Why The Most Unforgiving Golf Clubs Are Already In Your Standard Set

Although club custom fitting is becoming more and more popular, not everyone can afford the luxury of buying an entire bespoke set of clubs, therefore standard packaged sets are still commonly sold in our golf shops.

A typical package set tends to be made up of a driver, fairway woods, hybrids, a set of irons, and a putter. For men, this usually means a driver, 3-wood, a hybrid or 5-wood, and a 4-iron to sand wedge.

Women's package sets, on the other hand, frequently swap out the harder-to-hit long irons like the 4-iron in favour of additional high-loft hybrids, often starting the iron set at a 5-iron or 6-iron instead. Together, these sets cover off all the shots you need to play the game and are perfectly suitable for most players, particularly those at the entry level who are just learning the ropes.

Yet a few years into playing it’s amazing how often golfers have clubs they hate, like their 3-wood, yet are still carrying it. Golfers who literally never touch the longest iron in their bag because they find it too hard to hit, or the player who looks totally wrong holding their putter and as a result has an awful technique because it actually needs to be cut down two inches.

Have you ever stopped to think what harm these badly suited clubs are doing to your game? How many shots could you save if you simply switched them out for something much easier to use and more suited to your build and swing? A custom fit might seem costly but changing just a couple of clubs could be transformational. Here are four clubs that come as part of a standard set to consider changing.

1. 3-Wood

Often referred to as the hardest golf club to hit in the bag. Many golfers carry a 3-wood for just one or two occasions in their round when they ‘might’ use it to try to hit the green from a long way out. Or they have it on standby if they have to ditch their driver because they are having a wayward day off the tee and the shorter-shafted, more lofted 3-wood should be more accurate.

The reality is that the 3-wood’s low profile face means that the strike has to be fairly precise, especially from tight turf. Even the most skilled single-figure handicappers can mess this shot up.

To hit a long club with relatively little loft, and strike it cleanly from the fairway requires good contact. For the majority of mid-to-higher handicappers a higher-lofted 5-wood or a low-lofted hybrid can be considerably easier to hit and far more useful. You’ll sacrifice a few yards but you’ll find it much easier to hit.

2. Long Irons

Most standard sets of golf clubs are sold with 8 irons (SW to 4-iron) but many golfers hardly ever use their longest irons as the smallish face and less loft make them harder to hit. It requires more speed to launch a long iron and good technique to square the smaller head.

The 4 and 5 iron are usually the most unused as they are the most unforgiving clubs in a standard set. That’s why it’s becoming more and more common to find modern hybrid sets that replace the long irons with utility clubs. These rescues have bigger, more forgiving heads, specifically designed to make long shots easier to launch and more forgiving.

Although there are more modern game-improvement irons with wider soles, more offset and higher MOI specifically to reduce the penalty for off-centre strikes, the typical club player would still get more enjoyment from the game if they ditched their longest irons and carried a couple of utility clubs instead to bridge the gap between iron and fairway wood.

3. Standard Length Putter

A standard length putter sold off the shelf is typically 34 inches but this is really built for golfers of average height (around 5'6" to 5'8"). If you are taller (6'0" and above) you should be using a putter that is 35 inches or even a little longer, and on the contrary, if you are shorter (under 5'4"), then a 33 inch putter or less is ideal. One inch might seem like a minimal difference but the consequences for both the set up fundamentals and the stroke mechanics can be severe if your putter is the wrong length.

There are a few tell-tale signs that your putter is the wrong length. Firstly, poor posture. You either have to stand too upright or you’re hunched way over the ball. Secondly, your elbows crowd your body. The arm hang, when in good putter posture, should be free.

If you find yourself having to grip up or down the handle a long way to be comfortable then the length is wrong. With poor posture your eyes will move from the ideal position directly over the ball-to-target line to inside or outside of this. This will make it difficult to read putts and aim accurately. You’ll probably also have difficulties getting the putter to sit flat on the green.

Considering how much manufacturers talk about custom fitting, putter fitting often gets overlooked by consumers. We’ll spend thousand on a custom-built set of irons with the right shaft, loft and lie but we’ll happily pick up any putter we like the look of in the shops and try to make it work.

So check the signs and also think about the head shape. A mallet putter is generally more stable than a blade. It’s another factor to consider.

4. 56-Degree Sand Wedge

A full set of irons includes a sand wedge and it is nearly always a 56-degree with a high degree of bounce. From most typical situations in sand it should work. However, if you struggle in bunkers then you should consider replacing it with a more lofted wedge, like a 58 or 60 degree.

The extra loft will make it easier to get more height and carry steep bunker lips, helping you to get out. Equally, the amount of bounce designed into a standard 56-degree sand wedge won’t necessarily suit the type of sand you typically play from. More compact, heavy sand requires a wedge with less bounce, for instance.

Just like all the other clubs in your bag, you can get custom fit for your wedges. This service looks at all aspects of your short game and the types of specialist wedges that could help you. This is something typically chosen by better players as they recognise the scoring gain to be made from wedges that have specially-designed grooves for sharper spin control but it really can save every standard of golf significant shots and help you to become more confident and skilful around the greens.