Being fairly new to golf (3 months and counting) I was wondering if anyone could recommend me a no1 wood as my current one came with the set my wife bought for me and I struggle to get any loft with it.

Everyone, well almost as the pro I have had some lessons off reckons I should stick to a 3 wood then move to the BIG one, seems to point out the a 10 degree loft is too shallow for me and I do not have enough experience to decide if I should go for 13 degree or 11 degree loft?

Any recommendations from some old hands would be welcome.

The more loft the better, Peter.

Peter,

As you are new to golf I will explain simply:

How much head loft you need depends on how fast you can swing a wood, and how well you can hit the ball.  There is also a third largely overlooked factor, namely that if your shaft is too stiff and / or fails to flex well then generally speaking more head loft will be required.

If those three things were not enough to cope with the situation is complicated by the fact that sellers are allowed to sell wood heads which are up to two degrees out. In other words an 11d head could in fact be 9!  A massive difference. If you stick at golf, and hopefully become good at it, then later on  it is essential then when you buy a wood you insist that the seller declares the 'true loft' not simply the plated loft. A serious golfer will scream blue murder if a head is so much as half a degree out from its declared true loft.

If you write to me supplying your e-m address I shall be pleased to e-m you two charts showing  (when read together) which loft goes with which swing speed / hitting distance. Once you have them then err on the side of caution as such presumes that a golfer is using the right shaft for him and most golfers are not. Always measure your hitting distance with proper golf balls, not driving range balls.

Again speaking generally, the shafts of most off the shelf drivers (i.e. not custom built) are  too stiff and/ or do not flex enough along their length. Couple that with a beginner's inefficient striking, and such promotes me to recommend that if you choose not to follow the charts then buy more loft, not less.

The charts will not provide a full answer only a starting point.

E: sanderslongdrive@yahoo.com     

There is another bit of advice...Tee it high 4 inches or so,and try to feel as if you are hitting the ball up its arse (so to speak) on the upswing. that should get it higher and straighter. I know a lot of "experts" are against them but you could try an offset driver as thay are easier to use.

I won't offer any particular advice, it would be pointless as I've less golf experience than you :-)

But I tried and then bought a 12.5 degree Benross VT Xtreme 460cc driver and whilst I still suffer from some of the typical novice long game issues, it gave me enough confidence hitting it to actually use it on the course.

This is just my view but i found cobra LD Offset driver to be superb when i was 28 handicap, it was very forgiving, high loft and i still use it! Before buying a driver, try it out at the range if they let you. It's important to get a good feel of it before buying anything.

I would heed your pro's advice and stay away trom the driver until you get a better swing, I bought a deeper faced 3 wood to use from the tee, it went further than my badly struck driver did back then but Iv'e learnt to hit a driver now. You really don't need a driver yet, trust your pro...

It all depends on,Because there are too many factors can affect which driver you should use.