If there are two things most recreational golfers struggle with, it’s getting the most distance possible from their swing speed and stopping the ball faster on approach shots. This is a bigger issue for golfers on the lower end of the club head speed spectrum and even more so for women, who are disproportionately less likely to get fit.
Now whether going through a club fitting is an option or not, there are still some very important details you should consider if you are a golfer in the moderate swing speed category. Using my wife’s golf game as a benchmark and with almost a full season as a sample size, these are the top clubs that helped my wife gain distance, gain trajectory, and have more fun on the course.
A lighter driver
As recently explained when Callaway’s Paradym Star series was launched, the simple physics that applies to cars, and airplanes apply to golf clubs too: if you can retain energy while reducing weight, an object will travel faster and a lighter weight club means increased distance for players looking to gain yardage.
In my wife’s case, the driver that gave her what she was looking for on the course was a Titleist TSR1, which offers a traditional look, but in a lighter and higher launching profile. The TRS1 is one of the few lightweight driver options on the market that offers a fully adjustable hosel to further help dial in the right launch and spin window.
Titleist TSR1 Custom Driver
$599
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For golfers who want to forgo an adjustable hosel in favor of an even lighter club, one the lightest driver setups on the market belongs to the XXIO Prime line that offers some incredibly lightweight clubs that are also draw-biased to give more forgiveness too.
XXIO Prime Royal Edition Women’s Driver
$1199.99
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High lofted hybrids
Distance is one thing, but approaching greens with more height and stopping power is key to avoiding hazards, hitting more greens, and creating the opportunity to lower scores, and one of the best ways to do that is with higher lofted hybrids.
Ping updates popular women’s line of clubs with new G Le3 series
The reason hybrids are so efficient at creating higher launch and more spin is thanks to their wider soles and shallower face profiles that help push the center of gravity lower in the heads and away from the faces. This combination also helps to increase forgiveness and with longer shafts compared to similarly lofted irons (but less length than a fairway wood), hybrids are easier to hit more consistently.
Titleist TSR1 Custom Hybrid
$299
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Again, bringing this back to the clubs that helped my wife’s game the most, the Titleist TSR1 hybrids and their larger profile have helped bridge the gap between her fairway woods and irons and with the adjustable hosel, the lie angles were adjusted to help reduce dispersion.
Irons built for distance and height
In most cases, moderate-swing-speed golfers benefit from wider sole irons with a deeper center of gravity, but there can be many exceptions to this rule.
Like a lot of golfers with a more moderate swing speed, my wife has a shallow angle of attack, and irons with a wider sole can result in shots that are hit thin because the club has a harder time entering the turf. This is how she ended up playing with a set of TB-5s from Fourteen Golf, which offer a slightly thinner sole compared to a lot of irons, but a much longer blade length to still create forgiveness.
Fourteen Golf TB-5 Forged Custom Irons
$199.99
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Although they look a lot like a blade, they perform like a much larger cavity back and when paired with an ultra-lightweight iron shaft to match her swing speed and tempo, the combination of forgiving iron head and shaft has helped her hit the ball higher and also given her more confidence that she’s not going to skull / thin approach shots over the green when faced with a shot from shorter grass in the fairway.
This is a perfect example of how one size doesn’t always fit all and how it can be important to look outside of product categories to potentially find something that is going to be the ideal fit.
Last but not least, it is important to consider the golf ball. It’s the only piece of equipment used for every shot, and making sure it’s optimized for approach play, trajectory, and distance is critical for any golfer who needs help with their game, regardless of club head speed range.
Want to overhaul your bag for 2023? Find a fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.