Made a large purchase, sight unseen, thoughts?

So I'm a lefty (tough to find clubs to demo) small business owner and proud new dad to a five month old boy. Haven't been playing as much as I'd like to but practice and recent rounds my play has improved. Scoring in mid to (rarely) low 90s Being someone that likes the "good stuff" but spends very little on himself I was able to treat myself to some new equipment. I haven't been able to follow demo days and usually very small selection of lefty stuff in local store so i made a purchase sight unseen after research and well want to see what you fine golfers think. Ap1 714 4-w1 irons Ping g25 driver,3wood,17 hybrid and 20 hybrid.

They are very nice clubs, if you bought them from a reputable dealer you should really like them.   You might have wanted to get fitted just to make sure they are set up properly for your swing.

Agreed. All top of the line stuff. I strongly suggest you go see a fitter though to make sure the equipment fits your swing.

I was recommended them by a fitter (without me hitting them, thats on another thread). kfitting seems to be the common response that I am getting. Since they are great clubs I figured I could benefit from their positive opinion and then have them fitted to fit me. I purchased then at an online reputable dealer with all stock shafts in stiff

AP1's are great clubs.  They aren't as forgiving as SGI irons, but they will serve you well for many years.  If your swing speed with driver is over 95 mph the stiff shaft will work fine, if it's not you may lose some distance if you've been using clubs with regular shafts, of course that also depends on the club.

I'm pretty new to the "real" golf club world. But I have been obsessed with it since fall and from what I have read (and I have read everything) I would say you got yourself a great set of sticks that should last you a lifetime. Congrats!

And although fitting is made out to be the most important thing about buy clubs I personally think it is overrated for high handicappers. I personally just like to use the standard measurements based on height and wrist to floor. If the clubs are designed for those measurements then I am thinking my developing and changing swing should probably learn to use them like that. Therefore I use standard in everything since I am 5'8" and my wrist to floor is 34" and this is standard length and lie for just about every manufacturer. And as far as shaft flex goes it probably won't make much of a difference for a high handicapper. Karsten, the genius of PING, used to think everyone should play stiff. The pro at Golf Galaxy told me that shaft flex has nothing to do with distance and that the stiffer the flex the tighter the dispersion. However he said that if the flex is too stiff it could lead to more balls slicing more. But still have a tighter dispersion. And believe it or not I saw this on the launch monitor when I compared the stiff shaft to the regular on my g20 driver. I went with stiff cause I feel I can learn to square up the face on anything eventually.

When pros talk about what club or shaft fits them best they are looking for small degrees of launch angle distance or small rpm differences in spin. As for my experience as a high handicapper I don't see those things making much of a difference since I will get 8 different results on 8 different swings.

So I think high handicappers should get fairly forgiving clubs in a shaft flex that is somewhere close to their swing speed, but error on the side of slightly too stiff. And unless you swing like a grandpa your stiff flex should work well for you and your club selection is spot on if you ask me.

Sorry I got a little long winded there and I am sure I will be torn apart if other people take the time to read that. And I could be way wrong since my experience is limited, but I have been completely obsessed by golf equipment. And I like to think that I am pretty good critical thinker. So take it for what it's worth to you.

Here is the PING length and lie chart: http://www.ping.com/uploadedfiles/custom_fitting/ping_color_code_chart.pdf

And here is the PING online fitting system: http://ping.com/fitting/nflightweb.aspx

And at the bottom of the page here you will find PING's recommendations for shaft flex based on swing speed: http://ping.com/clubs/driversdetail.aspx?id=15149

Dwade everyone likes to feel good about their purchase however misguided it might be. I agree with your assesment. Being a high handicapper that shows glimpsea of decent golf game (inconsistency being the main issue) thats why i opted for great clubs in stiff that are still considered forgiving and certainly not players clubs that i cam definately grow into and make them laat me many years.

I think you will do well with them. A friend (about a 20 cap) bought the Ap1's a little while ago. He is very pleased with them, and he found his distance improved somewhat over his earlier set.

Sounds like you and I think quite a bit a like. And I would say you are set for life. Everyone from you and me all the way up to tour pros use G series woods and AP1 irons.

Set for life? In this game? HA!

I just revamped my entire set, hell even the bag and shoes, and I know for a fact I'll be lined up to buy something new within 1-2 years! It's a damn sickness!

Can you guys help me understand the difference between TFC GRAPHITE and TFC TOUR X GRAPHITE my driver and 3w are tfc tour x graphite and the hybrids (I may not keep both) are regular tfc graphite.

I did not notice this until now...I may switch to aftermarket shafts on the hybrid/wood/drivers anyhow but while my wallet recover's I'd like to know what the difference is in what I'm playing.  Their all STIFF though.

what should i expect to pay for a fitting (roughly) and at my skill set when I think of fitting is the primary concern height of club and lie of face angle or is it something else that is more important like the type of shaft?

Clubs - nice. Prefer the 714 AP1 far more than the originals.

Fitting - Driver Loft - hope it's sufficiently high. Most people get lofts that are too low.

Hybrid in a 17 for your cap? I like the shorter shaft length over a fairway wood -- but you may want a 41 inch 7 wood until you can hit the 17 hybrid consistently. I'd leave the 3 wood for the tee until you can hit it consistently off the deck. I'd do the same with the 4i. At your cap level, generally I'd opt for a 4-5 wood at 42 inches until you feel more confident with the other clubs.

Fitting? Lessons? I'd try to find a place with a competent fitter, but first, you might find a pro for a package of lessons. See if you have any 5 Simple Key Instructors that Mike and Erik have certified or can recommend, if any, in your area. After a few lessons, a decent pro can advise you as to your clubs, and  direct you to a fitter.

Believe me, a good pro instructor is hard to find, but good to find.

for now your main concern should be should be length of the club and lie angles for your swing. even tho your lie angle may change as your swing progressively gets better. than when you get more consistent with your swing you can start getting into kick points, shaft torque and other shaft attributes that effect spin rate and launch angles.

When I was comparing the tour ping shaft and the non-tour for my G20 the pro at golf galaxy said the tour version was a bit stiffer in the tip. I would assume they did the same thing with the g25 woods and hybrids.

Here are some videos about shaft flex and how much difference it actually makes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MLDfgiJuFI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDaKUHxk0I8

Congratulations, sounds like you got some really nice clubs.  According to the Ping web site, the Tour X Stiff shaft is a 64g shaft with a "Low" launch angle.  The Tour Stiff is a 60g shaft with a "Low Mid" launch, and the Stiff is a 58g shaft with a "Mid" launch.  If you have a real high swing speed and tend to hit your driver high, the Tour X Stiff may be a good choice.  If you can use a bit of help from the shaft getting 'em high like I do you may find it fires worm burners.

Most people here will recommend getting fitted including me.  You will likely, however, get good performance from the stock shafts since Titleist chooses them for stock because they should work for a range of players.  If you tend to have a real high flight, be aware that the XP95 steel and Kuro Kage graphite shafts are both high launchers, so you may have an issue there.  On the other hand, if you are a bit marginal between needing a R-flex and S-flex, the stiff shaft should lower the flight some for you.

Once you get the clubs, if you find that you seem to consistently push or pull shots, particularly with the higher loft clubs, or if you note that your divots are noticeably deeper at the toe or heel, you should probably invest in getting the lie angle checked.  It wouldn't be a bad thing to get that checked anyway.

Enjoy the new clubs, I LOVE my AP1s!