New Golfer New Clubs

Hi,

I'm new to the sport and to the site. I just purchased a new full set from Golfsmith. It is the Snake Eyes SDF Full Set. They had it in store on clearance for 150.00 plus they gave me 15% OFF for signing up for spam in my email. Total about $135 out the door. I figured for a new set I couldn't beat the price. The salesman told me that the brand is owned by Golfsmith. Here is the link: http://www.golfsmith.com/product/30097547/snake-eyes-2013-sdf-full-set

Tell me what you folks think. I'll be signing up for lessons soon. Thanks!

The ideal approach for you would be to find an early spring Golf Clinic. At a golf clinic, beginners get a series of lessons once or twice a week on the basics of golf. The better clinics also offer some on-course play as you develop your skills.

Many clinics don't cost a lot, because Golfdom is trying to get more people to start the sport. (You're in good shape here!).

As for the clubs you bought, it's a decent set for beginners. It would have been better, however, if you could have combined the clinic/early lessons  and finding your first set of club.

If  you have already opened the box. once your start playing have a static fitting of the irons: make sure the lie angle (a fitter can help you on this) is proper for how you hit the ball, and that the grip thickness matches your hands.

Whatever the case, get a clinic or a couple of individual lessons at the beginning. Everyone has a golf swing inside, and you can find it a lot faster with a good instructor, than you can find it on your own.

And, welcome to Sand Trap! Keep us posted on how your entry into Golfdom progresses.

If you're interested, here's a Sand Trap piece for beginners I wrote a while ago:

http://thesandtrap.com/b/trap_five/five_golf_secrets_for_beginners

While a lot of us, myself included, are considered "club ho's," meaning our garage is full of new, slightly used clubs of all makes and types, i.e., drivers, hybrids, irons, wedges etc. What we seem to forget is "it is not the arrow it is the Indian," meaning your clubs are fine, it is your swing that needs work. As a beginner, when you go for lessons your Pro will look at your clubs and let you know if there is anything "major" wrong with them, but I doubt it. IMHO as a beginner you don't need to worry about lie angle, loft, shafts and all that other stuff until you really get into it. Then you too will be out at garage sales, clearance sales, etc, buying stuff you don't need, but it is a hell of a lot of fun (just don't let the wife find out).

My advice to anyone who first starts playing the game, unless you are loaded and have nothing better to do with your money buy either a cheap used set that at least feels comfortable to you or buy a cheap new set like you can buy at Dick's etc.  Where you need to put your money is in lessons.  I promise, if you took $1000 and put them towards lessons and put $200 into clubs your game is going to be a lot better than doing it the other way.

As you get better what will build up in your garage like most of us are putters.  I have 6 and guess what, my putting is not much better than it was with the first putter I ever had.  Its important to learn the right way to use each club including your putter.  In fact, starting out, I would spend most of my time around the greens than on the range.  Get some lessons for that part of your game as well.

You did just fine.   The set you bought will be SGI, or super game improvement - meaning they are designed for maximum forgiveness, which will help you as a beginner.    Fitting at this point of your game isn't necessary IMHO, as you haven't developed a repeatable swing yet - go enjoy your shiny new clubs, and welcome to this great game !      As a beginner, it's all about reps ... get out there and play as much as humanly possible ... and a few years down the road you can upgrade as your skills improve, depending on what you want to get out of the game.    Check out the youtube videos on the stack and tilt golf swing - helped me dramatically when I was starting out.