What comes first?

[MattyB]

Hey guys, newbie here to the forums, but from what i can see its a lively and very informative site.

What im basically wanting to know is what part of equipment will be most beneficial to purchase to get the jump on my game and lower my handicap?
I was an avid golfer during school til about 16-17yrs old, and at the time got down to about a 16 handicap. Since then i ventured to other sports and golf was on the backburner.
Now im getting keen to take it back up and do it more seriously and put some actual money/time/effort into it.
I currently just use a stock standard set of Wilson clubs bought a few years back now but have come to realise i need to splash out and upgrade but just dont know where to start.
Bit of info - My putting and short game seems ok to me. Usually hit most greens in reg or just miss (recovery is a specialty it seems). This obviously means my driving accuracy is somewhat a mystery haha. I probably hit the fairway about 30% off tee shots. It's most likely my technique/grip which ive researched and am beginning to work on as a slice is my biggest headache.
Will a decent driver assist with the fixing of this? I mentally think buying a driver is my first priority just because of this.

Cheers for any responses.

Matt

 

[BigJim13]

Wedges and putter. Get a decent wedge or 2 and learn every shot you can with them, them move over to the putting green until 3-6 footers are automatic. Best way I know to drop your score 5-10 shots a round.

 

[eclark53520]

If your hitting most greens in regulation I doubt your driving is much of a mystery. You wouldn't be hitting greens if your slicing balls two holes over every hole.

I guess your definition of most might be different than mine.

If your hitting greens or just off of them on most greens, that tells me you need to work on putting. You have to be three putting a lot to hit most greens and be a 16 cap or above.

 

[limpalong]

You suggest your short game is functional, but your tee shots are an issue. Iron design, over the past few years, has not changed much... other than a change in color of plastic insert. Driver size and technolgy hasn't change all that much, except for shafts. Shaft technolgy has changed.

See if you can find a place to demo drivers either on the course or on a green grass range. Find a driver that puts the ball in front of you... not off to the right or left. Find consistency, rather than worry about distance.

Then, find a putter... work on putting... become a better putter!!!! You use a driver up to 14 times/round. Have one you are confident will treat you well. You will have somewhere upwards of 30 putts/round. Putting is where you can most easily trim a half dozen strokes or more.

 

[anonymous golfaholic]

Practice, practice, practice. That is the answer. Go buy a driver, a hybrid and a new wedge. Having new sticks will make u want to practice more.

 

[MattyB]

Sorry the 15 handicap might not be accurate as I've only been playing Unaffiliated for the last month or so and am joining a club this week.
I just threw 15 as a handicap as a rough guess but my last 3 rounds have been 8, 11 and 9 over. I just didn't want to go and put a low handicap in there without it being official lol.

Minus the par 3's, I probably hit 80% GIR. It's just that quite often I'm hitting my second from the tree line or the adjacent fairway.
I have only played a couple of courses here which are quite open. Give me a closed in tight course and I'd probably shoot 20 over.

 

[Louie_T07]

Practice... A LOT!! Practice won't make your game perfect, but practice will make permanent. Golf is a game of muscle memory and the more parctice you give your muscles a better chance at remembering the shots you want to execute.

Now I'm probably the worst one to be preaching the importance of practice, because I hate to. but I do value the importance of it and during Canadian winters I force myself to. Only putting and short game though