How to Choose Irons: Choosing the Proper Golf Equipment
By: Dan Davis, PGA Professional, Thousand Hills Golf Course
I always start with how to choose irons when helping a customer that is interested in a new set of clubs. This is the meat and potatoes of a set of golf clubs. Out of most full sets of fourteen clubs the irons consist of over ½ of the set make up. I will cover several different golf equipment tips that can help you make the right decision when purchasing a set of irons.
- Beginning Golfers – Most golfers play their first few rounds with the either a borrowed or rental set before they learn how to choose irons. It is becoming a lot easier to do this as some golf courses including Thousand Hills in Branson Missouri are offering online coupons for free club rental. This gives beginners a great opportunity to experience the game with out making a huge investment in clubs.
- Novice Golfers – This is the group of golfers whom have played a few rounds and are relatively confident that they like the game enough to warrant purchasing a set of their own. For this individual I highly recommend buying a used set of irons. Retailers such as E-bay, Play It Again Sports, Discount Golf Stores and even some on course pro-shops will have a selection of name brand irons sets at the fraction of the cost of new. Another idea is to check with your local golf courses to see if they sell their old sets of rental clubs. One trait to look for is a cavity backed iron. This will provide a huge advantage on mis-hits as opposed to the traditional solid or muscle back irons. A large sole or low center of gravity will help a golfer get the ball in the air quicker. I highly recommend steel shafts for most golfers regardless of skill level unless strength is an issue then a graphite shaft may be a better option when you choose your irons.
- Advanced Golfers – Those whom are possibly on a high school or college golf team, play several times a week, or have been actively working on their game may be ready to purchase a new set of irons. It will serve you well to have a PGA Professional give you a lesson before asking for advice on a new club purchase. Most PGA Professionals are well equipped to professional fit golfers for clubs. This is usually only recommended for advanced players because we fit more to a person’s golf swing rather than to their stature. Advanced golfers may also start experimenting with higher center of gravity or muscle back irons. These irons will help an experience golfer control their trajectory and to shape shots as desired.
Learning how to choose irons is only a part of the the golf equipment buying experience, however irons cover a large part of the game so it’s often best to get some advice before you make a purchase. To see Dan’s other quipment purchasing articles, visit the Golf Equipment Tips page.
