Golf Tips for Beginners

The following Golf Tips are adapted with permission from the "Golf Beginner Guide", a full 272 page resource for Golf Beginners. For only $29.50 you get an incredible amount of invaluable tips, lessons and advice - great value for money. Click the above link to find out more!

There have been huge advances recently in the technology used to make golf clubs. These days, clubs are much more forgiving than before, especially in terms of the design and construction. The primary characteristics of a club head are offset, perimeter weighting, sole width, heel-to-toe length, and face height.

Offset

This is how far the face of the club sits back from the hosel. Offset will reduce your chances of hitting a slice, and will increase your chances of making really solid contact with your ball. The more solid the contact, the better the distance and accuracy. More advanced players will require less offset than less advanced players. In fact, offset can be an integral part of helping players with higher handicaps play better.

Perimeter Weighting

Perimeter weighting creates a bigger sweet spot by placing more material around the club head's perimeter than its center. This design feature makes the club much more forgiving while reducing the negative outcomes of mis-hits. Better players prefer the greater distance they get from having more mass behind the center of the club, but poorer players should opt for perimeter-weighted clubs because of their greater forgiveness.

Size

With irons, it's important to consider size. Effectively, the bigger the club head, the more likely you'll be to get tangled in a plush lie or the rough, and the smaller the sole, the easier it will be to get out of a plush lie or the rough. For this reason, a lot of teaching pros will recommend mid- to wide-soled irons for clubs from 2-9 while with the wedges will go for more blade-style irons. With blade-style clubs, you will improve your chances of getting out of the rough, while also gaining more ability to stop the ball quickly when on the green. If you often end up playing from the rough, you should consider blade-style wedges.

Heel-to-Toe Length

Although it to some extent affects forgiveness, heel-to-toe length is largely an aesthetic matter. Some say that the more compact irons look better, despite a loss of forgiveness. If you're after the most forgiveness, go for clubs with a longer heel-to-toe length.

Face Height

The same rules apply to face height as to heel-to-toe length: if you're after the most forgiving irons you can get, then select those with the most face height.