your irons)
   
4. Ping Glide 3.0 SS Wedge (easiest to use premium model)
5. Square Strike Wedge (best 'gimmicky' set of wedges for chunkers)
6. Callaway Mack Daddy CB Wedge (best performing wedge long term)
7. TaylorMade Hi-toe wedge (get spin from anywhere on the face)

Cleveland golf make the best wedges for high handicappers. They’ve really thought about the higher handicap player with the way they've designed this wedge. Thick bottom and 58° so you don't even have to open the face up. 

Their data analysis showed that golfers with a handicap over 12, find the green only 54% of the time out of the bunker so they've created a sand wedge that will get you out 100% of the time.

The Smart Sole S wedge gets you out the bunker in one shot with almost no effort with the very wide sole. The weird looking underside is unnoticeable from the top when addressing the ball and actually looks like a standard wedge. The face already has 58° of loft, so there really isn't much need to open the face like you do with other wedges.

But if you do want to, you can because that big fat booty is not going to let you dig into the sand. It's going to bounce right out and get the ball floating out on a magic pillow of sand.

The weight behind the sweet spot has been distributed around the perimeter of the club like a standard iron. The Tour style wedges are designed with all the weight behind the sweet spot which makes them harder to hit.

This perimeter weighting makes the wedge even more forgiving and will more than likely match your cavity backed irons in design. 

These things work, period.

You can find me using both C and S wedge in this video on my Youtube channel. The newest version of these wedges now includes a G wedge so you have C, G and S for a full complement of wedges.

Add the C wedge and G wedge in unison with the Smart Sole range and you have two potent wedges that are going to severely lower your scores. The C wedge is 42 degrees which is pretty much an 8 iron while the G wedge is 50 degrees to give you a nice gapping between the C and S wedge These 8 degrees allow for a lot of versatility for the shots inside 100 yards.

With the large sole of the club, you're going to glide through tall grass and fairways alike. Around the green you're not gonna hit those duffed chips that go a a foot or two. You know, the ones you hit and look around to see if anyone noticed...

The C wedge has less loft at 42°and has been designed for playing around the green but can be used just as effectively from 125 yards with a full swing. While it looks quite radical, this club gets the job done every time. The G wedge at 50° is the between club for more chipping precision and a bit of a shorter full shot than the 42° club. 

Easily the best wedges for a high handicapper or beginner struggling with the short game or looking for their first wedges. These two clubs have the potential to rapidly revolutionize your short game from bunkers to green side to pitch shots within 100 yards. No BS.

PING make superb irons and drivers, but their wedges are just like the rest of their golf clubs - easy to hit and easy to use.

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 find 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. 

I have to say, I thought hi-toe clubs were a gimmick when I first saw them. I couldn't see how the full face grooves could make a difference. Then I tried one. Wow.

Out of thick rough and sand, this thing is a DEMON. Have you ever hit a wedge high in the face out of the cabbage, and watched it run off the back of the green? I have, and that didn't happen with this club. 

Out of the sand, I found it really easy to manipulate the face to get maximum spin, even in the ball was sat down or plugged. Around the green, the club performed like any premium wedge. 

The more triangular shape of the head might put some people off, especially if you favour a more traditional "tear drop" style head like a Vokey. If that sort of thing doesn't bother you, give this a try. It's as forgiving as any wedge I've played. 

From my experience and taking inspiration from master club fitter Tom Wishon, I recommend a sand wedge with a wide sole to take your short game to the next level. This bigger sole gives the wedge what is called bounce. More bounce means it's easier to get the ball airborne.

But you’re probably thinking “what the hell is bounce”? Before we get into that, understand that it’s the most important characteristic of a wedge to give us more forgiveness. 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. 

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.”

Do you find it difficult to hit the ball out of bunkers first time? I know I used to. There's nothing more embarrassing than taking 4 to get out of a bunker. But check out my guide to hitting bunker shots for beginners.

For 90% of golfers, the wedge should have a lot bounce to literally bounce off the surface of the sand and float the ball out on a pillow of sand.

When we start golf we all hit a lot of fat shots. Fat means you hit the earth before your ball.
If your SW has too little bounce, it will dig into the ground on a fat shot and your ball will go nowhere.

If the wedge has more bounce, it will literally bounce off the earth and make good contact, sending the ball to your target. This will help your shots inside 100 yards.

What’s a wedge?

What defines a wedge from an iron is loft. The 9 iron normally has around 44° of loft. Anything above 45° is considered a wedge.

Wedges can be used on fuller shots from 140 yards and in depending on your swing speed. It’s often said that a wedge should not be hit at full power. The idea behind wedges is to use them for controlled shots instead of power shots. Their job is to get you close to the hole, not long distances.

The higher loft produces higher ball flight and often more spin.

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

If you only own the Sand Wedge from your set, you can definitely try a stand alone wedge. But you need to know what you're looking for. Then you can narrow down what you should purchase and try out.

There are a handful of reasons people have for needing wedges in all skill levels. I will list them here in order most applicable to higher handicaps down to what is more applicable to lower handicaps.

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 59°. 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. 

HERE IS MY MAXIMUM WARNING FOR ALL HIGH HANDICAPPERS AND BEGINNERS!

Forget the 'flop shot' and the high lobber. You DO NOT need to learn this shot at this stage. Learn the very basic chipping and pitching move which you can find on Mr Short Game's Youtube channel as well as my Youtube channel and just GET THE BALL ON THE GREEN. Those flop shots you see the pro's playing took YEARS to create. 

Our goal as normal golfers is to get it on the green and then try make a putt and at worst, two putt. EASY LIFE. Avoid a lob wedge with over 58° of loft. 

When do we use wedges?

We use wedges from bunkers and for chipping around the green. Most golfers end up finding one club they like to hit out of bunkers with, chip greenside with and hit ¾ shots with. Personally I like a pitching wedge for greenside chipping, lob wedge from the sand and sand wedge for ¾ approach shots as well as chipping from the rough.

The choice is yours and there is no right or wrong way when you find what works but starting with the above best wedges for high handicappers and beginners will make life a lot easier.

We also use wedges inside 100 yards. This is the absolute 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 play off no more than a 12 handicap. 

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 and tuck a stroke from the bunker here, a stroke from a chip there and some more from inside 100 yards here and there. 

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. In our opinion, the best wedge for high handicappers and beginners is a sand wedge.

Lob Wedge

The lob wedge at 60° to 64° loft is perfect for hitting it 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.

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% 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.

More articles to help you learn to hit your clubs

• How to hit a 9 iron 
• How to hit an 8 iron
• How to hit a 7 iron 
• How to hit a 6 iron 
• How to hit a 5 iron
• How to hit a hybrid golf club
• Driver Swing vs Iron Swing 
• When to use a 56 degree wedge 
• When to use a 60 degree lob wedge  

In my 25 years of playing golf, once you learn the short game, the next biggest leap you can make to slash your golf score is to have a reliable and forgiving driver. Having a driver you have no confidence in will kill your game before you even tee off. That's why I have searched for the best driver for beginners. 

Using one of the best golf drivers for high handicappers, you'll feel that awesome confident feeling. It's a feeling we all want - to KNOW where the ball is going. To have the ball in play so we can approach the green and start cutting strokes quickly and dramatically. 

I'm a proponent that you can get into the mid teen handicap with nothing more than a fairway wood and hybrid, but if you do want to get some more distance off the tee, make sure you can hit it well at least 6 out of 10 shots before bringing it to the golf course. Before that stage, please practice your driver at the driving range.

The best golf driver for most higher handicap golfers is currently the PING G340 MAX for its forgiveness.

1. PING G430 Max driver (most forgiving driver on the market today)
2. XXIO 12 driver (most expensive but highest quality golf driver)
3. Cleveland Launcher XL Lite driver (best for slower swing speeds)
4. Tour Edge Exotics E722 driver (best value beginner golf driver)
5. Mizuno STX 220 (easiest driver to launch with draw bias)
6. Callaway Big Bertha B21 (high loft options easy to hit)

The XXIO brand is under the Srixon and Cleveland umbrella (Dunlop) and it is their high-end premium brand. I know this one is expensive, I know!

But let me explain why I included it. 

I have a friend in Bangkok. Well a friend is a strong word - he is an acquaintance and we have played golf twice. He couldn't hit a driver to save his life - his swing speed is a bit low and he was going for all the ego drivers from the brands we all know - Taylormade, Callaway, you name it. 

Then he discovered the XXIO at a fitting where a pro threw this at him. He hit it a few times and the machine was registering some good drives, so he bit the bullet and spent them money.

Bill can now hit a driver and he is getting 230-240 yards off the tee, where before, all he was hitting was worm burners to the left, about 100 yards. I have hit his XXIO 12 driver and even with a soft regular shaft in it, I can hit it straight. It's a beauty. 

The XXIO 12 driver is super lightweight and made of extremely fine materials. They design these drivers specifically for moderate swing speeds. If your swing speed is below 80 mph, you can really benefit from the smooth and effortless swinging and power of the XXIO 12. 

Cleveland may seem like a name that is not heard much on tour, which it isn't. This is the everyday golfers driver and one of the easiest to hit in the available ranges. The Launcher XL Lite is the version of the Launcher range designed for maximum swing speed and forgiveness. 

Brooks Koepka and Shane Lowry play Cleveland and Srixon (the same company) but the truth is that Cleveland make EXCELLENT clubs for the high handicapper and beginner. Their drivers are also in the game improvement category to help launch it higher and longer.

I used a Cleveland driver back in the day to get down to a scratch handicap. They've always made very simple-looking driver faces and very forgiving hitting areas. They fit high end shafts and you can pick one based on your swing speed to maximize your abilities. 

Looking down at the club, it looks like a PING with the matte finish and spines running across the crown. It's simple to swing and easy to hit but mainly for slower swingers. If you swing like a brute, there will be minimal benefit for you.

There is also a version of this driver for you if you want to eliminate a slice and want the ball to shape right to left. It's called the Launcher XL Lite Draw

The club comes in 10.5 and 12 degree versions. Usually I would say anyone with a slower swing speed would do well to pick a higher lofted driver (12°) to get it launching longer with more carry. It's almost always the case that you'll see an increase in yardage by going higher loft. 

It's tempting to think the clubs the pros play on TV are the ones we should be playing. There is a massive difference between pros and amateur golfers so there is no shame in playing different clubs to the guys who do it for a living.  Play what works for you. That could be a used club from the junk store or it could be the latest Titleist 8.5° monstrosity. 

Also remember, the clubs on television are "Tour Issue", that means they have been made available only to the Tour players. The golf drivers you find in a retail shop are NOTHING like the one the pros are playing. I only state this so you can make a selection based on performance and looks to YOU, not what Brooks Koepka or Dustin Johnson or Tiger Woods is hitting. They have the means to fine tune their equipment with the best information and technology possible. 

The best driver for beginners is the Ping G425 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 G425 and you will be amazed. 

I hope this guide was useful in finding the best drivers for beginners. 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. 

Once you've become more experienced and are becoming more consistent with the driver in hand, you'll be ready to check out this driver guide for mid handicappers. 

If you're on a budget and looking for the best value golf drivers, check out this guide. There you may find the best second hand driver for high handicappers.