3 Most Important Golf Clubs

The best golfers in the world are able to hit all 14 clubs with a high level of success.

But even the best golfers have their favorite golf clubs and ones that they are stronger with and clubs that they are weaker with.

Then of course you have the amateur golfers and there are wide ranges of amateur golfers. From the 30 handicap golfer to the scratch golfer and everywhere in between.

And amateur golfers have their favorite clubs as well.

But, which golf clubs are most important?

To play quality golf, a golfer must be able to hit the driver, wedges and putter with a high level of success. Of course, strength in one area can help a golfer get away with a weakness in another area.

But to play scratch level golf, the golfers must do the following:

Keep the driver in play with quality distance
Take advantage of wedges on approach shots

Make putts from 3-10 feet and avoid 3 putts on the greens.

Let’s look at some stats of what the average scratch golfer looks like:

Greens in Regulation	67%
Fairways Hit	53%
Putts Per Hole	1.67
Scrambling	54%
Sand Saves	59%
Average Driving Distance	251

Did you know that only 15% of golfers actually hit the ball over 250 yards with their driver?
Did you know that the maker percentage on the PGA Tour is only 50% from 8 feet?

Did you know that a scratch golfer misses the fairway 47% of the time?

The best golfers in the world are usually the best drivers of the ball with distance being a common trait!

Why is the Driver Important?

The driver is an essential golf club to play quality golf. Distance matters! Also, keeping the ball in play to have a clear shot on your 2nd shot on a hole also matters. The combination of hitting the ball far enough and straight enough to keep it in play is essential to reaching your full potential.

Golfers only hit 7% more fairways with their 3 wood, but often give up 20-30 yards, which hardly makes it worth it. Over the years, the importance of the driver has become more clear as true data analytics have occurred. The longer, the better!

It is simple logic. If you are hitting a driver 270 vs 240 on every hole, you are hitting 2-3 clubs into every green. The closer you are to the hole on the approach shot, the closer on average your proximity to the pin will be!

I currently play at a scratch level, when the driver is on, I can shoot below par. If the driver is off a bit, shooting par is more difficult and I can expect to make more bogeys.

Over the past 6 weeks of golf, I have averaged 4.0 birdies per round and have found myself having a clear approach shot 15% more frequently compared to the previous 6 weeks when I only averaged 1.8 birdies per round. I average around 270 off the tee and hitting the ball this distance and keeping it between the trees has been a major advantage.

It all started with the driver for me! More opportunities to hit it close from quality spots on the course.

Key Takeaway: Learn to hit the driver far and keep it in play to increase birdie opportunities

Dialing in your distances is essential with the wedges. See below for our recommended process!

Why Are the Wedges Important?

Let’s face it, if we want to make birdies, we must hit the ball somewhat close to the hole.

Did you know that the average make percentage from 20 feet on the PGA Tour is 15%? 20 feet isn’t very far!

So if you hit the ball to 20 feet all day and hit 12 of 18 greens in regulation, you will make 1.8 putts, giving you 1.8 birdies per round.

If you hit 3 of those 12 shots to 5-10 feet, you have a 40-77% chance of making the putt. If you can hit 3 shots in that distance, you will add 1-2 more birdies per round and increase your average number of birdies.

For most golfers, if you hit your driver far enough, you have 4 holes in the par 5s to have a wedge in your hand, plus 2-3 shorter par 4s during the round of golf.

So golfers need to dial in their distance, increase their accuracy and hit the green at a quality distance from the pin.

Did you know that the average proximity to the pin from 125-150 yards on the PGA Tour is 23’6.”

When an amateur has more than 125 yards, a par is a great score, but when you get to 80-100 yards these are your true birdie chances!

Key Takeaway: Get really good at those 80-100 yard wedge shots as you will have 3-4 of these shots minimum per round where you can start to score!

Putting is vital and can make or break a round of golf!

Why Is the Putter Important?

There is nothing more devastating than the 3 putt on a green in regulation or not making the 5 footer for a par save. The best golfers are able to avoid 3 putt and make at least the average to keep track with their competitors in the 3-10 foot range.

While I do believe the driver is the most important club in the bag, the putter can erase a lot of mistakes once you get to the green. Having a hot putter and rolling in putts is a great way to make the most of a round or save you from a poor score for your level of current skill.

Golfers should practice two ranges of putts:

3-10 footers
30 Plus footers

You want to make those 3-10 footers and leave stress free tap ins from 30 plus feet.

When you hit the green with a wedge, after a perfect driver down the middle, you want to capitalize and make that 3-15 footer. Make sure you are ready!

Key Takeaway: The putter is vital and can make a good round great or a weak around average. Get out and practice today!

A complete game changer and worth checking out!

Tips for Improvement

For Driver Improvement: Speed Training Drill With SuperSpeed Golf

The game of golf has evolved to where speed is important in the game of golf. The faster your swing, the further the ball flies and the more shorter irons or wedges you have into a green.

Training for speed is a great idea and one worth exploring!

If you are going to train for speed, I would highly recommend the SuperSpeed Training System.

Gone are the days of simply being content with the distance you currently hit your golf ball. Many older golfers have proven over the past several years that an increase in swing speed is possible.

There are training systems to help you get your game to the next level and distance is arguably the fastest way to make this happen!

My number one recommendation is to check out SuperSpeed Golf and their protocols to help you find a safe way to increase your swing speed.

I spent many years wondering how I can increase my swing speed. When I was playing junior golf, we weren’t fortunate enough to have some of the training aids and knowledge that is now available. Smart people have studied the golf swing and have created training aids and protocols to help all golfers increase their distance!

At around the same time, the statistics from the PGA Tour have become more clear and the importance of speed is acknowledged by many to be a key to being the best on the PGA Tour.

Within the past several years, there have been several products hit the market to make speed gains possible. While many people for many years waited for the latest driver to come out to gain an additional 5-10 yards, you can now do this even with your current clubs.

Did you know that with the SuperSpeed Training System you can gain 5-8% increase in swing speed as early as the first training session? This would allow you to gain somewhere between 10 and 30 yards depending on your current swing speed.

SuperSpeed Golf

The SuperSpeed Training System is based on three different swing speed sticks all weighing at different weights. There is a green club that is 10% lighter than the average driver, the blue club which is 5% lighter and the red club which is actually 5% heavier!

Following their prescribed protocols the golfer completes the training every other day. The total time to complete most of their protocols is between 10-15 minutes. Most people can find the time to make this happen. The golfer will also need a swing radar to measure their progress.

The science behind the SuperSpeed Training System is based on overspeed training. Overspeed training has been around for several decades now and has been used by olympic athletics in the sport of Track and Field.

The science behind this overspeed training is based on the premise that your brain will only allow your body to move as fast as it feels it can stop safely! So, you get to work and swing the clubs as fast as possible, retraining your brain to allow you to swing your driver faster.

For more permanent results, the golfer should continue these training protocols for several months. The initial 5-8% is great and can become more permanent with the right length of training. The golfer can expect to continue to break down barriers every several months at a 1-2% increase.

My own experience has been an increase of 7-10 miles per hour on average from between 98-101 all the way up to 106-109. My goal is to hit the PGA Tour average of 113 mph in the coming months. I will continue to train every other day and watch in amazement as I am hitting drivers longer now than ever before!

Phil Mickelson (a senior golfer now) has been known to increase his swing speed in the past year or so and is close to 120 miles per hour in his swing speed. There are potential results for golfers of all ability levels and age!

Check the current price on SuperSpeed Golf System, here!

Original Swing Speed	After 4-6 Weeks	New Carry Distance	Total Distance
95	102	245	265
100	108	259	279
105	113	271	291
110	118	283	303

Check out how you can map your bag below!

For Wedge Improvement: Dial in your Distance Through A Distance Chart

I would highly recommend each golfer create a distance chart like the sample below:

Club	Carry Distance (100%)	90%	80%
2 Utility Iron	210
4 iron	190
5 iron	181
6 iron	171
7 iron	163
8 iron	153
9 iron	143
P Club	130	123	115
Pitching Wedge	118	110	102
SW Club	105	97	91
LW Club	90	82	74

This might be the most important information you can use to help you play quality golf. I have heard so many stories and have seen it first hand where golfers completely over estimate how far they hit each iron.

They hit one 7 iron 165 yards one time and think this is their carry distance. So they step up to a 165 yard shot, hit the 7 iron and end up in a bunker. They blade it out of the bunker and are looking at a double bogey as their reality. Instead, if they had the right club and hit the 6 iron, their chance of hitting the middle of the green would increase greatly!

How can you create your own chart?

Best Option: I would highly recommend a launch monitor!

These portable devices can be used at the driving range, golf course or set up in your home net or golf simulator. These devices are game changers not only on being able to map your bag and know your distances, but they also provide quality feedback after on every shot and provide the following information:

Carry Distance
Spin Rate

Launch Angle
Spin Axis
Total Distance

Ball Speed

This information will help you map your bag, decide on which clubs are best for your game, develop a stock shot and much more. I love using my SkyTrak 365 days a year in my golf simulator setup.

The process for mapping your bag can looking something like this:

Hit 5 shots with each club in your bag.
Log the carry distance and total distance for each shot.
Eliminate any outlier numbers (poor hits or low spin rates).

Take the average and create a map of your bag.

If you visit any PGA Tour event you will see plenty of golfers utilizing their launch monitors. While most can’t afford a Trackman, there are some very affordable options in the 500-2000 dollar range. I own the Skytrak and think the world of it.

Here are the top 3 options to check out:

SkyTrak Launch Monitor

Final Thoughts: Spend Practice Time Wisely

I would highly recommend getting really good with the driver. You want ot hit it long on some holes and the more controlled on others. Spend time developing your go to shots with the driver.

Next it is essential to dial in your wedges. Spend time figuring your your yardages and working on those less than full shots!

Finally, be confident with the putter. Understand that all you can control is your read of the green and getting the ball started on the right line with the best speed for your line! The rest will need to have some luck. But follow your process and make a quality roll!

Here are some helpful resources in each of those areas:

Playing golf 365 days a year is a game changer!

My Secret To Golf Improvement

Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently. About three years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage. I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.

This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer. I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day. I can practice or play rounds of golf. I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.

It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.

Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:

Rain or Shine Golf Packages

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions: