In my journey of golf I have learned a lot of things. One of which being where to buy equipment.

If you are just getting into golf and you don’t even have your own clubs yet, there are a couple paths you can take. I would recommend starting out with a used set of clubs. Places like “Second Swing” or “Nevada Bobs” are a great resource for this. Getting a used set of clubs will ensure that you don’t spend copious amounts of money but also have the equipment needed to get into the sport.

My first set was a used set of Tailor-made’s. I believe when I bought them they were around 4-5 years old. The important thing is to know the brands that are dominating golf.

Brands to look into:

• TaylorMade
• Callaway
• Titleist
• Cobra
• Mizuno
• Nike

These brands are known for having the highest quality golf equipment. If you find a used set of any of these brands for a good price, don’t hesitate.

If you are someone who can’t justify spending money on a sport you barley know, ask around. Or look on FaceBook market place. There are people out there giving away their clubs all the time. All it takes is a little knowledge on what brands to look out for and how much you are willing to spend.

In 2022, the technology for the game of Golf is tremendous. Equipment has changed and improved 10 fold in even the last 10 years. A common thing people hear when they talk about golf is how expensive it is. This is true, Golf is very expensive but there is a reason for that.

If you were to buy a whole new set right off the rack from Sand Wedge – Driver, depending on the brand, your looking at around $1,200 – $2,000. I have always believed that when something is expensive there is a reason for it. If you are willing to spend the money you are going to have very high quality clubs.

Now, what has changed in the last 10 years?

For one, Golf is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Ever since quarantine, more people are playing Golf than ever before. Because of this, supply and demand have driven prices up.

For two, take for example the driver. The technology available today is miles ahead of where it used to be. Today, we have carbon fiber heads with graphite shafts. What these companies are doing is making the clubs faster and more forgiving. What this means is the equipment is getting lighter while maintaining enough forgiveness for better shots.

Lastly, the technology of training has improved. Today, you can go to a PGA pro coach and they can show you every single number and reason why your shots look the way they do. They are using slow motion cameras and laser tracking systems. With this technology the average player can see in real time the numbers behind the results they are seeing. Because of this players are getting better and better at a faster rate. To keep up with this, Golf companies are making their products able to keep up with this demand.

There are many different ways to improve your game of golf. The most popular in 2022 is internet videos.

Today, we have a tool that golfers before us didn’t. Today, we have YouTube. On this platform there are countless of creators who are solely making videos on how to improve your game.

For example, one of my favorite golf improvement creators is Top Speed Golf. Clay Ballard is a PGA pro who makes very informational videos. I like this channel because he goes over mistakes that most beginners make and how to fix or avoid them.

Since I started golfing I have learned many different habits that I didn’t know were harmful to my game. For example, when a player sways backwards in his take back or dips his head at the top of his backswing.

The golf swing is all about finding the right way to do it and doing it every single time. In most cases, it takes a lot of finesse. The biggest tip I could give to new players is to research golf videos. Watch instructional videos and see what mistakes you too are making.

Beyond that, the biggest tips I ever received was to keep my body aligned. In your golf swing you want to keep your head in the same place as the start of the swing. You want your sternum to stay above the ball (not swaying backwards). You want your shoulders to have a 90 degree turn at the top. But most of all you want to keep your eye on the golf ball.

It’s kind of like baseball, in baseball they say “watch the ball hit the bat,” in golf it’s “watch the club hit the ball.”

Golf is a game of inches not miles. It takes time but the coolest part about the sport is knowing that when you start you can only get better and better.

Tiger Woods, the greatest golfer who has ever lived. Most people say what he did on Augusta in April of 2019 was the greatest comeback in sports history.

Previously, Tiger had gone through four back surgeries and personal scandals that lead him to rock bottom. Tiger hadn’t won a major in quite some time. The world thought it was over for Tiger Woods. Most people would have given up. Most people would have been content with what they accomplished and retired.

Not Tiger. Your talking about a man who won the U.S. Open in 2008 with a fractured knee. Keep in mind, the U.S. Open is one of the hardest courses in all of majors golf. He didn’t care. He wanted to win so badly that he did whatever it took.

Leading up to the 2019 Masters tournament Tiger had surprised the world by having back-to-back top six finishes at the British Open and PGA Championship. This gave him a shot at another Major trophy.

Nobody thought that he had a shot in the Masters tournament. With all the new up and coming players most people thought there was no shot. But Tiger did what Tiger does best. He decided he wanted to win.

Tiger Woods went on to shoot: 70 R1, 68 R2, 67 R3, 70 R4. For a total score of 13 under par. He did what he desired to do. All he wanted in those moments was to be a winner, and a winner and champion he once again became.

Today, golf is one of the most versatile sports out there. To make it to the PGA tour is one of the hardest things in sports. Each year there are 50 tour cards given out. The top 25 scorers make the “top 25 list,” while the other 25 compete in various Korn Ferry Tour events to try and make the cut. To put this into perspective 1 in 16,468 players make the tour. That is .006% shot at making it.

Not only is making the PGA tour extremely difficult, but then once you make it you have to perform. If you are not in the top 20 for earnings you are loosing money playing the game of golf. The PGA doesn’t pay for anything related to the players. The player pay for their caddies, transportation, hotels, food, everything you could think of.

Now don’t get me wrong, players like Bryson and Bubba and Tiger, they are making millions and millions of dollars. The majority of their cash comes from sponsorships. The only time players make an absurd amount of money is for events like the US Open or the Masters or the PGA Championship. Typically the US Open’s purse is around $15 million. If you are not familiar with the meaning of “purse” it means that the players split the total amount depending on where you land the the scoreboard.

All in all, the sport of golf is super interesting. I love learning about how it works from the inside. Some of us only know what we see on tv. Which is old guys playing at beautiful courses getting paid extremely well to play a sport that looks rather simple. In this blog you will learn that golf is much much more than a hobby.

The sport of golf has been around since the 15th century. If you were playing golf back then, you would have been using wooden clubs hitting a leather ball filled with feathers. This stayed the same up until the 1850’s.

In the past 150 years golf has changed dramatically, more so in the past 20 years. Today the average player uses cavity back metal irons with huge metal woods and steel shafts. This caused golf statistics to increase over the past 20 years. Today people are hitting the ball farther and farther. Today, an average golfer is better than the best golfer 150 years ago.

There are a lot of factors why golfers are getting better and better. Some experts believe that it is all about the ball. The golf ball has a spin rate cap, meaning it can’t spin too much causing it to go farther. The more the ball spins the farther it goes. Having dimples on the ball make it so the ball pierces through the air hitting against it.

Everything about golf is about getting faster and better. The reason why so many people love the sport is because you can always get better. Today we have the technology to see the real time numbers of our golf game. These numbers explain why your shots look the way they do. In the past 10 years the average ball speed has gone from 98mph to 118mph. This means that the equipment is getting lighter and stronger.

In the coming blogs I will tell you all about the game of golf. Some things that I have learned since starting the sport. You may find that golf is a lot more interesting than you had assumed.

Sawyer Beth 2/18/2022