Do you really need that new club?

[TWM]

Since starting golf again two and a half years ago, I have had nine drivers. (Who said club whore?) I have experimented with senior shafts and ladies shafts to suit my elderly swing and after my latest purchase, Big Bertha Ladies, I did comparison test on the range. The result was a win for the second driver I bought in 2006, Wilson Staff DD5 senior shaft. So there will be a BB ladies driver on eBay shortly.
What do others think? Has all the new technology had any influence on performance or is it just sales hype?

 

[USER1999]

I have played off 12 for 20 years, so I guess there's your answer, no.

That said, I like shiny new stuff, it makes me happy, like women buying shoes (makes them happy, not me, I couldn't give stuff if they have new shoes or not, I am not a pervert with a new shoe fetish or anything).

 

[birdieman]

Yes we all need that new club - it gets the enthusiasm for the game going.
I have jigged about my long clubs this winter.

Out went-
Bridgestone J33 driver 9.5
Wilson 3+ Pf6 fairway 13 deg
Mizuno HI-Fli Clk 17 hybdrid
Cobra Baffler pro 23 4r

In came -
Mizuno MP600 driver 10.5
Callaway X Series 3wood 15 deg
Hogan 19 deg hybrid

3 reasons for changes -
Playing higher lofts to try and keep it straighter and in play
Wanted to bring my redundant 3 iron back into bag, I hate spare clubs.
I like changing clubs!

Don't know if technology really makes a adifference but its fun finding out!

 

[TonyN]

Nah, new grip on My FT-5 and i'll be happy.

Lesson to be learnt here, dont mess around experimenting, get custom fit!

By crap buy 9 times

Just kidding mate, actually am not, but I mean no harm

 

[Cernunnos]

No, we don't really need those new clubs we buy.

Yes, generally there is too much hype about influences on performance. For many any improvements are minimal.

We all like to have that new shinny club & something new in our hands can be like a breath of fresh air, but we don't really need them.

 

[GB72]

Like many others, I do not need new clubs I just like buying them. Nothing more exciting than standing on the first tee with a new driver in hand.

The way I look at it, I do not spend money on any of the other things that people see as essential. I do not spend much on clothes, probably have one night on the pub each week and maybe go out for a meal once or twice a month. On that basis I do not see the harm in spending a bit every now and again on something I really enjoy.

That said, when I do buy a new club, I enjoy hunting for a bargain and rarely spend full whack on the latest releases.

 

[Mike_j_golf]

I love buying new stuff and have never bought a driver that has been bad until it has got to know me.

 

[MVP]

i got an x speed driver whwen i play regularly i hit it well ..dont need to change

 

[RGuk]

I love buying new stuff and have never bought a driver that has been bad until it has got to know me.

I have no care for the latest kit, but my "new stuff" mostly 2007-ish is superior to my old (1997), no doubt.

If I ever get my swing and general game back to where it was, I'll be able to comment on whether I play "better".

 

[Smiffy]

Right. Confession time..............

Having played this bloody game for over 20 years, you'd have thought I'd have known better. Up until a couple of years ago I was playing regularly and had a set of irons that I loved. John Letters Trilogy. They suited my game, I hit them well, I was scoring well with them. But about 4 months ago, for some unexplained reason, I decided to change them. I wanted to get back into golf seriously, join a club, get my handicap down and a change of clubs seemed the "right" thing to do.

I am now in a position where I have tried three new sets of clubs, am currently playing with MD Tungsten Ti's which I like, but I don't feel as confident with them as I did my old John Letters. Sure, they hit the ball well enough when I collar one, but I am nowhere near as consistent with them as I was my Letters. OK it's early days yet, I've only played 3 or 4 rounds with them and it's not helping that my swing has gone to pot over the winter months. But I am already regretting making the change. There was nothing wrong with my John Letters, they were in superb condition bearing in mind they were 3 or 4 years old. But I sold them to a mate of mine for a stupidly low price and depsite my pleas he won't sell them to me back!

I am still as keen as ever to get my handicap down, and get out and play. But because of my stupidity, some of the enjoyment is missing for me at the moment, as I've got absolutely no idea where the ball is going to end up. I'm driving OK. No real problems there. But my irons?????? I want my John Letters back!!

My "tinkering" has cost me a bloody fortune...money, if I'm honest, I can ill afford. But even after 20 years the lure of the "shineys" got to me............. What a prat..

Rob

 

[toyboy54]

Smiffy...........Suggest you sit down,have a few drinkypoos and chill out!
Also suggest you develop a practise regime at the driving range!
I think that we've all done 'the silly move to new bright and shiny'and wished that we had'nt!
Stick at the new clubs(or kill your mate and get the Trilogy clubs back!!)

 

[HTL]

Some of the new "technology" is sales hype but there is no doubt how much better the gear you but today is compared to 20 years ago.

I love buying new gear and don't feel bad about it.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I have a well documented history on here of changing my clubs regularly. Up until HID was made redundant it was fine as there was always money around but things will be getting tight pretty shortly and especially with next years fees due in March.

Thats said I have been squirreling some money away for months and there was just enough today for me to go and look for anew hybrid. To be honest my Cobra has not been performing well for months and I am hitting all kinds of weird shots that I don't do with anything else. To be honest it feels totally out of balance and suddenly feels very heavy in the clubhead and hard to control. I've given it to tow pros and they both say the shaft is ok and that the head isn't loose and have checked my swing and say the flex is right. I spent over an hour trying the TM burner (2008 and 2009 models) the Mizuno, MD, Cally and a Nike.

I have to say deep down I had my heart set on the 2009 burner but I was hitting it too high and was hooking it a lot so even going back and trying a stiff flex it was the first to go. I went to the 2008 model and boy did I hit that well. It is 19 degrees and I found it really easy to vary the flight and shape it. Went straight into the "Yep I'll have that pile" until HID urged caution.

I liked the Callaway FT and hit it well although I found the ball flight a bit high but was another in the maybe pile. I hated the MP Fli-Hi. Couldn't get any sort of consistancy and was spraying shots left and right. The MD I was sceptical about as it didn't seem that pleasing behind the ball (lloked a bit chunky) but boy what a dream. I can ee why MD are getting such good reviews. A long low flight and good distance. The last one I tried was the Nike SQ square sumo. I didn't like it. Everything looked wrong and it produced a high flight that was blown about in the strong wind and was the shortest by a fair way.

I couldn't decide between the 2008 TM, the Cally and the MD so went home for some lunch. Came back and tried them again and finally went for the TM. It was on sale for £89 being last years model but with a bit of negotiation I got it for £60. That is it now. My bag is complete until I come into some serious money or GM give me some kit to try or I get onto the staff! If a club misbehaves I have no reserves on the bench so it is down to me now to perform in 2009

 

[big_russ]

If we didn't buy new gear, what would we have to blame when the game goes pear shaped?

 

[vig]

I fancy a 2 hybrid but not tried any yet as I'm waiting for all this years releases. May also look to change my 3 wood and pass my current one on to my son.

Got to admit that I had a reality check with the post a few months ago about how much kit we have.
I have since shifted a set of irons and a bag.
Another set of clubs and bag are now permanently my sons so I don't feel too bad now.

I have ordered 3 pairs of FJ's though Maybe I do feel a little bad.

With all the talk of redundancies, I think it is a little obscene to keep flaunting new buys on the site but..
I think we're all as bad as each other
If everyone gets the same buzz that I do when hitting "that shot" to justify my purchase then I can understand why.

 

[Handycap]

For fifteen years I had been playing with a set of Mizuno grad Irons and an original Big Bertha driver.

I thought I would treat myself to a new driver and bought a Titleist 906 D2, that seemed the best club for me against others I tried, and research I made on the internet. BUT, after a month or so I couldn't hit it without spraying it right with an ugly slice.

I then thought I'd better get a game improvement driver and bought a Nike sumo 5300, which was more out of curiousity than love for the club. However, get over the clanging crash of impact and the weird square looks and it started to grow on me. I would prefer a traditionally shaped club, but there is no doubt that the Nike gives confidence where other drivers don't when you're swing plane has gone off kilter.

You see the problem is for the average golfer like me, when you are trying new clubs you want them to be better than the clubs you currently use; you have to justify the cost of replacement or there would be no point in changing. So what do you do; you slow your swing down and strike the ball with less effort than you may normally do with the familiar clubs you currently use. So long as the clubs are basically matched to your game, the results are bound to show an improvement on the driving range. However, after a month or so you find yourself comparing the new clubs to the trusted old ones and wondering where you saw the improvement.

Now all that would be true in my case, apart from three points:

1. After fifteen years your clubs will be showing signs of wear, both in the heads and in the temper of the shafts.

2. Technology changes over time, the longer the time, the more noticeable the improvement.

3. Go for a custom fitting.

I had never had a custom fitted club in my life, and this, combined with points 1 and 2 have seen a dramatic improvement in my game.

Fifteen years may be too long a period to wait, but to change your clubs every other year is surely a waste of money and possibly at an additional cost to the performance of your game. If those clubs you bought two years ago were so good then, what on earth could have changed so dramatically to warrant changing them again now?


My fitting at Mizuno let me try different clubs with different heads and shafts. This gave me the type of shaft, it's flex and kick point, it's length and lie angle specifically suited to me. I went back the next week for a driver fitting and loved the MP-600, but I would say that this was probably due to finding the right shaft suited to my game, so I may try other drivers, or get my Titleist driver re-shafted.

I went for Mizuno Irons because I feel more confident looking down at that brand of club, but I believe there is little difference between what the large club manufacturors have to offer; they all probably have something that would suit most golfers. So go with the brand you prefer and keep those clubs for at least five years and I'm sure your game will be no worse for sticking with them, and probably better than messing around changing stuff.

If there were exceptions to my philosophy, they would be the amount of use the clubs get, particularly your wedges. The grooves on the club heads do wear over time. Even so, they could be re-grooved rather than replaced which is a difficult excuse to resist when tempted to buy a new club!

The only other reason to change your clubs more regularly would be if you damage them, intentionally or unintentionally, or if you lose them for the same reasons!

 

[birdieman]

Good post Handycap - a lot of sense written there, I must pay heed!

 

[Handycap]

Hi Birdieman,
It's just my opinion. Others may not agree, but I appreciate your comment. It doesn't mean I'll stop buying clubs, but hopefully I will limit myself to clubs other than my Irons. I really love the fitting I had with the MP 52's.

I don't need, but would like to sort myself out with the correct combination of shaft and club head in a Driver, and since I tried someone else's putter, I can feel a new putter may be on the way! However, the time isn't financially right for me now and I'm sure bargains will continue to be around for a few months yet, so hopefully I can look forward to that in the spring.

All the best,
Rick.

 

[nmartyn]

since June (7months) when i started playing golf i've gone though -
Slazenger - Nike - Ping now Taylormade driver
Slazenger - Mizuno irons
Jazz - Mizuno putter
this is basically a transition from a all in one beginners set of cheap Slazenger clubs to better quality products as i have improved month by month and got more into the game and read reviews/received advice.
i bought the Nike driver cos i 'liked the look of it' and didn't realise you needed to try as one club will NOT fit all and simply couldn't get on with it. then traded it for the Ping after trying out a selection in the range. Now moved on to the R7 Limited as i wanted to be custom fitted for it so i'm 100% confident in the club and can blame my swing for faults! then again with the Slazenger irons - my instructor custom fitted me to better suit my game as i had graphite shafts.

its been a learning curve all right and you're bound to make some mistakes - nothing like buying new clubs and can't wait to try my new R7 Limited in the range tonight (was delivered today!)

 

[Parmo]

The clubs don't change only the player using them.