So I got into golf around a year ago. I would shoot around 130-140’s when I first started out.
Fast forward to today, I haven’t broken a 100 yet, but I tip toe between 100-110.
My clubs all together cost me around $300-$400 in a bundle package from amazon.
When I play with good golfer friends they have all the best drivers, putters and irons. They shoot around 80-90.
I’m curious how much improvement I will see in my game if I update my driver and maybe my 9, and a 3 wood... my putter will be last on my list since I’ve perfected a pretty good way of 2 putting every hole; and I feel reading the greens is far more important than having the best putter.
All in all I’d say I drive the ball around 220-250 with my current driver. (Bragging moment) I once hit a drive that went over 300 and landed on the green, people in front of us were staring at me to see if I would get the eagle lol.... so therefore I wonder, my driver is capable of hitting that distance, but that one shot will probably never happen again, it was a 1 in a million shot and I literally let it all loose into that swing. Any other time I’ve tried it, I lose complete control of the ball, so I stick to a balanced swing that gets me on the fairway in decent shape.
With that information should I upgrade a few clubs? Or should I wait till I can break 100 on a consistent basis and when I have the $$ get fitted for clubs instead? [Reply]
When I lived in North Carolina I'd golf every Saturday. I could drive the hell out of the ball. I once shot a 64 on 18 holes but that was my best day ever. I also used a 9 iron one time to tee off on a par 3 and landed 2 feet from the hole and got it in with 5 putts. LOL. The green was sloped so much that if you were above the hole and missed it the ball would travel to the other end of the green.
But Meh on the clubs, if you have natural coordination like I do you can use anything. If you don't then you'll just always suck.
Some good advice is to try jerking somebody's livestock for a few months before golf season. It builds your forearms and your eye hand coordination. [Reply]
I've always thought that the worse your handicap, the better your clubs should be. I have some really old technology clubs that I love then I tried my son's $2000 Srixon clubs. They're stiff and 1/2" extended cause he's 6'3" and a 8 handicap.
I found that I hit them 2 clubs longer and don't have to bend down as much either. Makes a huge difference. [Reply]
With golf it's more about the indian than the arrow.
However, it is true that modern drivers have enormous 'sweet spots' compared to older drivers. If you have a semi-consistent tendency to shank a drive (or a fairway shot with one of your fairway woods) then getting a new driver/fairway wood might be the ticket.
Other than that, you're really probably better off getting lessons rather than investing in new tech. Tech won't fix your swing. Or fix any weaknesses in your game. I knocked 10 strokes off my game simply by having an instructor watch me play 5-6 holes. he saw my tendencies and not only simplified my swing, but made me aware of some bad habits I'd acquired over the years that were hurting my scores. [Reply]
The average handicap hasn’t changed in in well forever and i shoot worse today than I did with clubs from the early 80s .
My 0.2 cents , lessons and practice , if new clubs will encourage you to take lessons and practice then go for it , life long sports like golf where you can play into your 90s are nice to have when you retire. [Reply]
Been playing for years. Swing plane, rhythm, weight shift are my keys, if they are bad, I might as well quit and have a beer.
Take your favorite iron when you go to get fit for clubs, hit 10 shots with it to get warm then 10 shots with the contender club.... then you have some idea of what you are getting. [Reply]
As someone who started last year like you, definitely heed the advice of lessons before fitting/new clubs. I started with some hand me down Pings that were top of the line when they came out, and while they were good clubs, they were meant for scratch golfers. It had no forgiveness on mis-hits. So I went and got fitted. But the problem with fitting at the talent level I was at and where you're at, is that fitting doesn't really work all that well. If you don't hit irons well then it really doesn't matter what shaft you have or if you are swinging a callaway iron vs a Taylor made, because all your shots are slices or duff's or fat. You won't notice any difference except for some more forgiveness on hits, but that won't cure you're slice or whatever else you hav e wrong. I ended up getting Rogues but the lessons are what brought me down in to the 90s. The rogues didn't magically make me hit 30 yards longer. I'm trying to break in to the 80s now and I'll probably have to get refitted because my swing is so different (read: better) than it was when I got my rogues. [Reply]
You didn't show us a photo or tell us what you're playing with now. If you have GI (game improvement) irons already, you might have the proper clubs in your bag. Scoring better comes with experience, not better clubs.
I agree with the comment above, go get lessons and find out why you're shooting so high, and not scoring better. When I started in 1962, I was 12 and on the small size and shot about 125. I was about 19 before I broke 90. Today at age 70 I shoot about 78 to 84.
In my case getting Taylormade M4 Irons was a great improvement because they have face slots, which makes the entire face a sweet spot. They're vertical slots next to the face and along the bottom of the club. For example, if I'm hitting 140 to the green with a 7 iron and I hit it on the toe. With regular clubs it might go 90 yards, with the M4's it will go almost as if I hit it flush, no loss of distance. Sometimes they amaze me.
Here are my Taylormade M4's, I don't have a great photo. I also use a Taylormade R11S driver, that's about a 5 year old model. I don't buy a newer one because I'm hitting it as good as ever, so don't fix it if it ain't broke. I have a couple of Adams A4 Hybrids and a Odyssey Putter, and Vokey Wedges. Clubs don't have to be the same brand, it's whatever works.
Here's what you have to look forward to if you keep playing until retirement. This is my Yamaha Golf Cart, it's a 2011 model I bought new, just took this photo last week. Where I live I can drive my cart from my garage to one of 12 championship golf courses. I think it looks good for 9 years years old.
I have LED lights along the front and side, when you have to drive mixed with cars, it's good to be seen.
I just put in an AM/FM Radio and fan in the roof last week.
I got fitted to Ping blue dot g10s with the bigger grip about 12 years ago and love them. I’d recommend a few golf classes to find your flaws. I take more time at the chipping green when at the driving range than the range itself. Swing plane is different when you’re swinging a driver than an iron so I like to work on that constantly along with drawing and slicing intentionally with foot placement opposite to the direction you’re hitting. [Reply]
