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Golf is considered a somewhat difficult sport to get into, and so many newcomers to the sport have some burning questions in their minds. One such question is, “do new golf clubs really make a difference?”.
Golf clubs or Golf irons are an essential part of the game, but one might wonder how much of an improvement one can hope to gain after switching to a new golf club.
This article will help you understand the benefits and whether you should consider getting a new golf club.
Game Improvement Clubs: Should You Get One?
If you’re a beginner and having a rough time, then it might be because you are having a hard time aligning the club head center to the golf ball. Beginners have a hard time getting this right and often lose heart due to the difficulty of it.
This is where investing in a proper golf club can help. Some golf clubs are known as game improvement clubs since they are designed to help newcomers and improve their game.
The most common game improvement clubs are cavity back irons, which feature a hollowed-out design in the clubface.
This serves to increase the effectiveness of the club and gives players a more forgiving sweet spot. You don’t have to strike the ball dead center all the time to get the best results.
Due to their ease of use, beginners using game improvement clubs, will see a big difference in their game as they can easily hit the ball much further down the course.
This allows more emphasis on aiming and other skills. So a game improvement club can help new players ease into golf much more smoothly.
Is It the Same for the Professionals?
However, professionals or those who have enough experience with the game that they have good striking form and a high swing speed won’t see much difference.
Switching to a different club won’t produce many benefits in terms of speed or distance, provided all the irons align properly with the ball.
Most professionals have enough practice that they can put more power into their swing and hit the ball for greater distances.
As a result, game improvement clubs won’t make much of a difference for experienced players as much as they will for newcomers.
You Need to Choose What Feels Best
Playing with a club that isn’t comfortable to use or too heavy for you to use isn’t going to help you much. In this case, buying a new club that feels right will inevitably end up making a difference.
Many aspects go into making a golf club feel right in a player’s hands. The weight and height of the club are two important factors, but so are the shaft and flex of the golf club.
The flex of a golf club, in particular, is important. It determines how the club, in general, feels like to swing, especially during the moment of impact.
A golf club with an incorrect flex will heavily hamper a golfer while a correct flex will produce much greater results.
Generally speaking, the type of flex that a golfer will find comfortable using changes with time. This is because the stiffness of the flex depends primarily on how fast a golfer can swing- the faster the swing, the stiffer the flex.
Newcomers won’t be able to swing very fast, but with practice will increase the speed of their drives. As a result, they will continue to benefit from new golf clubs with stiffer flexes that will allow for more ball control while maintaining speed.
Switching out for a more comfortable golf club will always yield a difference as the golf club will not hinder you in any way. If you do not feel that a particular golf club is right for you, it is best to change to a new one.
Why You May Want to Replace Your Golf Club
Clubs can deteriorate, and this can reduce performance. While it can be tempting to get a new club, it should be noted that the rate of deterioration of your golf club heavily depends on how you use it.
Rough usage such as hitting the turf hard every swing will cause your club to lose its effectiveness very quickly and can result in the balance being off.
However, there is an important factor, and that is the preference. Some golfers feel more comfortable using their broken-in club, and thus buying a new club can sometimes prove to be detrimental as it will take a while for it to be comfortable again.
While you should make a habit of replacing your golf club unless you are very rough with your swings, you should limit it to once every two years.
Conclusion
Whether or not a new golf club can make a difference is largely dependent on the player, and so it is difficult to make a hard and fast rule. The best way would be to test it out in the field and note your performance.