Equipment prices

[Foxholer]

...
Or I could be becoming even more deeply cynical than I already am........

Hard to imagine.

 

[Crow]

I also have this deep down feeling that the YouTubers are somehow in on the deal....
They all seem to change what's in their bag every year - the odd club exception like Rick's Old Bluey - and yet we're told that we don't need to change irons for 5 years, Drivers for 3 etc etc....
So the likes of Rick, Pete, Crossy, Robbo, AverageGolfer etc etc are helping the marketing machines by always having the latest clubs in the bag.
Tag lines like " these will be my irons next year" etc etc....
We see that and are subliminally coerced into changing when there's no real need.
Or I could be becoming even more deeply cynical than I already am........

Nothing cynical at all, and I'm the worst of the lot, changing my whole bag for each video.

 

[HeftyHacker]

I also have this deep down feeling that the YouTubers are somehow in on the deal....
They all seem to change what's in their bag every year - the odd club exception like Rick's Old Bluey - and yet we're told that we don't need to change irons for 5 years, Drivers for 3 etc etc....
So the likes of Rick, Pete, Crossy, Robbo, AverageGolfer etc etc are helping the marketing machines by always having the latest clubs in the bag.
Tag lines like " these will be my irons next year" etc etc....
We see that and are subliminally coerced into changing when there's no real need.
Or I could be becoming even more deeply cynical than I already am........

Its a tricky one because if I was in their shoes, with every brand and model under the sun to choose from for free, as soon as I had a bad spell I'd be trying other stuff as well and swapping and changing.

In fairness to Shiels he openly admits he's a bit of a magpie when it comes to new shiny things.

And a WITB is an easy video to make for a few thousand watches.

On the other hand I completely agree, there's no NEED to change, and their more easily influenced subscribers will watch and want to emanate them. The only difference is it could cost them thousands to do so.

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

In the main whatever it say in dollars in the US for most products it says in pounds here, shipping, VAT(Sales Tax) and import duty add a lot and euro v pound is virtual parity for estimating purposes.

Good to know. Thanks.

Back in the late 1990s, my daughter, did her university 3rd year abroad studying in London.
We had a lovely week visiting her sometime in November, I think it was.
I remember getting us red poppies to wear, so it had to be November.

Anyway, when it was time to go home, I was getting ready to change my cash back to American dollars.
My daughter said, "You're going to queue up for twenty minutes just to change that amount?"
Then she proceeded to take the entire roll from my hands.

"May I at least have a five pound note in case your mother wants a cup of coffee at Heathrow," I had to ask.

 

[harpo_72]

I stopped buying car magazines because they made me hanker after cars, golf mags and YouTube does the same with golf clubs ..I try to avoid it, I am a weak minded fool who will part with his cash. They sow the seed and it grows , but I do it to myself as well.
However I put it down to being poor and not having the financial power to indulge at the start of my golf jourhey.. and I still go through these times, family men do. But when the times are good, I buy.
Having said that this year is the first time in 10 years I have bought a brand new driver, prior to that I was buying second hand off eBay and I was doing that with irons as well. I updated my irons though and got fitted and bought from the pro , and they were expensive, but I will keep them a bit longer … it’s just a wear thing really now with me.

 

[Deleted member 30522]

I stopped buying car magazines because they made me hanker after cars, golf mags and YouTube does the same with golf clubs ..I try to avoid it, I am a weak minded fool who will part with his cash. They sow the seed and it grows , but I do it to myself as well.
However I put it down to being poor and not having the financial power to indulge at the start of my golf jourhey.. and I still go through these times, family men do. But when the times are good, I buy.
Having said that this year is the first time in 10 years I have bought a brand new driver, prior to that I was buying second hand off eBay and I was doing that with irons as well. I updated my irons though and got fitted and bought from the pro , and they were expensive, but I will keep them a bit longer … it’s just a wear thing really now with me.

Get ya totally. 10 years ago I could have told you every club on the market, this month, going for a fitting, I had to go research from scratch almost, to see who was selling what and which amazing golden ticket each one was promising. And yes like you I'm the same with cars

 

[Deleted member 30522]

Who was Mike Gear?

The unsuccessful brother of Top and Fifth

 

[Voyager EMH]

My sets of irons,

1975 to 1977 Slazenger Ambassador. These were my dad's purchased in 1969 and rheumatoid arthritis had stopped him playing.


1977 to 1992 Dunlop Maxfli International. I still have the SW of these and the 2-wood of the Ambassadors.

1992 to 2007 (or 2008 can't quite remember)
Ram Laser Fx forged.

I still have the 1-iron of this set.

From 2007/8 to today Ping G10 3&4 iron and i10 5-PW. I won't bother with a picture - you should be familiar with what Pings look like.

I feel I am due a nice shiny new set. But as has already been said earlier, there has been vey little improvement in iron club design in the last 15 years compared with previous decades. Huge changes to drivers though in the last 20 years.
The prices have become so ridiculous that it will be difficult to part me from my cash, even though I am better able to afford it, for clubs that give me little or no benefit from the ones I currently play with.
My view is based on several decades of experience of improvements to clubs' design and relative pricing over those years.
I will most likely buy 2 to 3 year old irons sometime in the next 2 years. These will have a proven track record, but will be discarded by someone who changes their irons in order to get "the latest and very best".
No more brand new clubs for me - is my view at the moment.

 

[Deleted member 30522]

I feel I am due a nice shiny new set. But as has already been said earlier, there has been vey little improvement in iron club design in the last 15 years compared with previous decades.

You could start a whole new thread on iron history

However don't agree with this comment at all, some are saying it yes, but I'd strongly disagree as are others, especially with Ping funnily enough. I've just ordered my second set of Ping irons (G425 moving from i20), but before that I thought they felt and looked awful, never got close to buying a set, now someone would have to come out with something special to take me away from Ping. Ostensibly the G20 looked almost identical to it's predecessor the G15, but they felt nothing alike at all.

I'd suggest trying a few and seeing the difference, think you'll be surprised.

 

[Voyager EMH]

I have tried a lot more than "a few" so no surprises in store for me.
Pretty boring if we all had the same view. Yours being equally valid to mine.
I've been a fairly steady 5 handicapper since 1977 (current HI 3.0) so while my ability has remained fairly unchanged, I've experienced improvements in iron-club design and in the last 15 years there have been improvements, but these have been minimal compared with the improvements in previous decades.

 

[harpo_72]

Just watched Crossfield do a compare of a ping G425 vs a Callaway Great big Bertha.. the new club was marginally longer, the miss was significantly larger…
Being a golfer from that time period where the GBB was a game changer, I have always felt the larger drivers have not respected my tendency to hit the ball where I want off the head. It has dumbed the game down for sure, but in doing so created more off line drives.
But the truth is drivers have moved very little in distance and the yardage gain is purely the ball. So it’s fair to say irons pretty much haven’t changed significantly apart from the number on the sole for the loft …

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Just watched Crossfield do a compare of a ping G425 vs a Callaway Great big Bertha.. the new club was marginally longer, the miss was significantly larger…
Being a golfer from that time period where the GBB was a game changer, I have always felt the larger drivers have not respected my tendency to hit the ball where I want off the head. It has dumbed the game down for sure, but in doing so created more off line drives.
But the truth is drivers have moved very little in distance and the yardage gain is purely the ball. So it’s fair to say irons pretty much haven’t changed significantly apart from the number on the sole for the loft …

Im struggling to follow the point you're making there, Harpo, are you saying you are better off playing the old kit?

 

[harpo_72]

Im struggling to follow the point you're making there, Harpo, are you saying you are better off playing the old kit?

I am saying it’s made naff all difference and the ball has made the difference in yardage. It’s all marketing hype just replace your stuff when it looks knackered and accept that if your rubbish your not going to buy a game.

 

[HeftyHacker]

Just watched Crossfield do a compare of a ping G425 vs a Callaway Great big Bertha.. the new club was marginally longer, the miss was significantly larger…
Being a golfer from that time period where the GBB was a game changer, I have always felt the larger drivers have not respected my tendency to hit the ball where I want off the head. It has dumbed the game down for sure, but in doing so created more off line drives.
But the truth is drivers have moved very little in distance and the yardage gain is purely the ball. So it’s fair to say irons pretty much haven’t changed significantly apart from the number on the sole for the loft …

I've just bought an old Titleist 975d to go in a bit of a retro bag and I've found the same. Middle it and its an absolute rocket launcher, but anything other than the middle gets sprayed all over the shop compared to my Epic Flash.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

I am saying it’s made naff all difference and the ball has made the difference in yardage. It’s all marketing hype just replace your stuff when it looks knackered and accept that if your rubbish your not going to buy a game.

What's the basis for your conclusion, Harpo? I would have thought that there should be a reasonable improvement in forgiveness for drivers and irons in that period, which will be of reasonable benefit to a mid-handicapper, even if there isn't a big change in sunday best driving distance.

 

[harpo_72]

What's the basis for your conclusion, Harpo? I would have thought that there should be a reasonable improvement in forgiveness for drivers and irons in that period, which will be of reasonable benefit to a mid-handicapper, even if there isn't a big change in sunday best driving distance.

If you hit all over the face then yes the bigger face has helped but if you don’t then there is no great benefit being offered

 

[Canary_Yellow]

If you hit all over the face then yes the bigger face has helped but if you don’t then there is no great benefit being offered

Unless you’re a tour pro, isn’t there likely to be quite a bit of benefit on that basis?

 

[Backsticks]

I am saying it’s made naff all difference and the ball has made the difference in yardage. It’s all marketing hype just replace your stuff when it looks knackered and accept that if your rubbish your not going to buy a game.

Precisely.

How much did Nike for example invest in club 'development' compared to marketing, or even just paid Tiger or McIlroy ? And whatever they did invest just churned out yet another club like all the others, with no true development or improvement. They are all just identical items functionally, distinguished only by cosmetics and marketing spin. The fact that people think there is a difference and continuous improvement, is a great tribute to the skill of those in golf club marketing over the decades!

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Precisely.

How much did Nike for example invest in club 'development' compared to marketing, or even just paid Tiger or McIlroy ? And whatever they did invest just churned out yet another club like all the others, with no true development or improvement. They are all just identical items functionally, distinguished only by cosmetics and marketing spin. The fact that people think there is a difference and continuous improvement, is a great tribute to the skill of those in golf club marketing over the decades!

I'm not convinced there hasn't been any improvement, but I agree there haven't been any step changes.

I'd say modern irons are easier to launch higher and with less loft (therefore with more distance) than they used to be. That's not based on science though, just my perspective.

Have shafts changed / improved? Again, asking form a place of ignorance!

 

[Voyager EMH]

I'm not convinced there hasn't been any improvement, but I agree there haven't been any step changes.

I'd say modern irons are easier to launch higher and with less loft (therefore with more distance) than they used to be. That's not based on science though, just my perspective.

Have shafts changed / improved? Again, asking form a place of ignorance!

Wood, then steel, then carbon. Big changes.