What equipment does a beginner need?

[Guest ShadowXOR]

I could use some suggestions on what equipment you think I need.

Basically I'm going to be taking some lessons soon (how many/what kind should I take?) and I want to know when/how much equipment I need.

While I'm taking the lessons (won't last very long, a week at MOST, unless someone suggests otherwise) should I have my own clubs? Will they provide them, or allow me to rent them? Should I have golf shoes? Anything else I need that I don't know about?

Then when I actually get out there after training to play what all do I need? I want to go relatively inexpensive at first because I have always found golf appealing but I'm not sure how it will be when I actually play so I don't want to drop a ton of money. Plus, the less it costs for me to get into it the sooner I can go. I found some nice sets at Sport Chalet, I know they aren't the highest quality but will they be enough to get me started? Here are the inexpensive sets of clubs complete with bag:

http://www.sportchalet.com/family/in...714659.1309436

They seem very reasonable to me for getting started, or do you suggest I rent clubs? Any tips would be great.

Just for your general information I'm a 22 year old male, 6'1" and about 200 lbs. I know the rules of golf fairly well but all I've ever done is minigolf and fooled around at a driving range. I live in the Seattle, WA area. Thank you very much for your advice!

[BaronV]

Your range that you'll be practicing in should probably have a set of clubs for you to use during lessons, but if you plan on practicing after class, you should get your own set. And no, you wouldn't need golf shoes for your lessons, it does help, but not an absolute need. Same with golf gloves if you have hands that get callouses, get one.

For a bare minimum of clubs, I would go with a 3 wood, 5-7-PW irons, and putter. Maybe a 4 hybrid.

If you want a full set at the lowest price (stand bag, 3 woods, hybrid, irons, putter), go to Target where they sell a set of beginner items from RAM or Dunlop for about $99-$189 and you can buy it in the store and have everything in one package. Board members will probably suggest getting name brand previous generation clubs for better quality, but it's a bit of a hassle finding them piece-by-piece at your local golf shops or eBay.

Check out: http://www.target.com/gp/browse.html...node=196160011
Men’s Cougar X-Cat Tour II 13-pc.: $99.99
Ram Men’s Craigton Golf Set- $129.99

As for lessons and how many to take, that depends on how much you can spend and how good you want to get. Leaving that up to you and your instructor.

[Guest ShadowXOR]

Well to start I would like to learn enough that I can go out and play some golf without making myself look like a complete fool. I figure if I get into it I can take more lessons later, I just want a beginners course that will get me started introducing me to the different concepts of swinging properly, etc.

Thanks for the links, I go to Target often and like it (compared to other stores like it) but the reviews on those clubs claim that heads came off, they broke, etc. on first uses! That kind of scares me. The price is right though...

[tigerstripes]

I would first figure out what your budget is and plan around that or else you could end up spending waaay too much. If you need to get some equipment and a few lessons, I'd say about $400-500 is minimum you want to start out with as it would get you a decent set of clubs and some lessons.

There are a few ways to approach this. What I did when I started out is I purchased all my clubs used and in an orderly fashion. First, buy the irons (used), a golf bag (new), and a putter (either), as these are the 3 essential items you'll need to play on the course...along with a ball of course. As you get better and more experienced, buy a 5 wood, a 3 wood, and finally (most importantly LAST) is the driver. Or, if you decide you suck and want to quit, you haven't really bought all that much equipment and you can limit your losses to half a set of clubs.

I'd try to find a nice used set of Silver Scott 845's, Ben Hogan's, RAM's, Taylor Mades, etc. You can probably buy new Dunlops in that range. Typically, I find that the package deals where you get all the clubs for $200 turn out to be really cheap and break. Get less stuff for $200 (read: don't feel like you have to buy every club for your bag now), but get quality stuff. Then once you get a hankerin for some golf, get some shoes, a nice pair of knickers, an argyle sweater vest, and a kangol hat or two.

Given your age and size, I highly recommend that you purchase irons with steel shaft (stay away from graphite), and ask the guy at the store (golf store, asking someone at Target will get you blank stares) to match you with either Stiff or Regular flex shafts (I would recommend regular if you're new and learning).

You said. "Well to start I would like to learn enough that I can go out and play some golf without making myself look like a complete fool."

Believe it or not, looking like a fool on the golf course is all about attitude. If you're a prick who tosses clubs around after a bad shot or swears all the time, you'll be a fool. If you have a great attitude, do your best to have fun and enjoy yourself just being out there, you'll look like the coolest dude ever.

Good Luck.

[supercow]

I started out with one decent club. LOL It only cost me $10 but I just kept on hitting it (7-iron) until I figured I liked the game enough to buy a half-set and finally a full set. Most of the time your teacher will have spare clubs lying around for you to work with anyhow.

[Guest ShadowXOR]

Believe it or not, looking like a fool on the golf course is all about attitude. If you're a prick who tosses clubs around after a bad shot or swears all the time, you'll be a fool. If you have a great attitude, do your best to have fun and enjoy yourself just being out there, you'll look like the coolest dude ever.

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check that stuff out. I think generally I have a pretty good attitude and I'm not a thrower so that shouldn't be a problem. You are the second person to tell me to avoid graphite shafts so that is good to have confirmed.

With the price of these cheap full sets at Target, etc. (I know they aren't great) it is damn tempting. They look nice and I would just use them until I can buy a high quality full set. I know I go on about sets but I like my things to match. :)

[BaronV]

Actually my friend has been (painfully) still playing with Cougar clubs for over a year and they've held up well and I think only the head of a 7 iron broke (but he hits the mats often while practicing). My other friend bought at the same time Adams Tight Lies clubs and the 5 iron broke off after just two rounds. So Name Brand vs. low priced never factored, just how you abuse the clubs.

I've had my HCT Tours for a while and they hold up well and I got them as a package at Target myself. The plus with Target is if you don't like the set after trying them, it's pretty easy to return for a refund if it's not too badly marked up.

As noted above, you don't need every single club when you start. If you're playing for fun, you don't need to spend a lot. But if you're going to be serious about it, spend a bit more to have equipment you'd like to keep for a while. So do your research and demo sets at your local pro shop.

[Guest ShadowXOR]

Actually my friend has been (painfully) still playing with Cougar clubs for over a year and they've held up well and I think only the head of a 7 iron broke (but he hits the mats often while practicing). My other friend bought at the same time Adams Tight Lies clubs and the 5 iron broke off after just two rounds. So Name Brand vs. low priced never factored, just how you abuse the clubs.

So my thoughts were to buy a cheap set at Target to get started, then get a nice set at a pro shop if I get into it. It appears you agree? I figure $100 for Target clubs would be a very low entry fee to at least get my feet wet in the sport. Of course I have the cost of lessons, etc. but it doesn't add up to much in the long run.

[brianf40us]

Acuity clubs from Dicks are what i bought for my fist set and love them never had a problem with them and cheap about 150dollars

[brianf40us]

Oh yeah you may want to get a new driver though cuz i didnt like the acuity one but it is good enough to start off with

[Guest ShadowXOR]

These look really nice for the price and have great reviews, any thoughts?

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/pr...chId=2273504#1

EDIT: It appears that the woods are graphite shafts while the irons have a steel shaft, is this a big deal? It seems like everything cheap has a graphite shaft. And does anyone know anything about the Golden Bear brand? The clubs look slick.

[joey1234]

STAY AWAT FROM THAT SET OF RAMS!!!!! I bought that exact set at they fell apart on me... Even the bag broke.... the five irons head fell off, the zippers on the bag wouldnt close, the foam pieces on top ofthe bag fell off while on the course, and the shafts on the woods are so whippy you can go fishing with them....... the 3 and 5 wood are so big its like hitting a driver off the deck.....

adams makes some good sets for cheap... also check out rockbootomgolf.com - they hav ereally good prices....


my cpousin just bought a golden bear set - the irons are OK, but the woods suck..

[joey1234]

these are pretty good irons... very forgiving and easy to hit IMO

http://www.globalgolf.com/product/go...x?gd=3&pfltr;=1


http://www.globalgolf.com/product/go...d=1001750&gd;=3

[Guest ShadowXOR]

Well I want to buy something new and relatively low priced so I can get a full set. That way I can get a good feel for all the clubs even if they are crappy. Why do those clubs have such a high amount of good reviews (the ones I linked to that you said were horrible)?

EDIT: Rock Bottom Golf carries no complete sets. :(

[bwinger79]

EDIT: It appears that the woods are graphite shafts while the irons have a steel shaft, is this a big deal? It seems like everything cheap has a graphite shaft. And does anyone know anything about the Golden Bear brand? The clubs look slick.

Most woods are going to come with graphite shafts. Some of the best shafts in the world are graphite. You want them in your woods, but for a beginner, I would stick to steel shafts in your irons.

[motius]

I wouold stay away from the RAM product, especially the "G-force" line. I got the 'G-Force' complete box set (included driver, 3w, 5w, 3h, 4i-pw, putter & stand bag).

The driver shaft was so soft you could twist the head 90 degrees from the handle with your hand ~! (making it impossible to hit).

In a year of playing these clubs, both my 5i and PW broke (snapped at the middle of the hosel) and the heads went flying down the fairway (lucky I didn't kill anyone). Upon closer inspection of the broken heads/hosel, the hole boring was really off centre, creating a strong side and a weak side. The one club that was surprisingly nice was the putter, although the laminated decal on the back side delaminated and fell off (strictly cosmetic).

[joey1234]

funny i hated that putter - but i think the putter is the most personal club of all.... i have been using my touredge back draft putter and I own a 250 bettinardi....

[Guest ShadowXOR]

Well I went to a local golf store today (it seems really nice) and they recommended these clubs for me:

http://www.golfdiscount.com/Detail.bok?id=3047

They are roughly $230 at the store. What do you guys think?