Beginning Golf for the Taller Gentleman

Teddy Picker

Hi all,

I’ve held a long term interest in taking up golf and am finally in a position financially to get going. I’ve read through a number of threads on Boards but still have questions which I hope you can guide me on before I go to a shop.

I’m quite a tall person at 6’3”/6’4” and from my research it seems regular sized clubs wouldn’t suit my height, is this true in your experience? If so will I need fitted clubs? Halpenny/McGuirks do an assessment for 40e but I assume the custom clubs cost more again?

Halpenny are selling Callaway X2 Hot Irons (cavities) at 389e, which are highly reviewed and are within my budget. I’m looking to get gear which gives room to improve in the medium/long term, rather than having to upgrade equipment quickly. Would irons of this ilk suit a beginner whose intention is to play with friends most Saturday mornings, as well as going to the range/getting lessons?

Appreciate any help/opinions and apologies for the long post!

BigChap1759

It's a tricky one as I'm not sure it'd be worth your while getting fitted at this stage and there are more variables than just height for getting the correct club length to suit.

My advice would be to start of with a good second hand set at 1" over standard with regular shafts and see how you get on. Once you've got a bit of consistency you could look at getting fitted.

And find a good pro and start getting regular lessons - much better at the start before you develop too many bad habits!

Best of luck on your golfing journey

Teddy Picker

Thanks for the advice BigChap, I'll have a browse around for the 1" bigger clubs, as well as heading into a few shops to see what they have.

Lessons will be key I think!

dar_cool

I'm 6ft3 and I started with regular clubs but got fitted last year and 1.5" added and loft and lie adjusted to suit. This only cost 80 Euro in the spawell which was great so no need to go spend a fortune on new clubs.

BigChap1759

No problem - there is a "wanted" thread on here you could post in and adverts.ie or donedeal.ie are always good for 2nd hand stuff.

Not sure of your location but I always find Kinsealy range in Dublin great for trying clubs out for free - they let you bring stuff to the range and hit balls. Leopardstown the same.

JIdontknow

I personally wouldn't advise to getting a fitting beginning as your set up / swing may change. I would look up second hand and or get a few lessons talk to the pro about what club might suit. Ping clubs have a coloured dot to signify what set up they are, i.e upright or flat and you can correlate this to your height and such, see link below.

http://www.usedping.co.uk/ping_dot_colour.html

for example on adverts at the moment there is a set of ping i3 green dot (I have no affiliation, they may not even suit you). If you measure your wrist to floor measurement according to the link above you might get an idea what dot ping suits your height etc. You might pick up a second hand set of irons cheap enough, and even going back years, a reputable brand, they will still be good clubs to start out with.

Also have to agree with bigchap above, a few lessons at the start will make it all worthwhile a year down the road, it might feel totally uncomfortable at first (your body will feel comfortable with one swing but the pro may encourage a different one and it may feel totally awkward at first) but get through that and it will really stand to you, grip etc is important so picking it up early will really help.

Teddy Picker

Just wanted to check dar_cool, does this mean they added the extra 1.5" to your previously regular clubs? How did you find playing with the regular sized clubs initially, would you say it had much of an effect?

dar_cool wrote: »

I'm 6ft3 and I started with regular clubs but got fitted last year and 1.5" added and loft and lie adjusted to suit. This only cost 80 Euro in the spawell which was great so no need to go spend a fortune on new clubs.

J1dontknow, I'll get a friend to measure my wrist to floor this evening, that chart looks very handy.

Is there anything I should know before heading into a shop? Will they be able to give me free decent advice on the basics of what I should be looking for?

Teddy Picker

Just wanted to check dar_cool, does this mean they added the extra 1.5" to your previously regular clubs? How did you find playing with the regular sized clubs initially, would you say it had much of an effect?

dar_cool wrote: »

I'm 6ft3 and I started with regular clubs but got fitted last year and 1.5" added and loft and lie adjusted to suit. This only cost 80 Euro in the spawell which was great so no need to go spend a fortune on new clubs.

J1dontknow, I'll get a friend to measure my wrist to floor this evening, that chart looks very handy.

Is there anything I should know before heading into a shop? Will they be able to give me free decent advice on the basics of what I should be looking for? I may well go the second hand route but figure a shop visit is probably useful.