Do you really need that new Golf DRIVER?

I like new clubs as much as anyone – but my contention is that that a gap wedge may be your best investment.

Driver:

Yes they have drivers with 9 sweet spots and weighted screws that will help you cure your hook, fix your slice, and add distance. This added distance  usually this translated to yards into the woods, weeds, or water.  If only they could package up a new swing then we’d really have something priceless to buy.

Now I am not denying that distance can be a key factor to lowering your score, but I have read a number of times that the average golfers score has stayed almost exactly the same for decades.

According to the National Golf Foundation….

The average 18-hole score for the average golfer remains at about 100, as it has for decades. Among more serious recreational golfers who register their scores with the U.S. Golf Association, the average handicap index, a scoring tool, has dropped 0.5 strokes since 2000. On the PGA Tour this year, the average score of players has risen, by 0.28 strokes, compared with 10 years ago.

I spoke to one of my Japanese clients down at the PGS Show and he told me that it was so expensive to play a round of golf in Japan that many japanese golfers may only actually play a round once or twice a year. And many will travel to Ireland, Scottland, or the USA to play some of the finest courses for less than it would cost in Japan. However they spend a great deal of time practicing golf at home and at the range

My reply was that most of the american golfers I know play golf  and never practice – or practice very little. It’s no wonder we don’t get any better.

So back to the Gap Wedge and my personal thought…

One of the hardest things for us non-practicing golfers to do – is to develop a sense of distance on partial shots (half swings ect.)

Enter the Gap Wedge or approach wedge. As the names inply these are clubs not included in your standard golf club set 3- thru-SW

So if you hit your sand wedge 70-80 yards your forced to hit a partial swing shot from 60 yards – that is unless you have a gap wedge.  A gap wedge is also sometimes called a lob wedge and can come in handy when your faced with a short-side pin guarded by a sand trap.

The benefit of carrying some extra wedges is that you can take a full swing rather than trying to do something that you haven’t practiced – make a partial swing.

So get your self a new wedge or two and swing with more confidence around the putting green.