We all have passions and activities that we find pleasant and relaxing to do in our spare time. Cooking, reading, dancing, or in our case, golfing, are hobbies that both men and women enjoy doing once in a while. The truth is that golfing is relaxing and a great opportunity to leave the house and spend some time in nature. It is also a social activity, the perfect occasion to meet your friends and why not, new people. Not mentioning that it helps losing some extra pounds, improves your vision and stimulates brain functions.
Lately, an increasing number of women have been showing their huge interest in such an activity as golfing. Not only that women are playing together with men, but they compete against each other in order to win different competitions and prizes. Well, there are though some differences between women golfers and men golfers, because it is a true fact that men are physically stronger than women.
Do women golfers need more power?
The first answer to this question might be, of course, they do! But, in reality, the truth is that the difference between men’s and women’s power is slightly noticeable. The average swing of a professional women golfer is between 90 and 120 mph, while an amateur woman has a slower swing speed can barely reach 80 mph. After plenty of time of golfing, a woman can strengthen and stretch her muscles leading to a better swing speed.
Golf equipment for men and women doesn’t differ much in aspect but the construction might be slightly modified, especially when it comes to golf clubs such as drivers. The right type of driver can help a female golfer achieve a better strike by offering the proper strength, speed, and balance.
Men and women golf drivers differences
Drivers’ size
In general, the shafts of the drivers used by women are 2 to 3 inches shorter than men’s drivers. But this might be a problem for taller women who would find useful longer drivers’ shafts. Anyway, they could try using men drivers in order to avoid bending over every time they hit. For example, if the accuracy of the driver is not a big problem for you, you can get yourself a longer driver, it will provide more width and more swing speed.
Shaft flex
Shafts that are more flexible can add more distance to the ball but tend to twist and bend leading to a lower accuracy. There are two types of flexibility they can provide, such as the senior and regular shaft. They both refer to the swing speed and are recommended according to each player’s level.
In order to increase the shaft flex, the producers choose to build women’s clubs more powerful, by using graphite than other rigid materials. In this way, a woman can handle it in an easy manner, gain more power and also avoid the driver’s breakage. Men, on the other hand, have the possibility of choosing between graphite and steel material for their shafts.
Weight
If the driver weighs too much, the player can’t generate enough hitting power because of slowly swinging. Shaft weight and torque can provide more differences while playing than its flexibility can. Drivers used by women generally come with lighter and smaller heads that can give them a bigger amount of power. Using a lighter driver, they can easily focus on hitting the ball with high speed and at a larger distance without wasting their energy on swinging a heavy driver.
Loft
Driver’s loft is the most important key that determines the victory of your tee shot on distant holes. The loft angle is that angle that forms between the face of the driver and the line that goes down the middle of the shaft. The more lofted the driver is, the higher your shot will fly. Men’s drivers use to have lofts up to 11 degrees on their club faces in contrast to those used by women that usually have around 12-13 degrees. Considering the fact that women can’t hit the ball with the same force as men, the shot’s path needs to be as higher as possible, preventing the ball from touching the field before reaching its greatest distance.
Grip
Too large or too small grips can reduce the capacity to control the driver when it hits the ball. The right dimensions of a grip can be determined by the dimension of the player’s hand and by considering swing mechanics.
For example, the grip on a woman’s driver is shorter in length and smaller in diameter because generally, women don’t have big hands. A smaller sized grip provides them a better handling and control of the driver, leading to an accurate shot.
We can see there are some noticeable differences between the two types of drivers, so in case you are thinking to learn golf techniques, you should have a closer look at these basic ideas. It seems that your game cannot be perfected if you are not using the correct driver. We hope you will find useful our information provided in the article no matter the level of golfing you are experiencing or you are preparing for.