Golf Tips For Beginners - Golf Equipment

Golf equipment is an often overlooked subject when dealing with golf tips for beginners. There are many articles and books dealing with the golf swing, golf practice, and golf training, but the beginner golfer is often left alone to choose their golf equipment.

It is so easy to be swayed by the advertising from the top brand name golf equipment manufacturers. After all, they spend millions of dollars each year to persuade you that their golf clubs or golf balls are perfect for you.

They tell us which golf professionals endorse and use their clubs and expect us to buy them on that recommendation alone. Generally, a driver that Tiger Woods can use to great effect will probably not enable the beginner to hit his drives 300 yards straight down the fairway. The same holds true for other items of golf equipment, like golf balls.

First let's start with the golf clubs, which will be your most important (and expensive) items of golf equipment. You have to choose your clubs wisely, and not just the brand, as they will directly affect the way you play golf.

For the beginner golfer, it is a mistake to start off with any old clubs; forget about using your Grandfather's old clubs, a second hand set of mixed brands, or clubs that your 6 foot friend is lending you (if you are only 5 foot 6 inches tall!)

For you to learn golf and start playing well, you will need a set of golf clubs that are suited to your game and your physical characteristics. The first thing to get right is the length of the club shaft - it has to be a good match for your height. Depending on the golf club brand, you will generally get a choice of regular length, shorter, or longer. The wrong length can adversely affect your balance and stance and will cause you many different swing problems.

With regards to the shaft of the club, there are basically two materials: Graphite and steel (you will also find carbon fiber, multi-material, and titanium shafts).

Steel shafts are stronger and more durable than graphite or carbon fiber shafts and are made from carbon steel or stainless steel. They have better accuracy and control than graphite shafts as they don't have as much twist in them. But they cannot produce the same distances; you would need a faster swing speed to make them effective for distance. They are recommended for golfers with normal swing speeds and for beginners who are looking for more control and accuracy.

Graphite shafts are most expensive and less robust than steel, although they can generate large amounts of power, and so are good for driver clubs. They also weigh less than steel shafts and so can produce faster swing speeds for more distance. With added distance, you have to sacrifice control because of the flex generated during the swing. They have less vibration so are easier to swing and impact the ball with. Graphite shafts are good for women and senior golfers who cannot generally produce the swing speed to use a steel shaft effectively.

Next you have to choose the correct shaft flex, or stiffness, for your game. Generally, the professionals use a stiff flex because they are able to generate very fast club head swing speeds, therefore they can use the stiff flex to generate more power and more distance.

If you can drive the ball over 250 yards, then choose a stiff or extra stiff flex. For golfers that can hit the ball around 230 yards, use a firm or a regular flex; from 200 to 230, use a regular flex; and less than 200 yards, you should use a senior or ladies flex. Beginners and golfers with a slower swing speed usually need a shaft with greater flexibility.

For drivers, you can usually choose between three different lofts (the angle of the club face); 9 degrees, 10.5 degrees, and 12 degrees. The 9 degree driver is used by golfers that hit long and have fast swing speeds; the 10.5 degree is suitable for most golfers; and the 12 degree is for those that have slower swing speeds and need to get the ball airborne to help them achieve more distance.

The grip is another important matter; you have to choose the correct size of grip. When you place your left hand on the clubs grip, your fingers should be able to go around the grip and just touch your palm. If the grip is too small or big, it will affect your swing, causing you to use your hands too much or not enough in the swing. Grips come in different sizes like ladies, standard, oversize, and jumbo; they also come in various materials - leather, cord, simulated leather, non slip, tacky, etc. but it is a matter of what feels best for you.

When it comes time to buy a set of clubs, you should always buy the clubs from the same brand name. Professionals choose drivers, fairway woods, irons and putters, sometimes from different manufacturers, but for the beginner golfer, you will do much better with a uniform feel to all your clubs.

The legal limit for competitions is 14 clubs, but for the beginner, you should choose a set with what you need to get started. This could be, a driver, 3-wood (commonly called a fairway wood), irons number 3 through 9, a sand wedge, and a putter. You can add clubs as you feel you need them, like a pitching wedge, 5-wood, or a hybrid club (a newer development in golf clubs, which looks more like a fairway wood but can be used instead of your 3, 4 or 5 iron.

Unless money is not an issue, there are a few different golf club types that can save you a lot of money and yet give you a very good set of clubs. The first option is to buy a good set of golf club clones. These are (legal) copies of famous name brand clubs, use the same quality of club heads, and use shafts and grips just as good as the top brands. One company that offers high quality clones is Pinemeadow Golf. They have clubs that compare features and performance to top brands like Callaway Golf, TaylorMade, Adams, and Ping but they cost up to 8 times less!

The great benefit of buying from Pinemeadow Golf is their custom fitting wizard which asks you to fill in a few details about yourself and your game and it will generate a profile of which length and flex of club is right for you. They have a very good customer service department that can help you with any questions you may have regarding different features of their golf clubs.

The second option is to buy from a company like Golf Research In Play. Here is a company that doesn't design golf clubs with the professional in mind; instead they have developed an exceptional line up of premium clubs for the recreational golfer or beginner golfer. Their clubs are designed to be affordable, innovative, easy to play with, well constructed, and they will bring you more enjoyment to the game.

Every type of golf club is represented; driver; 3, 5 and 7-woods; iron sets; hybrids numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5; wedges in 52, 56, and 60 degrees; and putters. Their prices are up to four times less than the top brand names yet they provide custom fitting on their iron sets. You can choose between all irons, a mixture of hybrids and irons, or you can customize which irons and hybrids you want in your sets.

The third option, if you really must have top brand name clubs but are on a budget is to buy Certified Preowned Golf Clubs from GlobalGolf. When you buy a used club from eBay or any other source, you have no guarantee of the quality or condition of the clubs you are buying, but with certified used or preowned golf clubs from GlobalGolf you get the following factors they use to certify a pre-owned club:

1. 6 point inspection and detailed cleaning of the entire club

2. Cosmetic evaluation

3. Structural integrity of the club head

4. Grip replacement

5. Structural integrity of the shaft

6. New manufacturer head-cover

Furthermore, they also add a 12 month warranty to all their certified pre-owned golf clubs. Of course, it all depends what they have in stock the day you go to their site to check, but they usually have many different clubs from the likes of Callaway, MacGregor, Mizuno, Nike, and TaylorMade.

The last option is if you want to buy brand new top brand name golf clubs. There are hundreds of stores that will sell you the likes of Callaway, TaylorMade, Nike, Ping, or Adams golf clubs. I have not found one store, though, that can beat the prices at ScoreLow.

ScoreLow have everything you would normally find in an online golf store. From the latest golf clubs (drivers, fairway woods, utility clubs, wedges, putters, and iron sets), golf bags (cart, staff, and stand), golf shoes, golf balls, golf gifts, golf accessories (apparel, headwear, rainwear, golf push carts, towels, gloves, umbrellas, tees, soft spikes, and rangefinders.)

Apart from the great prices on their discount golf clubs, ScoreLow also specialize in golf club head covers. They have over 100 brand new top brand name replacement head covers for all different types of clubs. There are also a good choice of Datrek golf bags with collegiate logos and NFL logos. Don't forget to check out the closeout golf equipment section where you can find even cheaper prices on select items.

So, as you can see, there are various options of where to get cheap golf clubs; they all offer excellent clubs that are more than adequate for the beginner golfer or even the more accomplished golfer.

Don't forget to order your clubs with the correct specifications so that you will not be hindered by golf clubs that are not suitable for your physique or type of game - it really can make a big difference.

In future golf tips for beginners - golf equipment articles, I will go over choosing the right golf balls, golf shoes, and the other important golf equipment the beginner golfer needs.