Which Golf Club First?

/ The Grateful Golfer

The golf season is fast approaching. Some of my friends are heading south to get a jump on things and others will head indoors somewhere to warm up their swing. Personally, neither option is open to me, but I know spring is just around the corner.

When I head to the first open practice area, I always have a bit of a dilemma on which club to use first. The excitement of hitting golf balls sometimes overshadows my logic on preparing for the season. I am sure many of you feel the exact same way!

As I look forward to swinging my clubs for the first time and I always wonder if I should hit my driver, fairway woods / hybrid, mid / long irons, or short irons / putter. At first glance, it is does not seem like a difficult decision, yet it is something I have thought about lately. And, it seems, so have others:

I have always started my season with a 7-iron. Maybe it is time to change.

In the past, I have always started with the same club. It is my go to club and it rarely lets me down. I feel comfort in old faithful, yet I am thinking that this year it is time to change. I am trying to set the stage for a great year and using the right club early will give me that start I am always looking for. I guess it is time for a change.

This year, I think I will follow the pack and use my short irons or putter as my first club. It is never too soon to start knocking the rust of my scoring clubs and I will be trying something different. If I always do the same thing, how can I expect different results? So, I will start with a short iron or putter this year. The next question is which one? I think that requires some more thought.

Which club do you hit first at the beginning of your golf season?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

16 thoughts on “Which Golf Club First?”

  2. Years ago I made a decision. I always start and end my time at the range with my pitching wedge. I hit it, then the gap and the seven iron after that. I try and hit about a half of the balls with those 2 wedges.

    That works really well for me and I have to say I think I enjoy hitting the wedges the most anyway. Something about those nice tall shots even in a small breeze are fascinating to me. I’d hit them all day if I didn’t know I need more than just that kind of shot for a complete game.

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      • I’m sure I’m not qualified to give golf advice. Especially to someone who only gets to play half a year and still has a better handicap than my 8.2. But I do credit the wedges for my game. My putter has been simply terrible all year. I have worked hard with it too. I don’t go a day without at least ten putts. Most days lots more.

        But if these past two games are any indication I think I finally might not only get back a decent putter but gain a really good one. The process I went through was frustrating. I’d try one thing and practice it all week both on and off the course. I have two holes at home from some game a neighbor bought me for Christmas one year, and they sit right next to each other all the time. One plays dead straight and the other has a balls worth of right to left turn due to a bump in the carpet from the weight of the furniture. I can put 5 balls in each. What I do is sink 4 in each and then arrange the 4 so that I can roll the 5th in harder and have the ball roll up to sit on top and not roll off to give me some speed control for longer putts. Which give me 4 distinct putts in the regime. Plus a couple more on the porch when it nice out.

        Anyway, at home, I would stay on a particular set up until I could drop 20 at least without a miss at 8 feet. Then I would go out to the course or the range and not be able to even come close to repeating the process. I went through that a few times each with two different types of putters always with the same results. It frustrated the life out of me. One putter (A Bobby Grace mallet) was always online but gave me speed issues and the other (a Rossi blade) was the exact opposite speed control was great, but trouble came from lining up and them hitting the line.

        But I finally, finally seem to have found one that works with the Rossi putter where alignment was the issue. On Sat. I came away thinking I putted well. So instead of changing, I kept at the same set up, grip, etc. and just kept up the practice. Yesterday I played a course that has some of the nicest greens locally and my putter would have made any pro proud. I couldn’t miss. I played 27 holes and I may have had 35, 36 putts maybe. I dropped them straight uphill from 30 feet, and I dropped I think every putt inside of 12 feet or so, and I dropped them from the fringe. If I missed a long putt, I was 3-4 feet past and I made them all coming back. I finished the day with a putt from the wrong level. It was maybe 22 feet up a ridge with 3 feet of turn and it fell right in the center for birdie like I knew what I was doing. I have never had a putter that hot, ever. Not even close. I’ll have to manage my expectations next time I go out it was so good. No way anyone can do that over and over again.

        Unfortunately even putting that well, I still only hit 80. The second nine requires lots of long irons or woods for second shots and I had a bad day with them for some reason on the second nine instead of the first where it would normally show. Still don’t know what caused it but it went away for the last nine, so I not going to let it interfere with the awesome day on the greens. Besides, an 80 on that course is something I dreamed about just a few short years ago. And it’s still a score most of us amateurs can be ok with. It’s a tough course. They used to have the JC Penney Classic there 20 years ago.

        Anyway, I’ve blathered too long already. Good luck with your season. Be dedicated, and have faith and this will be the year you hit scratch.

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      • Kevin

        That is some story. Sinking all those long putts is amazing. It sounds like your approach to being a better putter is going in the right direction. In the past, and now I guess, it if have consistent distance issues it is generally caused by my wrists breaking during contact. This putting error creeps in from time to time. But that is just me. Golf is a crazy game, that is why I love it so much. Next time out, remember how you felt making all those putts and you might be able to duplicate your success. Let me know how it goes.

        Cheers
        Jim

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  3. Hey,
    If you started with wedges, you can at least hit at home and pick balls up before the season begins.

    I, however, purchased a new 3 wood and will use it for 50 balls my 1st range session haha. The 2nd time will be more routine.

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  4. I start with 7 iron, then 5 iron, then hybrid, driver and finish with wedges. If I have time and I am there to practice vs. warming up for a round I will switch clubs each swing to simulate playing.

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  6. Being lucky enough to be able to play and practise golf all year round, I don’t have quite the same dilemma. But on the range I always start with my 9 iron then work my way to the longer clubs, interspersing that sequence with the wedges. But 9 iron comes out of the bag first every time! Cheers, Rob.

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