High Handicap Golf Bag Tips

In front of me here, I've created my ultimate bag for high handicap players

I've got drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, putters, and I'm even going to talk about balls

But for now, let's get on with it and let's look at driver. Right, we're going to start with the big dog, it's drivers

Now, for high handicappers, there's a few things I'd recommend thinking about, three factors to consider when you're thinking of a new driver

So we want something we can launch a little bit easily. Generally speaking, high handicaps might have a slower swing speed, so ease of launch is something you want to have

Guys who are not playing, or girls who are not playing an awful lot of golf, might miss the centre of the face

so we need forgiveness across that face. A lot more high handicappers tend to miss the ball with a slice, so some of that flight correction technology can be really, really useful

So before I get to my winner, I've got a couple of honourable mentions, the first of which is this Mizuno ST Max driver

Now, a big story around driver technology in 2024 was all about MOI

And this driver personifies that completely. What they've done is they've squashed the head down a little shallower

so they can push some more mass sideways and backwards, which really increases that MOI number

And what else increases that MOI number is a massive 54-gram weight at the back of this

which really stabilizes the head. I don't always associate Mizuno with the game improvement market

but they've made some great strides there. this is a really really good driver to think about my second honorable mention is the flagship

product of the tailor-made driver range this year the qi10 max now this is the driver the whole range

was named after the qi10 quest for inertia 10 and this is the driver that made it so again it's very

similar principle squash down head push more mass wide fixed weight at the back to again increase

that stability number what i really liked about this was the improved aesthetic over stealth 2

much prefer the dark blue face, much prefer the rounder profile. My winner of my ultimate game improvement driver for 2024 for high handicappers is

the Callaway Paradigm AI Smoke Max D. Now the tech behind it was the AI Smart Face

So Callaway took real data from thousands and thousands of players with different deliveries and different impacts

and the AI computer spat out a really efficient face which does an incredible job and not only

does it do a really good job with correcting your off-sensor hits it sounds and feels brilliant too

so the acoustic is a really nice kind of dull thud really kind of nice muted dull hit there

and a real deep sensation impact I love the feel of this driver and what I love more about it is

the fact that it's just so difficult to hit to the right it launches so so high but the center of

gravity and the work they've done with the internal weight on the head just makes it so easy for me to

turn it over and if you're someone who struggles with that big right miss everything about this

driver is screaming help to get it up in the air and help to turn it over and as i said when you see

that you see that ball not wanting to go off to the right you can really get some confidence to

start releasing it down the line you've got a really good solid driver easy to hit wrapped up

in a beautiful package and that's why it's my ultimate driver for high handicappers of 2024

On to fairway woods now fairway woods are a particularly interesting category for high

handicappers because they need to do a lot of different things for example if you're a high

handicapper who struggles with swing speed you might end up with a lot of long second shots

certainly into par fives but even into par fours so you're going to need it to perform well

from the deck and be a really easy to launch club. If you happen to be a high handicapper who just

struggles with driver maybe dispersion a little bit you might want it to perform well off the tee

as a strong alternative that can keep you in play a little bit more. So we need it to do a lot of

things so without further ado my first honourable mention is the Ping G430 Max. Now this is a

beautiful looking fairway wood, extremely user-friendly with a very very shallow depth of

face so it's really easy to get under the ball and launch it and like I said very very user-friendly

in that regard. We've got some good adjustability with the hosel so you can change the loft

and face angle to suit your particular characteristics and our fairway wood tester Sam D. I really liked

how this performed out the rough, he found it very easy to get out of some tricky lies so that's something to think about too when selecting your fairway wood. My second honourable

mentioned is the TaylorMade QI 10 Max. Now what I love about this one is the large footprint

So again similar to the driver they squashed it down they created a very shallow head which again helps you launch the ball but they push that weight back and they push the mass and the real estate to give you a really large footprint and and really confidence inspiring down there at address and with that MOI being so far back it super stable and super forgiving

so this is one of the straightest that I've seen but that said my winner in this category is

the Cobra Darkspeed Max. Now this absolutely blew us away the Cobra Darkspeed Max in fact the whole

range was really really impressive firstly just the aesthetics really stealthy i love this whole

blacked out look that actually translates to the head cover as well one of the coolest head covers

in the game but from a performance point of view this stacks up with anything else on the market

and actually comes in a fraction cheaper than some of the the major manufacturers which is always a

plus point now again performance wise we've got tons of adjustability here we've got the adjustable

hosel where we can change the loft and change the face angle but not only that we've got these

additional weights on the sole where we can make it more or less draw bias pull some more moi back

and change it about to really fine tune the characteristics now it's slightly deeper face

than some of the others i've mentioned so it doesn't necessarily look any more intimidating

behind the ball but i've picked this because i want it to do both things i want to have a really

good fairway wood option off the deck and i want it to give me a little bit more off the tee as well

I love the feel of this off the face. Slightly more high pitched than some of the other things but

it's just a really solid feeling club and all the numbers I get with this it doesn't spin off the

charts but it gives you enough to make sure the ball is going to stay in the air. So all-round

performance-wise, adjustability, looks and price, this is a brilliant fairwood option and that's why

well it's my choice. Okay, on to hybrids. Now hybrids are generally very, very important

for high handicap players because as we start to go up the irons

into the longer areas, they become more and more difficult to hit and more and more difficult to launch in the air

So hybrids are a really, really good long iron replacement for those who struggle with launch

Now, because of that, they're replacing irons, it's really important to think about

how many hybrids you might want in your set and what those loft increments will be to match in not only with your irons

but blend you seamlessly through into your fairway woods. That's something to really consider

So without further ado, my first honourable mention is the Ping G430 Hybrid

Now there's a lot to love about this. It's one of the most forgiving that I've tried, particularly on low strikes

When you hit it a little bit low on the face, a little bit thin, the spin retained really, really well

So it still launches nice and high. I find it very, very forgiving, this one. adjustability again great so we've got the adjustable hosel here so you can fine tune your

lofts and your distances and your face angles a bit to suit your specific requirements a really

really strong hybrid from ping now my second honorable mention and i make no apologies for

having another tailor-made qi10 max product they've done a great job with this range particularly for

high handicappers love how easy this is to launch it goes straight up in the air plenty of spin on

it really really user friendly one of the other things i love about it is the alignment help

there's a little silver strip on the top edge which contrasts really well because you've got

a black face and a black crown so having that little white strip makes it a little bit easier

to line up and like i said incredibly easy to launch and one of the most user friendly on the

market but my favorite hybrid and my choice for the ultimate hybrid for high handicappers this

year is the wilson dyna power now this is slept on it's a coin of phrase we don't think about wilson

much in this regard but it's just such a wonderful hybrid for again a fraction of the price of some

of the other major manufacturers. It's got a slightly deeper face and for those of you who

miss the ball right a little bit having a little bit more offset which this does have gives you a

little bit more time to get the face to square up and avoid that right hit. It's a little bit firmer

than some which some might like some might not. I actually really enjoy how robust this feels

And again, like most of these other hybrids, incredibly easy to launch

I really like that in behind the ball. And when you hit it, like I said, it's a little bit tinny, a little bit firmer than most

I love that. It feels robust. Don't know if you picked that up, but that's straight up my nose

Really easy to launch and one of my favourite hybrids, hence why it is my ultimate hybrid

for high handicaps of 2024. Irons. So there is no point having a brilliant driver

fairwayward hybrid, if we do all those great shots and we get down here and we're duffing our iron shots

down the fairway. So crucial for high handicap players to have the right irons

With that in mind, my first honourable mention is the Cleveland Zipcore XL

When I first pulled it out, I didn't know quite what to make of it because it really is very unique looking Down behind the ball heel to toe it so so long but I love that for confidence It just feels like you got so much face to play with And when we in the high handicap market

the more we can do to improve that confidence and give you the feel you're going to succeed, the better

The feel off the face is very, very robust, like I say. You just don't feel like you're going to miss the middle

because there's just so much mass there for you. And I just love the whole aesthetic

It takes a little bit of getting used to that heel to toe length, but when you do, it's really, really beneficial

Now, my second honourable mention is the Cobra Dark Speed Iron. Now, these were one of the first game improvement irons I tried this year and they blew me away

The first thing I loved was the really dark finish. So despite the fact it's quite an oversized head with a little bit of offset, because of that dark finish, it's a little bit slimming

It makes it feel a little bit more compact than it actually is, which is great. the reason maybe it didn't win is it's possibly a little bit niche they're so strong in loft so if

you're someone who's struggling for distance and you need that power boost then this might well be

your choice because they are absolute rocket launchers a little bit more high pitched in terms

of the noise but just so very very powerful just such a strong strong forward flight so if you're

struggling for for distance and you don't mind a more penetrating ball flight this could very well

be the choice for you but my winner of the best iron for high handicappers of 2024 in my ultimate

bag setup is the ping g730 this was released a little bit later than those other two irons so

it's a bit late to the party but what a great addition now tech wise it's been heat treated

which increases the face flex and gives it a slightly lower cg and it performs really well

it's really really powerful and i love the ping hydropurl finish so even when you're playing in

the rain or dewy conditions it still spins and still launches really really well one of the other

things I like about this other than the feel and the lovely profile behind the ball and I'll tell

you that after I just tickle this one away is I just love how it comes in three loft specs as well

Ping do their standard loft their retro spec which is a little bit weaker so if you need a little bit

more launch you can get that or their power spec which is again de-lofted a bit so you can really

fine-tuning your preferences. We've got a great look, we've got a lot of tech and we've got a lot

of options in this PING G730, hence why it's my ultimate game improvement iron for high handicappers

of 2024. So anyone who knows anything about golf will tell you so many of your shots, such a large

proportion are played from within 100 yards of the green, so having the right wedges for your game

is absolutely crucial. And one of the big growth markets in golf is game improvement wedges where

where we're using cavity backs, perimeter weighting to make them more forgiving

And I pulled out one of my favourites here, so I've got three that I'm going to talk about. My first honourable mention is the Cobra SBX

First thing I love about this, it's got a really nice teardrop-shaped sole, which really helps with turf interaction

A nice oversized head, and we've got these full-face grooves. So everything about this screams, you can hit it anywhere on the face

and it's still going to perform. It's a really, really nice, friendly option in a wedge

so that wasn't a great strike and that still got out there nicely gripped up nicely and I've got a

really good putt for par there so my second option here my second honorable mention I've got the

Cleveland CBX4 now this is one of it's got a really high performance groove in this this is

one of the spinnier wedges that we've tried again a nice oversized offering a really heavy cavity

there so on the fuller shots this is really really good and I think sometimes we forget that we're

always picking wedges that are going to be good for the intricate shots around the green but don't forget we're going to hit a lot of fuller pitch shots with this so this sort of heavy cavity really

gives you that assurance that you're going to have a decent chance of getting the fuller shots

close that's a 52 so it's come out a bit lower but again nice little grab on the second bounce

there really like the grooves of the cleveland but my winner in the game improvement or high

handicap wedge category is the callaway cb now this has got a very very oversized head which gives

me great confidence down behind the ball and it's got a really nice thick sole which I found in

whether it's a tight fairway or it's thick rough or in the bunker it's a really really versatile

wedge that gets you through all sorts of situations. Now one other thing that I've been banging on

about all year is full face grooves this has it again so everything about this screams user

friendly and it just takes a bit excuse me a bit of the stress out of the short game there

again as soon as I put that down behind the ball it's like a nice chrome finish there's a bit more

gloss to it, it just looks forgiving. Again I've hit that a little bit heavy but the sole

the thickness of that sole helped it glide through the turf and I got really acceptable results I not played any of those fantastically and I got really good looks to get those up and down so that why I love this Calloway wedge really forgiving and that why it would be in my bag if I was a high handicapper

this year. The putter now what do we need in a putter for high handicapper so if

you're not playing an awful lot or you struggle on the greens we want something that's easy to use so something with a bit of forgiveness and a bit stability

is important but also something that's very very easy to line up is critical

So bearing that in mind my first choice is the Teardrop TD5 putter. Now this is

one of the most easy to align putters I've ever seen. We've got two bright white contrasting lines with a black finish, one coming off the flange to line

the ball up with and a corresponding one with a leading edge which makes it very

easy to put that leading edge square. It's a multi-material putter which gives

it a really interesting feel and it's got what it's kind of a curved face with

some grooves in which really helps roll so if you're someone who steps out of your putts and

hits it a bit low on the face you're going to get the ball rolling a bit quicker so like I said very

easy to line up squarely to the hole and even if you hit it a little bit high on the ball you've

got a nice option that gets it rolling aggressively towards the hole and that's a really good putt

so that's a nice option for you my second honorable mention is from Wilson and it's the infinite

Bucktown. Now this will be a familiar shape to a lot of you it's dare I see it

that Odyssey Fang Odyssey number seven shape but that's a wonderful shape it

gives us loads of MOI loads of pyramidal weighting and there's a few things I

really like about this putter the finish the matte black finish is really premium

looking it's one you need to be careful with and make sure you use your head cover because they can chip a little bit these but if you're someone who's

careful with it you can preserve this finish and it looks great. Now to

contrast that with a very sort of dark matte black finish we've got these bright

white alignment aids, three of them on the top edge so again very easy to line

up. One final thing the grip is excellent on this it's no taper so it's the same

thickness all the way down so if you're someone who's a bit handsy on the putt or

is prone to the odd dare I say it, yep this is a grip that can really help with

that kind of stuff. It does feel a little bit firmer than some but again if

that's a problem to you you can counteract that with a softer ball so that's no real issue. Exceptionally easy to line up, like I said a little bit

firmer off the face that was audibly a little bit more higher pitch but I actually quite like the

feel of that but my winner in this category is a Cleveland putter and it is the Cleveland

HB Soft 2 and this is the retrieve model and the one thing I like about this model if you're lazy

like me and you play gimmies or even if it goes in the hole actually and you just want to pick your

ball up just jab it and you don't even have to bend down so that's one for the real lazy people

amongst you which I like a lot. Now there is a bit of tech around this putter other than just being

able to pick the ball up with it. It's got progressive face milling so the milling gets

a bit tighter in the centre of the face and is a bit further spread when you come to the heel and

the toe so that increases the speed if you hit it off the heel and toe which would generally reduce

the speed so that matches up and it'll help you hit your distances a little bit easier. Now that

deep milling helps it feel very very soft as well, comfortable alignment aids and yeah like I said

with the name HB Soft you'd expect a soft feel. If it's too soft for you you can then afford to go

for a more distance orientated firm of balls you've got some options there as well. Love the

alignment aids on this, love the feel, it's got a very premium grip as well which I really like

and for that reason and because of that lovely putt, that is my favourite putter in the ultimate

bag for high handicappers. That's all the club's done but let's not forget about the golf ball

It's the one piece of equipment used on every single shot. Now, as high handicappers, let's face it

you might be prone to losing more golf balls than lower handicap players, so price is often at the forefront of any purchasing decision when it comes to golf balls

So three of the favourite sort of price-conscious balls that I've tested would be the Titleist Truffield

That's a really good all-round ball with good levels of spin, good levels of distance and very durable

Another one of my favourites is the Srixon AD333. That's a bit firmer

I find I get a little bit more distance out of that so if you're struggling for distance or using a very soft putter as we discussed

That might be a nice ball to match up and my final choice is the tailor-made speed soft now

There's loads of choices. They've gone big into visual technology It's a really really soft feeling ball and you can do a lot to personalize it with different colors and all sorts

They're really fun very affordable and a really good performing golf ball Okay, so I hope you found that helpful

I hope it's given you a good starting point if you are looking for some more clubs in the high handicap market

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