Set Makeup
When you buy clubs "off the rack" you typically purchase eight irons and three woods. This is a standard set. In most cases the irons are 3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and pitching wedge(PW). The woods are a Driver (1 wood), 3 wood and 5 wood. Depending upon your skill level and playing objectives, this standard set makeup may not work for you. For example, long irons (3, 4 and 5 irons) are usually harder to hit for beginners. That is because they are longer and sometimes stiffer so golfers tend to swing harder to feel like they are making solid contact. At D'Lance Golf, we are not limited to selling standard sets. We usually sell a 5-PW, and Sand Wedge and a 3, 5 and 7 wood or 22 degree Hybrid as a beginners set. This is a set that is easier to learn with and much easier to swing. We work with our customers to build them the best set that will help them play better golf.

Iron Head Design
While cavity back heads and oversize heads have been on the market for several years, there is definitely a trend back towards smaller heads. For beginners, larger heads give a bigger sweet spot and more forgiveness. Likewise, cavity backed, sole weighted clubs will make it easier to get the ball in the air consistently. At D'Lance Golf during our player interview we determine your current golfing ability, your golfing goals and objectives, and then recommend two or three head designs that will perform to your expectations. Some players will need lie adjustments due to their height and swing dynamics that cannot be obtained with cast clubs. Because some players need lie adjustments greater than 3 degrees, which cannot be obtained in a cast club, D’Lance Golf offers several forged (more easily bendable) head designs.

Wood Head Design
With forged titanium becoming easier to produce, the trend is to larger metal wood heads that offer a much larger sweet spot and more forgiveness. Wood heads are measured by the cubic centimeters of volume they displace going from a more traditional size of 360cc to as large as 460cc. While the larger heads offer more forgiveness, they are sometimes less appealing to look at for a lot of golfers. There are several new designs, including the "square" drivers from Callaway and Nike. Lofts are also a measure of how high you will hit the ball for a given swing speed. Driver lofts usually range from 7.5 degrees to 13 degrees. The lower the angle the lower the trajectory, for a given swing speed. Usually, higher lofts will mean greater distance. At D'Lance Golf we offer a full range of wood head sizes and lofts. We make recommendations for the type of head that will give you great performance at an affordable price with outstanding aesthetic appeal.

Should you play forged irons? If you are consistently breaking 90 and you are serious about improving your level of play you should consider moving to forged irons. Almost every manufacturer has developed a new “forged” style club that has a softer feel yet more forgiveness than the traditional blade style forged clubs. With the forgiveness of the new cavity back forged irons you will not suffer the dramatic loss of distance and accuracy you get from a miss-hit with a forged blade. The smaller sweet spot, however, will force you to produce a more consistent swing. With the new combination sets of cavity back irons in the longer irons (3 thru 6 iron) and modified muscle-back in the shorter irons (7 thru 9 and PW) you can have the forgiveness you need in the longer irons and the feel and accuracy you want in the shorter irons. And finally, there is the feel of forged. You will never forget the first time you hit an absolutely pure shot with a forged club. It is like the softest, smoothest feeling in the world.

Mixed Forged Set

What woods should you play? Most better players will have a standard Driver (1 wood), 3 wood and 5 wood in their bag. If we fit you in a High Loft (12 to 16 degree) driver, I would suggest that the next wood in your bag be a 4 or 5 wood because a 3 wood will be almost identical in loft to your driver.

Depending upon the types of courses you play and the tightness of the fairways, you may want to consider a strong 3 wood (13 degree, also called a 3+) so you have a longer club off the tee if fairways are tight. Most professional golfers use a driver, 3+ and 5 wood or go the other way with a driver, 4 wood (16 degree) and 7 wood (21 to 24 degree). This gives you more options off the tee and off the fairway.

What about hybrid clubs? There has been a dramatic shift away from higher lofted fairway woods (7 and 9 woods) to more iron-like or wood-like hybrid clubs. These clubs are traditionally shorter than their equivalent fairway woods, yet about ¾” longer than their iron counterparts. These hybrids are typically designed to play more like an iron and are used to replace the 2, 3, and 4 irons. If you play courses where you need to hit long irons off the tee, the hybrid clubs will give you better accuracy, launch angle (higher) and tighter shot dispersion than a fairway wood or long iron off the tee. We have tested every manufactuer's hybrid clubs and find that hybrid shafts are very light weight and soft(flexible). This can lead to hooking and/or topping the ball. Make sure your hybrid clubs are exactly matched to your swing profile, which would put the weight and flex closer to your irons. I would also suggest that a higher handicap player not go below a 19 degree loft in a hybrid and instead choose a 21 degree 7 wood. The 7 wood will be easier to get your desired distance as the shaft will be longer and you will get more loft on your shots.

Mizuno FLI-HI (Iron-style Hybrid)	Cleveland HALO (Wood-style Hybrid)

Why do I need four wedges? Since the late 1970’s there has been a trend to stronger lofts in irons. The modern 6 iron is the same loft as a 4 iron from the 1970’s. Lofts in irons are 4 degrees apart so that you get a distance separation of 10 to 15 yards from club to club. So, for example, if you hit your 6 iron 165 yards, you may hit your 7 iron 150 to 155 yards, etc. Because of the lofts in iron sets being 4 degrees apart, a typical 9 iron is now 42 degrees and a pitching wedge (PW) is 46 to 48 degrees. But the lofts on standard sand wedges have not changed and are typically 54 to 56 degrees. This leaves a very large “gap” between the distance you will hit a PW and your sand wedge. Hence, the introduction of a gap wedge which is usually 50 to 52 degrees in loft. Another great wedge to have in your bag is the L wedge (Lob), which comes in either 58 or 60 degree lofts.

Some better players will play with only three wedges: a 48 degree Pitching Wedge, a 53 degree and a 58 degree wedge. If you do this, I suggest you choose wedges that have a ground down flange so you can more easily lay the 53 degree open to a 55-56 degree wedge without adding a lot of bounce. Examples are the Mizuno MP-R and MP-T, Cleveland CG-14, and older style DSG (dynamic sole grind).

What about wedge bounce angles? Bounce is measured in three ways. First, the bounce angle is the angle between the sole of the club and the leading edge of the club when the club is set on the ground with the shaft perpendicular to the ground. The higher off the ground the leading edge, the more bounce you have on your club. Second, the width of the sole is another factor. The wider sole means more bounce, a narrow sole means less bounce. Finally, the angle or camber of the sole will affect bounce. Clubs with more camber or rounding of the sole will have less bounce than clubs with less camber, or rounding.

Loft and Bounce for MacGregor VIP Tourney VFOIL Wedges – 2004

Why does firmer ground make a difference? Clubs with less bounce will tend to dig into the ground if the ground or sand is soft. This is because the leading edge angle is sharper. Clubs with more bounce will literally “bounce” off the fairway or sand. On firmer ground, clubs with more bounce, like sand wedges, will bounce off the ground causing thin or skulled shots. For these conditions you need clubs with less bounce so the club will dig slightly into the ground at impact. The same applies to hard sand, shallow sand, and wet sand. Use a lob wedge (shorter shots) or gap wedge (longer shots) because they typically have less bounce and will dig slightly into the sand for a softer landing shot.

So how do I know the bounce angle of my clubs? Let’s just talk about wedges for now. There are four wedges most commonly used by golfers; PW (pitching wedge), GW (gap wedge, also known as an AW or E wedge), SW (sand wedge), and LW (lob wedge or U wedge). Most companies make only one bounce angle for each of their wedges. Cleveland Golf broke the mold, however, and is now making Standard, Low, and High Bounce wedges for the very reasons we are talking about in this article. MacGregor VIP Tourney VFOIL wedges are Low Bounce and are perfect for tighter fairways. On the flip side, there are some companies that design specialty wedges with extreme bounce so it is easy to get shots out of fluffy sand. Remember the Alien wedge? That wedge had over 30 degrees of total bounce! The following table will help you determine what you may have in your bag.

If you are a beginning golfer you may be playing with clubs that are designed to get the ball in the air and out of the sand easily from any lie. These clubs usually have a very large degree of bounce and a very wide sole. The new Lovett wedge also has a lot of bounce. These are easy to hit in soft, fluffy sand or turf conditions but difficult to hit in wet sand or off of hard, tight fairways.

So What Bounce Should YOU Play? In general, bounce is a good thing for beginner golfers or taller players. This is because your golf swing is a little more upright (steeper) and you will tend to “dig” your wedges into the ground. I would suggest that you use standard bounce wedges in your PW, SW and a low bounce in either your GW or LW (both if you carry four wedges in your bag). This will allow you to hit a few more “bump and run” shots around the greens with your low bounce GW and LW. For better players, you should alter your wedges for the ground conditions you will be playing. In spring and fall, fairways are tight and you should be playing low bounce wedges. In summer and on lush fairways and deep rough, standard or even high bounce wedges will help you cut through the grass for crisper shots.

WEDGE BOUNCE GUIDE(click here)

Grips Deliver the Shot Sensation Have you ever asked yourself what is the real purpose of the golf grip? To keep your hands from slipping? While this may be some of it, we believe the best grip choice is the one that fits and delivers the best feel of the shot to your hands. While too small of grip will promote a “wristy” downswing, too large of grips will deter the wrists from releasing through the impact zone. If you have not re-gripped your clubs recently, you should do this every 30 rounds or so. Playing with worn or slippery grips can cost you 2-6 strokes a round!

What Type of Material Should I Use? The most prevalent type of grip material is rubber or a rubber compound. These grips have been made popular by Golf Pride, Lamkin and Kelmac. Elastomer compounds have become the rage in the past few years with Winn taking the lead. Their new Elastom ETM is 40% more slip resistant and 65% more shock absorbent than conventional rubber grips. Other manufacturers like Avon and Sharpro have made grip news with new compounds and patterns to improve feel and playability.

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D'Lance Golf
14 Inverness Drive East #120A
Englewood, CO 80112
Phone: 303-730-2717
Fax: 303-730-2848
Email: info@dlancegolf.com

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