The Ideal Club For A Perfect Swing

There are two different schools of thought concerningthe other clubs.
the ideal club to use for learning the correct swing.I cant tell you what method is best for your learning
Some instructors think it matters very much; othersprocess. Every individual player is different. Only a
think it doesnt matter much at all. The driver is thecoach who has the opportunity to watch you hit a few
most difficult club for golfers to master. It has the leastballs is in a position to judge which club is the best one
loft and the longest shaft of all the clubs in your bag.for you to start swinging with. So please keep in mind
The straight clubface of a driver puts maximumthat what follows is the best general advice I can give
sidespin on the ball; the longer shaft means that youryou. I can appreciate the logic of both arguments. In
mechanics must be flawless in order to return thedefense of Hogan, whose method is the one that is
clubface square to the ball. If the clubface is open orused less today, it can be argued that learning the
closed at impact, the ball will slice or hook away fromswing with a pitching wedge, for instance, can cause
the ball-to-target line.problems that may be hard to correct when a player
Thats not a noticeable problem on driving ranges,begins to swing a driver.
which are wide enough to forgive fairly severe mishits.The beginner has a much larger margin for error with
But a hook or slice of 20 yards or more on a fairwaythe wedge, so its easy for undetected flaws to creep
can send the ball into the rough on most holes. Sinceinto a swing, even when the learner thinks that he or
your mechanics must be nearly flawless to drive theshe is making progress. This is a constant danger for
ball fairly straight, many instructors prefer to use oneplayers who dont have the opportunity to work with a
of the short irons or wedges to teach beginners howcoach. They wont really know how mechanically
to swing the club correctly.sound their swing is until they start using the longer
The short irons and wedges have higher lofts andclubs. If you have an opportunity to take lessons with a
shorter shafts, which means that its much easier forclub pro, or at least to have a low handicap golfer
new players to control shots made with these clubs.check your mechanics from time to time, then by all
The greater the loft of the club, the more backspin willmeans start swinging with a wedge.
be applied to the flight of the ball.Learning to control the wedge before you take
Backspin counteracts the tendency of the ball to travelanother club out of your bag is the fastest way to
right or left of target, which means that shots madebuild your confidence. The fact that you're making fairly
with the short irons and wedges tend to travelstraight shots from the first day is a tremendous
straighter than shots made with a driver, even whenmorale booster. If you start swinging with a driver,
the clubface is not completely square to the ball atsearching in the rough for all the balls you hook or slice
impact.is a frustrating experience that can make it hard for
Some instructors insist that your choice of club forany beginner to want to go on learning.
learning purposes doesnt make a lot of difference. BenAs you gain confidence and control with the wedge,
Hogan taught beginners to learn the fundamentals ofmove through the bag one club at a time, from the
the golf swing using a driver. He wrote a popular seriesshort irons to the medium irons, then on down to the
of instructional articles for Sports Illustrated in the earlylong irons and woods. The driver can be the last club
Fifties that were later published in book form. Hoganyou learn to swing. You can use this method and be
argued that a sound, repeating golf swing is the sameconfident that it will serve you well, as long as you
with every club, so if you learn to control your shotshave the opportunity to check your mechanics from
off the tee with a driver, you'll have good control of alltime to time with a good teacher.