Regrip old irons or buy new?

tpicciani · July 24, 2007

I'm getting back into golf after 12+ years of inactivity. I'm 50, 5'3" and 180 lbs.

Back in 1990 I had a set of Pal Joey irons made for me. At the time, they were marketed as almost the same thing as the Ping irons at half the price. They have forged heads and perimeter weighting and ran around $400 for the set. The shafts are light to medium steel. With my short height, custom clubs were the only way to go so the sole would lie flat. The pro measured and ordered them for me.

Now, with the newer technologies involved in club making, the shafts, the redesign of the club heads, etc. some have suggested I buy a new set. Others have said that the clubs I have are as good as or better than anything I could get for under $500.

They need regripping so I'm putting new grips on them this week. Done it before so I know the routine. The cost is under $30, which is a cheap but effective fix for now.

But would you guys buy new clubs? How about pinetreegolf.com? Are these inexpensive clubs any good or are they poorly made. Those prices seem too good to be true!

Thanks,

Tom Picciani.

p.s. Any Lancaster, Pa. viewers?

**fluxcapacitor** · July 24, 2007

I lived in West Chester for about 4 years, and we'd go to lancaster for the weekend sometimes, beautiful piece of country out there.

Anyway, back to your question, I think that taking advantage of some newer technology could really help. But from an economical stand point, I'd just play with the clubs you already have and see if you'll stick with it or just play a couple times a year. If money isn't a problem, then go ahead and get fitted on some newer clubs. Everything i hear about callaway, mizuno, taylormade, etc. is really good. I would definately stick to some name brands if you want a new set, I'm a firm believer that if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

Good luck,

Flux

tpicciani · July 24, 2007

Oops! The actual name of the company is pinemeadowsgolf.com (not pinetreegolf).

The web reviews seem favorable.

dhyv · July 25, 2007

Assuming the rest of the club is in tact, with new grips you should be good to go. At least use them long enough to determine how much you will be playing. New clubs might be nice, but also might not be rational.

**withdrew** · July 25, 2007

Just re-gripped my Pings, they feel like a million bucks.
Even if you end up getting new clubs, the re-gripping should keep you interested until you get the new sticks and will help with the resale (maybe not in $, but at least in terms of sellability)

**MGP** · July 25, 2007

I'd re-grip those bad boys. Pal Joey made pretty nice irons and re-gripping shouldn't cost you much.

If you decide you don't want to keep them they'll be easier to sell with almost new grips rather than 10+ year old grips.

tpicciani · July 26, 2007

I did just that. I regripped 3-SW. They're drying now. I used Griprite Tour Wraps. They cost less than 3 bucks each. Just got done.

I got my Olimar TI440 driver today. I pulled it out of the shipping box less than half an hour before my lesson today.

Now, understand, last week, in my 9 hole game I didn't hit one drive in the air and most of my irons were topped.

Scott, the pro at Crossgates Golf Course in Millersville, Pa. has me hit a few with a 9 iron. So I take my stance and hit a few over the flag at 80 yards out. I'm going, why couldn't I do that last week?

So we progress through the irons slowly over a 30 minute span. After just a few shots he sees that I'm leaning too far forward and he wants me to be more vertical. Fine by me. I'm short! I'll take all the height I can get.

Anyway, after a few thin shots I start consistently making solid contact. And then we take out Mister BIG!

First shot fades right.

Next two go hard left.

Next three????? 250+ right down the middle.

I hit a few more bad shots then tagged one more down the middle.

And then he hands me a wedge and has me hit two or three until I can stay down on them, to work on the transition between the driver and the short irons.

Going out tomorrow after 4 with my boss. He'll want to know. I'm going to tell him that I need a lot more work but I'll struggle.....

We're playing modified best ball where on each shot we all drop from the best ball location. We get done faster that way and we still have fun. It's really fun when you make the best shot and everyone else has to drop from your location.

My pro said that I should probably scrap the 3 wood, 5 wood and perhaps the 2 and 3 irons and get a new 3 wood and a couple hybrids. Hmmm, the demon credit card calls my name!

Later, and thanks for all the advice.

Tom P.

**The Rambler** · July 26, 2007

Yeah i would regroup those irons if i were u

ps i live in Erie so just NW of you

**Tim S** · July 26, 2007

You can get the Taylormade Rescue Mid hybrids for $79.00 in Sports Authority, even Target (steel shaft, which I recommend. The graphite is too flippy)

I had great old irons, and knocked 8 strokes off my game with new irons. The balance is better, shafts are better, heads are bigger and lighter. Unless you shoot lower than a 12 handicap, new clubs are your fastest route to better scoring. If you can't afford new irons, new grips are the way to go, and getting rid of your 2, 3, 4 irons for hybrid 2, 4. Now you can add that lob wedge! New grips are like extra RAM in an old computer.

TS

**Finn07** · July 26, 2007

I would buy new irons IMO. The irons you have are extremely old and it sounds like to me that you want to get back in the game seriously, and are taking lessons and such. Technology is so much better now than it was then. I would take advantage of it. Adams has a nice set of irons for 199 at golfsmith.com or TGW.com. Check it out they are the Adams Undercut irons. Ive never hit them nor seen them ive heard they are nice.

Good luck.

**The Rambler** · July 26, 2007

I am a strong believer of getting clubs used you get twice the quality of the irons for half the price + a few nicks
www.globalgolf.com

**MGP** · July 26, 2007

Have any of you guys actually seen or hit Pal Joey irons?

I have and they are actually quite good clubs -- investment cast, perimeter weighted and they came with good TT Dynamic Steel shafts. They are very similar to Ping Eye irons and in their day (not that long ago) were very good clubs. If the OP's clubs are in good shape and the fit him I wouldn't go trashing them just to have the latest and greatest.

It seems to me he made a good choice to re-grip since it costs very little and he'll get back into the game for little cost. He can always get new clubs once he gets his swing in order and feels the clubs are holding him back.

Here's what the clubs look like just for reference: Pal Joey 8 Iron

tpicciani · July 26, 2007

Have any of you guys actually seen or hit Pal Joey irons?

Thanks. That's not quite what my clubs look like but it's close. Craig Hall, a real genious of a pro at Four Seasons Golf Course in Lancaster, Pa. said back then they were the best of the Ping knockoffs.

Anyway, the regripping went well and a I'm 1 hour and 20 minutes from my tee time.... I'll let ya know!

**LBlack14** · July 26, 2007

I'd re-grip those bad boys. Pal Joey made pretty nice irons and re-gripping shouldn't cost you much.

How ya like those P2's? I've got a set w TT Lite XL's. Keep trying different irons, but keep putting em back in the bag when all else fails.

**MGP** · July 26, 2007

I love the P2's. I built them to replace my old standby Wilson X-31 forged blades.

My swing speed has slowly been reduced due to some back trouble and getting older so the forged blades were getting harder and harder to play. I have a solid swing but not the clubhead speed to really hit long and mid iron blades well anymore. The P2's are a nice comprimise between blades and oversize cavity backs. They are still a bit of a "player's club" but aren't nearly as unforgiving as a forged blade.

They're also really nice looking -- I get a lot of compliments on the course -- I hear "what are those???" and "where did you get them?" a lot.

**LBlack14** · August 1, 2007

How'd you get them to shine like that? Mine have a dull satin finish.

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