Are you making golf even more difficult by playing the wrong clubs?
Today, I’ll walk you through 10 golf equipment mistakes that most players make. When you learn how to avoid them and apply the fixes below, you will have a lot more consistency in your game.
Because chances are you’re leaving distance, accuracy, and lower scoring average on the table with your current set.
Most Common Golf Equipment Mistakes
Key Takeaways
- Golf is a difficult sport and playing the wrong equipment only makes things more challenging by limiting distance or accuracy.
- Serious golfers who want to improve should invest in a custom club fitting to assess all 14 clubs in the bag.
- Then, address important clubs like driver and putter, as they’re two of the most commonly used.
- Other common mistakes include using the wrong putter, trying to hit irons instead of hybrids, playing the wrong golf ball, and more.
1. Skipping a Club Fitting
The first mistake that so many golfers make is not investing in a custom club fitting. If you’re serious about breaking 90 or breaking 80, a fitting is a must. While it’s not necessary for casual golfers who only play a few times per year, it’s vital if you play regularly (and want to improve).
If you skip a custom fitting, you might make some (or all) of the mistakes that I’ll cover today. Which will cost you accuracy, distance, and not making nearly as many putts as possible.
Don’t worry – you don’t have to get all new clubs after a fitting, either. Sometimes they’ll recommend simple changes like adjusting your driver settings, adjusting your lie angle, or cutting down the length of your putter.
2. Wrong Length Putter
Another massive mistake so many golfers make is playing a putter that is not the right length. Most golfers play a putter that is too long – not too short.
Which can lead to not getting your eye position correctly over the ball and missing a lot more putts. Not to mention it might hurt your posture too.
Studies have shown that most average male golfers will benefit from a 34-inch putter. But most putters from manufacturers are 35. While some taller golfers might need 35 or 36-inch, most will not.
To figure out if you have the right length putter, consider a custom putter fitting too. This is an amazing investment in your game, as putting represents at least 30% of all strokes during the round!
Having a flat stick that is custom fit for you will help your confidence in every round.
3. Not Forgiving Enough Clubs
The third golf equipment mistake that a lot of players make is simply playing clubs that aren’t forgiving enough. This is an error I made way too many times in my career and held me back from playing my best golf.
Take the ego out of the equation and play clubs that are easier to hit – especially if you’re a mid to high handicapper. There is no shame playing game improvement irons or cavity backs instead of muscle backs or blades.
The same thing goes with shafts too. Play more graphite or lightweight steel shafts that are easier to swing more consistently.
While blades look amazing, they’re only for the top 1% of all golfers. Even pros don’t play them throughout their set and they’re getting paid millions of dollars to play the game.
Stop making golf so much more difficult by using clubs that don’t help your mishits.
4. Driver Issues
If you want to improve your golf game fast, you need to have a ton of confidence with your driver. When you have a consistent tee shot, it makes golf so much easier. While you need to work on mechanics – like driver ball position, overspeed training, etc. – don’t forget about the club itself.
The driver is one of the two clubs I’d recommend every golfer get fitted. Why?
Because the club is the longest in the bag, swung the fastest, and has the least amount of loft. Which leads to some big mishits and the wrong driver or shaft can make it an ever bigger miss.
Here are some common driver issues:
- Not enough loft: Most golfers would benefit from 10 or 11 degrees (seniors maybe 12 or 13 degrees) to help improve total carry distance. If your driver is adjustable, experiment with how it improves your distance and accuracy on the driving range.
- Wrong shaft: If your shaft is too light or doesn’t have enough flex, it can lead to some accuracy issues. While a shaft that is too heavy might limit carry and total distance. A fitter can help you decipher the numbers on a launch monitor and test out various shafts to see how yours compares.
- Too long of driver shaft: Finally, the wrong driver shaft might be to blame too. While the USGA allows for 46 inch shafts, most golfers will benefit from a 44, 44.5, or 45 inch. A shorter shaft means more control and easier to hit the center of the face.
Additionally, you might also consider a mini driver too.
5. Avoiding Hybrids and Fairway Woods
The next equipment mistake that you need to avoid is playing hard to hit long irons.
While there isn’t much more rewarding than hitting a pure 4 or 5-iron, it’s not easy to do. Especially if you don’t get to practice much and have a busy life off the golf course.
But that’s why the Golf Gods gave us the invention of hybrids. Swap out your long irons with easier to hit hybrids or fairway woods.
Most golfers don’t need anything below a 6-iron and even then might benefit from a hybrid instead. Don’t forget, club manufacturers make different models of hybrids too. Some are large like fairway woods (great for less consistent golfers) while others are much smaller and allow you to shape shots.
6. Not Using Driving Irons or Combo Sets
If you do insist on using long irons, do not use the ones that came with your set. They’re probably very unforgiving and the shaft won’t help you get the ball airborne.
That’s why I switched to a combo set, so my 5 and 6-iron are more forgiving. Plus, added in a driving iron to replace my 4-iron.
Let’s start with the combo set. This replaces long irons with easier to hit versions of irons or sometimes hybrids.
For example, in my set, the 5 and 6-irons are a different type of PXG iron that are more offset and slightly bigger (with the same shaft). This helps with mishits, improves distance, and can’t believe how much of a difference it’s made.
Then I added a driving iron to replace my 4-iron, which also has a larger clubhead. But the real secret is the hybrid graphite shaft that makes the club super easy to launch. Instead of fearing 220-yard shots, now I’m excited, as the club is one of the most consistent in the bag.
7. Not Enough Wedge Bounce
Another mistake I made earlier in my golf career was playing wedges with 4–6 degrees of bounce. Unless you have the right type of swing and turf conditions, this can lead to a lot of thin shots.
Bounce is your friend! It’s best to play mid to high bounce wedges so you can have some forgiveness and help with chip shots (and greenside bunkers).
8. Only Carrying Two Wedges
Another common equipment error among golfers is only carrying two wedges – a pitching wedge (PW) and sand wedge (SW). All golfers can benefit from adding a third wedge – a gap wedge (GW).
A gap wedge fills the gap between the PW and SW and is a very versatile club. You can use it for chip shots, long bunker shots, and full shots.
If you’re a more advanced golfer, consider adding a fourth wedge – a lob. A lob wedge (LW) is great if you need to hit shots, don’t have much green to work with, and have a lot of 50-75 yard shots into greens.
Additionally, make sure your wedges are forgiving enough for your game. A lot of players use blade wedges with a heavy shaft that aren’t easy to hit consistently well. Don’t be afraid to use a lighter shaft that is similar to your irons and/or cavity back wedges for extra forgiveness.
9. Wrong Golf Ball
Now that we have the right clubs, let’s not forget the golf ball, too. A lot of golfers aren’t scoring as good as possible from playing the wrong golf ball.
Similar to playing forgiving clubs, don’t let ego get in the way. Too many golfers try to hit a premium ball (like the Pro V1) when they don’t have the swing speed to benefit from it. Test out different balls to see how it impacts distance, spin, and feel around the greens.
Learn more about a golf ball fitting here.
10. Old Grips
The final equipment mistake to avoid is not changing out your grips enough. If you play old, worn down grips, you might grip the club tighter and add more tension. Which leads to a lot of swing issues.
Re grip your clubs regularly so you have the correct grip pressure and probably a lot better swing. Learn more about regripping golf clubs here.
My Experience
I’ve made all of these golf equipment mistakes above, so please learn from me to speed up your quest to consistent golf. While I’ve outlined a lot of errors most golfers make, the biggest one is still letting ego get in the way of your decisions.
Simply put – play the right clubs for your swing and game.
There is no shame playing an anti-slice driver, oversized irons, full faced wedges, or a mallet putter. It’s all about making the hardest game in the world a little more simple.
At the end of the day, golf is about scoring, not a perfect swing or using hard to hit clubs.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, you can avoid these 10 golf equipment mistakes and play better golf fast. I know it’s an expensive game, so make sure to read how to sell old golf clubs here. This way you can offset some of the costs with new equipment and get the most out of your game.
