No matter what level you play at, every golfer aims to get better but there's a few things low handicapped golfers do and some particular pieces of equipment they use that help them play golf to a high standard.
I played four years of collegiate golf before trying my hand playing professional golf on the mini tours in the UK for 4 years. Throughout this time I played with and spent time around a bunch of elite amateurs and even players who have gone on to win on the DP World Tour.
While there's no denying some golfers possess an immense amount of natural talent and ability, I have been witness to the fact that there are ways in which they use some of the best golf equipment in the game to assist them with getting the most out of their game.
While as you can imagine a lot of these products normally carry a fairly premium price tag, I've searched the internet to find some of the gear that I've spotted out at events that is also on offer this Black Friday Weekend - you can thank me later!
Drivers
Driving the ball well has become more and more important and in order to hit the highest level of amateur or professional golf, combining accuracy and distance has become extremely important. Having one of the best drivers on the market is a great way of ensuring that you are getting the most out of your golf swing and are hitting more fairways. The latest drivers feature designs to aid with forgiveness and maximizing distance through the use of interchangeable weights and even carbon faces as seen in the TaylorMade drivers.
Two of the best drivers released in 2024 are the Cobra Darkspeed and the TaylorMade Qi10 driver. The latter has been used by the likes of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler this year to capture a combined 11 wins across the 2024 season. The Cobra Darkspeed was trusted by the likes of Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland and Justin Suh on the PGA Tour throughout 2024.
Short Game Tools
Yes, driving the ball well is very important, so is having the ability to scramble around the greens and convert birdie chances when given the opportunity. The best players I have played with and against have a knack of scoring well even when they aren't necessarily hitting the ball all that well.
Pitching and chipping the ball well requires knowing how the ball is going to react when it hits the green and the easiest way to do that is with fresh grooves on your wedges. If you've been thinking about upgrading then now is your chance to do so. Titleist Vokey wedges are often regarded as the gold standard when it comes to wedges and can now be found at 17% off alongside one of my favorite wedges I tested this year, the Mizuno T24. Both of these offerings were among some of the best wedges I have tested over the past couple of seasons and are now discounted at PGA TOUR Superstore.
Choosing the correct putter for your game isn't as simple as purely doing so on looks but a lot of the best putters I have played with use a mallet putter because of the high MOI and stability. The TaylorMade Spider range is extremely popular among low handicapper golfers and can now be found at 20% off on the TaylorMade website.
Balls
Using one of the best premium golf balls is an absolute given when it comes to wanting to compete at the top of the amateur and professional games. Understanding how a ball is going to fly and react in different conditions is vital in order to score well. Predicting whether your iron shot is likely to spin on the green or your tee shot will be affected by the wind is vital to understanding what club to hit and where the ball will end up once it has come to a stop.
Having complete control of the golf ball is what these elite golfers want and they're not likely to play a ball unless they have truly tried and tested it. The Titleist Pro V1 golf ball and TaylorMade TP5x golf balls are among some of the most played balls in the professional game and despite them rarely being on offer throughout the year, I have found them up to 9% this Black Friday weekend.
Better Course Management
One of the biggest ways I personally see higher handicapper golfers throwing away shots on the golf course is through poor course management. While you may well have 'eye-balled' a flag and landed the ball next to it once, I promise you, playing off feel and guessing yardages is not the way to go if you want to improve.
While the best players in the world are often dialed in enough to ask for half yards when hitting their approach shots and I'm by no means saying that the average golfer should be doing this but understanding how far you have to the flag or how far it is to carry a hazard will undeniably save the average golfer multiple shots in every round of golf.
Using a rangefinder will provide you with instant distances to the pin and other obstacles on the golf course and this Black Friday, one of the best models on the market - The Bushnell Tour V6 Shift can be found on Amazon for close to $100 off!
Practicing With Purpose
Practicing with purpose is one of the key takeaways I took from spending time around some brilliant golfers, whether that be at a tournament during the practice days or during an off-week at home. Aimlessly beating balls on the range is a trap that many club golfers fall into but the emergence of Top Tracer driving ranges are making this a lot easier to combat.
One of the best ways I found to make my practice more entertaining and useful was by purchasing one of the best launch monitors. Yes, these devices are an investment and are by no means cheap but if you're serious about improving your game and bettering your scores on the course, using one of these when practicing will rapidly improve your game.
By understanding how far you hit each club in practice, it will make hitting shots closer on the course seem like a far more frequent occurrence, especially when also using one of the rangefinders mentioned above. While some of these monitors branch north of $20k, there are far more affordable options available at a very good discount this Black Friday. Check out the deal blocks below to improve your practice at your local range or even improve your home golf setup.
Winter Home Practice
If you're like me and you're not such a fan of playing golf in the winter, you can keep your game sharp by purchasing one of the best putting mats. Whenever I speak to very good golfers, they are always doing everything they can to keep their game sharp and if that means hitting a few puts while watching a film in their lounge then that's what they will do.
I have recently tested a bunch of the best putting mats and there are some really good options on offer. One of my favorite's and perhaps the most realistic putting mat is the PrimePutt putting mat. The synthetic nylon grass has the ball roll like it would on a real green and you will even receive cups that mimic a full depth cup.
Ramp Up Your Clubhead Speed
There has certainly been a demand on clubhead speed at the top level of the game recently and with the speed college players are breaking onto the PGA Tour with, the fastest are only going to keep getting faster.
Now, these guys are full time professional athletes and so the hours spent in the gym can not be overlooked but there are ways club golfers can get quicker without having to do some heavy squats. Speed Sticks from SuperSpeed Golf are a great way of over and under speed training to help you improve your driver swing speed. If you've ever wanted to add some length to your tee shots and out drive your friends on the weekend when the 2025 season begins, you'll want to check out the offer on this training aid below.
