What Happens If Your Golf Club Is Too Long?
I don’t think that there is a single golfer out there that is happy to compromise their performance.
When you play, you always want to be the best but this can never happen if you don’t have the right equipment.
By ‘right equipment’, I am not talking about a specific type of club, but more referring to the dimensions of your gear.
If you have ever played with a club that is too long (or too short), then you will be familiar with the fact that your game is negatively affected.
You won’t get the proper swing and this is ultimately detrimental to your game.
How Golf Club Length Can Affect You
When you first started playing golf, you probably loaned clubs off someone with a vast collection and simply got used to the game. But as any pro golfer will tell you; never use someone else’s clubs.
While it can be tempting, doing this will affect your ability to play well.
Put it this way, you wouldn’t wear golf shoes that were too big so why is it OK to play with a club that’s far too large?
There are several ways that playing with too long clubs can affect you but for people who have never played with the right length club, they may not even notice these things.
We are going to discuss some of the things that will happen when your golf club is too long and this could be an eye opener for a lot of you.
If you’ve experienced any of the things you are about to read, then I would strongly suggest going to get measured for clubs and see how much it improves your game.
Your Posture Is Affected
When you are playing golf, the last thing you want is to have such an upright stance that it causes your balance to be impaired.
This is because, when you stand upright like this, the weight is not distributed evenly and is placed mostly between the head and heels.
However, if the golf club is too long, this is one of the main things that you will notice where posture is concerned.
It will become extremely difficult to take a normal stance as when you do stand this way, you will lose control over the club which will cause you to move into an unnatural position.
Of course, if you want to take a perfect swing, then you need to be in the correct posture.
It may be surprising but standing a little too tall like this will affect your overall gameplay.
You might also notice that a lot of hits taken will be off the toe and this could be another indication that the club is too long.
However, rather than being related to balance, this is because you are standing too far away from the ball.
The Club Feels ‘In The Way’
If you are using a properly fitted golf club, you should have no problems bringing the club straight back down through the same line.
However, when the club is too long, this becomes much more challenging. For most people, it will feel as though the golf club is in the way as you take your swing.
If the club is too large, this can make it difficult to take a proper takeaway; again, this will just ‘feel’ wrong so it can be difficult to explain especially to those who are new to golf.
One thing you can look out for is how you swing the club. If a proper takeaway cannot be taken then you may notice that the club swings outwards to start with.
Golfers tend to do this as a natural reaction so that the club is away from the body.
Your Ball Won’t Fly Properly
When you use a golf club that is too long, one of the key things you will see happen is that the ball doesn’t fly where you want it to.
Most commonly, this will be seen as the ball travelling too high and veering to the left a little too much.
However, there are other things that can cause this issue related to your swing so if you have noticed this, it may be worth looking at all possible problems before placing the blame on your club.
You may, however, be able to blame the club, if you know for certain that your swing was otherwise perfect.
In this case, I would suggest investigating the length of the club and making replacements where necessary.
It’ll Feel Too Heavy
It’s natural that if your golf club is too long for you then it will probably also feel heavier than it should.
]If you’re new to golf, this can be difficult to determine since you may not have any previous experience of how a golf club should feel.
That said, you will be able to tell if something feels heavy and cumbersome, and this will, of course, affect how you play.
One of the biggest problems that golfers experience when using a heavy club is that they lose distance. If you have noticed this after investing in new clubs, your equipment could be to blame.
Get The Measurements Right
If you have been concerned that your golf clubs are too long then the most sensible thing to do is to measure them.
This is a surefire way to know whether they are the right size.
However, it is important to compare these measurements to yourself, so after measuring the clubs, you will need to take the measurement from your wrist to the floor as well as your full height.
The reason that the wrist to floor length is so important is that this is the key area that will affect your posture.
When you have both measurements, it should be pretty easy to tell whether a standard club will suffice or whether you need to make any adjustments. It is especially important to take these measurements if you are buying used golf clubs; although, I’d always recommend going and getting measured for your clubs if you want some that are going to up your game and make you comfortable.
Conclusion
You have your best golfing outfit on, you’re sure you’ve got your swing down to a T but when you get on the course, it seems that something is not quite right.
While there could be several things that just don’t feel as they should, one of the most common problems is that the golf club is too long.
This can create several problems that will ultimately ruin your play and not get you the results you want.
If you notice that your posture, swing, ball flight or comfort is off, it might be time to measure your clubs and make sure they’re right for you.
