Golf Club Recommendations

[judas]

I know, I know: this should be posted in the Chimaera section...

Anyhoo - I was asked by a very good friend if I'd be interested in taking up golf. We both need to get out in the fresh air a bit more and de-stress. He's played a few time and wants someone of equal (lack of) skill to play with and it's an idea that I've found more and more interesting as I've slipped further into middle age.

My mate picked up a new set of Wilson clubs on eBay for £150 including a bag, which to me seems reasonable.

Now bearing in mind I ain't no Tiger Woods, is this a sensible amount to pay for a complete novice? Also, do clubs come in different lengths etc for people of different heights?

Any general or specific advice would be welcome!

[mustard]

can i come and play? sounds about my level

Owner of £800 Hippo Set of clubs bought on a Lexus staff promotion when they had some sponsership tie in for about £250, 4yrs old and hardly used! I look the part at least!

>> Edited by mustard on Sunday 6th February 16:47

[carsarecool]

American Discount Golf centres have pretty new 2nd hand sets, where you can try them out.

Usually attached to a driving range,not sure if you've got one near you, a quick google should do the trick.

Costs from £150, but you'll have to buy a bag as well, about £40.

[Muncher]

I have a mate who is looking to sell his clubs, he said he'd take £175 iirc.

They are a very good, very new set, including decent bag, balls and Nike Air golf shoes. In fact I think they're only a year old and used a couple of times as they were an insurance replacement.

Drop me an e-mail if you're interested.

[pug406]

When I decided I would like to play, I bought a 2nd hand set from the local golf club. Played for about 6 months with them then decided I wanted a "Pukka" set. I got myself a set of Titleist DCi Irons and had them fitted to my stroke - Fitting free, Clubs £650. Next in line was a Driver and Fairway woods- Bought a Wilson Deep Red Titanium 365cc driver (twas deep the biggest you could get at the time) and a 3 and 5 Deep Red faiway woods - £600. Being a bit of a gadget freek I decided I would like an Electric trolly. £450 later and I have a PowaKaddy Freeway Titanium All Terrain buggy. Did it end there? No I also have a Suunto GPS Golf watch that is quite handy for logging the length of your drives. Did all this cutting edge kit make me a better golfer? No, I am still crap but mainly due to the fact I only play once a month and I (you) really need to play at least once a week to make any improvement to your game

HTH

Dave

[Muncher]

Complete set of Dunlop DDH steelcore irons 3,4,5,6,7,8,9, pitching wedge and sand wedge. Also includes Cleveland 60 degree 'trouble' wedge and Wilson cavity backed X31id putter.

1,3 and 5, progen fb metal woods. 3 and 5 are very shallow to enable fairway play.

All clubs have stainless steel shafts and brand new grips. The bag is a double-strap, mizuno stand bag that has 6 external pockets and complete rain and storage cover. I will throw in with the bag, a load of tees(various sizes), balls and a full size towel and a pair of Nike air white and black golf shoes with spiders on the soles, excellent for play all year round.

This set was purchased brand new almost a year ago and has been played with once. Seller has no longer has time to play. Was bought for £700 pounds inclusive so a great bargain.

[judas]

Thanks for the replies chaps!

Having only hit my first golf ball in anger today, I think £150 is the very most I want to spent for now. I don't see much point in going mad and getting anything more than a reasonable beginner's set - I may decide after a few games that it's really not for me or, more likely, I am so hopelessly inept that no amount of money will see an improvement

[chim_girl]

pug406 said:

I got myself a set of Titleist DCi Irons and had them fitted to my stroke - Fitting free, Clubs £650.

Same here, except I missed out the cheap set enroute, getting a decent quality cheap/second hand ladies set was an impossible task. I cut to the chase and got a decent set only 6 weeks after starting to play. Three years on and I still need to get some decent woods. I play with an old Prosimmon 3 wood that my golf professional gave me to practice with. However, I can play with it, so can't see a reason to rush out and buy something new - just yet Now, if someone could help me with the other two things I really need - talent and time!

When choosing my clubs I tried out several brands, I never imagined that I would be able to feel the difference from one to another, but I could. For me, the length of the club was really important as was the flex in the shaft as my swing isn't particularly fast. It could be worth speaking to the pro shop at the golf course; quite a few of them take in full sets on part-ex basis, you'll also get the benefit of their expertise when choosing.

Oh and a warning, it's addictive.

[honestbob]

Pete,do not hit another golf ball without first spending about £30-£50 on some basic golf lessons with your with nearest golf professional.The most important part of playing and enjoying this fantastic game is to get a good set up from the very begining.You will be shown the correct grip,the correct stance,the correct posture, the correct backswing,the correct follow through and the correct finish.It is so important to get these right and ingrained so they become second nature.Any faults you develop now you will spend the rest of your life trying to get rid of them.I should know, I've been trying to get rid of mine for 36 years.
Don't worry about fancy clubs,your pro will have a selection of used clubs for trial and he will make sure they're OK for you to start with.Good luck and a lot of hard earned skill.

[chim_girl]

I'm with honestbob, I should add that I had been having 2 lessons per week for six weeks and practicing 5 or 6 days a week before I bought my own clubs. I borrowed some clubs from the club pro to get me started.

Its easy to pick up bad habits and difficult to lose them afterwards. You'll find that the majority of your golf playing mates will talk like a 'professional'; being very keen offer advice about how you can improve your game. IMHO in your early days you're better to disregard this type of 'help', spend some time with a pro learning the correct techniques and then practice lots.

[judas]

Today's session was just to have a knock-about to see if was something I'd like to take further. As luck would have it I did enjoy it rather a lot!

One of the first things we talked about after the game was getting some proper lessons so we don't pick up any bad habits

Thanks again everyone - it's given me something to think about and lines of enquiry to follow.

Here's to becoming a proper Chimaera driver

[bridgdav]

Hi Pete...

Quite right you should have posted this in the Golf section....

As far as clubs go...

You will want an offset game improvement club.
DO NOT go for the cheap 2nd hand old set of blades in the local club shop....
Get yourself along to your local club with a recognised professional..

You might feel a bit of a numpty when you first go in. BUT..... If you tell him that you want to take up golf and are looking for a set of irons, and wish to have a few lessons his ears will soon prick up.....


You might think that £15 or so for 20 minute lesson is Bl00dy steep and I would agree.... But the value he will add will help...(only go for one lesson..)

Go see your Pro...................

If noy buy a offset starter set from JB sports or similar for £150, get treated like their usual muppet who doesn't know anything about Golf and walk away happy...

Just my honest opinion Pete...

Dave





>> Edited by bridgdav on Sunday 6th February 23:17

[YarisSi]

Upper Austin Lodge - Anyone played there?

[chim_girl]

bridgdav said:

>> Edited by bridgdav

I saw what was there earlier

All I can say is, nice one....

[judas]

Following fellow PH'ers recommendations, I had my first golf lesson today. Well worth every penny

Me & my mate had a hour between us and it has made a big difference already. Ok, so we won't be challenging Tiger Woods any time soon, but at least I hit the ball in vaguely the right direction most times now

[EmmaP]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed a fun and worthwhile first lesson Pete. Shame it meant that you didn't get to drive my Corrado. Oh well, there's always next time.

[S Works]

Agree with the above, £150 spent on crap clubs is better used on lessons. Speak to your pro and maybe get a half bag of decent irons to start off with if you want your own, you don't need a full bag to start off with 'cos you simply won't use them. Quite a few pro's will cut you a deal if you've done lessons with them too.
I had a few lessons last summer (after playing for about 4 years on and off) and I was amazed at how much better my game was after only a few hours tuition of being told how to actually set-up properly and swing properly.
Most important is to get yourself to a driving range regularly and work on just hitting balls... I keep meaning to do this, maybe '05 will be the year that I actually get off my backside and do it!

[S Works]

mustard said:

I look the part at least!

All the gear, no idea - perfick

>> Edited by S Works on Sunday 27th February 20:27

[love machine]

Just go to a boot sale and get a bag of old bats innit? That way you don't waste money, I've got a bag of old bats in the garage if you can be bothered to come and pick them up, there's a few big whackers and a couple of things like shoehorns for old people. I reckon you could probably tt a ball with them as good as any of your pukka items

[Mrs Cuchillo]

Learn to hit a 6 or 7 iron properly first, learn to chip, putt & get out of bunkers and to think your way around the course so that you can use the shots you are confident with. Don't get tempted by promises of Drivers that you can hit 300 yards. 150 yards straight down the middle is worth a lot more that 250 yards into the trees!