My club buying process... good, bad, ugly?

Hey there, I have a couple holes in my set I need to fill. I need a wedge and a fairway wood. I'm pretty new still although I did shoot an 84 recently so pretty happy about that. Here's what I normally do...

1) Get a used club at a used sports shop or craigslist.

2) See how it feels, develop my swing for that club

3) Research research research

4) Buy a proper club, still used but recent model

5) ???

Is this a bad idea because I'm learning with perhaps not the best club for me aka not fitted or whatever? Maybe I'm developing a swing that has to correct for the wrong club, shaft flex, etc.?

Any tips appreciated!

if you know what your other clubs are fit for and you swing them well find something that matches.

2 reasons:

first, you could be making adjustments to your swing to compensate for an ill fit which is bad for your whole set.

second, you may have an awesome club for you just the wrong fit and end up hating it cause it wasn't fit to you.

local golf shop should have many clubs that would fit you that are used or can figure it out with some tinkering with the used/demo clubs. then try to match yourself up to fit+club desired. even if you get a one time fitting and get your information then shop/wait for the right club. or the other option is once you know your flex, lie, length, etc etc. you can have one made/adjusted to fit you. (and something some hate to hear... try the clone of the one(s) you like, might work for you and you get a new one built to fit)

If you're breaking 90, you would benefit from a dynamic fitting for all your clubs. This would give you a short list of (head + shaft) combinations that work for you: for driver, woods, hybrids and irons.

You don't have to buy them all at once - you can refit your bag a segment at a time as $$ become available.

If you have a bag of mix-and-match clubs, you'll have a hard time developing a consistent swing.  Once you get fitted, you'll have to practice and play to get the most out of the clubs. But, a set that fits you will help you develop  a consistent swing.

Thanks for the advise. I guess I need to understand the fitting process better. If it's just wacking balls with a simulator... I don't hit well with those things. I don't know why. It shows balls flying all over the place and it just doesn't represent what happens at the range or course at all. I guess it gets in my head or something. There must be a better way!

If you hunt around, sometimes you can find a club fitter who lets you hit outdoors.

I know what you mean, I sometimes feel a little "closed in" when hitting indoors.

BTW here's my bag today... I've tried to match everything and did quite a bit of research. My swing speed is around 90, probably a bit faster now than I last checked.

Taylormade Burner 2.0 Irons, 4-AW, steel shaft SF

Taylormade Rescue 3 Hybrid, 19.5*, graphite shaft SF

Taylormade Burner Driver, 9.5*, Aldila 65 NV Shaft SF

BTW - what do you mean by "clones"? Would an example be "Snake Eyes"?

Clones? That's a good question.

Clones are a club model that's meant to mimic the look and sometimes the name of a major club manufacturer's product. For example, the Lady Grand Hawk XP hybrid has a look very similar to the Callaway line. Check the ad:

http://www.diamondtour.com/golf-sale/clone-golf-club-sale/golf-club-hybrid-sale/lady-grand-hawk-xp-hybrid-club.html

Other companies offer what's known as "open stock" models. These models were developed by a smaller club manufacturer, and often change little from year to year. They can be had as components to build your own clubs, or assembled on semi-custom order by the manfacturer. An example from Acer:

http://www.hirekogolf.com/golf-components/clubheads/golf-irons/acer-xs-cnc-forged-iron-clubhead.html

Snake Eyes is a well-established open stock model from Golfsmith.