How to Choose Golf Clubs – Guide

Whether you’re new to the game or have played for a while finding information on How to Choose Golf Clubs can be difficult. There are so many different clubs to choose from, and making sure that they fit you is important.

Lets dive into some information on how to select the best golf irons and how to go about choosing some of the top-rated golf clubs on the market.

• Beginners want to focus more on actually getting a good set of forgiving golf clubs, and getting the length of the irons correct. I would suggest looking at investing in a full set of clubs, because you are going to be improving fast, and will require them for distance gapping in the near future. Finding the right information on How to Choose Golf clubs for Beginners will help guide golfer in the right direction.

• Intermediate players will want to get the correct shaft for a specific swing speed, as well as getting the length of the irons correct. You are getting better at the game and enjoying it more. It’s time to upgrade and get yourself a better set of golf clubs. Something mid to top of the range would be ideal because your clubhead speed will be increasing, and top end golf clubs are more durable so they will last longer.

• Accomplished players want to focus more on getting a clubhead that is workable, a shaft that fits their swing speed, and also the correct length and lie angle of the irons. Being able to draw or fade a golf ball is essential to playing better golf. As you become a more accomplished player you will need clubs that are able to assist you in doing this. As Bubba Watson says “Whenever I have a swing I have a Shot” This means he is comfortable with shaping his shots and also has the correct gear to do this. At this level, players need to choose golf irons that match their ability.

Club Fitting Basics

To keep club fitting simple there are only really four parts that you need to be worried about, and only accomplished players need to worry about all four. 

Sticking to the four parts of fitting will help a player choose golf clubs that will help them at the present time and guide them in the right direction on how to choose the right golf clubs in the future.

Length

Measuring the correct golf club length of your irons is simple. It only requires a height and wrist to floor measurement. This can be done quite easily at home and is only really essential for irons.

To measure golf club length, stand on a hard surface with your back against a wall. Let your arms just relax and hang by your side. You want to measure from where your hand meets your wrist all the way to the ground in inches.

Once you measure your height you can use a golf club length fitting chart to determine the correct length of the irons you need. Most the time if you’re the average height you will be standard length unless you have long or short arms.

Grip Size

Each set of golf clubs will come with some pre-fitted grips. The size of the grips can be ordered thicker, or they can be thickened up. Generally, if you have really large hands you might want to consider a thicker grip. Players who use a glove size that is large or extra large might want to look at this.

Golf Grip Size is important to getting more consistent with the game of golf and a golf grip size chart can help with determining the correct size for an individual.

Shaft Flex

This part of fitting has been made more complicated in recent years due to the enormous range of different shafts available. Golf Shaft flex is important if a golfer wants to get more consistency.

It basically means choosing a shaft that has the correct torque level for a specific players swing speed. That means if you swing the club fast you should use a stiff low torque golf shaft, and if you swing the club average pace you should get a regular mid torque golf shaft. Torque is the clubs rotational resistance to twisting in the golf swing.

Shafts come in Graphite or Steel. A golf flex chart can be used to determine what flex might be the best for a specific individual.

Graphite Shafts you will see in most drivers and woods. Graphite shafts have more torque which creates more distance.

Steel shafts are more common in irons and wedges. They have less torque in them so are easier to control.

Both Graphite and Steel Shafts come in the following Flexes.

Ladies Flex Shafts – A Graphite shaft with the most torque so it will twist a lot. It is designed for the slower paced swing speeds. Most Ladies golf clubs would feature these types of shafts.

Senior Flex Shaft – Designed for the slightly below average pace swing speeds. Most recommended golf clubs for seniors would features these.

Regular flex – The mid torque shaft that is designed for most swing speeds. Available in graphite and steel.

Stiff Flex – The most common low torque flex designed for players who have an above average swing speed.

Extra Stiff Shaft – Only common amongst very big hitters or professionals. This is where are a lot of the golf long drive champions would fit into.

Lie Angle

The correct golf club lie angle relates to your golf irons. More Accomplished players need to consider getting a dynamic lie angle test done.

The lie angle test will determine if the sole of the club is perfectly centred at impact. A player will either have a standard, upright or flat lie angle depending on their swing style or body type.

The lie angle is the angle formed between the centre of the shaft and the sole of the club in its address position.

The correct lie angle is when the sole of the club arrives at impact perfectly parallel to the ground. Taller golfers will tend to have a more upright lie angle and shorter golfers a more flat lie angle.

These are the main bits of information to consider when choosing golf clubs.

Check out some of the leading golf irons on offer from Callaway Golf.

If you want to learn more, checkout out posts on How to Choose Golf Irons and How to Choose a Golf Driver.

Happy Golfing and hit them straight.