Tips on Buying Golf Clubs For Beginners – It’s All About Size, the Bigger the Better

In the past 20 years, the most significant change in golf clubs has been the increased size of the clubhead. It all began with the introduction of the original Big Bertha driver in 1991, and ever since, club manufacturers have steadily increased the size of the clubface. The Big Bertha boasted a clubhead volume of 190 cubic centimeters (cc). Today, the maximum size permitted by the United States Golf Association is 460 cubic centimeters. A beginner needs a driver around 430 cc to provide a large hitting area which will result in much better shots. There’s no question about it – size does matter.

Another recommendation for the beginner is to choose a large head driver that has between 10 and 12 degrees of loft. With this additional loft, it will be easier to get the ball airborne and the ball flight should be a bit straighter.

There is a small place on the face of a golf club that allows for the most solid strike of the ball. This place is known as the “sweet spot.” When a golf ball is struck on this sweet spot, maximum distance is achieved. Striking the ball outside of the sweet spot results in a “mishit” and a restricted ball flight. Large face drivers maximize the size of the sweet spot and reduce the number of mishit shots, thus producing a greater number of longer drives and a happier golfer.

The size of the clubface of irons has also increased over the years, although not as drastically as the driver and metal woods. These larger irons have an enlarged sweet spot hitting area that allows for a greater number of solid shots and fewer mishits.

Club manufacturers have also added the element of “perimeter weighting” to these larger irons. Perimeter weighting is the term used for pushing weight from the center of the club to the outer edges. With this weight distribution, the clubhead is less likely to twist when a ball is mishit, which produces a longer ball flight.