New Irons and Driver Advice

[towers9]

Hi All,

A newcomer to the forums here..

I've played golf for a few years but very casually amounting to 2 or 3 games a year using my dads clubs so I'm a high handicapper. I have however took it a lot more seriously this year and now want to purchase my own irons and driver and would like your opinions following my research...

IRONS:

I'm considering either Taylormade R7's (£275) or Callway X20's (£329), I've managed to hit a demo of each and both felt very nice. I know they are older models but want something good for my money that will help me to improve. I just wondered if you guys might be able to point me in the right direction as to what to go for. The R7's seem a very good price.


Driver:

I've seen a Taylormade Tour Burner Driver 10.5 degree regular shaft (the black one) for £99 which also seems an excellent price. Would this be recommend for someone at my level?

Cheers

 

[drawboy]

Hi, and welcome to the forum , as for advise on club selection I would be inclined to leave that to a pro, second hand racks are bursting with mistakes. I would find a good teaching pro in your area have a lesson then ask his advise, you do not have to buy from him and if he is worth his salt he will steer you in the right direction. As for the driver I would stay well clear of anything with Tour written on it until you get a little better as they are usually not very forgiving both in loft and set up.

 

[bobmac]

Have you thought about a 3 wood?

 

[towers9]

Thanks both for your help.

Yes I do actually hit a 3 wood better than a driver at the moment. I wasn't sure whether to carry on building confidence with the more forgiving 3 wood or whether to bite the bullet so to speak and learn how to use a Driver from the outset.

Taylormade are quite confusing with their labelling some of their clubs 'Tour'. I was having a chat with a pro who uses taylormades and he said they have a tendency to call lots of their clubs 'Tour' when some are in fact aimed as game improvement clubs. It says on the website that driver is for mid-high handicappers but of course that could be the old sales pitch! I'll try and ask around to find out exactely what it is.

 

[Smiffy]

I wasn't sure whether to carry on building confidence with the more forgiving 3 wood or whether to bite the bullet so to speak and learn how to use a Driver from the outset.

And there is the mystique of the driver in once sentence
You haven't got to "learn" how to use a driver any differently to a 3 wood. When I hit my driver, I put exactly the same swing on it as I do my 3 wood. Its just that I know the limitations of my 3 wood and therefore swing easier, smoother, promoting a better strike.
Put the driver in the mitts and suddenly it all goes Pete Tong with Buzz Lightyear making an appearance proclaiming "to infinity and beyond!!"
Any resemblance to a nice smooth controlled swing go out of the window in the quest for "infinity" and the elusive 500 yard drive. Just watch most less experienced golfers approach the "longest drive" hole at a Society meet. Most of 'em look ruptured when they go for the big 'un.
Find a driver you like the look of, get one with plenty of loft (certainly not less than 10.5 degrees) and a shaft that suits. Don't buy a mega stiff shafted one either. That goes hand in hand with the 500 yard drive and infinity mentality unless you have a naturally fast swing.

 

[DingleBerry]

Get custom fitted!
Get the right clubs for you and your game,i just wished i was introduced to custom fitting before i spent on 2 sets of clubs before i found the right clubs with the right shaft for my game! Made hell of difference to my game know that the clubs are set up for u fills you with confidence!

cheers

 

[Ethan]

The Cally and TM are still just as good as they were when current models, and good value for money.

Don't buy anything without, at least, having a pro see you hit a few balls, or better still, getting custom fitted. For me, the main purpose is to choose the right design and flex for the shaft. The head design is much less important.

 

[RGDave]

If I may be controversial, please buy the Callaway X-20s over the Taylor Made.

Taylor Made don't make many clubs even vaguely close to Callaway in terms of forgiveness.

Unless you are planning on getting good quick and working hard a) buy a set of X-series Callaways and b) buy a driver with a little more loft than 10.5 degrees.
You can have too much loft on a driver and get away with it. Too little and you've wasted £100.

 

[towers9]

Thanks again everyone.

The custom fitting route is certainly one I would like to go down, although cost is an issue at the moment. This might sound like a stupid question but can you get clubs custom fit after you have purchased them. i.e. by a standard set to play with and get custom fit done in say 6 months or so?

 

[RGDave]

You can - no problem. Cost is an issue though, you'd probably need to strike a deal with a pro to spend the time fitting you then adjusting the clubs.
Normally, some of the cost is "built in", like it costs x to be custom fitted but you get y off the clubs......

 

[Smiffy]

You can - no problem.

You can - sometimes!
Forged clubs can be adjusted fairly safely, (to an extent), and it shouldn't be difficult finding a pro locally who would be prepared to have a go.
Cast clubs? Little bit different, and you will find a lot of pro's or clubmakers hesitant to try.
Cast clubs are much more "brittle" than forged and there is always a possibility that one, or more, may get snapped or damaged in the process. A forged club is made of softer metal so can take the stresses of being bent etc. a bit better.
Just out of curiousity, how tall/old are you?

 

[towers9]

I'm 26 and am 5ft 10. Based on the info I've seen I guess I'm pretty standard in terms of club length. I supposed the custom fit would be needed to determine shaft stiffness and degree loft of the club?