change of clubs or not ?

[steve7]

Hi all,been playing regularly now since july 2012,feel I am at the point were rounds are about the same not much improvement,I am taking the odd lesson again,thought of changing my irons from John Letters(which I have had for approx 6 years but in great condition) to Ping G25's,which are stated to be very forgiving as I am a 25 high handicapper,what are your thoughts to will they improve me any,i.e: distance,control,etc ? All replies appreciated.

 

[ScienceBoy]

What are your current clubs? Where are your misses on the face and what are your shot shapes?

New irons and two series of lessons cost about the same, if you feel you have the ability then get lessons. If you feel its not possible for you to improve to a level where you can enjoy the game with your current clubs then buy new.

I have an old set of MP-57s which I picked up not long after taking up the game to replace some cheap starter clubs. After that I got a series of 6 lessons every 5 months. I was playing off 11 within 2 years of taking up the game properly.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I went back theoretically from Taylormade Tour Preferred irons to G25's. Much more consistent and even on bad ball striking days like today I can still get it round as the clubs are really forgiving.

 

[Wolfman]

Ping G25 irons for me are the best clubs ive ever used, accuracy and consistency are superb

From 4 iron down I find all of them easy to use, get a set

 

[steve7]

thanks for replies,scienceboy my clubs are John Letters T9 series irons,looking for a little more distance,shot shape not bad,money is not an issue to get ckubs and have lessons.

 

[pbrown7582]

New Clubs may help, lessons and practice in between
WILL and improve your golf. Speak with your pro and ask his opinion?
Go have a fitting session with some new clubs hit them
Against your own and see if distance dispersion improves enough to encourage some new shineys to be purchase.

 

[the hammer]

G25 irons, Fitted , changed my game, Love 'em.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

G25 irons, Fitted , changed my game, Love 'em.

+1. Even on bad days like yesterday they are forgiving enough to help me get it round

 

[steve7]

Thanks for all replies

 

[Canary_Yellow]

New clubs might help your confidence if they’re a little easier to hit, but I’d say the best approach is lessons first and then consider whether new irons might help.

 

[londonlewis]

I would fully analyse my game first if I were you.

I would want to understand what is preventing me from reducing my handicap and breaking my best score.

To do this I would do the following;

1) Over the course of as many rounds as possible I would look at my accuracy off the tee - paying attention to how bad my misses are (not a problem if you are in the rough but you still have an angle to the green) as well as what club you are often leaving yourself to the green (if you consistantly need long irons to get to to the green you have found one fundamental problem - you need extra distance off the tee). If you are coming in to the green with a short iron, then distance is not your issue and we need to identify what is

2) I would then analyse your approach into the green and do this in two different ways - first, the easy one which is number of greens hit in regaultion. Secondly, proximity to the hole. The second stat is much more important as it will indicate how poor and how much work you need to put in on your approach to the green. If you combine it with the above you will know which club you need to work on the most. If your PTG (proximity to green) is a low number, you know that actually your weakness is not with your irons so it is unlikely you should be spending money on a new set of clubs. A low PTG number is one where you would expect a good short game to get up and down more often than not - so you need to think about distance to the green as well as how good your lie is and whether there are any obstacles in the way.

3) analyse your short game - when you have a wedge in your hand how many times out of 10 will you hit the green? If the answer to this is a very low number, you have just identified one of your biggest weaknesses and the area you need to focus on is your short game.
The second part of analysing your short game is to understand how far you leave the ball from the hole for your first putt. Anything over 15 feet is not good and would indicate you need to work on your short game. 15 feet is a length of putt that is makeable but is also short enough that you should almost always avoid a 3 putt (unless there is a ridiculous amount of borrow or the greens are like lightning!).

4) analyse your putting - simply work out how many putts you take per round. Excellent is less than 30, good is less than 32, average is less than 36 and poor is over 36. If you are consistently scoring in the average and poor range you should focus on your putting as an area of improvement.

5) your course management - think through how many shots you lost on the course because of poor course management. For example, you hit driver on a short par 4 and finished behind a tree. You then had to hit out sideways before going for the green. If you teed off with an iron or a hybrid / 3 wood etc... you would have avoided the danger and probably hit a lower score.
Or how many shots did you take on that you weren't capable of hitting? e.g. trying to hit a 3 wood out of the rough 230 yards etc...

If you have fully analysed your game and the outcome shows you that your biggest weakness is hitting your irons (both long and short) whether it is off the tee or on your approach, you would most likely benefit from new clubs. If, however, your weakness is your short game / putting / course management - no matter what irons you buy, you will probably not see any real improvement. Any improvements would probably only mask the other issues in your game.

Apologies that this is a seriously long reply but I wish you the best and hope this approach helps.

 

[Foxholer]

LL's tome is the thing to do imo.

I don't see the point of changing from one set of Super GI clubs to a another just in the hope that that will change your game.

Lessons and practice will make a much greater difference imo.

If you are not prepared to commit to a reasonable amount of practice, then neither will do you any good imo.

 

[steve7]

Thanks londonlewis after reading and analysing your thoughts the conclusion is my weakness is hitting irons (long and short)Many thanks.Sounds like new shineys coming up.

 

[londonlewis]

Thanks londonlewis after reading and analysing your thoughts the conclusion is my weakness is hitting irons (long and short)Many thanks.Sounds like new shineys coming up.

hahaha, after all that it's new clubs anyway.

do you have the same problem every time with your irons? i.e. always hitting them with a hook or fade or lack of distance or you top it etc... maybe we could again help you to determine whether it is your technique or equipment.

What clubs are you currently using?

 

[steve7]

Thanks,I am using John Letters T9 series at the moment 5 - sw bought in 2007 as my first and only irons but only been playing regularly since July 2012,mainly lack of distance and the odd topping.