2015 club shopping, seasonal upgrades, and general comments

I've been thinking of upgrading my clubs again, but probably won't, but might, haven't decided yet.

My current irons are Wilson Staff Ci9 and my main issue with them is the spacing. I've been reading and comparing clubs and lofts and believe I can get better spacing with a different set, or maybe I just want a different set and am using the loft spacing as an excuse.  As it is I'll probably drop the 4-iron since I seem to have adapted to using hybrids now (didn't think I ever would, interesting how things work out sometimes).

I was focusing in on the Cobra Amp Cell irons and the TM RocketBladz or RocketBLZ irons since they seem to be almost within financial reach if I factor in trading-in my current clubs. Then last night I stopped at a store and got to talking with one of the people there in the golf department and he didn't have a high opinion of the Cobra line, said they were okay but not in his top three.  So I asked him what his top three were and he said TaylorMade, Ping, and Titleist due to build and construction quality.

As to me, I've always put the Pings into a cult-like category because the people who like them like them very much, and also because I could never figure out the color dot options.

I like TaylorMades, but they put so many more new versions on the market so often that it almost seems like they are stepping on their own toes and have multiple internal departments competing with each other instead of against other brands.

I won't go with Callaway simply because one of their reps at a demo really put me off of them, left such a bad taste with me that I won't even buy a used one at a thrift store. Probably great clubs, but not for me for purely mental reasons. One bad rep can truly destroy a company's reputation with some customers.

Titleist is out of my price range. So are some of the Mizuno options.

So, in the end, I'll probably just swap out my driver and then get some strokes in with my current irons and see how this season goes. My TM R11S just isn't working well for me, probably just me, but I'll still probably swap it out before the fairways thaw out locally.

Anyway, just some rambling meanderings of my mind during the off season and before the golf show comes to town. Maybe I just need to hit the heated range a few times.  I'll probably end up buying some Callaways in the end, just the way things work out sometimes. And in the mean time I'll throw my irons in the car on Saturday and go visit a couple other retail stores and see what they have in stock.

I wouldn't worry too much about loft spacing.  3-4 degrees is typical.  Are you getting consistent yardage gaps between clubs?  That's what's important, not the specs on your clubs.  If you aren't getting consistent yardage gaps, try to figure out if you can fix it by choking down on the shaft on the "problem" club, or possibly tweaking the loft angle in a bending machine.  Forged clubheads have more adjustment than cast.  I'd be a hypocrite if I told you not to buy new equipment, because I'm a ho.  But if you're a mid/high hdcp player still, I would spend 50/50 between lessons and equipment.  Look at 3-5 year old used clubs.  Technology in irons haven't changed much in decades.  I just upgraded my 8 year old TM iron set with 4 year old Mizzy's...  and my woods... and hybrids...  and wedges... But I am taking lessons too!

As far as GI irons go I think pings are almost unbeatable. However I think the cobras are nice and they are a great value. I don't know why the guy at your golf store talked them down. Not to mention, who is that guy anyway? I would guess there are a lot of people that know much more about clubs than him. Most of the people at the golf shops are not really club experts. They are just people and most of them fall into the same traps as anyone. Cobra has been making some great clubs lately.

For price I think the cobras are hard to beat. Nike also has some clubs I like. Taylormades are good for price but I feel they really push the limits of long shafts and strong lofts. However the store buy me has a great deal on the SLDR irons for 500$ equipped with KBS tour shafts. Not sure what your budget is, that's way out of my budget personally, but it's a great price comparing.

So in the end I would go PING if I wanted my perfect GI clubs. Cobra, nike, and Taylormade for value. Titleist or Mizuno because I like the brands. I'm also not a huge fan of callaway and I don't know why. My dad plays callaway woods and I helped him pick them out and they are great, just not my brand. However the apex irons are pretty sweet for GI clubs.

GI irons? There's a lot of them, and I'd check stores and pro shops for last year's models. They're on sale.

Nike Covert Forged cavity backs.

Mizuno JPX 850 Forged cavity backs - these will not be on sale

Callaway Apex Forged cavity backs

I have a set of the Cobra BioCell irons that I really like, and they're only $399/set right now. If you want to get new hybrids here's something interesting - while I like my BioCell hybrids, Lexi Thompson still uses her old Baffler T-rail Hybrid, and the new Baffler XL hybrid is supposed to be the easiest hybrid to hit because the rails reduce turf interaction.

So go try them out. See which ones you like the best.

I'm curious, what store is offering this deal?

If you liked the amp cell irons, you won't find a better value out there. I've seen them going $250 for a new set online. You're likely to pay double that for any other new set made in the past 2-3 years. I've been thinking about getting them myself but I feel like they might have a little too much offset for my taste. Also some good deals on the Bio cell+ irons saw them for $270 but only for 5-pw instead of the 4-gw amp cell sets. Problem being I'd have to buy another wedge as the pws are 45*

I have the Amp Cells. Love them I bought them last year used around March for $175. March and April are great time s to score used clubs as the new latest and greatest are out.

I am not a big Titleist fan, however I finally bought my first piece of equipment and was fitted at the golf show for a Titleist. My best results were with a Diamana Blue Stiff 60. I'm very pleased and was able to walk out the door with my new club (before I lost my shirt)

Only golf item I am going to up grade this year is my handicap.

I'm really intrigued by the ping glide wedges. I might have to swap out my 58 vokey for one.

I'm going to visit GolfGalaxy and Golfsmith today and sort out my thoughts. But I woke up this morning thinking about just regripping my W/S Ci9 irons and picking up a couple tools as well like a shaft vise/gripper and maybe a head puller. I might even just try regripping the clubs myself. Who knows how this day will go, might come back with grips and tools, or might come back with different clubs. My wife is going to a baby shower down near there so I'll have a couple of hours to goof off some. Off to search the site for club building and repair tips.

GG and GS have extremely limited inventory. I'd get fitted for a shaft and then look to see what deals you can find on-line. Not so much flex but what shaft feels best. No surprise here but my experience is usually the TMAG fitting cart has the most shaft options. I don't notice much difference in graphite shafts but steel can feel harsh or smooth especially on mishits and we do that a lot. Head designs are mostly similar through the different categories some are more forgiving than others, things like offset and sole width can vary a little but it's mostly aesthetics. For playability info I'd look at the MPF ratings. The rest is preference what you like the look of etc. That said look at Tour Edge Exotics. You can find those on eBay cheap with good shafts in different combinations. I've bought TEE irons sets and tossed the heads after pulling the shafts because they were cheaper than buying new shafts.

Came home empty handed, but that's okay. Almost bought a used driver, almost bought some new grips, then started wondering if it was worth the cost of regripping a set of clubs versus applying that cost towards new or used different irons, then decided I'd be better off test hitting various brands and models a bit longer before prying open my wallet. But I had fun, and in the end as long as I had fun with something golf related then it was a good day. And in the mean time I'll be keeping the current irons in the trunk of the car in case a spur of the moment decision arrives. Besides it is still another month or three (or four) before the local courses begin to open for play.

pga tour superstore

PGATSS also has demos for sale right now. Driver, woods,hybrids.

I woke up this morning thinking about rangefinders. Just goes to show that there is always something.

How do the PGATSS's compare to places like Golfsmith and GolfGalaxy and others? I see there are a few of them south of me down in Illinois, might have to visit one next time I'm down that way.

Here on Long Island the PGATSS is 3 times the size of Golf Galaxy and GS. I find used clubs selection to be better and cost less. The 3 Golfsmith locations here are way over priced and give poor trade in values. I also enjoy the multiple hitting bays and manufacturer specific fitting bays.