Advice needed for first set of clubs.

[sam-davies]

Hi,

Other the last couple of months I've been going to my local driving range as I have slightly fallen in love with the game. I've always wanted to play but only just started since moving within distance of a club. I signed up to a six week (1 lesson a weekend) beginners course which has now sadly come to an end. The course was great and covered quite a lot from putting, driving, posture and grip etc.

I've been thoroughly enjoying the sport and want to get a set for myself so I don't have to use the clubs battered irons, but am a bit uncertain as to which route to go down; a full new set or a second hand set. I've read a lot of posts and articles on various forums which all suggest the pros and cons of either, which doesn't seem to help, so that is why I've posted here so hopefully someone can help me decide.

Thanks in advance!

 

[J5MBF]

Choice is entirely personal. Also, depends if you have lots of disposable income / happy to spend on new gear. I'd say 2nd hand as IMO there is a wider choice out there. also, as a beginner your game will dramatically with lots of golf so getting fit now you might find very quickly that they are then no good for you. Buy a decent second hand set & you won't lose much money either.

Remember the likes of Ping have different lies, lengths & lofts depending on colour dot, might be worth asking the pro at the course if he has the fitting kit< can at least guide as to which colour dot you can then look for.

Everyone you ask will probably give you a different opinion. From personal experience, I started with a 2nd hand set, played with them to a repeatable standard then fancied some new ones once I knew golf was for me. My mate bought all new gear, found it difficult to play well & gave up.

 

[fundy]

get some second hand game improvement irons and a putter to start with, can easily add a wood or two afterwards, what you can get depends on budget (both what you can afford and how much you want to spend until youre sure the game is for you)

by buying second hand you should have decent resale value too

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Hi Sam and welcome!

2nd is your best option right now, your swing will change dramatically over the coming months and spending a lot on a new set might not be the best investment as they could end up being totally unsuitable in the near future. Find yourself a decent set of game improver irons, you should be able to pick up a set of Ping/Callaway/Taylormade or similar for about £100-150 which you'll be able to sell on later pretty easily.

More importantly, keep at the lessons until you groove a swing :thup:

 

[Coffey]

Welcome to the forum and the game!

As J5MBF has said, it's very personal. Golf can be a very expensive sport to take up if you head to the shop and buy a full brand new set. In saying that, there are cheaper brands out there who still make quality gear, such as Benross and Wilson (their proper clubs- not the full sets).

There is absolutely no issue with using second hand clubs- as long as you know what you are buying. You want to be on the look out for game improvement irons- avoid words like pro or tour. Ping make great clubs which are very easy to hit and even the old models are just as good as today. You can pick up a set of the G25's for cheap these days. Ping also have a decent online fitting tool- where you can enter your stats and they will make a recommendation.

There are pros and cons of both- but unless you have the money to go and get fully fitted- which wouldn't be worth it now as your swing will develop greatly, you may as well just buy second hand. Buying brand new off the shelf is basically the same, they won't be fit for you.

My advice would be to seek out some game improvement clubs for now and use the money saved to get some proper 1-1 coaching. Then once you improve and develop, you can get fully fit if you wish. Any questions feel free to ask- or if you want any opinions on any clubs just fire away!

 

[sam-davies]

Hi J5,

I'm looking to spend around the £200-£300 mark as I got a small bonus from work recently, with the hope that if I make a bit of an investment then they will last me a little while before I have to replace them. That was my concern for getting a full new set (I saw a Wilson Ultra 2016 set in American Golf this lunch time for £250 which came with a bag).

Whilst I was in A.G. one of the guys measured my wrist to floor height which came to 36", and at 6'1" tall he said if need a 1/2 inch longer than regular shaft and a 2° upright angle. Though that's been said, it's doesn't seem that far off the standard to me so I imagine as a beginner getting a set of standard clubs will do me fine.

I've been looking on Golfbidder at a few sets after reading some recommendations for beginners to get sets of Callaways Big Berther or X-series, Pings, or Burners 2.0s. Though as a novice I am not sure what to be looking for and how to differentiate between them.

 

[fundy]

irons:

This first set are 1/2 inch longer and 1.5 degree upright so almost as per the spec you were advised!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ping-G15-...663280?hash=item3615f5c8f0:g:DtUAAOSwnF9Y6Nz2

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/callaway-x-hot-irons-/122432662281?hash=item1c818e2b09:g:n0oAAOSwVctY5QCt

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Adams-Blu...747294?hash=item21242b701e:g:7hIAAOSwTM5Y546s


putter:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/odyssey-p...361880?hash=item1a294251d8:g:xh0AAOSwc-tY5pAt

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Odyssey-W...059515?hash=item4d571de7fb:g:NRoAAOSwpkFY4~XZ

 

[sam-davies]

Thanks Fundy! I've never head of Adams before but I saw that that set is being sold for £200 off pounds on sports direct, reduced by quite a bit. I've seen a laod of Callaways on ebay and other sites, is there much difference between the Big Bertha, X-14 to X-20 series and the X-Hot Irons? I am also guessing that the Callaway clubs do not vary in length and lay like the Ping clubs do?

 

[fundy]

Adams were mainly known for their hybrids but have produced other clubs for years, were bought by taylormade a couple of years ago and i believe are now being discontinued as such (now that taylormade have the patents they wanted to buy)

The callaway irons difference will mainly be age and small upgrades X14s will be approx 2004 I think whilst the Xhot would be 2012 ish for example

Any club can be adjusted for length/lie, the big advantage with Ping is they have a colour coding system which denotes the lie adjustments when produced

Sports direct/Golf direct often have Adams clubs going cheap, worth keeping an eye on. One of the ebay links i put up was a new adams blue set for £150ish i think

 

[sam-davies]

So does that mean that with the Callaways listed, there is no way to tell the lie of the club unless I take it to be measured? If that is the case, is it quite expensive to get them measured and adjusted, I guess the lie could be in completely the wrong direction than I need it (aka 2° flat rather than 2° upright). Or do all Callaway irons come with a set Lie and loft?

I'll keep an eye on the ones posted on ebay and see how much they go. If I can get the set of irons for around £150 then that leaves me with the other half of my budget to get a putter and a driver, not forgetting a bag.

 

[fundy]

So does that mean that with the Callaways listed, there is no way to tell the lie of the club unless I take it to be measured? If that is the case, is it quite expensive to get them measured and adjusted, I guess the lie could be in completely the wrong direction than I need it (aka 2° flat rather than 2° upright). Or do all Callaway irons come with a set Lie and loft?

I'll keep an eye on the ones posted on ebay and see how much they go. If I can get the set of irons for around £150 then that leaves me with the other half of my budget to get a putter and a driver, not forgetting a bag.

They should be standard lie unless they say they arent (albeit one manufacturers standard can be different to anothers!) but it is the big advantage of the ping system in that you should know what they are by the colour of the dot

 

[sam-davies]

Ah that makes sense. I found the specs for the Callaway X Hot Irons on their website which details all the loft/lay/length etc. I'm just going to keep an eye out for the Ping G series or Callaway X series that are good value and see what's what. I might try and get down to my local A.G. store and see if they will let me try any of their preowned clubs too. I especially want to give some putters a go as I know they can be quite different.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Welcome along and to the madness on here and the frustration that is golf. Although you may have been measured statically, it would depend on your swing and angle of attack etc to ensure two degrees upright is right (and I am sceptical of AG but that's a personal viewpoint). For ease, standard clubs for good you more choice and to be honest as a beginner I'm not too sure they will make too much difference for your height/swing etc. If you go down the bog standard route, including regular flex in the shafts, plenty of options. Golfbidder, although maybe a tad more expensive than some places, will have an absolutely massive choice from all manufacturers to suit your budget and needs

 

[Albanach]

As others have said I'd go 2nd hand and if the clubs allowed it get a lift and lie check done by a local pro.

 

[sam-davies]

I've spent quite a bit of time browsing clubs on golf bidder, and compared to ebay it does seem the safer option for second hand clubs. Apparently there are a lot of fakes out there, and being a newbie I highly doubt I'd be able to spot a fake even if I was playing with it.

I've seen a set of Callaway X-20 on ebay though where they guy is selling in London (local to me), and seems legit. Would these be suitable. I've read that the cavity back and the VFT and Notch Weighting makes them extra forgivingHere is the link:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Callaway-x20-irons-/322479432217?hash=item4b1545a219:g:uCoAAOSwTM5Y69W2

 

[hines57]

Hi Sam - I'll join the group advising second hand. Get some idea of 2 or 3 options that will suit you and then search them out on the various sites.

One thing I would advise, is to make sure that they have new grips. If you buy a set with used grips, invest in having them replaced. Nothing much worse than holding onto worn grips - it will not do your improvement any good.

Welcome to this glorious, crazy, frustrating, challenging and ultimately fabulous game

 

[fundy]

I've spent quite a bit of time browsing clubs on golf bidder, and compared to ebay it does seem the safer option for second hand clubs. Apparently there are a lot of fakes out there, and being a newbie I highly doubt I'd be able to spot a fake even if I was playing with it.

I've seen a set of Callaway X-20 on ebay though where they guy is selling in London (local to me), and seems legit. Would these be suitable. I've read that the cavity back and the VFT and Notch Weighting makes them extra forgivingHere is the link:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Callaway-x20-irons-/322479432217?hash=item4b1545a219:g:uCoAAOSwTM5Y69W2

X20s be fine (theyre somewhere in the middle of that date scale we talked about yesterday)

re being fakes? if you google Callaway X20 fakes a fair bit comes up so some certainly exist

 

[sam-davies]

Hi Hines, and thanks. I have found it a lot easier to look for ones now that I know what kind of sets I am looking for. I've basically been looking on golfbidder at my options and for the details and reviews, and then searching on ebay to see if they are cheaper.

That sounds like a good shout, I'll definitely keep an eye out on the grips. When replacing the grips is that my opportunity to extend the shaft if I ever wanted to go down that route? Though if I am honest for the sake of 1/4 inch I probably wouldn't bother.

 

[chip barm]

Nine months ago I was in the same boat you’re in now, Sam. I didn’t buy second hand. I didn’t get fitted and I didn’t speak to a shop assistant. I did some reading, bought some new Mizuno JPX850 irons online and learned to hit them. Buying new meant I could guarantee they weren’t fake, I didn’t need to get them checked for movement or whatever and I wouldn’t need to have them re-gripped. I could start with them, practically from day one, and not have to think about upgrading or re-sale value. They’re my irons, they were £350 and I don’t intend to replace them any time soon. What I’m saying is, second hand is a good way to go but I believe you can also buy new and it be ok. I’m not convinced my game would have been any better for choosing second hand necessarily.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

As others have stated, buying 2nd hand off something like GolfBidder is a very good option.
But if you preferred the new route there are some good quality brands which are at the cheaper end.
Benross, MD Golf and Tour Edge all make good clubs, using top end parts (shafts/grips) but at significantly lower prices than TM, Ping, Callaway etc