New golfer tries latest clubs

[clubchamp98]

I'm kind of torn on this for my wife at the moment. She's only started playing over the last couple of months, and she's been using my mum's clubs that we've nicked. They must be a good 15-20 years old. Made by Howson I think. They were probably forgiving for the time, but they don't look as forgiving as my irons, for example. I don't think she wants us to spend money on her golf at the moment anyway, so a bit of a moot point, but I was wondering anyway, would she be better off getting newer clubs that might be easier to hit, or learning to hit the ones she's got. Doing the latter would take longer, possibly more rewarding in the long run, but she is only playing to have fun after all. It's a head-scratcher.

To me the next major change in irons is years off.
They can’t really make them any more forgiving than they do now.
Last years model is just the same as the new ones and most changes are cosmetic.

I learned to play guitar on an old thing with a very high action.
This definitely made it harder to learn to play.

I think the same thing applies with clubs the more modern clubs are easier to learn the game with.
Lots of people must give up because they can’t get anywhere with Grandads old blades.
So if you can afford new ones great if you can’t most clubs in the last 5 years will help you.

 

[Orikoru]

To me the next major change in irons is years off.
They can’t really make them any more forgiving than they do now.
Last years model is just the same as the new ones and most changes are cosmetic.

I learned to play guitar on an old thing with a very high action.
This definitely made it harder to learn to play.

I think the same thing applies with clubs the more modern clubs are easier to learn the game with.
Lots of people must give up because they can’t get anywhere with Grandads old blades.
So if you can afford new ones great if you can’t most clubs in the last 5 years will help you.

Yeah, I think it might be worth getting some 4-5 year old Pings second hand that we could sell on for barely any loss if she gives it up.

 

[clubchamp98]

Yeah, I think it might be worth getting some 4-5 year old Pings second hand that we could sell on for barely any loss if she gives it up.

Yes if you look at most Ping irons especially the ladies models.
They are more or less the same.
Perimeter weighting can only go so far.
They are different colours that’s all.
The shafts might be better the newer they are.

 

[Deleted member 30522]

I do see your reasoning, but it has one major flaw. If you improve quickly you can outgrow your clubs quickly. Some people pick it up really quickly, others hack around for years. Those clubs that you find rip it out there now, all of a sudden are just hitting it sky high, going nowhere and you loose control. Maybe I am playing devils advocate here, but I have seen plenty of players that after 12-18 months outgrow their clubs when they start and get annoyed that they are barely worth half of what they paid for them. Within 18 months of starting golf as a kid I was on my 3rd set after 18 months.

If you want some shiny new ones, you go for it. Nothing like when you see that Titleist box arrive, you open it and carefully pull the wrap from the heads and look at them.

This is just really good advice. Plus getting a fitting is all well and good, but you're a new player, your swing is just developing, buy a decent second hand set in standard spec, hack away for a year or two then get your fitting

 

[Brads]

I kinda understand that but as I said , not much chance I’ll buy secondhand so am more likely to be looking for something I can develop into which is another reason I’ll be getting a fitting.
But to the other posters, the difference in hitting the old irons compared to the new was amazing, and even between new irons there were huge differences.

 

[Old Colner]

I bought a couple of new fairways last week as mine were 15 years old, I took them to the range on Friday and wow, they are so much easier to hit than my old ones, so much so I have been looking at hybrids now as my faithful Halo is about a similar age.

 

[MadAdey]

I kinda understand that but as I said , not much chance I’ll buy secondhand so am more likely to be looking for something I can develop into which is another reason I’ll be getting a fitting.
But to the other posters, the difference in hitting the old irons compared to the new was amazing, and even between new irons there were huge differences.

Do not get too hung pu with some of what you are seeing. You might think you are hitting the newer clubs further but actually your not. Those newer clubs have 7 irons that in older clubs are more like a 6 iron loft sometimes close to a 5 iron. My friend returned to golf after a long lay off last summer. Found him a bargain set of 2010 Taylormade Burner. I was amazed how good they where, compared to my PING i210, it didn't feel like it was 10 year older tech. Only drawback for me was they are designed to launch the ball high so I was getting crazy height and loosing distance.

But hey, I am only trying to give my opinion after seeing a lot of beginers wish they hadn't spent what they had when they started.

 

[Brads]

And it’s much appreciated.
I think it was much more than the distance though.
The new irons were a world apart from the old ones I was using in almost every way.
Mainly weight and feel.