New golfer needs new clubs

Dickie82

Hello everyone

I've been playing golf casually a couple of times a year with some hand me down golf clubs. I've had a couple of lessons and plan to pick my game up this summer.

Would I benefit of a new set of clubs? And if so shall they be a standard beginner boxed set or a set custom chosen by a pro shop? The clubs I have are prob 15yr old ping steel set, but they have quite a sharp leading edge. Apparently this is not so forgiving.

I'm also quite a short male, hence clubs might be too long!

What advise do you experts out there have?

Also don't want to spent a fortune, I see eBay has Wilson sets under 200 euro and there are other manufacturers like MD making sets.

Thanks

Dickie

Dickie82

Also remember the lie of the blade against the ground is important. I'm sure this is not the correct technical term, but I'm thinking this is more important than the length of club, as it's all about the right position of player and ball....

I'll stop before I say something very stupid!

mr.mickels

I certainly wouldn't get custom fit if I was you, because as you improve your whole setup and swing will change alot and your custom fits will no longer fit. i would simply start with a set off the shelf. There are irons which are very forgiving which may sound like it makes sense to start with those, but personally I think you would learn far more about how to hit the ball on the sweet spot with irons that are alot less forgiving but have better feel such as the Mizuno and Titleist forged options, that is a choice you will have to make yourself, you will likely struggle at first with a good set of forged irons, but it may very well be worth it if its your plan to be a pure striker of the ball playing off a low handicap in the near future. Also you don't need a full set either, a half set is really enough for a beginner and even if you do get the full set it is great for a starter to only have half his clubs in the bag for many rounds as he will be forced to learn to hit a soft 6 iron or even 5 iron for example if there is no 7 in the bag, will improve your ball control alot, particularly when the wind blows, too many players are one-dimensional. Also only go for one wedge to begin with and learn to play with it square and open to increase loft, you can get more in the future if you want. Thing is not to automatically go for the easy option, golf isn't meant to be easy and with overly forgiving clubs its hard to get the discipline of commiting to every shot like you need to with blades. When you do have to commit to every shot you are more likely to hit it better more often. Have a look at the blades and the near blades by Mizuno and Titleist and see how they feel and how you like them. The new Pings are very forgiving, they certainly are easier to hit and a set now should last you many years, but I would suggest you try the other clubs on the shelves, which may not be as forgiving for mis-hits but will feel better when you hit it on the sweetspot.

ssbob

Dickie82 wrote: »

Hello everyone


Also don't want to spent a fortune, I see eBay has Wilson sets under 200 euro and there are other manufacturers like MD making sets.

Thanks

Dickie

There a cheap beginner sets for £100 and under on Amazon, looking at picking up a set of these for my brother who is like you......I am also watching adverts.ie, if you are based in Dublin then you might pick up a bargain.

I myself am playing with hand me downs mixed with woods from argos, bought a Titleist Driver and bought wedges and a putter.....such a mixed bag, working for me at the moment but next years goal would be to get a custom set.

kagni

Dickie82 wrote: »

I'm also quite a short male, hence clubs might be too long!

You can get a basic idea of what fit you need from the ping site, just put in your info here and it will give you recommendations based on that.
http://www.ping.com/fitting/webfit.aspx
They will recommend a club length, colour code and shaft stiffness, you can find out here what the colour code means http://www.ping.com/uploadedFiles/Custom_Fitting/PING_Color_Code_Chart.pdf

foxyboxer

mr.mickels wrote: »

I certainly wouldn't get custom fit if I was you, because as you improve your whole setup and swing will change alot and your custom fits will no longer fit. i would simply start with a set off the shelf. There are irons which are very forgiving which may sound like it makes sense to start with those, but personally I think you would learn far more about how to hit the ball on the sweet spot with irons that are alot less forgiving but have better feel such as the Mizuno and Titleist forged options, that is a choice you will have to

Thing is not to automatically go for the easy option, golf isn't meant to be easy and with overly forgiving clubs its hard to get the discipline of commiting to every shot like you need to with blades. When you do have to commit to every shot you are more likely to hit it better more often. Have a look at the blades and the near blades by Mizuno and Titleist and see how they feel and how you like them.

Agreed on this. Buying a cavity back set off the shelf whilst forgiving, will not improve your ball striking. I recently picked up a set of Mizuno forged muscle back MP-62. The difference is immediate having played with cavity backs since forever. I have realised that feedback in a club is more important than forgiveness especially as your ability improves. They will help you groove a solid repeating swing. I'd take a look at a pre-owned set too.

Don't let the marketing spiel of "For the Low Handicap only" dissuade you.

Dickie82

Thank you all for your advise, you have made me realise there is so much to choose from and so many technical terms...

Basically I feel I should go and try some of them out on a range with a pro shop. I think cavity back sounds tempting but as you say a blade less forgiving will improve my game. It looks like a set of titleist second hand irons will set me back just under 200 euro for a set of forged irons, these being the romantic golfers option or the very tempting Titleist AP1 irons from 2009 which retail in good condition for around 300 euro.

I have seen the colour chart from the ping eyes, and now remember an old coach telling me about the importance of the lie and lay of the club.

I'm going to research for a few more days before heading down with my wallet. Will I be best to look around on the Internet rather than a shop, I'd rather give someone the business who sells them to me in a shop, but you know these days how greedy people can be!

Thanks

Dickie

mr.mickels

Dickie82 wrote: »

Thank you all for your advise, you have made me realise there is so much to choose from and so many technical terms...

Basically I feel I should go and try some of them out on a range with a pro shop. I think cavity back sounds tempting but as you say a blade less forgiving will improve my game. It looks like a set of titleist second hand irons will set me back just under 200 euro for a set of forged irons, these being the romantic golfers option or the very tempting Titleist AP1 irons from 2009 which retail in good condition for around 300 euro.

I have seen the colour chart from the ping eyes, and now remember an old coach telling me about the importance of the lie and lay of the club.

I'm going to research for a few more days before heading down with my wallet. Will I be best to look around on the Internet rather than a shop, I'd rather give someone the business who sells them to me in a shop, but you know these days how greedy people can be!

Thanks

Dickie

I would think that is a near certainty.
Blades don't just feel better either, they do give a more consistent shot if you hit the sweet-spot, and they are a bit easier to control the ball flight once your swing is good.
The high and low irons don't have to match either. For example you could go for blades for 6,7,8,9,P,S and go for cavities for the 3,4,5, if you did find it difficult to hit the lower iron blades, could be a very good compromise.

The Mizuno's are probably considered even more desirable than the Titleist, not much to choose between them. A used set of forged blades could be a great option if they are inexpensive. You can buy the irons individually also, so a half set is a good start, you really don't need every iron from 3 down when starting.

But I wouldn't spend too much thinking about the equipment either, just get a set you like the look of and learn to hit the ball well, too many golfers think too much about the newest gadgets and the newest clubs instead of improving their swing.

kagni

I'm going to disagree with the recommendation of getting blade irons. Golf is hard enough as it is, deliberately making it tougher for yourself is nuts IMO.
Plenty of the pros are using cavity backs and if they don't have the confidence to hit blades then I don't think a beginner has any business going near them.
Try out a few different types of iron and see for yourself.
Maybe pick up a cheap old blade 7-iron for practice if you want.

f22

Are you for real mr.mickels? Proposing blades to a beginner is simply idiotic, as Kagni mentioned many pros don't even use them any more. Yes they are more controllable, yes they give fantastic feedback but the are very unforgiving and designed for very good players.

OP, if you're getting lessons talk to your pro about what he'd recommend and go from there. You'll pick up good second hand clubs for peanuts at the moment.

Dickie82

Thanks everyone. Seems we have a missed set set of opinions, but nothing will beat testing a few out on a range or pro shop. My girlfriends parents are fairly keen golfers and ive asked then too, apparently everyone uses cavity irons if they can afford a set, they are simply more forgiving and for a beginner will help you get a handy cap sooner. If I find them too easy then I can get a cheap set of blades and see if that makes life harder, but I'm sure I'll find the game enough of a challenge!

mr.mickels

Pros who use cavity backs do so because they are paid large sums of money to endorse and use a product.

Many pros use blades. Using blades is not more difficult at all, provided you have learned a good swing to hit the sweet spot and are prepared to commit to the shot. Assuming the OP is intending to be a better than average golfer who will hit the ball with the sweetspot, then he will learn that better with blades. I never mentioned anything about cheap blades, good quality forged blades are best for good golf shots. Didn't Luke Donald just win a world matchplay event using blades?

There are clubs that aren't quite blade but a compromise, such as the Mizuno 53, 63 and Titleist CB. I do suggest the OP at least try those clubs without automatically going for the easier option, he may very well have higher ambitions than the average player and wants one set to last a good number of years. Nothing wrong with getting cavities either, but it will never feel as good as a good shot from bladed clubs. Most low handicap players I know use either blades or near blades. I think blades from about the 6 down and cavities for 3,4,5 can be a great option too. Most lob wedges are forged blades for very good reason, and for the same reason blades throughout the set are good for better ball-strikers.

kagni

mr.mickels wrote: »

Pros who use cavity backs do so because they are paid large sums of money to endorse and use a product.

And the pros using blades do so for the same reason.

mr.mickels wrote: »

Many pros use blades.

And many use cavity backs too.

mr.mickels wrote: »

Using blades is not more difficult at all, provided you have learned a good swing to hit the sweet spot

So they are more difficult if you don't always hit the sweetspot.

mr.mickels wrote: »

Assuming the OP is intending to be a better than average golfer who will hit the ball with the sweetspot, then he will learn that better with blades.

Get a wooden driver too as that will also teach you how to hit the smaller sweetspot. Ignore the big titanium drivers, you'll never learn how to hit the ball properly with those.

mr.mickels wrote: »

Didn't Luke Donald just win a world matchplay event using blades?

Mark Wilson won at the weekend in the US using cavity backs.

pduigee

mr.mickels wrote: »

I would think that is a near certainty.
Blades don't just feel better either, they do give a more consistent shot if you hit the sweet-spot, and they are a bit easier to control the ball flight once your swing is good.
The high and low irons don't have to match either. For example you could go for blades for 6,7,8,9,P,S and go for cavities for the 3,4,5, if you did find it difficult to hit the lower iron blades, could be a very good compromise.

The Mizuno's are probably considered even more desirable than the Titleist, not much to choose between them. A used set of forged blades could be a great option if they are inexpensive. You can buy the irons individually also, so a half set is a good start, you really don't need every iron from 3 down when starting.

But I wouldn't spend too much thinking about the equipment either, just get a set you like the look of and learn to hit the ball well, too many golfers think too much about the newest gadgets and the newest clubs instead of improving their swing.

dont get blades. I am currently updating my clubs and my starting set were great. Very forgiving. Mizuno Mx 17s. They on golf bidder for little money. I looking to sell mine but unfortunately i am the opposite to you. mine are longer than standard. But dont buy blades and best of luck with it

Myksyk

Get blades if you want to give up golf by September.