The search continues....

**Gaviao** · August 2, 2012

So I finally had an excuse to get to a Dick's sporting goods and test hit a couple of different irons. Here's what I found...

My favorite "feel" was a set of Cleveland game improvement irons(I believe they were the CG16 Black Pearl Irons), but I wasn't very consistent with them

I really liked the Callaway Diablo Edge - R, definitely the most consistent

I also liked the Nike VrS irons. Not as consistent as the Callaway's but I hit those the farthest.

So which is the most important? "Feel", consistency, or distance?

I also tried Adams, Cobra, and Taylormade but I was not a fan. To be honest I was a little surprised as I thought I would like the Cobras...

So I'm planning on going to a different store to hit some more clubs but I did have a couple of questions...

One possible route I'm considering is the used route and I'm having a little difficulty finding the older models of the above three brands that I liked. So any help there would be great.

Also

The other route I am considering is the clone route. Now I know there is a lot of debate and I promise I'm not trying to stir the pot here, like I said I am also considering the used route as well.

For those of you who play/have played clones which do you feel is the best clone brand? The two that I have looked at are Pinemeadow and Gigagolf .

Thanks for all of the help, seriously this forum has REALLY helped improve my game. Also I really don't want to start a debate over the clone thing. I am giving equal weight to both options and in the end I promise to make an informed decision

**LuciusWooding** · August 2, 2012

Originally Posted by Gaviao

So I finally had an excuse to get to a Dick's sporting goods and test hit a couple of different irons. Here's what I found...

My favorite "feel" was a set of Cleveland game improvement irons(I believe they were the CG16 Black Pearl Irons), but I wasn't very consistent with them

I really liked the Callaway Diablo Edge - R, definitely the most consistent

I also liked the Nike VrS irons. Not as consistent as the Callaway's but I hit those the farthest.

So which is the most important? "Feel", consistency, or distance?

I also tried Adams, Cobra, and Taylormade but I was not a fan. To be honest I was a little surprised as I thought I would like the Cobras...

So I'm planning on going to a different store to hit some more clubs but I did have a couple of questions...

One possible route I'm considering is the used route and I'm having a little difficulty finding the older models of the above three brands that I liked. So any help there would be great.

Also

The other route I am considering is the clone route. Now I know there is a lot of debate and I promise I'm not trying to stir the pot here, like I said I am also considering the used route as well.

For those of you who play/have played clones which do you feel is the best clone brand? The two that I have looked at are Pinemeadow and Gigagolf.

Thanks for all of the help, seriously this forum has REALLY helped improve my game. Also I really don't want to start a debate over the clone thing. I am giving equal weight to both options and in the end I promise to make an informed decision

Gigagolf makes decent clubs for great prices. I like their irons and wedges pretty well. I'm currently unhappy with my set because I gained like 20mph of clubhead speed with my irons and they don't fit me anymore. But for a couple months they were great for me. You can always just buy one club from them to test as well.

Luckily they are so inexpensive, I didn't waste 2000$ on my current set that needs replacing. More like 300$ and I don't consider it a big waste. My putter is still perfectly good, at least.

I had bought from Pinemeadow first, and I don't really like them as well. They use really cheap shafts and grips by default and charge extra to upgrade. Giga is more flexible, letting you buy individual irons, and use better shafts and grips by default. I would recommend though, if you want to use the stock shafts on their irons, that you consider going up a slight bit stiffer in flex. They have L, A, Regular, Firm, and Stiff in their standard shaft and I had absolutely no trouble hitting the firm flex high and soft despite being barely fast enough for it at first. Now I'm way faster and it's not stiff enough but I was expecting to grow into it a bit. If you get Dynamic Golds then probably listen to their recommendations because that shaft is heavy and low launching but the Feather flight is a tad soft IMO due to the weight and step pattern.

**Jon Robert** · August 2, 2012

"So which is the most important? "Feel", consistency, or distance?"

You cannot win championships with inconsitant feel

You cannot win championships with inconsistant distances

You CAN indeed win championships with consitantly numb feel and consistant lack of distance The goal of golf is repeatability. Consistantly left is vastly better than some left and some right.

**Gaviao** · August 3, 2012

Originally Posted by Jon Robert

"So which is the most important? "Feel", consistency, or distance?"

You cannot win championships with inconsitant feel

You cannot win championships with inconsistant distances

You CAN indeed win championships with consitantly numb feel and consistant lack of distance The goal of golf is repeatability. Consistantly left is vastly better than some left and some right

Gotcha... to be honest I meant that the callaway's stayed the closest to center. I did hit some of the other clubs with a pretty consistent draw, which was weird cause on the course I usually slice.

**Goonsidious** · August 3, 2012

Do you have a Golfsmith near you? A lot of quality used sets and can try them out. A lot of new obviously as well..best assortment I've ever seen. I do like thr Clevelands..always have. Callaways feel nice..but seem just ordinary to me..but hey..nothing bad about that. I'm looking to upgrade like you..so good luck.

**Gaviao** · August 3, 2012

Originally Posted by Goonsidious

Do you have a Golfsmith near you? A lot of quality used sets and can try them out. A lot of new obviously as well..best assortment I've ever seen. I do like thr Clevelands..always have. Callaways feel nice..but seem just ordinary to me..but hey..nothing bad about that.
I'm looking to upgrade like you..so good luck.

The closest Golfsmith is about an hour and a half from me, but there is a Golf Galaxy about 45 mins from me. Like I said the Cleveland felt AMAZING in my hands, just had a harder time hitting it. Then again it was a GI set and the Callaway set were SGIs.

Back on the consitancy issue I would have to say that the Nike set was the most consistent and the farthest, but I hit them with a consitant draw.

**Jon Robert** · August 3, 2012

" For those of you who play/have played clones which do you feel is the best clone brand? The two that I have looked at are Pinemeadow and Gigagolf ."

The truth is that marketing is the majority of the golf industry. When every iron out there is examined truthfully they are all basically the same. IN FUNCTION AND FORM Each cavity back that has similar hosel is virtually identical. Etc Center of gravity, swing weight, total weight everything. Often the much hyped millimeter shift of weight is completely meaningless. It is advertising shtick. Yes there are some parameters that do have substantial influence. I remember the story of the electric motor salesman who traveled from trade show to trade show. In discussions with other exhibitors he revealed that nothing has changed in motors for many years. They simply paint each new production a different color and it subconsciously convinces the consumer that there must be a difference.

Any clone has equal potential to be great,good, garbage. One very important factor to be concerned with is public response/sales. For example I will only buy forged irons so that I can bend the lie I will not buy brittle cast as they break. Even so I have broke many and I am keenly aware that metal has bending limits. Cheap quality forged may have defect and they will break. I play the odds and try to get good metallurgy so I don't have surprises. I realize that they are probably all made in basically the same factories in China now days. There have been many clones that are no where near the quality of the original but the maker don't care. They will continue to sell the same volume of cheap metallurgy as they would if they cut into profits to use good metallurgy. Why bother sales will not improve. Name brand makers have more at stake they are top of the heap players and don't want to get a reputation as cheap junk

I use Golfsmith all the time for components besides heads. For experiments, shaft extension, lead weight etc. I have used their component heads in the past until it dawned on me that I can buy top of the line used clubs at less price than new component clubs.

To answer your question, Golfsmith.

**Gaviao** · August 3, 2012

Originally Posted by Jon Robert

"For those of you who play/have played clones which do you feel is the best clone brand? The two that I have looked at are Pinemeadow and Gigagolf."

The truth is that marketing is the majority of the golf industry. When every iron out there is examined truthfully they are all basically the same. IN FUNCTION AND FORM Each cavity back that has similar hosel is virtually identical. Etc Center of gravity, swing weight, total weight everything. Often the much hyped millimeter shift of weight is completely meaningless. It is advertising shtick. Yes there are some parameters that do have substantial influence. I remember the story of the electric motor salesman who traveled from trade show to trade show. In discussions with other exhibitors he revealed that nothing has changed in motors for many years. They simply paint each new production a different color and it subconsciously convinces the consumer that there must be a difference.

Any clone has equal potential to be great,good, garbage. One very important factor to be concerned with is public response/sales. For example I will only buy forged irons so that I can bend the lie I will not buy brittle cast as they break. Even so I have broke many and I am keenly aware that metal has bending limits. Cheap quality forged may have defect and they will break. I play the odds and try to get good metallurgy so I don't have surprises. I realize that they are probably all made in basically the same factories in China now days. There have been many clones that are no where near the quality of the original but the maker don't care. They will continue to sell the same volume of cheap metallurgy as they would if they cut into profits to use good metallurgy. Why bother sales will not improve. Name brand makers have more at stake they are top of the heap players and don't want to get a reputation as cheap junk

I use Golfsmith all the time for components besides heads. For experiments, shaft extension, lead weight etc. I have used their component heads in the past until it dawned on me that I can buy top of the line used clubs at less price than new component clubs.

To answer your question, Golfsmith.

Thanks for the reply. I think the "Clones vs Brand names" argument is starting to make sense to me. First and foremost I am a musician, specifically a guitarist and the same debate can be found in that arena as well. After a lot of research and discussion on guitars I basically came to the following conclusion....

If you have the money to spend then why wouldn't you buy a name brand guitar? For example an American made Fender Stratocaster(think Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn etc) which sells for roughly $900 to $1,100 (and up) depending on the model. The resell value will be significantly better and you have the security of the history of that brand as well as knowing that you have a "pro" quality piece of equipment.

However if you are on a budget/learning to play/just don't play that often, then you can find a "clone" that will suit your needs. Like a Squier Vintage Modified Stratocaster which sells for roughly $250 to $300 depending on the model. The resell value basically doesn't exist and there is a better chance that the product won't live up to the hype.

For guitars the trick is knowing the components that are vital and making sure that the clone company doesn't skimp in those areas and, as you mentioned, the company's customer service is top notch.

Let me know if I am off base here as I'm new to golf

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