Advice on clubs.. *newb alert*

Ronan|Raven

I started going to the driving range a lot lately with a few mates who are all fairly regular players and have found myself really enjoying it. I went along last Saturday for a round at a local club and just borrowed their clubs when needed and really enjoyed it and could see it as something I could get into. (I have loads of mostly empty courses around me )

I was in Argos on Sunday and they had a set reduced to 99 from 150 or so. Howson XT Set but turned out to be a different brand when I got home with it. Now I know cheaper clubs you get cheaper quality and what not but at this stage of just learning would I be as well off just keeping them for that price? It came with a trolley as well which was nice.

I know a full set of clubs is overkill for me starting as I will only use a few in the beginning but for the price I decided to take a chance on it.

I haven't used them yet so can always return them and maybe get a different second hand set?

My budget is very tight at the moment though which limits me a lot. *shakes paw at recession*

Many thanks for any tips.

G1032

Go with them if you're just starting out. No point spending big money. As you improve you can add to it, but for the moment you'd be better off spending a few quid to get a couple of lessons - get taught the right set up/grip/posture from the start. Thats more important than your clubs.

Ronan|Raven

As regards the lessons a good idea, they offer them in one of the clubs beside me. As you say may as well get a good grounding first.

PhilipMarlowe

Can't go too far wrong at 99 euros including a bag, trolley etc.
I don't think you'd find any better equipment 2nd hand at that price.
It's enough to spend to see if you have the bug and if the bug gets you and you find that your equipment is not up to scratch (ooh err missus), well you'll know more about your game at that stage to make a better decision when spending more money.

ThunderCat

Stick with what you have. We all have to start somewhere and I started with a set from argos too. Ok so they wont be the highest quality golf set in the world but the ball will still go a fair distance for you if you are hitting it well. You could spend a lot more money on a better set and it wont in the slightest make you a better player if you arnt hitting the ball right. You still have to learn to hit the ball to a reasonable level first, and what you have there is absolutly fine for that purpose. What i would recommend for you is either a lesson or a few golf books (ie ben hogans 5 fundamentals) because the golf swing is far more complex than you would think and it is very important to get the basics such as grip, posture, stance etc. right from the beginning. If you take heed of the basics, the game becomes a lot more enjoyable. It will still more often than not bite you in the ass tho.

heavyballs

i'm going against the grain here but i would recommend a decent enough second hand set for €200 or so in the buy and sell or donedeal,there's more of a chance of getting the bug using clubs that are in some way developed and researched with hitting a ball consistently as opposed to making them with utterly crap materials just so they can sell them for peanuts,
i reckon if you have enough interest in the game to get out and go to the range that's enough reason to invest a few extra quid,you'll benefit in the long run,beleive me.

stumpypeeps

heavyballs wrote: »

i'm going against the grain here but i would recommend a decent enough second hand set for €200 or so in the buy and sell or donedeal,there's more of a chance of getting the bug using clubs that are in some way developed and researched with hitting a ball consistently as opposed to making them with utterly crap materials just so they can sell them for peanuts,
i reckon if you have enough interest in the game to get out and go to the range that's enough reason to invest a few extra quid,you'll benefit in the long run,beleive me.

I'd agree with Heavyballs sentiments. Get a decent set of cavity back Irons second hand. They will more than likely be much easier to hit than a cheap set. Get a reasonable 5 wood or 3 wood and a putter and leave it at that. I'd also reccommend getting out there and playing as much as possible. Also hitting off matt's is very misleading. Try and use turfgrass as much as possible.

GreeBo

5 or 10 years ago I would have agreed with spending money on a better set, but nowadays even the cheap knockoff have enough "technology" in them to be usable by a beginner. Sure you wont be being "all you can be", but at this level your swing is far more of an impediment that good clubs.

I saw a clip on one of the golf channels where Harrington beat the (low handicap) presenter using a hickory shafted set from eons ago.

conno16

can someone please explain to me again why we need technology behind our putters and could someone also tell me why a 250 quid odessy version is better than a spalding one for 10 euros

stumpypeeps

GreeBo wrote: »

5 or 10 years ago I would have agreed with spending money on a better set, but nowadays even the cheap knockoff have enough "technology" in them to be usable by a beginner. Sure you wont be being "all you can be", but at this level your swing is far more of an impediment that good clubs.

I saw a clip on one of the golf channels where Harrington beat the (low handicap) presenter using a hickory shafted set from eons ago.

My point is say you spend 150 on a new cheap set of irons, inevitably you'll want a branded name quite soon after. Human nature. To prevent the inevitable and save some money, get a decent set second hand. Replace them when you feel it necessary.

heavyballs

GreeBo wrote: »

5 or 10 years ago I would have agreed with spending money on a better set, but nowadays even the cheap knockoff have enough "technology" in them to be usable by a beginner. Sure you wont be being "all you can be", but at this level your swing is far more of an impediment that good clubs.

I saw a clip on one of the golf channels where Harrington beat the (low handicap) presenter using a hickory shafted set from eons ago.

you reckon at a retail price of a ton for a set,cost price about €40, you think there's enough technology,me thinks not,waste of money imo and i can't beleive the majority don't agree
btw those hickory clubs you speek about were all hand crafted by mastercraftsmen

Bluefoam

You can get a full set of md clubs online for 150 including a bag. These clubs are up with some of the better brands and will last you for at least the medium term

charlieIRL

My first set of irons were an eBay special £65 full set of howson's incl driver, 3 wood, rescue etc. Done the job for the first year

heavyballs

Bluefoam wrote: »

You can get a full set of md clubs online for 150 including a bag. These clubs are up with some of the better brands and will last you for at least the medium term

ing

yep they're up there with some of the better brands alright.
A lot of pro's using MD clubs these days

Ronan|Raven

Thanks everyone for your replies. Appreciated.

GreeBo

heavyballs wrote: »

you reckon at a retail price of a ton for a set,cost price about €40, you think there's enough technology,me thinks not,waste of money imo and i can't beleive the majority don't agree
btw those hickory clubs you speek about were all hand crafted by mastercraftsmen

All the technology in the world isnt going to help a total beginner who swings like the toilet door on a lobster trawler.

Sure those hickory clubs were well made, but they had zero technology compared to the cheapest of the cheap that you can pick up in Lidl or Woodies these days.

I played with the same set from starting until 16 handicap. (which was about 10 years)
Do I notice a massive difference between the sets?
Only in the driver.

heavyballs

GreeBo wrote: »

All the technology in the world isnt going to help a total beginner who swings like the toilet door on a lobster trawler.

yes it will help more than a crap set like the one's you can buy in Lidl,
btw if you read back my main reason for posting was that i reckoned he was better spending the extra €100 or so on a half decent brand name(2nd hand) as opposed to a new set of sheite one's
i still stand by that

stumpypeeps

heavyballs wrote: »

yes it will help more than a crap set like the one's you can buy in Lidl,
btw if you read back my main reason for posting was that i reckoned he was better spending the extra €100 or so on a half decent brand name(2nd hand) as opposed to a new set of sheite one's
i still stand by that

I'd second that.

GreeBo

heavyballs wrote: »

yes it will help more than a crap set like the one's you can buy in Lidl,
btw if you read back my main reason for posting was that i reckoned he was better spending the extra €100 or so on a half decent brand name(2nd hand) as opposed to a new set of sheite one's
i still stand by that

We will just have to agree to disagree then.
I've played with cheap clubs, including ones from Aldi and while I wasnt getting 100% of distance, I wasnt suddenly shanking every shot or hitting screaming hooks/slices.
If you can put the clubface onto the ball then any club is going to be fine for a beginner. If you cannot then no club is going to be any use to you.

stumpypeeps

GreeBo wrote: »

We will just have to agree to disagree then.
I've played with cheap clubs, including ones from Aldi and while I wasnt getting 100% of distance, I wasnt suddenly shanking every shot or hitting screaming hooks/slices.
If you can put the clubface onto the ball then any club is going to be fine for a beginner. If you cannot then no club is going to be any use to you.

A large cavity back with a wide sole is going to be easier to hit than a narrow sole club. Which most of the cheap ones are I think.

PhilipMarlowe

The OP said money was too tight to mention so asking him to up his budget by 100% isn't really an option.

heavyballs

Licksy wrote: »

The OP said money was too tight to mention so asking him to up his budget by 100% isn't really an option.

:eek:i just threw €200 as a figure into the pot,if he looks around he'll get them for cheaper,

GreeBo

stumpypeeps wrote: »

A large cavity back with a wide sole is going to be easier to hit than a narrow sole club. Which most of the cheap ones are I think.

How narrow is narrow though?
You can get extreme forgiveness clubs where the sole is nearly 2 inches wide, my opinion on that would be that you would soon grow out of them and be in the market for a new set, whereas with a "standard" albeit cheaper set while your ability may surpass the clubs, they will still be usable.

stumpypeeps

GreeBo wrote: »

How narrow is narrow though?
You can get extreme forgiveness clubs where the sole is nearly 2 inches wide, my opinion on that would be that you would soon grow out of them and be in the market for a new set, whereas with a "standard" albeit cheaper set while your ability may surpass the clubs, they will still be usable.

What about a good shaft? Surely a good shaft will promote a better swing.

GreeBo

Not when you are dealing with a beginner IMO.

And even beyond that.
I have never had my shafts matched to my swing.
Perhaps it might make me a bit better, but only because I have a pretty sound swing.

What shaft would you advise for a total beginner?
Each swing will be different so which one do you match to?

stumpypeeps

GreeBo wrote: »

Not when you are dealing with a beginner IMO.

And even beyond that.
I have never had my shafts matched to my swing.
Perhaps it might make me a bit better, but only because I have a pretty sound swing.

What shaft would you advise for a total beginner?
Each swing will be different so which one do you match to?

This is only my own experience. I bought a cheap set of Wilson Prostaff clubs initially. Narrow sole and the shaft was very heavy and stiff. It had no branding. I abandoned the clubs and got MX 19's. Much easier to hit the ball I thought. That allowed me to get out playing, which is where I got better at putting and chipping etc. Thats where most improvement is attainable for a beginner.