Golf Forums - hi!

 Hi all. I'm new here so wanted to say hi. I'm reasonably new to golf and not particularly consistent but slowly getting there. I've been using a set of mixed clubs which I got for fathers day last year but have just bought an old set of Taylormade 360s which I'm hoping help me standardise my swing and so improve my consistency. Reading a lot here and looking for hints, tips and guidance. Please, if I ask a stupid question or use poor terminology put me straight, its through naivety and ignorance rather than stupidity (unless I ask twice, then feel free to call me what you like :) ). 

Im from Andover in Hampshire and have a few good courses around me. Never played anything other than my local pitch and out but hoping to play first round at Hampshire golf course over the next 4 weeks or so. Ill let you all know how I get on. 

Hope everyone is well.
rick 

Hi Rick and welcome to The Social Golfer (TSG).

There are no 'stupid' questions - only stupid answers (sometimes)!

You will probably find most other golfers happy to help and will certainly be able to ask any question on TSG.
 
Good luck with your first round of golf and I hope you will look to join some of the many games listed on these pages in the near future! 

 Thanks for the welcome john. I still need to collect the iron set I bought (TM 360 with R-80 reg steels shafts 3-pw, a Wilson driver, mizuno putter, mizuno bag and random other bits for a whopping £10.52) so am not 100%.sure what ill find in the bag. I'm assuming I will be able to clean up the irons with fairy liquid and scotch brght. However, think ion going to be lacking woods. 

I read another thread about clubs and the suuggestion that the higher your handicap the fewer clubs you ought to take out with you; to avoid incorrect selection and inconsistency when swapping between clubs only take a driver, 3 wood, 7 iron, sw and putter. Assuming that I only have irons and a putter, which club(s) would you buy next? A set of 3 woods? Or maybe a 5 wood and a rescue or hybrid? Whcih make for beginners? I guess reg flex graphite?

Thanks for input. 

 What ever you buy make sure you get advice & possibly fitted at your local pro shop.talk to them and let them advise you

 Thanks Roger. I was about to ask a potentially stupid question but think i know the answer. Ill ask anyway for the benefit of other new golfers. I was going to ask "are clubs bought from eBay/gumtree/other sources not standard loft and lies etc" but after about 10 seconds of thought process I guess not, as you've advised i get fitted and so many others may too have been fitted, making their clubs non-standard. The real question then is this: how likely is it that clubs bought without a known history will be useless for me? From that I guess there are two questions: what is standard (I.e. off the shelf, no adjustment) and what percentage of eBay clubs have been adjusted (1 in 10 people has fitted clubs, so 10%, or only 1 in 100 is fitted so 1%). I'm 5'11 with lanky arms but think I probably fall into the 'standard' category (from the ping chart I think I'm a black dot).

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Hi Rick,

At the risk of being controversial (not aiming for that) and certainly against the grain of most advice I would think twice about a proper fitting at this stage, that is unless your funds are unlimited. Your swing and game is going to change so often over the next months and early years that fitting is in effect a waste of time. That money is better invested in lessons. I have heard this said a thousand times and few people (including me) take this advice up. Most (including me) regret this. It is so difficult to unlearn bad habits, which you will pick up without lessons, however with lessons from an early stage you can put together a set of good habits and skills that will contribute largely to your game development on the right tracks for years to come.

I would never suggest American Golf for a proper fitting, however as its free you could always do that now and at worst they should be able to give you basics such as static measurements and swing speed which will inform you re loft, lie, grip and flex etc. I suspect given what you have said about your measurements with Ping (did you use there online static measurements?) that you are standard loft and lie and your height suggests this cant be far out (there are too many variables to guess accurately – hence the idea of AG). You probably are also a regular flex, but once again AG can take away any doubt.  As I said a more detailed and proper fitting should wait until you have a swing that is more grooved and consistent. It will change too much to make any fitting now useful.

Re Ebay – The descriptions will (or at least should – if you stick to good sellers) inform you if the clubs have been altered from standard. My experience (and I buy and sell too much!) of ebay is that the large majority of clubs are standard, with the flex being the most variable. It is often the place to pick up and try several cheaper clubs – you can just resell them on at minimal loss. So to be specific to your question, it is likely that many clubs on ebay would be ideal for you to try. Standard clubs (i.e. loft and lie) are perfectly fine for the vast majority of golfers, particularly so in the early days of taking it up.

Re your clubs. By all means try the driver (use ranges to learn) but I would advise buying a 3 wood or even a 4 to negate the need for both a 3 and 5. Also a hybrid to replace the likes of the 3/4 iron as these are often difficult to hit for beginners (but do try them on the range). It makes sense to initially take out a half set to play with until you become more consistent. For example you will probably that you hit the 6 and 7 very similar distance initially so no need for a full set.

Best of luck

 Thanks James, really really useful reply! I've had a look and found 5 half hour lessons for 50 quid at Hampshire golf course. Lessons provided by pga certified trainer. Will definately consider that before a tailored set if clubs for £400. Likely to be much better output pound for pound. 

for someone who is reasonably new to golf, should I worry about brand of golf club? Is a ping driver worth buying over say, a lesser known/quality club? By that I mean will I be able to see a difference in my game with better clubs or do you need to be good to work the ball and notice a difference? Ill probably buy half way decent or decent clubs anyway as I don't intend to be rubbish forever. 

Other thought I had whilst ebay-ing; how much has golf technology changed? Will a set of Argos/wallmart clubs from 2013 be better than pings from 1985? Or is it a case that quality is quality and cheap is cheap, whichever decade theyre from?

thanks
rick

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Rick,

Nice to get a somewhat easier question, thanks. Depending on what manufacturers your talking about there can be a noticeable difference. In general stay away from non-golf manufacturers i.e. argos/wallmart etc. Also stay way from starter packs. Although they look like good value they are in effect an inferior product compared with the big 5/6 manufacturers.

 It makes no sense to buy from these when you can get quality from the top boys second hand for the same price. I assume you know who I mean – i.e. titleist, ping, TM, callaway etc. Big fan of ebay. You can buy any club from a few years ago for silly money compared to what they were brand new. There are plenty of people with unlimited funds who buy new constantly and have them on ebay very soon after. I like these people! There is very little difference between clubs made in 2008/9 than those made in 2012. For someone new like yourself – no difference will be noticed at all. Also note the difference their marketing people promote is largely exagerated! You can only maximise technology to a certain point within the restrictions laid down. It can’t keep moving forward. It has been noted by many people that if everything they said was true about drivers (i.e. this new driver will get you x number of extra yards) we would all be hitting it over 400 yards. In summary its nonsense, at best the difference negligble and ceratinly not noticed by new golfers.

Keep you hard earned cash till a time when you know, and you will know, when the right time is for full fittings and brand new tailored to you clubs. In the mean time buy 2nd hand clubs from the main players and don’t worry if they are several years old. P.S. I still play with irons that were made in 2007. I have not found that new models have improved enough yet. Don’t get fooled by manufacturers sales pitches

 This is all good info! Thanks again. Ill look out for a 3, 5 (or 4) wood and a hybrid if I don't get on with the 3/4irons, maybe a ping g5, taylormade r9, callaway x18 rather than ping rapture/g20, taylormade rbz or callaway razr. Then a driver with 10.5/11 degree to go with them. Found a mizuno t zoid driver on eBay with an hour to go, 99p. Looks like its from 1995 so 18 years old. I guess there has been noticeable progress over that sort of timeframe. 

Haven't received my "new" kit yet. Got one of my engineers to pick it up, just waiting on delivery. Looking forward to a sunny smash about on driving range, play down at the pitch and put then a game at Hampshire golf course! 

P.s. im a cheap skate so glad that it is possible to bring handicap down without an extortionate bank balance lol. 3 kids, single income and mortgage makes golf my missus's bottom priority. A sneaky tenner every now and again (or 20 or 40) for a competitive new club (based on my limited ability) sounds good to me :)