5 Important Pieces of Golfing Equipment

Are you one of the 6.2 million people who tried golf for the first time during 2020? Would you like to take up this sport more seriously in the future?

You don’t need a lot of things to make the most of your golf outings, and you can usually hire any extras you want at the course. Yet, it’s nice to have your own equipment if you’re seriously interested in the game.

Check out the golfing equipment you need to make the most of every day on the course.

1. Golf Gear

One thing you can’t hire on arrival is your golf outfit. Golf is an ancient game that’s full of traditions, and most golfing establishments have rules about what you should wear when playing.

You can’t grab any old thing out of your closet and head to the course. Here’s how to dress appropriately for the game of golf:

Golf Hat

When you’re spending hours outdoors, you need sun protection, and it all begins with a hat.

Traditionally, golfers wore a flat cap, otherwise known as a driver’s hat for golf. Nowadays, almost any kind of hat will do. Some of the trendiest ones include:

• Golf visors
• Bucket hats
• Snapback hats
• Golf caps

It’s a good idea to pop a bottle of high-factor sunscreen in your bag, too. You’ll need to refresh your layer of protection every so often.

Shirts and Pants

You should always wear a collared shirt when playing golf and smartly tailored pants or shorts with a belt. Don’t forget your golf glove, so you can get a proper grip on your clubs.

Golf Shoes

You can’t play golf in sandals or trainers. Golf shoes have soft spikes or grips that don’t damage the grass on the course but prevent you from slipping during your shot.

2. Golf Clubs

Most golfers have a variety of golf clubs to hand that helps them best play the ball depending on where it’s lying.

All these fall into three main categories, namely woods for long distances, putters for short distances, and irons for everything in between.

The most common types of golf clubs are:

• Drivers (woods) for hitting the ball for long distances off the tee
• Fairway woods for shots that are far from the hole
• Irons numbered from 3 to 9 for mid-distance shots off the fairway
• Wedges (irons) for tricky shots
• Putters for use on the green

You can buy different types of wedges for different uses, too. These include sand wedges for bunker shots and lob wedges for extra loft from the fairway.

Nowadays, you can also get hybrid clubs that combine the functionality of the woods and irons for fairway use.

3. Golf Bag

Naturally, you’ll need a golf bag to carry all these clubs around during your game. These are usually hitched over the shoulder, or placed in your golf cart if you’re lucky enough to have or hire one.

Golf bags have several compartments, that are open at the top for holding your clubs. They also have space for a golf umbrella and a golf towel. Zippered pockets hold your golf balls, tees, markers, and personal effects.

There are four main types of golf bags, namely:

Staff Bags

These are large bags designed for a golf caddy to carry around the course. They’re only suited to professional players who need the extra space for all their sponsored equipment.

Stand Bags

These golf bags have a built-in stand mechanism, so your clubs don’t fall out while you’re playing your next shot.

They come in a huge variety of designs and usually weigh between three and seven pounds. Some manufacturers make stand bags with ergonomically designed shapes and dual straps that make it easier for you to carry the bag comfortably.

Carry Bags

Carry bags are the smallest variety of golf bags, with minimal pockets. They’re easier to carry than traditional bags and often fold up for easy storage and transportation.

Cart Bags

Cart bags don’t have a stand mechanism as they spend most of their time on a golf cart or pushcart. They’re full-size bags with ample compartments and space for all your clubs.

4. Golf Balls

Golf balls might seem like a straightforward piece of equipment and an obvious essential for playing the game. Believe it or not, there are five different types of golf balls available.

These are:

One-Piece

These balls are rarely used today. Mini golf courses might still use one-piece balls fashioned from a chunk of resin, though. They’re durable, heavy, and unsuitable for modern-day golfing.

Two-Piece Balls

Experienced golfers turn their noses up at the simple, dual-material design of two-piece balls, but they’re ideal for novice players. These durable balls have a core made of stout rubber and an outer casing of urethane, or Surlyn.

Three-Piece Balls

Three-piece balls offer a compromise between feel and distance. They have a core, a mantle, and an outer layer.

This extra layer adds a softer feel and produces more spin when you play your shot.

Four-Piece Balls

These controversial balls feature an extra middle layer, meant to activate only when the golfer reaches a specific swing speed.

According to this principle, the ball should spin less when you strike it with a short iron than when you hit it with a driver.

Five-Piece Balls

These balls add an extra layer to increase spin separation even further. The balls have an exceptionally soft urethane covering to keep the ball responsive on short shots and a compression core to create less spin with a driver.

When it comes to golf balls, you need a few extras to make sure you can hit them at their best. These are tees and markers.

Tees elevate the ball slightly above the grass to improve your shot. Traditionally, players use a coin to mark the position of their ball on the green when they remove it, but you get plastic markers for this task nowadays.

5. Golf simulators

When you visit your local golf store, you’ll find a wealth of gimmicks and useful things to help you improve your game or enjoy it more.

These include:

• A pocket bunker to practice your sand shots
• Rangefinder
• Alignment sticks
• Groove sharpeners
• Golf ball tracking tech
• Electric trolleys
• Swing analyzers

A golfing app can help you plan your day out with ratings, course information, and weather information at your fingertips, check it out here.

Get in the Game

As you increase your golfing skills, you can fine-tune your golfing equipment to suit your experience and quirks. So, don’t rush out and buy all your gear at once.

Rather, get what you need and hire the rest. You can always add to your collection as you progress.

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