2nd Hand Clubs ?

[Noidea]

Hello everybody , i am a relative beginner to this very addictive game of ours and also to the excellent forums on the site.

I do apologise if this so called thread has been posted before but as i have seen and read on numerous occasions , we have all discussed 2nd hand / lake/ refurbished balls and even many a publication have done tests and reports on the subject but what about clubs.

This is not about fake clubs but genuine used sold eg on Ebay / Gumtree / high street or the pro-shop. We have all had a snoop at the bag 'in the corner' of the shop and was wondering what is the relative performance of a so called club and has there been any tests done.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think if you can find a second hand set in the corner of a pro shop, the chances are they may be genuine. Buyer beware and all that but I'd have more confidence in second hand clubs from a reliable source rather than off e-bay, gumtree etc. I think these second hand models should perform pretty well, subject to their condition

 

[Chisteve]

I personally brought a Taylor made R 9 driver second hand best thing I've done as I can now drive a golf ball

 

[John Boy Saint]

I got into golf only 4 odd years ago and picked up a tidy set of Wilson secondhand clubs off eBay for £41, like you I was starting out and would have loved to have waltzed into the shop and bought a nice new set, but having a mate who piddled mental money up the wall on Golf, his Wife mithered about it and being mates with mine I had resistance in the house straight off. I put my bid in and won them by surprise. The folks I bought them off I had looked at their history and they weren't habitual golf equipment sellers so felt confident that I wasn't buying a fake set. Talking to the folks selling them their son had bought them to start out and being a nipper he had machined through the handicaps and upgraded his clubs fair play to him he had kept them in good condition.
Like others have said be careful on eBay but like me you might just find a genuine seller with a nice set of clubs to get you going while you find your feet.

 

[Dave B]

I've bought and sold a fair bit of gold equipment on ebay and to be honest the people who have bought gear off me have been delighted with what they have however I have bought some items where the description was not quite accurate, however \I always reflect this in the feedback I leave.

Do your homework look at their feedback and only buy high cost items from reputable sellers/retailers. Quite often with new stuff you'll find a better deal on the web using club house golf, golf depot, CG discount, County Golf etc but beware of fake web sites as there are loads of them

 

[JCW]

My mate sold a driver on ebay , we had bashed it on the range and hit the top of the range at dudsbury golf club , anyway it rattle and he got rid of it on ebay , the baby section , sorry only kidding , American golf use to have use sets but your local should as well and wont do you as its not in his interest to do so , if you buy on the net beware , me I rather see the clubs and try them before parting with cash

 

[chrisd]

I bought my Ping G15 driver on Ebay and have been delighted, got a set of Mizzy combi's and they were great condition, good price and definitely genuine!

 

[JCW]

I bought my Ping G15 driver on Ebay and have been delighted, got a set of Mizzy combi's and they were great condition, good price and definitely genuine!

I can get some ringers on there mind , glad yours worked out for you , never bought online , sold my pings online , got a good price for them too

 

[Foxholer]

There should be no degradation of performance if the clubs have been treated reasonably well.

Iron shafts eventually rust from the inside out, but that normally takes 15-20 years or more.

Drivers and other woods should be fine, though they can get a bit bashed about and develop rattles - often fixable.

I'd suggest you set a budget and check out the 2nd hand bin of American or Direct Golf or wherever you play.

As an alternative, you can get Dunlop TP12s (suitable for a starter) new for 5.99 per iron - that's quite a cheap way in and you only need 5-SW (7 irons). Add a hybrid a putter and just maybe a Fairway wood or Driver (don't need both initially) for a pretty cheap new set. However, be prepared for them to have very little value once you are truly addicted and decide to upgrade! Gumtree is the place to sell that sort of set (or trade in) imo. If buying from the likes of Gumtree or Ebay, it pays to know what you are doing or what you are after, which takes a b it of experience/research.

Good Luck!

And Welcome btw!

 

[mcbroon]

2nd hand clubs are absolutely fine. If you do plan to buy them, you should have a hit with them first.

I picked my irons 2nd off the rack in American Golf - hit them on the range first to be sure I could at least make contact

And welcome to the forum :thup:

 

[Hammertoe]

Golfbidder is always a good reliable source for second hand equipment, I bought a second hand set of Nikes off them a few years back that served me perfectly well for a while. Second hand equipment is brilliant in my eyes as long as it has been looked after, I also think buying off ebay is ok as long as you know what your at and always check feedback, I will never buy from anyone who has a feedback score of less than 98%.

 

[MadAdey]

Go to Golfbidder. They can be trusted and their rating of clubs are pretty reliable. Look at something like the TaylorMade BURNER irons or the Mizuno MX range would get you set up with a good starter set at a good price.

 

[Hacker Khan]

Hello everybody , i am a relative beginner to this very addictive game of ours and also to the excellent forums on the site.

I do apologise if this so called thread has been posted before but as i have seen and read on numerous occasions , we have all discussed 2nd hand / lake/ refurbished balls and even many a publication have done tests and reports on the subject but what about clubs.

This is not about fake clubs but genuine used sold eg on Ebay / Gumtree / high street or the pro-shop. We have all had a snoop at the bag 'in the corner' of the shop and was wondering what is the relative performance of a so called club and has there been any tests done.

Sorry if I am repeating the obvious here but first thing is ensure you are looking at the clubs suitable for your standard. So if you are a newcomer then in general do not go near blades, new or not, but go for a game improver club to give you as much help as possible which will in turn make the game enjoyable (it's hard enough as it is so no need to make it any more difficult)

When you say relative performance I suppose the major factor is how old the clubs are and relative to what. If you are talking a 3 year old Ping G15 7 iron against a new one hardly been hit then I expect there will be minimal difference (assuming it is not bashed to pieces) apart from perhaps the wedges where the groves may have worn down. But anyone with a handicap of over 15 will struggle to notice that I'd argue.

if you are comparing say a 3 year old Ping G15 against a new Ping G25 then the older they, in general, the less forgiveness and distance they will give you compared to the latest models. But having said that there is not a great deal of difference in irons as all manufacturers replace their models at least yearly now, if not more. And the tech does not change that much as at the end of the day it's just a lump of metal on the end of a stick. So you can get some bargains as long as the club is not that old.

 

[patricks148]

Ive bought sh stuff a few times, always from local pro shops, some real bargins too.

£150 set Mizuno MP 62 with brand new grips, 3-pw hardly been used.

I would try local Pro shops, no duds and you can always take them back if youy are not happy.

 

[London mike 61]

When I first got into golf I bought a second hand set off a mate in Work who was looking to upgrade his set and this set was a starter set. I played with them for about a year and then when I was more confident in making an informed decision , I bought another set. Previous to this experience , my father in law ( who knows nothing about golf but is well meaning ) bought me a set that he saw for £10 at a boot sale because I said that I wasn't sure at the time if I was going to take the game up. They were ok but had been owned by someone older who had obviously given the game up for whatever reason. So go ahead and buy but try and buy from a reliable source .

 

[London mike 61]

Welcome to the forum BTW!

 

[karlcole]

Welcome to the forum!! +1 for the guy who said dunlops range for £5.99 a club that's exactly what I did when I started then once th but bit hard and I knew this golf buisness wasn't just a phase if purchase my titleist ap1s from a guy on here for £150 brilliant clubs and a bargain so worth keeping your eye on the for sale section on here. But yeah I'd start off with the dunlops!