The 5 Most Useful Pieces Of Golf Equipment You’re Probably Not Using

There are two absolutely essential pieces of golf equipment – a ball and a club. Without those, no golf can be played.

Beyond those fundamental bits of kit, organising what equipment you use is very much a matter of personal choice.

Some will choose to go minimal – a half set and a pencil bag. These golfing purists travel light and like to rely on their instincts to survive on course.

They’re a sort of golfing Dick Wittington on a quest for future glory with nearly nothing to their names, probably not even a cat.

Then there are the equipment fiends. These are players who will religiously listen to Kick Point, utilise every single piece of apparatus and paraphernalia available to them as they search for the magic item that will deliver them success and riches.

You’ll see them with a tour bag (on a remote-control electric trolley) that’s bursting at the seams as base layers, waterproofs, training aids and power drinks attempt to escape. They’re more like the Caractacus Potts of golf – experimental tinkerers.

Most of us sit somewhere between these two stereotypes. We want to use the right equipment to suit our games, but we don’t want to be bogged down by technicalities nor be physically or mentally weighed down by the tools of our trade.

We will likely have a good set of clubs, a decent bag, a golf ball model we like and a comfy pair of shoes. What else could one need to play decent golf?

Well, over my years of attempting to be a golfing purist and steadily realising I need to think slightly more like the equipment fiend, I have added a few extremely useful pieces of golf kit to my armoury.

You may be benefiting from them too and if so, please do leave a comment in the box below.

But, if not – you might be interested in some of the items. These are my five most useful pieces of golf equipment you’re probably not using… In the order I discovered them…

Rain glove

The rain glove was an absolute game changer for me when I discovered it about 20 years ago. I had always used (still use in nice weather) a leather glove – they the best feel and deliver the most confidence for me.

In rainy weather I would persevere with leather until it became so useless that holding on to the grip was like holding on to a bar of soap.

I tried to keep a few leather gloves in my bag for those dreich days, but they would invariably also get wet as the water would inexorably find its way into my accessories pocket.

I also tried an all-weather glove option to wear all the time, but it offered the worst of both worlds – poor feel and only moderately better grip in soaking weathers.

Then, in about 2005 or 2006, someone lent me a Kasco rain glove. It was incredible – it was actually grippier when wet. I went straight to the pro shop afterwards and bought one. It lasted me about five years!

There are many different manufacturers now producing rain gloves and I can’t tell you how much difference they make.

It takes up almost no space in your bag but make sure you have one in there so you can hold on to your club and your score when the rain comes down.

Golf Ball Liner and Marker Pen

I’m not a good putter. One of my main problems is starting it in the right direction. I think that’s partly as my eyesight is poor.

I just can’t see the line of the putt very well. I used to play with a chap (again about 20 years ago now) who drew a straight line on his ball using a ball shaped cup device with a straight line cut out of it.

I thought it was wholly unnecessary and a bit of a faff. Until he insisted he draw a line on my ball. Suddenly – using the line – I was pointing the ball in the right direction and (more frequently) hitting it in that direction.

I’ve done it ever since. Mine is an old Masters liner tool and I do recommend the Sharpie marker – they last for ever!

When you’re skilled at it, drawing the line takes under 20 seconds and it can make all the difference to your chances on the putting greens.

Groove sharpener

Now, to start with, I know you must be careful with one of these tools. You can’t use it to such an extent that you make your grooves illegal by becoming too wide or too deep. But the tool itself is not illegal.

I found this tool as (again) a friend lent me one when I was complaining I needed new wedges. He said – ‘they probably just need a really good clean and a bit of a sharpen.’

Again, I was unconvinced, but I gave it a go and the dirt that came out of my seemingly clean grooves was incredible. The groove sharpener is a great way to refresh your wedges as long as you don’t overuse it.

Laser Rangefinder

Did I mention I used to be quite puritanical about golf? Well, I did. I didn’t think measuring devices were needed when they first came in… “What’s wrong with your eyes!”

As I’ve said, there’s plenty wrong with my eyes and fairly quickly, I realised DMDs were a great thing.

I went with a handheld one with a screen first of all. It was great and I could get yardages to various points on the course – front, middle, back of greens, bunkers, penalty areas etc…

The thing was – I couldn’t get accurate yardages to everything.

I then got myself one of the best rangefinders and suddenly I could. I was accurately and quickly getting an exact yardage to the pin. I wasn’t a few yards out and potentially selecting the wrong club as a result – I was getting the precise yardage.

That definitely helped my game, and I love having an exact yardage at my disposal. I also like being able to zap anything – ‘How far away is that tree? … How far away is that person? … How far to the drinks cart?’

I think the laser range finder is an essential bit of modern kit.

Putting training aid

Most of us struggle with putting. Only a very few have that natural touch and judgement that makes them great on the short stuff.

I’ve never been confident, or really competent, on the greens. I try to practice but, in the old days, I used to do so with no real purpose or expectation. I just wafted putts around for half an hour, missing in the same ways I did on the course.

Then I tried a Harold Swash putting rail – It’s a convex, tapered, flat-faced metal rail that has a little hole at each end on which a golf ball will lightly sit.

You try to putt down it and anything slightly offline will fall off the bevelled edges. It encourages you to make a proper stroke and start the ball online.

There are plenty of different versions of similar putting trainers available on the market today, be it mirrors or boards that promote a more neutral stroke. I think they are the type of training aids that can make the biggest difference to your game.

If you can train yourself to start the ball on the line you intend, on a more regular basis, you will hole more putts and shoot better scores. Get yourself a putting training aid and practice with it until your back is sore!

Which essential non club and ball gear items do you rely on? Let us know in the comments