Those of you that play golf with a single digit handicap have some specific needs from the equipment you use. Players of this caliber can hit any club and have sufficient skill to score well with any club. These players do not need to worry about hitting the ball long, high, or straight, but what they do need is an enhanced level of feel, workability, and dialing in with detailed tweaks. If this sounds like you, here is what you need to put in the bag.
For the driver, there are two great choices for the discerning low handicapper. The first, from Titleist Golf Clubs is the 909D Series drivers. For the last ten years Titleist Golf clubs have produced what many consider to be the best ‘feeling’ drivers available. The clean look and leading technology used by Titleist golf provides scratch golfers the look and workability they demand. Customizability includes choices of deeper faces and multiple shaft options. Used by a number of touring professionals, the 909D Series drivers from Titleist golf are a fantastic choice for a player that will give up a few yards for feel and workability.
The second driver a scratch golfer should consider is the R9 from Taylor Made Golf. Available in the original R9 and R9TP, Taylor Made Golf has improved on the R7 drivers that brought them to the forefront of elite golf equipment. The R9 series provide a number of unique features, most prominent being the adjust-ability of the golf club. By using movable weights and an adjustable metallic sleeve at the tip of the shaft a player can adjust the loft, lie, and face angle. This ‘tweaking’ allows for a great advantage, as if you are carrying multiple drivers in your bag. For example, on a windy day it can be adjusted to hit lower and drawing shots that will roll and stay under the wind. Low handicap players love to have a clean, solid feeling, and long hitting driver. The added adjust-ability makes this Taylor Made golf club that much more appealing.
After the driver, most scratch players will agree that it is critical to have at least a couple of great wedges. Consider the Vokey Spin Milled Wedges by Titleist Golf clubs for your bag. Titleist Golf offers this line of wedges with the most choices of loft, bounce, and sole grind in the industry. Low handicappers often need to add a gap wedge with a certain loft to hit accurate approaches on shorter par fours and par fives. Additionally, these players will require a sand wedge with specific bounce and loft to handle the sand conditions and turf grass at their regular golf course. Finally, scratch players usually rely heavily on a sixty degree wedge for high and soft pitches around the greens. Vokey Spin Milled wedges offer a great balance of feel, performance, and look. Further, the combination of Vokey wedge and the Titleist ProV1 golf ball makes for an incredible feel, spin, and short game experience.
The most important stick in the bag for scratch golfers is the putter. Typically 25 to 33 shots will be putts, so a ‘flat stick’ that looks good, feels good, and rolls the ball true is the most important club of all. Whatever putter length and style suits your stroke is a good choice, just make sure you can stand over putts with confidence in your alignment and distance control.