Mid/ High handicaps: any particular club that dropped your handicap?

[Kirasdad]

Finding a wedge you can count on for little shots around the green is really key to go from mid cap to single digit. If you’re a mid cap you've figured out how to hit the ball well enough to be around the green. You may not hit many greens, but you’re in the vicinity. This leaves a lot of 20 to 30 yard pitches/chips. Many of these shots aren’t that difficult but confidence in a “go to” wedge is really helpful. I think simplicity helps here as well. Too many clubs, too many options (few of those have had much practice). A couple of wedges maybe, that you really like, and work with in practice sessions can have a noticeable effect on score. I have a old Wilson Dynapower that I use exclusively out of the sand. I have a 49 degree PW for bump and runs, and longer chips and a 54 that I use for almost everything else. It’s versatile and I practice with it frequently and have a ton of confidence with it. The 54 gets probably two thirds of the shots I face around the green. I used to go with the old 48,52,56,60 system. It just didn’t work for me. I suffered from “shot clutter”. “Is this chip too short for the 48, maybe the 52?” “The 56 out of the sand or the 60?” The 60 btw killed me. When I just took that bastard out of the bag I probably saved 2 stokes a round at least.

As Thoreau said (yeah he’s quoted a lot on golf forums lol) “simplify, simplify”. Unless you’re a really accomplished player, less is usually more.

[lj867]

Cobra f9 one length irons. My game has never been better. Longer on every club and every approach is nice and high to stick to the green. These irons are so easy to hit. Huge cobra fan across the board

[GSDriver]

Not a club per se, but learning how to drive the ball in the fairway helps tremendously. Next is chipping around the green.

[gregpepper]

Mizuno Fli-Hi 2-iron with recoil 95 shaft. Fairway finder and when I miss with other clubs it’s my get back into play club.

[Papadibs]

I switched from Callaway XR irons to Apex CF 16s, and that made a huge difference. At first I was very worried about the much smaller head, but I think it helped tremendously. They've been in my bag the last 2 1/2 years and I'm only dumping them for the Apex 19s. Great irons.

[DaveRawli1981]

I moved to the one length clubs last summer and its beginning to pay off.

I still do not carry my 4,5,6 Iron (although i am getting better in practise with them) They are still out with a 5W,7W and 11W in their place.

But the one length irons/wedges has simplified my setup and i am becoming quite accurate/confident with them.

Also dropped my M3 Driver for the Original One Mini Driver from Taylor made - 10 yards shorter but much more accurate.

Dave

[mharr]

For me, it was the PW.

When I was an 18-handicapper, read a Golf Digest article from Tom Watson that provided the advice that if you were not a single-digit handicap, DO NOT go for the green from 200+ yds out. Your 3 or 4 iron or hybrid or fairway wood is not going to be accurate enough to hit the green reliably, and you will usually got in more trouble left or right of the green than short. So for an entire season, I pledged myself to lay up from anywhere over 200 yds. Not being a consistent short-iron player either, I would lay up to 100yds to have a full wedge of some kind. Sometimes I would hit wedge-wedge! But guess what? I hit more greens, my wedges got WAY MORE consistent and accurate, and, as a result, my handicap dropped that year from 18 to 12.

As I got better, I started hitting longer clubs better and could go for the green reliably from 200-220. Then I got older (and hit shorter), and now I am back to laying up again. But the wedge play is still my best game, even though only driving 200-220, I still keep my 8.0 handicap.

[RainShadow]

G400 Driver has me hiding way more fairways. HZRDUS Yellow 76 5.5. ( Wonder about a lighter shaft, but this seems to be working well.

My irons game has been off for a while since a low back injury 2 years ago ( rear ended ).

I can say with out a doubt the the Driver and my putting have kept my scoring avg. around 80-82. If I'm striking my irons well, I'll shoot 75-78.

 

[McCleod]

54 degree wedge with “Stricker-type” no wrist hinge swing from 50 yards in.

[mantan]

 

 

 

The Stricker shot was absolutely the best thing my instructor gave me last year. I used to dread shots from 20-80. Now I look forward to having that shot.

 

[herbert7890]

It was around 15 years ago when I switch to Nike Blades at the time from the Callaway Big shovels. Huge change in size actually helped concentrate on a smaller "target' (club) rather than a huge chunk of metal. I know it works the same for many other people, although some find it hard to believe..............

[mahbles]

Any hybrid I've ever owned, an Evnroll putter, PXG Operator putter have all helped me stay under 90.

[Multipass613]

Taylormade Aeroburner TP 3 wood. I couldn't hit it for shit off the fairway, but it gave me near driver like distance off the tee with more accuracy.

It taught me several key principles that lowered my handicap:

Use a variety of tee clubs on par 4's, get good at using hybrids and fairway woods.Avoid OB off the tee and keep it in play, know when to be aggressive and defensive.It's okay to swing your driver at 90%, a drive in the fairway 15 yards longer than your 3 wood is still a big advantage.

[95124hacker]

Center shafted heavy putter.Checking my ego & adjusting my driver to the Draw configuration. Not a slicer but misses are often high spin blocks that don’t turn over.80-85g graphite iron shafts.

[av1084]

Custom fit putter of any sorts!

[NYCGolfNut]

4 hybrid instead of 4 iron made a world of difference to GIR and ability to get close enough to get up and down.

And focusing on using the 56 wedge more rather than just going for the 60 lob green side.

[Soccerrick10]

Taylormade M5 5 wood

 

so much of an improvement, I took out the 4h and added a 7 wood

[theclubdoctor]

Get fit for wedges and putter then spend bulk of your practice time on short game.

[WristySwing]

When I was at my lowest (6) there were likely several things going on. 1) High MOI driver 2) Larger, pseudo-player's-distance-like irons 3) Belly Putter.

High MOI driver is on the list this year. I had F9 last year and it was mostly pretty good but I had about 2 or so a round that were fast hooks gonezo. I'll happily give up 5 yards to get me in the fairway or not OB. Irons I'm still not certain about, as I am shallowish and I know that larger soles aren't great for this. I think these New Levels are pretty good for me based on the few rounds I've had with them so I might be alright. Belly putter I can't do anything about but I do have a Stability in my current putter to mimic the belly control.

Hoping for a great 2020!

[LeftDaddy]

I was about a 24 hcp around 10 or so years ago. I’m now a 9. I’d guess that the vast majority of that improvement came from lessons and learning to have a better swing. I attribute almost zero to any club fittings and / or any particular club choices. Ive had fittings. And I’ve switched every club in my bag at some point or another. None of the short game clubs ever made a single bit of difference. Some of the longer clubs did make a little difference for temporary periods of time.

And that is basically the answer to the OPs question. I’ve never really found any club choices that have made any real difference in my handicap, except for possibly the clubs I use off the tee. I’ve alternated between drivers, driving irons, 3 woods, and hybrids off the tee. They’ve all made some difference in the short term. One summer I dropped my driver and hit Phil’s Phrankenwood off the tee exclusively (Callaway X2 Hot Pro). That was probably the best tee performance over any period of time I’ve ever had. But for some reason I decided I had to learn to hit driver better and so I stopped with the 3w strategy. It worked for a while until it didn’t. I got good with a 2 iron for a while and loved that thing...until it stopped working so well. No wedge or putter has ever made a single stroke’s difference in my handicap. I do switch between iron sets occasionally, and right now the Callaway X-forged ‘13s feel like the perfect choice for me.

But in summary, for me at least, reducing your cap is all about improving your swing. And if any club can make a difference, it is probably in the tee and long iron part of the game.

[callawayjay]

3 come to mind. the first was going to regular flex in all clubs thereby making swinging out of your shoes obsolete. The second was playing a 12-14 degree driver for the better part of a decade. I’ve gone back down to 10.5 but the groundwork was there to get the confidence to hit a driver straight. Lastly is a 7/Heavenwood. It’s as close to automatic as any club in my bag.

[Dunny51]

Fitted lie angle irons and rangefinder.

[philly2kuk]

A good short game, so wedges and putter. I play a course with very small greens and I’ve discovered that good putting can hide a multitude of sins.

 

If I’m struggling with the driver on a given day I can still get round using my head, but if I’m having an off day with the putter (thankfully rare now) my scores balloon. I’ve always remembered our club championship from four years ago. I hit all 14 fairways and 14 greens in reg. I took 45 putts however on a very bad day and shot 21 over par.....

[ColinKelvin]

As many others have said, the vital things to handicap cuts are 1) tee shots in play/in the fairway, and 2) sharpening your short game. I got from 14 to 9 by focusing on these.

I was helped a lot with 1) when I got my 17 hybrid (Anser) a couple of years ago. That was the club I needed for when my driver misfired - previously I had been losing multiple balls per round with wild driving (both driver and 3-wood), and if you're trying to score, 4 or 6 penalty shots per round is absolutely no good. Find a club which you can reliably hit a decent distance off the tee, straight. My driving consistency has improved a lot with the G400 Max, but that 17 hybrid remains indispensable.

2) is really just practice. To paraphrase the great Harvey Penick, most club golfers think that hitting 30-40 drivers in a row on the range is the way to go, when really 80% of practice time should be chipping and putting - with a single ball (to recreate on-course conditions).

[Mr Smooth]

Putting lighter shafts that I enjoy swinging into my favorite old club heads helped my scores much more than the latest off-the- rack clubs

[Sean2]

My wedges. I practice my short game a lot.

[nitram]

Find a putter that you have confidence in and use it exclusively.

Find wedges that fit your game and and course conditions and spend the time to learn how to use them.

[ChrisLC40]

A 3w that I could rely on for tee shots. Knowing that I could be in a fairly comfortable place for my second shot, helped physically and mentally. When I struggled from the tee, it usually meant at least 2 extra strokes per hole. After that it was a 54* wedge that I became very close friends with for all manner of green-side shots.

[akao1029]

I know its not a particular club/s but honestly. LESSONS. Then once I had a more repeatable/consistent swing, I got fitted for clubs.

 

However, if I was to choose a club. It would have to be a 4 wood. I traditionally always carried a 3 wood and struggled with it off fairways (probably more swing issue related). So I switched to a 16.5* TS2. The extra loft gave me confidence to hit it off the deck and with the extra loft it gave me the perfect launch, spin for going for it on a par 5. Its also great off the tee when duty calls.