rebelrob

When I started playing 'properly', I decided my old passed down set (from my uncle who had likely used them for 10-15 years with minimum 1 round a week) has seen enough action so went and bought a new bag, iron set, driver, hybrid, putter, shoes and a dozen pro v1's.

The biggest improvement for me was upgrading my equipment I guess. I started playing with second hand well used clubs and random balls, but when I bought my first 'proper set' of clubs (new irons, driver, hybrid and putter) and used a pro V1 for the first time ever for a full round I bettered my best round score by 2 shots (that round was +15) despite feeling like I could have probably done better still. Ok it might not have been a massive improvement, but it felt big for me at the time and in playing my first round about 2 months ago for maybe 2-3 years I scored my best score ever of +12, which the back 9 was actually +2! I'd imagine proper coaching (self taught except my friends dad starting me off) will benefit me more now, however don't have the time to commit to playing weekly due to having young kids so that will have to wait for the time being, but I think getting older and wiser not trying to absolutely twat every drive helped me reach my best score despite a rusty start.

I'd probably go for 5i and 9i.

Welcome, I'd say you could most likely get away with driver, 5, 7, 9, pw, sw and a putter. I played a course for the first time in a long time and only used those with 1 shot with my fairway hybrid in addition to them.

I’ve seen some for £30 but the reviews are that they’re very cheap and nasty so not found a reasonable alternative as of yet. If I found a decent enough one for say £50-60 I’d be all over it, but at double the cost I’ll want to see it and have a go on it first ideally.

Thanks gents. Was considering one for work to have a little practice at lunchtime a few minutes a day but for the price will give it a miss at the moment.

Anyone heard of this? seen it advertised quite a bit recently and normally with these kind of ads that pop up I’m usually sceptical, especially as it’s on a ‘special half price offer’ which is has been for about 2 months now as well. would appreciate any feedback on it if anyone uses it, as my putting is definitely the biggest issue in my game at the moment.

Not been here in a while. Long time reader, not very regular poster. Not today, but last week played my first round in over a year so was expecting it to be rough. Having not hit a ball in approx 6 months it could have gone far worse... Saying that, it realistically couldn't have gone much better! Started off playing conservatively but didn't want to pussyfoot about and just went for it off the first tee. Bit daunting as it's right in front of the club house, but launched it down the left side into the rough, but only about 70-80 yards short of the green, which was a result as its supposedly 340 from the yellow. Second shot was just over the green after a lovely contact from the rough 🙈 which left a little chip onto the green followed by 2 putt for 5. Second hole hit the green in 2 (par 4 328yds), followed by a 3 putt... Decided to play a bit more cautiously after that and had one of my best rounds ever! 84 (+12) which considering I was +10 on the front 9 is an incredible result. Never been less than +5 for 9 holes so left over the moon as you can imagine.

This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but why not try going to the golf range every other week instead of playing? I used to practice at the range alternating clubs like you would on a course (dr, 7, pw, dr, 9, sw, dr, 5, pw etc...), although obviously you wont have the benefit of of walking the distance of a course. I found that when I used to go through 100 balls at a fair pace my body felt similar to after a round, albeit I was 25ish and pretty fit anyway so the walking was never really an issue due to playing football/soccer twice a week minimum for the 15 years prior but I digress...

6/10 would read again but needs more dragons.

Imo yes. Obviously I'm not the best, however the difference it made for me when I was getting to near 20hcp was definitely noticeable, so I believe that someone who is putting in the practice regularly regardless of score will notice a difference, even if slight. Granted, a soft PE covered ball will probably do the same for them in comparison to the hard balls I imagine. As was mentioned further up, I'm sure the new clubs was a contributory to me dropping my scores also, so if your clubs are a bit of a state they probably wont be as effective for sure, but for me the combination of new balls and clubs was night and day even at 20+hcp.

If you're playing that regularly my suggestion is to consider trying out pro v1's. Maybe start by testing them on the chipping greens etc to get a feel for them, as when I started getting serious I went from average balls to these and with a new set of clubs I took 5-8 shots off my best round first time round with them! They grip incredibly when chipping at the flag if you get good contact and give you the confidence to attack it a bit more aggressively rather than going for a dink and roll. And the distance off the tee is superb also, albeit the price is obviously the premium, but for me its definitely worth it if you can stretch to them.

Pro v1 for me. Even as a modest player (averaged around +20 for a while) as soon as I used this ball I dropped a couple of shots the next round, and it wasn't coincidence. After buying new clubs and going to pro v1's I dropped 6 shots in about 3 rounds and can highly recommend anyone thinking of trying them to just go for it and see for yourselves.

Hi all, Been away for a little while due to other commitments but looking forward to playing the first full round of this year so will definitely give this a go. I've had a round with only one blow up hole before so got fairly close, but due to not playing on a course for over a year I'm not expecting to achieve this tomorrow,but will give it a go.