Should I get new clubs?

If your losing most of your strokes with your short game than i dont think you should get new clubs. And you say you strike the ball well anyway so clearly your irons arent the problem. Short game is where its at. Practice practice practice. If you have an unfamiliar lie put the wedge away and hit a 8 iron or something similar and run it up there. Much easier to make solid contact on a crappy ass lie with an iron over a wedge.

So you own r9's but are looking at the i20s? Correct?

Also on the par 5's you say your long iron or wood is never enough to get you there. Since your having trouble with your chipping id just lay up and give yourself a full 8/9 iron into the green.

Hey tuffluck,

By no means am I an expert but have you thought about bagging a 4hybrid?  I just recently started doing this, I feel like my 5i is the longest iron I have that i can hit well more then i can hit poorly.  With good contact I send my 5i around 185/190, my 4h is a good 205/210 club.  My problem with a 4i is that I seem to hit it more 5i distance most of the time, unless I catch it crisp.

What is your 5i distance compared to your 4i?  And what is your 7w distance?  I guess a 7w is about a 3i replacement.

As far as you new clubs question, I think what you're asking is should you go for the i20's to get the added distance and be able to go a club less on most of your iron shots.  I would say yes if you don't mind parting with the $$$.  If you consistantly hit i20's 10-15 yards further (each club) your going about one club lower on every approach, sounds like a good upgrade to me.

Also, I agree with the above post, if your on a Par 5 and you can't reach it in two a layup to 9i/PW distance is probably more effective then trying to get up towards the green but coming up 50 yards short.  I'm more comfortable with a full swing then anything inside the 100 yard mark, I try and constantly remind myself this when I'm playing longer holes.

i have a recurring problem chipping,in that i never seem to hit it hard enough,i feel as though it will shoot over the green,so usually end up shy,chipping is all about feel and

if you become proficient at it i see your low 90s beconming low 80s,and your handicap halving in time,as for buying new clubs,its up to you,if you can easily afford them,or are relatively affluent then why not

Two thoughts. First, don't think about new clubs to fix your problems, except maybe a wedge if you have a very old one---that *might* affect your ability to chip out of crappy lies, but even that's a long shot. (If you want new clubs just for their own sake, by all means go for it, but don't expect them to improve your scores.) As was said above, the weaknesses you have really can only be fixed with practice.

Second, I wouldn't be worrying about moving back to the tips just because you can hit that range. While it may not feel like the distance is hurting you, it is. Except in very, very unusual situations, you are more accurate on shorter shots. Even if the tips are only 20 yards longer on a hole, that adds 20 yards to your approach, which makes you that much more likely to miss the green and need to hit a chip. If you're playing in the 90s, I don't think it's time to move back, except maybe to play the same tees as your group. I'm in the same situation as you, though a bit shorter off the tee. I find that I shoot the same scores from most tees, but I still don't go past the white (middle) tees, and often play the forward tees if my dad is playing them. Until I get down into the low 80s consistently, I'm not going to worry about needing to play longer tees.

Spend lots of time on your short game and puitting. Get lessons and practice. These shots are not as simple as the seem.

Of course you should get new clubs. Doing that every few years is part of the fun of golf. Remember, though, that new clubs aren't the biggest part of the answer. At some point, it's the singer, not the song.

I would not get new clubs if I were you. Save the cash. Buy a new Putter and/or Wedge if anything if that is the worst part of your game right now and work backwards. Practice your putting, chipping and pitching. I used to be stuck at nearly a 25 hc because I only focused on my long irons and driver (I was younger and naive). I started working backwards with the advice of my dad in my head, when watching him get away with Par after duffing a tee shot, or going OB, etc. His short game is deadly and I wanted to nail putts like him and chip within a 5 foot radius like him, so I practiced and practiced hard on chipping and finally surpassed him.

In short, I think chipping and putting are the most important aspects of score. I'm not talking about statistics or anything 100% factual, I'm just stressing my own personal opinion based on my game. Chips and putts have saved me more Pars than any other shot in my arsenal.

Oh new sticks will definitely improve your short game and putting...

Honestly,  it's not the sticks.  Spend your money on some good lessons and lots of practice.

You are not supposed to be able to get on par 5's in two. You shoot in the 90's and sometimes the 100's. You would score better if you hit a wedge into par 5's in three every time. I can't get to two of the five par 5's on my home course ever and I play the third set of tees up from the back. The other three holes take great drives, good wind, a good lie in the fairway, and a terrific second shot -- a rare combo indeed. And I have not shot over 100 in years. Getting on a par 5 in two is a big deal for most everyone and especially anyone with a handicap over 10.

Spend your next $200 on lessons. Find a pro you like and trust. Ask that pro if your clubs FIT the swing you should be making. If they fit your swing (lie and length) then you should be able to learn to hit them straight with the help of your new pro. You are long enough, and if you become straight, you'll start breaking 90. No one I've ever played with who is long and straight has a short game so bad that they shoot 100.

If your clubs do not fit you, either bend and re-shaft them, or buy different ones. FIT MATTERS MOST.

160 yard 8-iron is nice I guess. Being long or getting longer is not the key to your never shooting over 100 again. Knowing how long each shot will go is closer to the key.

And, as most will tell you, if you want to shoot lower scores instead of longer 8-irons, work on your short game.

Lastly, move up not back. Just because you can hit the ball far does not mean you should play from back tees. Obviously something other than putting is keeping your scores higher than people who should play the tips. Learn to hit a lot of greens in regulation from whatever tees it takes. Then start moving back.

Good advice. I shot a 98 from the tips last weekend. 3 lost drives (6 strokes), 5 putts within 3ft I missed. That's 11 strokes I should easily should have gotten 8 or more back from. This is pretty much a textbook round for me. Short putts and lost drives is always 10 strokes of my rounds. My chipping game is actually an 8/10 because my irons are so unfitted for me that I miss most greens right and get a lot of practice with the wedge. I 2 putt almost every hole, whether I am 65 feet away or obviously, 3 feet away. If I had better fitted irons that were a bit more predictable, I figure I can eliminate at least 30% of my chipping game. That would be good for about 5 strokes I figure. And that is why I got fit for i20s today :) Sorry for the old post revival, I don't check this website enough! Thanks for the responses.