What’s the Most Important Club in Your Bag?

Well, let me answer the question with a question. What is the most important shot in golf? Putting…driving…approaches…chips? I always tell my students that it is the “next one.” The next shot is most important because you have to approach each shot with your ultimate focus, especially if you just hit a bad one. It is important to shake it off and move on to the shot at hand. That attitude has some pretty good life applications as well.


Now, when it comes to the most important club in your bag, I would suggest that it is the next one you are going to use. You should only have clubs in your bag that you can trust since you never know when an important round will come down to hitting that particular club. You may need to use your driver to hit it long and keep it in the fairway, or your 7 iron to hit the 18th green in regulation. It could come down to your gap wedge to get it close and save a par, and of course, more often than not, it comes down to sinking that last 4 foot putt to shoot the low round of your life.


Do you trust all the clubs you carry in your bag? Get in touch with your friends at H1G and we’ll provide you with a free consultation on your current setup.


-ACE


www.holen1golfmn.com

Fill in the “Gap” in Your Game

Let me introduce you to my favorite club in my bag, and explain why you need to add it to yourbag as well. The club is called the gap wedge because it fills in the “gap” between the pitchingwedge and the sand wedge. A typical pitching wedge has 48 degrees of loft, and the typicalsand wedge has 56 degrees of loft, which leaves a large gap between these two clubs. The gaptypically has 51, 52 (most common) or 53 degrees of loft.
The gap wedge is my “go to” club in almost every short yardage situation from 100 yards andin, and I use it for everything from pitch to chip shots. For the longest time, I didn’t realizethe importance of this club until a friend shared that it was his favorite and most used club – Idecided to give it a try and realized that he was right! The reason that it is a great short gameclub is that it is the perfect 50% club. That means that you can expect 50% carry in the air with50% roll from your golf ball.
When shopping for a gap wedge, look for the following things if it is not marked in degrees ofloft (51, 52 or 53): "G" for gap, "A" for approach, "D" for dual or "U" for utility wedge.
My final recommendation would be to start out by first adding the gap wedge to your set, thena sand wedge. The lob wedge should be left to low handicap and highly skilled players. Be sureto visit the Holen1 Golf Shop to pick one out today.
Fairways and Greens,
-ACE

Finding the Proper Golf Equipment

Be Honest With Yourself

Check your ego at the door and be honest about your golf ability. Most golfers could use a little help with their game, but are often too proud to take advantage of the new technology that is available to the average golfer. Keep in mind that golf is a challenging sport, so make it more enjoyable by getting some great equipment.

So now that we have determined that your name is not Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or Steve Stricker, let’s do a quick assessment of your skill level. There are basically 3 types of golfers: Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced. Let’s take a look at each level.

The Beginners: This group of golfers needs the most help but can also get away with fewer clubs and spending less . Here is what you need if you fall into this category:

• 3 Wood (don’t mess with a driver yet – unless you like the look of a banana slice on every shot)
• 5 Wood/Hybrid (this club will be for longer shots off the fairway)
• Irons: 5, 7, 9, PW
• Sand Wedge (optional)
• Putter (an alignment aid on the putter head is helpful)
• Standard off the rack clubs will be absolutely fine at this point, unless you are way above or way below average height (5’9” for men and 5’4” for females).
• You will want to buy the most forgiving clubs available – look for key words such as: Oversize, Cavity Back, Perimeter-Weighted, Offset and Forgiving.
• At this point you should be able to put together a great set for under $150-$200 and can do so @ http://www.holen1golfmn.com/

The Intermediate Golfer: Most golfers fall into this range and shoot consistently in the 80’s-90’s for 18 holes. This is the range where ego can become a bit of a problem. Golfers in the intermediate level should still look for a forgiving club and accompanying shaft. Even at this level, it is probably not time for a custom fit because the swing is not consistent yet. If you are working with a teaching pro that you trust, ask them if you are ready for a custom fit (most shops will tell you that it will help because they will make some big money off of you, so find someone you trust before you make that leap). Here is what you will need:

• Driver: Look for a forgiving option so that your misses don’t land in the next county!
• 3 Wood (14/15 degrees of loft is standard)
• 5 Wood (optional)
• 3 hybrid at minimum and also think about a 4 hybrid (these will replace the hard to hit long irons in your set)
• Iron set (Maximum forgiveness or Game Improvement)
• Wedges (Gap 52-54 degree and Sand 55-58 degree)
• Putter (Mallet or Blade – Your Choice)
• At this point you should be able to put together a great set for under $200-$500 and can do so @ http://www.holen1golfmn.com/

The Advanced Golfer: Only 7% of males and 1% of females fall into this category that shoots in the 70’s consistently for 18 holes. At this level you should definitely be looking to get custom fitted as you have grooved your swing into something that you can trust. Still, be careful of falling into the ego trap of playing what the pro’s play. You can still use a bit of forgiveness and should look to some great options that are available that mix forgiveness with shot shaping ability. Here’s what you need:

• Driver, 3 Wood, 5 Wood/Hybrid or 2
• Irons
• Wedges
• Putter
• An advanced golfer may tend to go more towards high end equipment which can be upwards of $1000, or come to Holen1 Golf and we can hook you up for between $200-$700

Take these items into consideration for your next purchase and be sure to visit us at http://www.holen1golfmn.com/ to make your purchase or discuss options/ best fit for your game.

Come back next week for more golf club advice.

Keeping you in the fairways,

-ACE