If a golfer cares about their scores and performance, equipment is a necessary investment. Clubs won't make you a good golfer, but they can enhance your present skill level. The right sticks can also groom confidence and enjoyment which does play a role in performance.

Strokes become more difficult to shave off as a golfer improves. Going from a 2-handicap to scratch is arguably more difficult than shaving 10 strokes off a 30-handicap. Why? Because the 2-handicap golfer is already doing so many things correctly. The misses and adjustments required are minimal, sometimes even difficult to find. The equipment selection for that golfer becomes sensitive. A player like that will notice if a shaft provides a slightly narrower dispersion. A 30-handicap will not notice a 5-yard difference in dispersion. They’ll hit the ball all over the place no matter what.

That’s not to say a 30-handicap is immune to bad club selection. They still need the right tools, but the finer specifications are unnecessary. Golfers of that caliber should get shaft flexes and head designs that best suit their intermediate skillset. They should hold off on anything more because their swing will be going through changes to make them better. If they get fit too early on, they’ll grow out of that customized set. Why pay a premium for something that won’t last? That’s like buying a tailored 3-piece suit for a kid. The little guy will grow out of it in a year, what’s the point? Even with cash to burn, those fitted clubs may actually hurt you as you make swing improvements. Now imagine that kid as a teen trying that same suit. Won’t look too good, right?

What do we look for in equipment? Shaft flex, lie angles, grip size, length? These are all specifications that must be considered but what should be the aim of all these tuned sizes and numbers? There are three things to consider when choosing equipment: Purpose, Performance, and Aesthetic.

Club components are designed with a specific purpose in mind. The aim is to affect one or more of the aspects of a shot: contact, direction, distance. These aspects can be broken down into subcategories of forgiveness, trajectories, lateral dispersions, carry and roll yardages. You’ll need to ask yourself which part of your game needs to be supported?

Beginner to intermediate golfers universally need forgiving clubs because their rate of good contact isn’t high. They also tend to hit the ball at lower trajectories with wider dispersions.  Having a club that makes up for mishits helps them maintain consistent ball flights and distance. For example, cast-iron cavity backs — often referred to as “game improvement” irons — have a multi-material design, with mass located towards the bottom of the club head (pictured below). This provides forgiveness off the club face with higher launches and more distance.

Who wouldn’t want those things? Well, I wouldn’t. The downside to cavity back irons for advance golfers is the lofts are strong, the CG is low, and there is more offset. At higher club head speeds this design creates fluctuations in trajectory, directional launch & spin, and distance. This is problematic for an advanced golfer. Hitting a pitching wedge between 140 -160 yards is inaccurate to the point of being short or long of greens. Hitting the ball with a 50-yard apex will make it vulnerable to the wind. These are things that will move the ball off-target, and the ultimate goal is to hit that target with consistency. Bragging rights over how far a wedge or iron go is contrary to its purpose. These clubs are surgical tools — not hammers.

If the player hits the ball with the sweet spot of the club head the majority of the time, a cavity back iron is redundant. If you have a car with over 300 horsepower and worn-out tires, the answer to optimizing the car’s performance isn’t MORE horsepower, it’s fresh tires with tread.

An advance player is qualified for a forged design — also referred to as a player’s iron. Forged irons have gone through significant change the last handful of years which requires some designations. Originally forged meant the club head was made out of a single block of metal. Now there are forged CB or MMC (cavity back or multi-material cavity). The club heads’ dimensions are forged but have space hollowed out for other materials. The current single origin club head designs are now known as “blades” or “musclebacks”. See pictures below.

Forged designs in recent years have become more friendly with the additional materials. The manufacturers are honestly negating their original purpose to appeal to those driven by aesthetic and possibly a little hubris. I’ve encountered dozens of golfers who use forged irons to portray an image and feel good about themselves. It’s quite ironic and counter-productive since forged clubs’ feedback is like a minor electrical shock and the bad shots make a golfer look worse.

The benefit of a forged design, especially blades, is consistent distance. The ball will not go further than it’s supposed to. Having a reliable number is what allows golfers to go after targets that may be threatened by hazards short and long. Some state forged clubs provide shot shaping. They provide more control over it but shot shaping is still possible with cavity backs. Forged clubs can minimize spin variation but again it depends on the specific design and shafts. If enough mass of the club head is moved around, the designers can even make the club head more susceptible to face rotation meaning it can be easier or harder to close the club face.

Explanations aside, examine your game to determine what needs reinforcement. Even with good swings there will still be a pattern of misses. What are they and what are their causes? It’s not uncommon to be uncertain about what might cause the issues and which equipment you will need. This is where I come in and offer clarity on the best fits. Once we identify the weakest areas, we can determine which type of club design will help. Then it’s about finding the one that does its job best. The one that performs its purpose.

Fortunately, there are a number of golf club manufacturers. The competition in the market has led to a number of quality designs to choose from. Once you identify your need and the type of club that supports that— it’s time to test. Let’s say you make good contact consistently but have trouble attaining a higher trajectory and distance. A forged cavity back would make the most sense. In a fitting, you would test forged cavity backs to determine which performed best based on metrics related to the areas of needs. In this mock case, launch angles, spin, and apex would relate to trajectory. Carry and roll yardages would be tracked for distance.

You can examine the club head designs but the shot data will be the truest test of which one is best. You may even be surprised by the outcome, and that’s what you want to base your decision on. Sometimes the look and marketing of a club makes all the sense in the world. Then you test it, and it doesn’t correlate.

Evaluating performance is where the expertise of a fitter comes in. They’ll only know what to suggest based on what you tell them. When they see your shot data, they can refine their recommendations. The real game changer is how well they can evaluate the data. Remember, what you want more than anything is consistency. A round is 18 holes, you need more than a few good shots to make a good round. The club needs to perform its purpose repeatedly without much variation. More distance may be helpful but if you hit an iron with carries nearly 30 yards apart with no discernible change in contact then it’s not the correct fit. You want to see a tight grouping of shots when it comes to distance and dispersion.

I did a club comparison for a client recently to see if his older set was better for him. The samples below are both a 5 iron but have very different designs. While one does go further, the direction is much more sporadic. Maximizing results, especially distance, does not always go in hand with consistency. Too many golfers would look at the 200-yard total and say they want that. But if it’s only happening a minority of the time then it’s unlikely to happen on the course when you need it. Furthermore, even at its legitimate distance, the ball is still more offline. While a 5 iron at 170 yards isn’t anything to brag about, doing it repeatedly is. Having predictability on the course is a huge advantage that allows the golfer to strategize confidently.

The second example is a test I conducted myself between two different 8 irons. The first (green) was a forged cavity back with a flexible shaft, the second (blue) is my own 8-iron. The only noticeable difference in metrics is the yardage. The forward and lateral deviations are nearly identical. At that point, take the longer club because it’s still just as accurate. Remember, if you do gain more distance like this 8-iron displays, you’ll need clubs to cover all the yardages below it. You may need to add an extra wedge.

This illustrates the effects of incorrect equipment. With the same swing I’m generating a difference around 30 yards. The backspin and launch angles were so high I ended up losing distance, especially since I was hitting into the wind when I conducted this test.

After the data looks right it’s time to make sure the club looks right.

Equipment to some degree needs to be aesthetically pleasing. You have to enjoy looking at it and using it. Eyesores can distract from the shot at hand thus complicating performance. This is a subjective test. A cavity back may provide reassurance to the intermediate golfer while making an advance player feel icky. Conversely, a forged club inspires confidence in an advance player while intimidating the intermediate golfer.

The aesthetic will increase the enjoyment of practice. Much like when you get a new car you love, you enjoy driving more. It’s no longer a chore, it’s an experience. It ought to be the same with golf.

Before my senior year of high school golf, I needed a new putter. I was dissatisfied with my putting performance the past year and was tired of looking at a mallet. A blade putter became appealing to me. I liked the idea of a naturally arced stroke with a slight club face rotation, it seemed simple. I had an issue with the aesthetic of blade putters, though. I could never get over the offset hosel. Many of the putter head designs were boring to me as well with a grey color and a black line or two. Strolling into the golf shop for the zillionth time I went to the used models and found the coolest putter I’ve ever seen. A Scotty Cameron Monterey 2.5 with a black pearl finish. Yea, you read that right.

I never practiced putting so much in my life and I never putted better. In my final season of Junior Tours and High school golf, I three-putted less than 5 times. I loved every moment minus the missed 3-footer to make the cut in CIF Sectionals. That was the fault of my tee shots though. I made a number of memories and clutch putts with the club and it’s still in my bag to this day. There have been low points with it but I like it too much to part with it.

Remember some aesthetic is functional. The brushed chrome finish on my iron’s shafts eliminate glare. Color contrast on putter heads help with alignment. Grips are a great example of this too. Overall, golf is meant to be enjoyed and the tools of the trade facilitate this. What gearheads find in discussing cars is what I find in discussing golf clubs. There are old school call-backs, modern breakthroughs, and some have a blend of both. As you talk and search through clubs, identify what you need the club to do for you. Verify that it can do it, and make sure you like the way it looks.