Older clubs vs new

[jamielaing]

I am always an advocate of nice new clubs. I would buy a new set every few months if I could get away with it! I do in fact buy a new club of some sort every couple of months in honesty!

My advice to you however is that you are still new back to the game and new clubs may help you. The importance of getting them fitted is huge. I never appreciated this until I got fitted for my irons last season. Importantly though, as you are newly back and improving you need to consider what you are buying. Fittings will give you the right clubs for you now. Maybe not in a years time. If you significantly improve you may be away looking for new clubs next season because they will improve you further. Again, this is not an exact science and if I was in your situation I would be going for it. I am however less than a year into having my hybrids and am looking for new shafts for them as they no longer seem right to me! And this is a smaller cost than another full replacement.

I also love my irons but can see a move to a new set next season. Just because there are now shinier ones!

 

[Paul77]

I am always an advocate of nice new clubs. I would buy a new set every few months if I could get away with it! I do in fact buy a new club of some sort every couple of months in honesty!

My advice to you however is that you are still new back to the game and new clubs may help you. The importance of getting them fitted is huge. I never appreciated this until I got fitted for my irons last season. Importantly though, as you are newly back and improving you need to consider what you are buying. Fittings will give you the right clubs for you now. Maybe not in a years time. If you significantly improve you may be away looking for new clubs next season because they will improve you further. Again, this is not an exact science and if I was in your situation I would be going for it. I am however less than a year into having my hybrids and am looking for new shafts for them as they no longer seem right to me! And this is a smaller cost than another full replacement.

I also love my irons but can see a move to a new set next season. Just because there are now shinier ones!

It's likely going to be a case of going down to a store, more likely American Golf or the excellent Bishopbriggs Golf Range with their great stock and trying loads out. I could buy them right now but I'm holding back just now in case I need more lessons or join the club I'm looking at. Not sure if fitting at this stage could help. I'm sure I'll know more when I take up the lessons.

My gut feeling is to work with the pro, join the club, wait till this time next year and see how it goes. However, and it's a big however. There's that human attraction to new things, but I don't want to be that guy with all the new clubs in the bag and is still duffing his second shot to the green.

Playing a corporate day out at St Andrews in Aug, so part of me wants to have something nice for that, but it's a small part. I also want to play better and be a wee bit more confident. It's Texas Scramble too so not too sure how thats going to work out.

I like your thought process though

 

[jamielaing]

It's likely going to be a case of going down to a store, more likely American Golf or the excellent Bishopbriggs Golf Range with their great stock and trying loads out. I could buy them right now but I'm holding back just now in case I need more lessons or join the club I'm looking at. Not sure if fitting at this stage could help. I'm sure I'll know more when I take up the lessons.

My gut feeling is to work with the pro, join the club, wait till this time next year and see how it goes. However, and it's a big however. There's that human attraction to new things, but I don't want to be that guy with all the new clubs in the bag and is still duffing his second shot to the green.

Playing a corporate day out at St Andrews in Aug, so part of me wants to have something nice for that, but it's a small part. I also want to play better and be a wee bit more confident. It's Texas Scramble too so not too sure how thats going to work out.

I like your thought process though

To be honest the improvements you will see are minimal. The benefit is that the clubs are right for your height and swing. Before I bought my new clubs I was 2 months back to golf after a long lay off. My handicap was 13 and my playing partners was 11. Now, with the new clubs, my handicap is 11 and my playing partners is 10. I'm closing the gap and think I will overtake soon but it just emphasises that you will not see an instant improvement. I am probably a club or 2 less for my second shot but when considering that they were 10 year old £350 irons and I bought brand new £600 irons would suggest that technology hasn't advanced as much as you would think/ hope!

I seem to be trying to talk you out of it. But I know I would be buying if I were you! I think my advice is, get the swing to where you want it and buy the clubs to fit. If you are at that stage, it may as well be now!

And at St Andrews, wow them with your game, not your clubs!

 

[Face breaker]

When I bought my clubs 2nd hand, I did so in American Golf using the data from CG2. I tested what they had in the used pile and picked out the Cleveland TA2's, and the Classic Driver 290 with 9.5 degree loft and Reg shaft. The irons were in ok nick, a bit dented from them being forged (debatable) and the grips were sound, also with Reg shafts.

After an up and down time at the range at World of Golf, I went downstairs into the AG store and had a wee look at the irons they had. Picked up a few, and the overwhelming feeling I got was that they were lighter than my current set (Tried RSi1, XR and G30's). More balanced weight from grip to head and nicer to handle. My irons feel a wee bit head heavy, but hit them ok in the shop. If I do take too much of a divot on course, I do tend to jarr my right hand a tad.

The Driver head tends to wobble a tad when anything out off centre is struck. I kind of feel the shaft is too wobbly for me. It's just a feeling I get.

My point being is that, did I buy clubs that were maybe above my ability? Would a newer, more technically advanced set of irons, like the Taylormade Rsi1 or Callaway XR irons be more suited to my ability?

Should I be using Higher Handicap clubs, and are the clubs I'm using not very 'Game Improving' or is that all just smoke and mirror marketing bumpf?

Again thanks for the help.


Paul

I had a set of "Wilson CG1200's" that had quite heavy heads and I couldn't for the life of me use em as every time I swung for the ball I just dug a bloody great trench in the turf, needless to say they're collecting dust in the back of my locker !...:thup:

 

[Paul77]

I had a set of "Wilson CG1200's" that had quite heavy heads and I couldn't for the life of me use em as every time I swung for the ball I just dug a bloody great trench in the turf, needless to say they're collecting dust in the back of my locker !...:thup:

In hindsight of this thread. I think there was maybe a wee bit of a "need something new" mindset. Dropping £300 on new irons when I have no idea how I'll play them yet is a bit irresponsible. I could come out of these lessons, hitting my current irons sweet. I have the TA'2 in a full set now. 3-SW and the 60 degree.

I'd really like to add a more suitable driver and 5 wood to the bag so maybe get some advice on that.

 

[Hacker Khan]

In hindsight of this thread. I think there was maybe a wee bit of a "need something new" mindset. Dropping £300 on new irons when I have no idea how I'll play them yet is a bit irresponsible. I could come out of these lessons, hitting my current irons sweet. I have the TA'2 in a full set now. 3-SW and the 60 degree.

I'd really like to add a more suitable driver and 5 wood to the bag so maybe get some advice on that.

I always argue that a lot of the benefits of a fitting is mental. As your brain thinks you now have the best set of clubs for you, you feel more confident, you relax more and chances are you will hit better shots. Yes of course it is not going to drastically change the scores you get, but remember golf is mostly played in your head.

 

[Paul77]

I always argue that a lot of the benefits of a fitting is mental. As your brain thinks you now have the best set of clubs for you, you feel more confident, you relax more and chances are you will hit better shots. Yes of course it is not going to drastically change the scores you get, but remember golf is mostly played in your head.

I was always a grip and hit person. The club was a club, and fitting was only for the pro's. Seems more of a thing for everyone these days. I've never hit a ball consistently left or right, then thought, hmmm my lie isn't quite right. More than likely the ball was either higher or lower than my feet if that shot happens and I didn't account for it.

I can argue that modern clubs seem to have stronger lofts than mine, and that I would likely be reaching the green more often. Time will teach me to just club up in that instance and stop me thinking that I consistently ht a 7 iron 158 yards, when in actualy fact I probably hit one or two that far.

I made a deal with myself, that if I get to below 25HC on Game Golf, I'll buy myself new irons. Until then, there's too many variables to contend with. Narrow it down and then look at the clubs. Makes more sense today.

 

[jack1]

Don't know about old v's new but much of the discussion here seems to be about GI irons v,s blade type irons. My two penneth. I was told by many that AP2 irons were easy to hit and no real difference between gi irons. Well my experience is that is NOT the case. The forged Titliests are lovely clubs but in my hands 50% more unreliable than Callaway steelheads or ping g10,s. I gave it nearly two years so not a fly-by-night decision.

 

[Paul77]

Don't know about old v's new but much of the discussion here seems to be about GI irons v,s blade type irons. My two penneth. I was told by many that AP2 irons were easy to hit and no real difference between gi irons. Well my experience is that is NOT the case. The forged Titliests are lovely clubs but in my hands 50% more unreliable than Callaway steelheads or ping g10,s. I gave it nearly two years so not a fly-by-night decision.

Actually the irons I went for in AG originally were AP1's the store manager asked me to go hit some to test them. All over the place with a 7 iron, he said they were too heavy for me. I then tried Benross and it felt like I was using kids clubs. Then onto the Cleveland. They were the best of the bunch. More tight dispersion on GC2. The dispersion on the AP1 looked like one of those fiber optic lamps on the screen.

Granted I reckon if I was to go back now and hit that iron it would be a different story. It was the first time I swung a club in ten years. The reason the Cleveland was nicer was more to do with me being warmed up a tad after using a few and hitting ten balls with each.