Debate opportunity - new gear junkie vs 'stick with what I've got'

[JezzE]

Morning all,
I'm looking for two forumers to argue either side of the magazine debate in the next issue - one who is still using older gear and feels no urgency or pressing need to change every time new launches hit the shelves, and one who has to have the latest thing pretty much as soon as it's out.
If you fit either side of this debate and would like to feature in the magazine, jot down a few bullet points and ideas to explain/justify your position/reasoning. I'll then select two and make further contact.
The end result will be a 250-word per side debate piece in the magazine.
Please note, you must be willing to go into the magazine under your real name, not forum name, and also be able to provide a head shot of yourself looking at camera to run with the piece.
Argue away...

 

[jasondransfieldgolf]

I am guessing you don't want a pro's view.

 

[JezzE]

Feel free to fire away, but it would need to come from the perspective of you as a player rather than you as a businessman looking to make sales - i.e. it's got to be about your golf rather than your customers' golf

 

[Jaymosafehands]

Morning Jezz, I'll have a go......

New kit.

I'm not a good golfer, I need all the help in the world to compete
I need a driver that gets me further down there, but straighter
I really need irons that forgive me for having an erratic swing
I need a GPS cos I can't judge a distance without pacing it out twice
I need a ball that will spin and stop, without being ripped to pieces after 5 shots - and not be too expensive if I lose the damn thing!
Why carry if a motorised thing can wheel it around? I may play 17 & 18 like I felt on the 2nd
if it's shiny it hides my golfing inadequacies!!

Right, going to work depressed now!!!

 

[jasondransfieldgolf]

Of course, as I don't work in a shop, so don't have any customers it would be taken from my playing perspective (my job). I will have a think and post back tonight after my days practice. Thanks.

 

[Mongoose]

Older Gear...

- Used to be an equipment junkie getting the latest and greatest the day it was launched, but came to the stark realisation that most modern era equipment performs pretty much the same.
- Latest isnt always greatest. There are classic clubs that perform just as well today, such as Wilson 8802 and Ping Anser putters, most wedges from the last 15 years, bladed irons from the last 30 years, classic woods such as TM 510TP, Callaway Steelhead, Titleist 975J.
- New equipment isnt launched because its better, but because manufacturers feel the need to have new product.
- There is a purity about using some classic equipment, housed within a skinny carry bag!

 

[CrapHacker]

The problem with this arguement is that I have it with myself every time I open a new GM.


Of course I don't need every new shiny that comes out. it's rediculous. It's just marketing moguls trying to make a fool of me, and thinking of stupid new reasons to part me with my hardearned. I mean, it must be the same guy that invented the tongue cleaning toothbrush that is trying to convince me that a white driver is going to add 10 yards to my tee shot. Absolute rubbish. My clubs suit my swing and my swing is poor enough that all my spare money must go on improving that first. The only thing stopping me from being single figures is that I'm so short off the tee. A couple of lessons from the pro, and I'll soon be hitting it properly. I don't want to be greedy, noone really hits it 300 yards plus every time. No, 290 will suit me fine. And my clubs will get me there easily.

But then I remember;

I just can't hit my driver straight, I'm sure it's set up too upright, and the swingweight just doesn't feel right atm. That custom fit guy I used must have got it wrong. And look at that new Titleist driver - the 910 extra cool with go faster stripes. It's adjustable, and everyone that's touched it says that it adds an extra 30 yards to their game. And it's straighter as well, and the adjustment facility means I'll be able to set it up each time I play, as long as I remember to get to the course 40 minutes early so I can get to the range and warm up properly. But then I'm going to be driving with less spin, so I'll need to swap over to the new Srixon low spin more kahunas ball at £3.99 a pop. And that means that my old wedges are obsolete - I'll never be able to stop the thing from 130 yards with my 58* old Wilson TW9. The new Cleveland that Phil Mickelson uses is a no brainer.

Yeah, that's it. I'll pop into the pro shop next time I'm passing, and then I'll show them. Once I've got that lot my bag will be perfect. I won't need anything else, and I'm bound to make cat 1 next year.

 

[JezzE]

Of course, as I don't work in a shop, so don't have any customers it would be taken from my playing perspective (my job). I will have a think and post back tonight after my days practice. Thanks.

Sorry - just assumed you would probably be a club pro...

 

[bladeplayer]

Stick with what i have.. Why ?
CONSISTENCY.. It works .. i have a g5 that I can hit alot of fairways with . I have irons that im comfortable with..
COST .. why fork out good hard earned money when what i have is sufficent ??
VANITY .. dont suffer from it .. neither does my ball
PROVERB.. bad workman blames his tools ..
REALITY.. have outscored players wih the best of clubs & been beaten by guys with gear older than me .
DISTANCE MEASURING EQUIPMENT.. 17 yards behind the 150yrds distance stick is 167 & as long as i can still add . that'l do..

 

[Mightymoose]

Stick with what i have.. Why ?
CONSISTENCY.. It works .. i have a g5 that I can hit alot of fairways with . I have irons that im comfortable with..
COST .. why fork out good hard earned money when what i have is sufficent ??
VANITY .. dont suffer from it .. neither does my ball
PROVERB.. bad workman blames his tools ..
REALITY.. have outscored players wih the best of clubs & been beaten by guys with gear older than me .
DISTANCE MEASURING EQUIPMENT.. 17 yards behind the 150yrds distance stick is 167 & as long as i can still add . that'l do..

Good answer, sums up my view too

 

[GB72]

Whilst I appreciate all the practical reasons for sticking with your gear, I am falling on the side of equipment junkie. Slightly more esoteric reason though, it is simply a great feeling going out for a round with a shiny new club in the bag. Add to that the pleasure of going out and trying new sticks and that feeling when you nail your first shot with a new club and you have valid reasons for the occasional change in bag set up. Yes I appreciate that sticking with what you have means you get used to them and adjust to them but where is the fun in that. Simple fact is I love going out and trying new clubs and I love the feeling of having a new addition to the bag so I guess I am a self confessed gear junkie (and by the sounds of it a borderline shopaholic)

 

[chrisd]

Whilst I appreciate all the practical reasons for sticking with your gear, I am falling on the side of equipment junkie. Slightly more esoteric reason though, it is simply a great feeling going out for a round with a shiny new club in the bag. Add to that the pleasure of going out and trying new sticks and that feeling when you nail your first shot with a new club and you have valid reasons for the occasional change in bag set up. Yes I appreciate that sticking with what you have means you get used to them and adjust to them but where is the fun in that. Simple fact is I love going out and trying new clubs and I love the feeling of having a new addition to the bag so I guess I am a self confessed gear junkie (and by the sounds of it a borderline shopaholic)

It made me go all tingly reading this, so I guess thats also summed me up too. Add to that the fact that I have almost replaced all my gear since Xmas and in about 14 years of golf I can certainly reel off 12 sets of irons I have owned - does that make me a golf equipment whore?


Chris

 

[bladeplayer]

Whilst I appreciate all the practical reasons for sticking with your gear, I am falling on the side of equipment junkie. Slightly more esoteric reason though, it is simply a great feeling going out for a round with a shiny new club in the bag. Add to that the pleasure of going out and trying new sticks and that feeling when you nail your first shot with a new club and you have valid reasons for the occasional change in bag set up. Yes I appreciate that sticking with what you have means you get used to them and adjust to them but where is the fun in that. Simple fact is I love going out and trying new clubs and I love the feeling of having a new addition to the bag so I guess I am a self confessed gear junkie (and by the sounds of it a borderline shopaholic)

It made me go all tingly reading this, so I guess thats also summed me up too. Add to that the fact that I have almost replaced all my gear since Xmas and in about 14 years of golf I can certainly reel off 12 sets of irons I have owned - does that make me a golf equipment whore?


Chris

yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

 

[Ethan]

Should someone mention golf magazines with all the ads for shiny new stuff and website videos of staffers praising same?

 

[Snelly]

Interesting thread this.

I am definitely not an equipment junkie. As proof of this, in 31 years of golf, I have had 5 sets of irons. In fact my current irons are about 9 years old.

I have been a category 1 golfer for about 25 of those years so all the latest gear hasn't been something I have felt the need for or wanted. I am very skeptical about the claims that golf manufacturers make about all their new kit and am of the view that new toys don't mean better golf.

It is just marketing.

The only areas where I think there has been a really big leap in terms of technology are with drivers and golf balls. The golf ball certainly travels much further than it used to with these premium balls. And drivers are much more forgiving and therefore generally straighter. Do they go further though? I am not so sure. When i get my old oil treated Mizuno Pro driver out and give it a clout, yes it is much harder to get right, but when you do, it isn't far from my Sunday best with my current modern driver. That aside, I do favour the modern woods and consequently, I have been a bit of a driver junkie, especially in the last 10 years since the days of the big bertha and so on.

As I have said before on many forum threads, golf is a very simple game but the manufacturers go a very long way in trying to persuade you otherwise so that you will buy the latest stuff! We all need 4 wedges apparently! Do me a favour....

Same for all the GPS gizmos too. I am not a fan as I don't think they are really required. That said, if they speed up play then they are a blessing.


Keep it simple and focus on the swing rather than what's in the pro shop is my two-penneth!

 

[JezzE]

Should someone mention golf magazines with all the ads for shiny new stuff and website videos of staffers praising same?

Maybe, but there's a fair degree of shiny new stuff in your bag that must have been brought to your attention some way!

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Now I've got my new irons I'm happy with everything in the bag.

 

[sev112]

Missed an important category ...

Those that dont buy any full price new gear, particualrly as they recognise that our swings change all the time and you are better off buying used clubs from fleabay and the bin in the corner of the proshop, unless it was discontinued stock and was for sale "new" albeit 3 years old

 

[Ethan]

Should someone mention golf magazines with all the ads for shiny new stuff and website videos of staffers praising same?

Maybe, but there's a fair degree of shiny new stuff in your bag that must have been brought to your attention some way!

Perhaps, but it wasn't via GM

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I presume you're not counting those with a shoe fetish then. Can't help myself but I'm a sucker for myjoys and FJ's in particular. Equipment wise I've been with the same gear for a while now and with the exception on the hybrid which is a nightmare at present and so a new one is being sought, I'm more than happy