Are my clubs too good for me?

[Gringo El Bingo]

Morning all!

I bought some clubs second hand 10 years ago from a scratch golfer who was switching to blades. Someone on here mentioned that they may not be very suited to a beginner (I haven't actually used them in the last decade!), and I was hoping for some opinions on these clubs.

They are Cleveland TA5 irons, 3i - PW.

They are cavity back clubs, not blades, but I noticed that the club heads are a lot smaller than my friends clubs (a new cheap set of Dunlops from Sports Direct).

When I catch it right (not often!) I get better distance than my playing partners. I don't know if this is good or not compared to experienced golfers, but my 3i off the (slightly elevated) tee can go around 180 to 200 yards. Unfortunately I'm still very much a begginner, so I hit more off target than on target, so measuring distance is difficult over 18 holes. I might only hit 2 or 3 on the fairway!

Will a bigger club head make much of a difference, or am I just looking for an excuse for the cricket score I put up last time out?

Any opinions welcomed, thanks!

 

[sawtooth]

An oversize clubhead is meant to be more forgiving and may give you a bit more confidence stood over the ball.

Personally I'm not a fan so I would say stick with what you have for now. Seems like you can hit them well sometimes and its still early days as you are a beginner.

Whereabouts in Hampshire do you play?

 

[Gringo El Bingo]

Cheers for that. I think you're right, and I'll just carry on with what I've got. Aside from anything else, it'll be cheaper that way!

I've played at Cams Hall (Fareham) and more recently at Furzeley (Denmead), which is a nice course made up of par 3 & 4 holes. Nothing really long, which suits me as a begginner! Are you local? Any course recommendations for a newbie?

 

[Monty_Brown]

Hi Gringo,

Just gave them a quick Google and they look like reasonably forgiving caity backed irons, so probably ok for beginners. They look quite nice compared to all the inserts and paintfills on modern irons!

They may be relatively small compared to your mates' clubs, but then Dunlop are hardly a good thing to compare with as they're not regarded as good clubs.

One note of caution... if you bought them from a scratch golfer, he is quite likely to have had a fast swing speed, which might mean the shafts are stiff flex. Stiff shafts would make your life difficult, in my opinion, as you will probably struggle to generate the necessary swing speed for that flex. Bit like swinging a scaffolding pole and hoping it will bend... crude analogy.

Are there still labels on the shafts which indicate flex?

Effects of playing too stiff shafts could be loss of distance and shots going right.