Golf Clubs Buying Guide

Golf Clubs Buying Guide
Columbus Chinese Golf Club
2012

What YouWhat You WWillill KKnownow FFrom This Guiderom This Guide
• How many golf clubs do I
need for practicing?
• What are the most common
golf clubs people usually
have?
CHINESEGOLFCLUB
• How to select a club?
• How much money will I put
in for buying clubs and
playing game?
• Where can I buy clubs?
COLUMBUSCHINESEGOLFCLUB

• A 7-iron would be a must for now as our beginner
training starts with 7-iron and it is also the best
starting club to learn the swing.
• It might not have to be 7-iron, if you are tall, you
might practice with 6-iron. You can try them out
and ask coaches to suggest the best for you to
How ManyHow Many GGolf Clubs Do I Need for Practicing?olf Clubs Do I Need for Practicing?CHINESEGOLFCLUB
and ask coaches to suggest the best for you to
practice.
• After several weeks’ training, you might consider
getting at least a partial iron set (mainly 5-iron to
pitching wedge) and a putter since you will have the
first experience in real course during our club outing
around the end of April.

According to the USGA, the maximum number of clubs you can have in a game is
14. A combination for this set is really personal but here is a common example:
WhatWhat Are the Most Common Golf Clubs In a Set?Are the Most Common Golf Clubs In a Set?CHINESEGOLFCLUB
• One Driver – with loft angle from 12.5 degree to 9
degree, used to drive ball to the furthest distance
• One Partial Iron Set – from pitching wedge (pw),
9-iron to 5-iron, used for mid to short range shots
• Two Hybrids – 3 & 5 hybrids (usually 3 and 4 irons
• Two Hybrids – 3 & 5 hybrids (usually 3 and 4 irons
are rarely used, hybrids are used to replace them.)
• Two fairway woods – 3 woods & 5 woods, used
for long-range shot
• Two wedges – sand wedge and lob wedge or gap
wedge, used for short or specialized shots like out of
rough or bunker.
• One Putter – used only on the green
As a beginner, getting a
half set might not be a
bad idea for saving
money, which could include
different combinations, for
example, six irons (5 ~ 9
iron and pitching wedge), a
driver and a putter.

How to Select A Club?How to Select A Club?CHINESEGOLFCLUB
• Shaft Flex (R, S, X,A, L)
Shaft flex refers to the ability of a golf shaft to bend during the golf
swing and it does matter a lot during your hit. There are usually five
ratings for shaft flex:
o Regular flex (R)
o Stiff flex (S),
o Ex-stiff flex (X)
o Senior (A)
o Ladies (L).
o Ladies (L).
The selection of flex depends on your swing speed but for a beginner,
Regular Flex is highly recommended.
• Shaft Material (Steel or Graphite)
As a general rule, Men should play steel shafted irons and graphite
shafted woods and Ladies or seniors should play graphite shafted
irons and woods.

CHINESEGOLFCLUB How to Select A Club?How to Select A Club?
• Shaft Length (Standard or Custom)
Most golfers use standard length clubs. If you are
considerably taller or shorter than the average or your
arms are longer or shorter than the average, you may want
to consider getting custom-length* clubs to suit you height.
Generally, the longer the club, the more head speed it can
generate, resulting in more distance, while the downside is
the difficulty to control.
Similarly, in a regular set, club length increases with the club
number decreasing from 9 to 1. So the control of a driver
(club #1) will be definitely harder than 7-irons.
*If you need your irons shortened, most retailers can do this in the store; if you need
them lengthened, you will probably have to special order longer clubs from the factory.

• Club Head (Cavity or Muscle backed, Cast or Forged)
For beginners, you might want to select the 'heel-and-toe' (or, perimeter-weighted)
club head design, cavity backed (hollowed out in the back) and over-sized golf club.
The main reason is because bigger club heads are more forgiving with enlarged
'sweet spot' that can produce maximum distance even with off-center contacts. Here
are some terms you might hear during club shopping:
Cavity backedCavity backed vsvs Muscle backedMuscle backed
MuscleMuscle--back and cavityback and cavity--back refer to the way the back of the iron isback refer to the way the back of the iron is
shaped.shaped. MuscleMuscle--backback irons (the leftirons (the left one)one) are solid chunks of metal whileare solid chunks of metal while
shaped.shaped. MuscleMuscle--backback irons (the leftirons (the left one)one) are solid chunks of metal whileare solid chunks of metal while
cavitycavity--back irons literally have a cavity dug (the rightback irons literally have a cavity dug (the right one)one) into the backinto the back
of the club.of the club. GenerallyGenerally speaking, cavityspeaking, cavity--back irons will create higher, longerback irons will create higher, longer
and straighter shots onand straighter shots on mishit.mishit. On the other hand, muscleOn the other hand, muscle--back ironsback irons
provide more workability (the ability to draw and fade the ball) but areprovide more workability (the ability to draw and fade the ball) but are
also virtually impossible to hit consistently.also virtually impossible to hit consistently.
As aAs a beginner, in a considerably long time,beginner, in a considerably long time, cavitycavity--backback willwill
always be your best choicealways be your best choice..

• Club Head
For beginners, you might want to select the 'heel-and-toe' (or, perimeter-weighted)
club head design, cavity backed (hollowed out in the back) and over-sized golf club.
The main reason is because bigger club heads are more forgiving with enlarged
'sweet spot' that can produce maximum distance even with off-center contacts. Here
are some terms you might hear during club shopping:
CastCast vsvs ForgedForged
Cast head and forged head are made by different manufacturing process and theCast head and forged head are made by different manufacturing process and the
Cast head and forged head are made by different manufacturing process and theCast head and forged head are made by different manufacturing process and the
majority,about 90%, of golf clubs is made by casting.majority,about 90%, of golf clubs is made by casting. For beginners, there is really noFor beginners, there is really no
differencedifference between them but cast irons tend to be harder, forged irons softer. If you likebetween them but cast irons tend to be harder, forged irons softer. If you like
a harder feel at impact, go with cast. If you like a softer, sweeter feel, go with forged.a harder feel at impact, go with cast. If you like a softer, sweeter feel, go with forged.
Cast Head Forged Head

• Player’s Club, Game-improvement Club or Super Game-improvement Club
Most of golf equipment manufactures make the 3 different categories golf clubs, which
are super-game improvement, game improvement, and players.The distinction between
them is more related to the design of club head.
Player’s irons (the right one below)
tend to have shallower cavity-backs,
narrow soles, a thinner top line and they
tend to be smaller.The sleek, no frills
look and feel of a player’s iron gives more
Game-improvement irons or Super Game-
improvement irons (the left one below) are
designed for most of us.They tend to have large
club heads and a thicker top line.The larger
head creates more stability and a larger sweet
For beginners,“game-improvement clubs” and “super-
game improvement clubs” are highly recommended.
Sometimes this information is included in the spec for each
club but most likely if you follow our previous
recommendation on bigger club head, you are getting the
right category or you can also search on
www.golfdigest.com and find which clubs are game-
improvement.
look and feel of a player’s iron gives more
workability but less forgiveness.
head creates more stability and a larger sweet
spot, which means more forgiveness on mishit.

• Lie Angle
The lie angle of an iron is the angle made between the ground
and the club shaft when the sole of the club rests flat on the
ground (as if you were addressing the ball).When this angle is
smaller, the lie angle is said to be “flatter”.When this angle is
larger, the lie angle is said to be “more upright”.
Longer clubs are flatter and shorter clubs are more
upright. Every set of irons will have a stand lie angle for
upright. Every set of irons will have a stand lie angle for
each iron in the set, usually ranging from 59 or 60
degrees to around 64 degrees.
Getting the lie angle right is crucial to making solid contact and hitting the ball straight
(Most retail stores can do a lie angle fitting at no extra cost and typical adjustments range from 0.5 degrees to 2 degrees
(flatter or more upright).
If the lie angle is too flat for
your swing, you will get toe-
heavy divots and your shots
will tend to fly right of the
target.
If the lie angle is too upright, you
will get heel-heaving divots, the
ball will impact too low on the
face and the shots will tend to fly
left of the target.

“Loft”, or,“loft angle”, is the angle at which
the face of the club lies relative to a
perfectly vertical face represented by the
shaft. Loft gives you an idea of how far ball
will go and the type of trajectory it will have.
Drivers are the least lofted clubs (not
counting putters), while wedges are the
most-lofted.
• Loft Angle
most-lofted.
The more loft a club has, the higher the trajectory on which
the golf ball will travel, and the shorter the distance the ball
will travel. Driver lofts for most players run between 9
and 12.5 degrees, and greater than 10.5 degrees is
recommended for beginners. Clubs increase in loft
through the set until reaching the lob wedge, which usually
lofted from 60 to 64 degrees.

• Is any difference between men’s
club and ladies’?
Yes. Men’s club is designed to be relatively heavier
than ladies’, so if you are a lady, playing with men’s
club might make your game harder.
• Brand
For beginners, most brands are pretty much equally
good but eventually which brand you will go with
depends on your budget. As a beginner, you can
consider buying a good quality set with $200 ~
$1000. Popular brands include TaylorMade, Callaway,
Ping ,Titleist, Cleveland, Srixon, and Adams

CHINESEGOLFCLUB How Much Will I Put in?How Much Will I Put in?
This is a very personal matter and depends on your financial situation. But as a
beginner, you might consider buying some relatively low-cost new or used clubs
and upgrade your sets after you become more experienced. And here is a very
rough estimate for the expense (these prices mainly for new ones):
• 7-iron: $50 ~ $200
• A driver: $80 ~ $500
• A putter or wedge: $ 20 ~ $200
• An iron set: $ 140 ~ $1000
• An iron set: $ 140 ~ $1000
• A set of golf club: $200 - $2,000
• A golf bag: $30 - $500
• A golf glove: $5 - $30
• A pair of golf shoes: $30 - $300
• Some golf balls: $1/piece - $5/piece (Walmart has used
balls for around 48 for $18.)
• A repair divot tool: $5 (optional)
• Some collar shirts: $ 20/each - $150/each (optional)
• Some pants: $20/each - $1000/each (optional)

CHINESEGOLFCLUB Where Can I Buy Clubs?Where Can I Buy Clubs?
• Local Stores
• MC Sports (Columbus, close to Target on US31)
• Wal-Mart (Columbus)
• Green Belt Club House (Columbus)
• Otter Creek Club House (Columbus)
Most time we would recommend that you shop in store so you can do some swings and
have a feel about the club. But once you know what kinds of clubs you prefer, there are
also hundreds of online vendors and here are some examples you can start with:
• Dick’s (in Greenwood)
• Golf Smith (Indy)
• Golf Galaxy (Indy)
• OnlineVendors
www.RockBottomGolf.com www.3Balls.com
www.DicksSportingGoods.com www.Austads.com
www.GolfSmith.com www.TheWorldOfGolf.com
www.TGW.com www.Golfio.com
www.GolfGalaxy.com www.GolfCow.com
www.GolfDiscount.com www.GolfBalls.com
www.GlobalGolf.com www.EdwinWatts.com

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