If I Could Go Back In Time, These Are 7 Pieces Of Game-Changing Golf Advice I’d Give My Younger Self

Regret is a sentiment that many of us suffer from, haunting us all our lives. But the reality is that none of us are able to hop in a time machine and change the past. All we can control is the present and the future. I’ll be the first to admit that I made many mistakes as a young golfer but I don’t lament them. They were all lessons that shaped me into the player I am today.

Three decades on, I’m an older, wiser and better version of myself. So while there are things I’d wish I’d known and done differently back in my junior days, I have no regrets. I’m simply sharing these learnings with you in the hope they will help you on your own golfing journey.

Ditch Your Long Irons For Hybrids

Long irons are arguably the hardest clubs to hit. Their low loft and small head size make them a difficult club to master. Although they can be used very effectively by skilful players to shape shots and manipulate ball flight height, they can also be horribly miss-struck.

As a junior I carried a 3 and 4-iron in my bag. I only used them when I really had to because I found them hard to hit. They were a standard part of my set make-up. It didn’t occur to me to replace them and back then there were no hybrids.

Nowadays, modern golf sets tend to consist of a blend of irons and hybrids, with the latter replacing the harder to hit long irons. Switching to hybrids has transformed my game. The longest iron I now carry is a 5-iron.

I love my hybrids because the larger head size makes them much easier to use, far more forgiving and versatile. The best women's hybrid golf clubs can be hit from the tee, fairway and even out of the rough, or a fairway bunker. I love them so much I carry three: 17, 19 and 21 degrees. They are my favourite clubs.

Upgrade Your Standard Wedges To Specialist Ones

Sets of irons are generally sold with a standard sand and pitching wedge. Although these are perfectly adequate and certainly good enough for beginners to learn with, I’m a big advocate of upgrading your wedges to more specialist ones as soon as you’ve mastered the short game basics.

The difference? Greater shot-making control. Specialist wedges transformed my game, but I only got my first proper set as a young journalist in my early twenties. They were ground for me on a tour truck at a European Tour event with my initials engraved on. I instantly loved them.

The spin control I gained on touch shots was incredible. The grooves on specialist wedges are much sharper and designed for precision. You can also be more detailed with your choice of bounce for different styles of turf and depths of sand in bunkers.

For instance, bunkers with soft sand will suit a wedge with more bounce, and the opposite in firm, compact sand. Plus, you can distance gap a lot more precisely by choosing the loft of your wedges cleverly. I carry three wedges, 50, 54 and 58 degrees and between them they cover a plethora of shots.

I’d highly recommend going for a specialist wedge fitting to get an expert suggestion of what wedge make-up will suit you. There’s no doubt that this is an upgrade that can transform your short game skill.

Don’t Be Scared To Hit Your Driver

I must confess that there was a huge chunk of my junior life where I refused to hit my driver. In my eyes it was a destructive club. A scorecard killer. My bad drives were so bad that they ballooned wildly into trouble. Back then I was a relatively long hitter with the big stick. When it went well it was impressive. Hit badly and I lost the ball. So I dropped down to hitting a 3-wood off the tee to find the fairways consistently and although it worked, I sacrificed distance.

As my golfing technique improved (through coaching) the likelihood of me hitting wild drives diminished, however there were still those demons in my head saying, “If you hit this club badly it’s a lost ball” and as a consequence I wasted several years not giving it a second chance.

Looking back upon this era, it probably cost me a couple of county championships (I lost in the final twice, once on the 18th, the second time in a play-off) because I was too short to compete against longer hitters.

The best golf drivers for women are designed to be really easy to hit so don’t fear them. If you struggle to get off the tee consistently then you need to address this by getting a golf professional to give you some pointers. It may be just a few simple adjustments to your set-up or something as basic as the tee height or ball position in your stance that’s causing the issues. Don’t do as I did and fear the club. Address the issues and make the changes.

Choose A Lofted Driver

Carrying on the same theme as above, one of the biggest reasons why most women struggle to hit their driver effectively is because they are carrying a club that doesn’t have enough loft. Due to our slower swing speed (usually sub 80mph) we naturally need a more lofted driver to get maximum launch height.

Drivers can range dramatically in loft from as little as 7 degrees, right up to 18-degrees or more. A standard off the shelf women’s driver has around 12.5-15 degrees of loft. If you struggle to hit this, don’t be ashamed to go for something even more lofted. A specialist driver club fitting will identify what you need. With more loft you’ll improve the golf ball’s launch height trajectory and consequently get greater carry and drive further, boosting your overall distance.

Train For Golf

There are very few women who I play golf with who do any exercise at all to benefit their golf. Even just a 10-minute a day routine at home can improve your strength, conditioning and flexibility. These golfers then wonder why they get injured or don’t hit the ball very far.

The golf swing is an athletic movement. If you don’t keep the muscles in your body that control this movement strong and supple then you’ll be putting yourself at risk of injury. I hear complaints all the time.

I was as guilty of this as anyone in my younger years. I played an awful lot of golf and I didn’t make time to do any gym work. It wasn’t until I reached my twenties that I discovered the gym and especially post child birth, I addressed my newly weakened body by going to see a personal trainer once a week to rebuild my strength.

I would highly recommend following a golf-specific programme. These workouts can easily be done at home. A 10-minute session three times a week will prevent injury as you get older, and have the added benefit of shaping you into a stronger, more flexible player that will hit the ball further.

Don’t Carry, Use A Trolley

As a junior I always carried my golf bag, often for 36-holes! Looking back on this now it’s ridiculous to think of the harm I caused to my posture and the unnecessary stress I placed on my back and joints. I do not allow my son to carry his bag despite him being young and fit.

I’m a big advocate of the exercise and health benefits of playing golf, but I think that the walk alone, along with the athletic swing movement is exercise enough without putting yourself through the added burn of carrying a bag.

Although I appreciate there are a lot of incredibly lightweight golf bags available, I would suggest only carrying half a set instead of a full set if you really need to carry (for instance in wet course conditions when the green keepers impose a trolley ban) as this will lighten the load.

There are also plenty of benefits for your game of learning to play more creatively by carrying less clubs. The same applies to taking a half set in a small bag on holiday. A pencil bag would be better for your back and long-term posture.

Change Golf Ball In The Winter

In my junior days I was a golf ball snob. The only golf ball I wanted to play was the Titleist Pro V1. While I absolutely loved the consistency, feel and performance of this golf ball, there were times of the year when I was actually doing my game harm by using it.

Throughout the winter with no run on the ball and slower greens, I would have really benefitted from switching to a firmer two-piece golf ball that travelled further and gave me a harder, clickier feel off the clubface, helping me to hit my long putts closer to the hole.

It’s really important to play the same golf ball week-in, week-out to gain consistency. You’ll get to know your ball flight distances better and have a reliable touch around the greens and feel on your putts. But you should have two ‘go-to’ golf balls. A winter ball and a summer ball. This change will undoubtedly benefit your game.