Upgrading from complete beginner clubs

Hi All,

I have been playing Golf for just over 2 years now and I have been using a compete beginner set. One of those bag/club combos in sports stores. I have added to the set in recent times with driver, wedges, putter and rescue's but the irons from 5 through to 9 are absolute beginner. I am just trying to understand when would the correct time be to get a proper set of new clubs. I fully intent to get correctly fitted

Before I go any further I just want to describe roughly where my game is at. I have a handicap of 18 which everyone in my club gets after handing in three cards unless you have a very high score. My cards would have averaged to around a 24 h/c but I still got 18. If I play well I'm usually around 20 over but I can as just as well come in close to 100 on a bad day but would average out around 94/95.

The questions/concerns I have are, will better clubs help my game or is it a case of getting the most out of what I have first or could my clubs be adding to some of my inconsistency. Also is there any point in getting fitted if I have an inconsistent swing. I'm pretty happy with my distances on good shots. I am around 150 Yrds for a 7 iron but could struggle to get it 130 on some shots.

I play without fail twice a week and practice at least 2 other day's and I get a lot of consistency on the range so I know I can do it even if I struggle on course some days.

So I suppose ultimately my question is should I stick with what I have or upgrade? Will new clubs help me improve? Is it possible that the way the clubs are designed could be causing me difficulty?  I know it's purely subjective but I would really like to know what peoples thoughts are? I don't expect new clubs to suddenly give me a good consistent swing but could they help proceedings?

Thank you in advance for any and all help.

Shane,

County Clare,

Ireland

Clubs that are properly fitted for your swing will always be better than clubs that are not. The effects clubs have on the golf ball are marginal compared to your swing. Mostly miss-fitted clubs will cause you to not max out on distance. Either by loss of ball speed due to the wrong shaft or producing the wrong ball flight numbers.

As for getting fitted, it depends if you are planning on changing your swing. I'd say as you improve you would be better served changing away from a game improvement irons. Typically better swings produce more ball speed , and you will not need the help getting the ball up in the air. Typically a better swing matches better with certain iron club head designs.

You are correct, new clubs will not give you a good swing.

I'd also go one further and say that if the lie angle is off and/or the length is off it may cause you issues as well. Making sure that the club fits those as well as having the correct shaft and grip size can all have some impact. Sound swing fundamentals are definitely the most important thing, but these small things can also help.

Having done exactly what you are doing now (only a few years ago) I will tell you what I did to get down to 90...

- Break 100 Now: From Hacker to Golfer in Just 90 Days by Mike Adams - this book was awesome in understanding how to approach the game on the course, club selection, really gave me a lot to think about when I first started working on improving

- Lots of practice - get to the driving range twice a week - but this must include chipping work and putting - I usually put in 90 minutes - 30 hitting off the range, 30 chipping and 30 putting - short game is huge to improve scoring

- for irons, I would look at an older set of game improvement irons that are on sale now: for example TaylorMade Mens RocketBladez HL Irons are on sale now for $299 for 4-PW at www.tgw.com - you can get a decent set of game improvement cavity backed irons cheap if you are ok with technology that is better than your starter set but a couple of years old

- for woods, look for older fairway metals that are discounted - for example Callaway X Hot N14 Fairway Woods are on sale for $80 each for a 3 wood and a 5 wood on www.golfsmith.com (I actually got the X2 Hot Fairway woods for $80 each last week) - I wouldn't worry about a driver right now - 3W off the tee is more controllable and will help your scoring - better off with 250 in the fairway (3W) than 275 in the woods (Driver).

- spend money on driving range tokens and lessons - best way to get better

The clubs I listed above would get you a decent set of "older" clubs (couple of years old :) ) for under $500 which would still be much better than the starter set you have. As you improve, you can add wedges and a driver, possibly a hybrid or two. But I would start there...

Good luck - I enjoyed the process of going from 120 to 90 myself...

Lie angle, shaft length, grip size and flex have a major impact on everyone's swing.

What you might do is have a tune-up lesson, see if you can shore up any glaring swing problems, and then go for a fitting.

Advice from an excellent pro instructor I know: Get clubs that fit your current swing, not some future swing you hope to develop. (Get clubs that won't hurt your game)