Clubs To Carry

All great players have good hands, and that's why it's so crucial to develop a proper grip. First, should you use an interlocking or overlapping grip? Someone with large hands probably should use an overlapping grip. Small hands, an interlocking grip. Next, comes grip balance within the confines of each hand. The weight of the shaft should be balanced so you always have control throughout the swing. Another important element is the position of your left thumb on the shaft. Players who extend their thumbs hit the ball high and straight. Those who shorten the length of the thumb are likely to hit the ball low and left. Grip pressure is another checkpoint. Try holding the club as tightly as you can, then hold it loosely. The correct pressure is somewhere in between. Finally, see how many knuckles are showing on your left hand. If you see most of them, you'll likely hit a hook or draw. Fewer, and the ball will go high and right. Experiment with these basics and you'll find a grip that's best for your hands.


- Which clubs should you be carrying in your bag? Well, that depends on your BUDGET and your SKILL level!

The High Handicapper's Bag
• 3-wood
• 5-wood, 7-wood
• 5-iron through 9-iron
• Pitching wedge
• Putter

Most high handicappers cannot hit a driver, no matter how badly they want to. Drivers are especially dangerous in the hands of high-handicappers because many view distance as the quality they most want to have off the tee. So they spend several hundred dollars on an oversized titanium driver that most of the time will only put them farther off the fairway, not farther down the fairway.

You need to own a driver - just practice with it on the driving range, and leave it at home when you hit the course.

The Mid-Handicapper's Bag
• Driver
• 3-wood, 5-wood, 7-wood
• 4-iron through 9-iron
• Pitching wedge
• Sand wedge
• Putter

Intermediate players may also be better off hitting 3-wood off the tee rather than driver, but certainly have a better shot at controlling the driver than high handicappers.

Mid-handicappers who are strong in their short game might consider adding a lob wedge or gap wedge to this assortment, but most will probably be better off with the lofted fairway woods rather than long irons.

The Low Handicapper's Bag
• Driver
• 3-wood
• 2-iron through 9-iron
• Pitching wedge
• Lob wedge
• Sand wedge
• Putter

Scratch golfers will carry the same bag with one exception: Substituting a gap wedge for the 2-iron.

The better you are, the more specialized your game becomes. And that specialization for the best players leads to a concentration on the short game. Most top players hit the ball far enough that they rarely use a long iron, hence the ability to bypass 1-irons and 2-irons in favor of adding more wedges.

The lob wedge and gap wedge simply increase a great player's options around the green.

Remember: No matter what your skill level, hit clubs you are comfortable with. If you are a high handicapper but you can keep your driver in the fairway, then by all means carry a driver. If a 1-iron is a club that you have mastered, carry a 1-iron.