Buying advice for second set of clubs

[HKJ9821]

Hi all,

I'm 26 and I've been playing golf for about six months.  I bought a set of Strata beginner clubs for about $200 and I've taken about five lessons with the same instructor.  My instructor claims I am progressing rapidly and have already outgrown my cheap clubs.  He has offered to fit me for new clubs for free, so once I have my fit I will be looking to buy new clubs.  As I am a beginner, I have no idea what brands of clubs would be best, and no idea what a fair price is.  I don't want to break the bank and I don't need top of the line clubs, but I want a significant upgrade from my first set and I am probably willing to spend in the $500 to $1,000 range on a full set.  In case it matters, I am about 6'2" and 240 lbs with a big but athletic frame.  I would appreciate any thoughts on good brands, or any buying advice in general.

Thanks a lot in advance!

- Harry

[dkolo]

Hi all,

I'm 26 and I've been playing golf for about six months.  I bought a set of Strata beginner clubs for about $200 and I've taken about five lessons with the same instructor.  My instructor claims I am progressing rapidly and have already outgrown my cheap clubs.  He has offered to fit me for new clubs for free, so once I have my fit I will be looking to buy new clubs.  As I am a beginner, I have no idea what brands of clubs would be best, and no idea what a fair price is.  I don't want to break the bank and I don't need top of the line clubs, but I want a significant upgrade from my first set and I am probably willing to spend in the $500 to $1,000 range on a full set.  In case it matters, I am about 6'2" and 240 lbs with a big but athletic frame.  I would appreciate any thoughts on good brands, or any buying advice in general.

Thanks a lot in advance!

- Harry

Hi Harry, welcome to the site! I know your pain with the cheap box sets; my brother and I both started golfing around the same time. I got an expensive Callaway set and he got a cheap Tommy Armour set from Sports Authority. It's been about two, two and half years and he's already upgrading his set, with only the irons left from the original set and those are going to be upgraded to Nikes soon. Meanwhile, I'm happy with my original set and save for the fact that I'm thinking of replacing my 5W with a 3H, I'm happy as a clam.

In any event, one of the things I'd heavily recommend is buying used. Companies like Callaway and Taylormade have their own Preowned sites and sell extremely good quality warrantied clubs. They grade each clubs by quality, so Like New, Very Good, Good, etc. Having bought a number of items from the Callaway Preowned site, I give them extremely high marks. Their Like New is literally new. It just may not have the original wrapper. It's basically the display units from stores. Their other grades are still very lightly used. You won't get a beat up club. Best part is that you can buy stuff that's this or the last model year for pennies on the dollar. For instance, the Big Bertha retailed new for nearly $500; we just bought it for $125 and it was mint condition. Same for irons and other clubs in the bag. You can score great deals, and they let you try and return clubs for store credit with no issues. It's a tremendous place to look for clubs. You can also check out ebay for deals on used clubs as well. I'd generally advise against buying clubs in stores new just because you're paying a ton for it and you can get good value online, but obviously you'd be getting much better fit that way. You can always pay your pro for his time and get a static fitting and see if he can recommend some clubs to you based on that, or if he'll try to get you some competitive pricing on his own merchandise.

I'll also add that, if you can bear to wait, hang on through Black Friday and the Christmas season. The sales get tremendous. Callaway was doing buy one get one free on drivers / woods / hybrids during Black Friday week. Taylormade was selling their current model driver (the SLDR) for $155 in mint condition during the second week of December. It'd be a good strategy to make a short list of clubs you want or would buy for the right price and be vigilant. Sign up for mailing lists from the big Preowned sites and scout Amazon's Lightning Deals. Try as much of the merch as you can at various retailers or demo days, and ask them about what kind of deals they're likely to offer during the Holidays. Employees advised me to hold off on a golf bag last year at Golfsmith, and it saved me about $50. You want to have a good idea of the different clubs so you can pounce on a deal since they often sell out fast.

[ZappyAd]

I'd agree with taking a look at used. There is always eBay but also some specialist sites - over here in the uk we have usedping.co.uk which means if you get fitted for ping clubs you can find a used set that fits you.

[kpaulhus]

Hey Harry -

Welcome to TST!

My first and biggest piece of advice I can give you would be to get fitted!

[rarebirdies]

I agreed with DKOLO - go for a fitting and then wait for a deal on the clubs on your wish list.  Check out gearforgolfing.com for a great selection.

[randyfitz]

get fitted and try many.  this is a good time of year to buy because most companies are getting ready to release new models so last year's models can be had for cheaper.  i am gaming the taylormade rsi1's right now and really like them.  i am also a huge fan of the ping g30's.

[allenc]

Not sure why everyone is telling you to get fitted when you already said your instructor will fit you for free. I think the obvious thing to do is work out a budget with him that goes with your fitting. It's not clear what he means when he says 'fit', but if his plan is to use something like a Callaway (or whatever) fitting cart and system then here is one option: Go through the entire process and that will give some recommendations for their newest clubs with some particular specs and shafts. Now figure out what their analogous line is from a couple years ago and find them with the same specs and shafts with the same profile. If you can't find them exactly right you might then be able to have them bent, change the grips, or change the shaft lengths. Clubs a couple generations back, even if brand new, are often half price or less than the newest model.

[Club Rat]

he has offered to fit me for new clubs for free, so once I have my fit I will be looking to buy new clubs.

Thanks a lot in advance!

- Harry

You should take him up on his offer, then you would have an idea where to start.

Then take the club specs (shaft flex, length, lie, type of club, even brand make and model) go to any golf retailer and find clubs which are to the specs the pro advised.

Next, shop online for similar clubs and determine if buying a set used is within your budget or if you prefer to buy new clubs.

Fall is usually a good time to buy as items are generally lower or on sale.

Also, once you narrow a selection down, then the forum members can answer more specific questions and discuss details of various brands, models, etc.

Welcome to TST Harry, by the way.

Club Rat

[HKJ9821]

Thanks, everyone!  Really appreciate it.  I will get my fitting and start looking around and come back here with updates.

[cooke119]

Being new to the game your Pro will probably recommend Super Game Improvement (SGI) to Game Improvement (GI) clubs. There are tons out there and don't be afraid of buy models that are a few years old. A set that was new two years ago were the greatest thing since sliced bread back then, they still are today. And don't believe all the hype by those marketing new clubs. I like to look at the Mark Crossfield reviews on Youtube, just enter Mark Crossfield in Search and you'll find him.

I needed a drive to help limit my fade which was pretty bad. I ended up buying a Cobra S3 Max for $89.00 new off Ebay. The S3 is a number of years old but it fits me and I hit it straight, Mark Crossfield had done a review of the club.

Do your homework and enjoy the search, that is half the fun of buying new clubs.