vallumlj

Play my first round of golf today and really enjoyed it. Played with 5 other mates and only finished 4 shots behind them on a 9 hole course I did'nt think that was to bad.

I am thinking about buying a set of clubs but have not got clue in what make i should buy and how much i should spend. I did read somewhere you should'nt spend that much on your first set as you need to get used to playing first and get everything right.

Any advice on what clubs i should buy ?

Would you advice taking a few lessons at this stage or should i just pick it up as i go along.

Thanks for the help.

Mark Mac

Vallumlj.
Ebay is your friend....
Get a cheap set to start with and what you save go and get lessons...
Trust me, it will pay dividends, ten fold..
Four of us play regular, three of us have spent a stupid amount on clubs, the fourth guy has a £50:00 set of Dunlops and he's not far behind us.....
Lessons, get better then buy your new shiny clubs....

FlightMan

Buy a set of second hand, decent, clubs. Something like Callaway, Taylor Made etc. Then have some lessons. Spend more time chipping and putting than driving. That's where good scores are made.

Good luck.

hoskib

iTrader: (1)

well if you enjoyed it on a day like today you've made a good start, i won today and hated every second of being out there!

personally if i was starting out again i'd get a block of 5odd lessons and see how it goes. it'll start you off doing the basics right and that can help massively.
i've never had a lesson in my life, just a VERY patient dad and i've turned out ok, but i would recommend lessons to anyone.

clubs wise, golf has never been cheaper and although you can still spend a bloody fortune, with the likes of golfbidder and ebay you can get set up for a sensible figure if you stay away from the brand new latest models. i've only owned 3 sets of clubs in the last 20+ years, so altough it's a bit of an initial £ outlay it doesn't work out too bad in the long run.

if the lessons go well and you go for a brand new set of irons, even though you're starting off you could well end up using the same clubs for years.
the 'game improvement' clubs are so nice to use that unless your handicap tumbles down you could play with a nice big cavity backed club from 28 down to 8 handicap, so you really don't have to chop and change until it becomes a bit obvious you could benefit from a more focused club.

now this sounds a bit daft, but don't be afraid to make it easier for yourself. unless you're a natural low iron hitter, don't bother with them. i use a 2,3,4 and 5 rescue/hybrid club and my iron set doesn't start until 5. i used to be able to drill 2 irons but just don't bother now, the hybrids are so much easier to hit.

**** me i've waffled on a bit there so in a nutshell, yes to lessons.
if you can, find a golf club/pro/shop that can guide you through the basics and then get you going with a starter set up that should see you good for a few years

if you're local to west malling GC in kent i would recommend them for all of the above

brendy76

iTrader: (6)

Head to your local pro shop or store and see if they sell MD golf gear. It is great equipment but also fairly cheap. Second hand would be a bonus.
Dont get suckered into buying hybrid clubs etc as that is the easy way out and you will never learn how to hit all of your irons.
Hold back on buying a driver for the first while until you are comfortable hitting a 3 or 5 wood, they dont tend to hook/slice as much as the driver when it goes wrong.
With the golf *****, srixon ad333's will do rightly as they are a good balance of value and performance, no need for titleist Pro v1's etc yet.

ScoobyDoo555

FWIW, as (all) above really.

Get a cheapo set, and then spend on lessons.

I was lucky - as I was starting from scratch (never even picked up a club in anger), I was given a set of Wilson Firesticks (Graphite clubs) which just so happen to suit me as I'm not a power player, but I am quite accurate. (The "whip of the graphite shaft" suits my style).

I was given a load of lessons for my birthday. Best thing ever. Made such a difference - especially as I was starting before I had chance to develop any bad habits.

HTH - lessons, and do em first

Dan

hoskib

iTrader: (1)

lol, why would you need to hit all your irons?

and why would you not want to make it easier? the game's hard enough as it is.

get a pro to club your average golfer and see how many hybids he puts in the bag

Molbyman

iTrader: (2)

I hear a bloke called Woods may have a set minus 1 for sale?

brendy76

iTrader: (6)

My pro is michael Bannon (Rorys coach) I got my Ap2s from him, in fact they were actually assembled for Michael by Titleist but he already preferred his existing set and I took them) He has never once alluded to hybrids being better than irons. Im a single digit handicapper and have been for 11 years, have just never felt the need for hybrids as I can hit my long irons pretty well, to me I dont see them being any harder to hit than the short irons.
In my experience there are no "decent" players at our club who use hybrids, only those who either take no lessons or are club ****** and never settle with any clubs for any amount of time (its always the clubs fault).
How can anyone aspire to play golf to a good level if they dont have a full set of irons in their bag, with hybrids you lose a lot of playability too.

r32

Tigers got a few sets he's not using at the moment.

fitzscoob

Get yourself lessons in early, dont bother spending loads on the latest equipment as even the latest clubs wont make you hit the ball properly if you dont have good technique.

Have a look around at local clubs, find out from your friends if they reccomend any pro's to learn from. All pro's are different, so make sure you find one that you can get along with.

As mentioned before, get yourself a set of decent second hand clubs, Callaway, Mizuno, Titleist, Cobra, Taylormade.....just look at cavity backs for now, as there is no point in making the game too hard for yourself to begin with.

With regards to hybrid clubs, its a personal choice, each to their own. I have one although its a trade off in different conditions over a 3 iron. Personally I prefer the 3 iron, but thats just me.

Have a look at the clubs you buy as its more common now for irons to be custom fit, so they are speicific to the person buying them, changing the lie and loft etc. Also have a look at what shafts are in the irons, there are different flex strengths and this can have a huge impact on what happens to that little white ball when you hit it if your swing speed is not quite right for the clubs.

Along with the lessons to improve your game, try to find out a bit about golf ettiquette (sp), as nothing is more frustrating to other golfers than having someone without a clue on the course in front of you or next to you - now dont take offence, this isnt aimed at your skill level, but you should be aware of dress code, replacing divots, repairing pitch marks, calling people through and in general the brief rules of the game. Enjoy 5 or 6 ***** on the 9 hole pitch and putt course, but dont dream of doing that on a real course, its a quick way to be thrown off

Its a great game, and can be very addictive!

hoskib

iTrader: (1)

i wouldn't disagree with what you're saying to your level of golf, but why should a starter or mid-high handicapper be put off of hybrids?

i've played between 9 and 10 for a few years now but have never considered myself to be a 'good' golfer, for me a low hybrid is so much easier to hit than a low iron, so that's why my 2 iron stays in the loft now.
i can hit them from tee, fairway, rough, bunkers and chip with them with good success and have seen many do the same, i don't see why an average club golfer should be swayed away from them?

i would agree 'good' golfers have a better game for all irons, maybe your club has more than mine, but the OP is starting out. who's to tell putting a 3 iron in his hand over a hybrid is better for him?

i think we've possibly got into the internet thing of guess work here though, no-one knows what vallumlj swings a club like and we're just taking a flier as to what would work for him going on our own game/experience. i'd take fitzscoobs advice and find a good pro in your area to take a look and guide you from there

superstar1

His missus is using them at the moment...................................









On his head.

Rob_Impreza99

iTrader: (3)

Personally i think thats bad advice, you need to feel the clubs in your hand to make sure that they are suitable for your body height and arm length. Their is more than a 90% chance that any clubs you buy without seeing and feeling them first won`t be suitable for you and would do more harm than good.

Get down to a specialised golf shop which has experienced staff, they will tell you which ones are a suitable length for you personally. Clubs are fairly cheap to buy these days, the danger with ebay is the fakes kocking around like Callaway etc.

brendy76

iTrader: (6)

hoskib, I reread my post and it sounds a little me-me which I didnt intend it to sound.
I agree not everyone will be able to hit 2/3 irons, I follow the traditional route (lol im 33 not 70 btw!) if you start with hybrids there is no incentive to go for the perceived "harder" clubs to hit.
Lessons, correct clubs and as much pro advice as you can muster is a great start.
Don't take advice on the course whilst trying to play, keep it for practice times too as it usually comes from those who are struggling with the game themselves and is detrimental to solid pro advice.

The Zohan

Perhaps you could ask his wife, she seems quite handy with them as well

salsa-king

all comes on what you want to pay,
TBH its no point buying a cheapo set, Ie: all in one, bag, clubs + drivers + putter = £65 from ALLSPORTS etc etc.
The clubs will make the game 'hard'

As mentioned, pop into your local GolfClub ProShop, see what second hand sets they have, our Pro had some really nice almost new taylorMade irons for £100 (were over £300 whn new).
Also the pro will go through various sorts of club on not what to buy (blades!!)

then when you get mor into it.. (or you might not like golf).. you can upgrade.

I've had my Irons 13years now (Yamaha's with carbon shafts, cost over £800 new).. very happy with them and had them re gripped last year, made them feel like a new set.
I have bought a new TaylorMade CGB-Max driver last year too (£150)....... lovely.

scoobydog63

iTrader: (4)

Go and have at least 1 lesson with a local golf pro and then let them advise you on what to get. I would go with 2nd hand and a branded name Ping, TaylorMade, Callaway etc depending on your budget. They will be better quality than a cheap non branded set and you will get more for them when you come to sell them on.

falkster

Hes not going to buy a set of clubs and then learn how to adjust to them is he? He needs to bob down to his local range for a 'fitting' and try out all the models available then he can decide what club fits him best and whether he wants to buy from them or 'go and have a think....errr I mean buy that same set off ebay for a fraction'.

Theres a lot more technology goes into designing and building clubs these day. Im only 35 but we had the choice of Maxfli Australian Blade, John Letters PGA tour pro (still got both sets) and Ping Zing (just sold a full set with brand new woods....proper woods for £700). It wasn't until I got to about 15 when makers other than Ping we making clubs to suit a certain stance or player height, we used to have to bend them ourselves and add big chunks of lead to give them more weight.

Gav

Well I'll just back up what others have said, lessons are a must. If you don't have them you will pick up bad habits that you will only try and remedy
Once you improve. My advice is practice your short game, while your mates may boast about nailing it 300 yards, you can roll 3 shots into 2 round
The greens and come in with a much better score.

As far as clubs are concerned, don't buy a cheap set because that's exactly what they are. They are not made from as good materials as titleist etc etc
And you will change them in no time! Buy a decent second hand set that is a bit above your level and play into them.

Leslie

My crew always used to play golf when we had landed at a US airfield on duty. They all had their own golf courses and you could hire a set of clubs cheaply. None of us were very good but it was always a good laugh which was more important.

I found an old set of clubs some of which even had wooden handles but they worked surprisingly well and I got a lot of fun out of them.

A cheap set is the best way to start until you have enough experience to know what is best for you.

Les