Before my first year of playing was up, I knew the second-hand blades from the 80's I'd been playing with wouldn't do. While I might have been able afford a new set of TaylorMade Burner irons from my local sporting goods store, I was too self-conscious about being the guy with nice clubs and a really crappy swing. So I upgraded to a more modern set of used clubs from Ebay.

While my swing has become only marginally better over the years, I have substantially improved my indifference towards the opinion of other golfers.

I will agree with you that more money spent on equipment doesn't equate to better results. More practice on the other hand...

Agreed, I still like new clubs but when I buy them the expectations are realistic in that I'm buying them to own them not because they will do much to improve my scoring.  

Can't buy a lower score?  Well, that's disappointing!

Liked your story though.  Now that you're a club member, a few lessons might be in order.  A decent teaching pro can likely help you get off the tee and move those long shots down the fairway or somewhere close.  Good luck and keep at it.

dave

13 minutes ago, mvmac said:

Unless you buy a book called Lowest Score Wins 

Darn, that's what came to mind for me 

What about buying lessons? 

LSW was a great investment, no question.  As for lessons, sure, if you're lucky enough to find a good instructor.  It took me six attempts to find one good instructor, most people don't have the time, money or patience to work through all the bad instructors out there.  

13 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

As for lessons, sure, if you're lucky enough to find a good instructor.  It took me six attempts to find one good instructor, most people don't have the time, money or patience to work through all the bad instructors out there.  

And even good instruction does not guarantee good results.

In the end, after we've put in all our available time, money, and effort, perhaps we simply look back and accept whatever skill level we achieved. Then be appreciative to have been able to play the game at any level.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going out to the garage to mindlessly whack golf balls.... with my 1983 Hogan Radials.

Good post. I don't think I would have been comfortable at all in that situation. The idea of a caddy makes the whole thing sound snooty and pretentious.

13 minutes ago, gregsandiego said:

Good post. I don't think I would have been comfortable at all in that situation. The idea of a caddy makes the whole thing sound snooty and pretentious.

The club was a bit snooty (part of the reason I'm not a member there any longer) but the real purpose of the caddies was to ensure pace of play when the course was busiest, which I learned is why they weren't required on Tuesdays and Wednesdays or for tee times after 3:00 pm.  

The caddies not only reduced or eliminated the time spent searching for mishit balls but they also ensured your group maintained pace with the group in front.  They were always nice about it, but it was an easy way for the club to enforce pace of play and many of the members liked playing with a caddy anyway and depended on them for reading putts, etc.    

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

And even good instruction does not guarantee good results.

In the end, after we've put in all our available time, money, and effort, perhaps we simply look back and accept whatever skill level we achieved. Then be appreciative to have been able to play the game at any level.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going out to the garage to mindlessly whack golf balls.... with my 1983 Hogan Radials.

Funny you mentioned Hogan irons because that was part of the story I left out.  When I met Don I was using Callaway Diablo Edges which he took one look at and handed back to me with a look of disgust.  Don was obsessed with Hogan irons and suggested I purchase the "best irons ever made" Hogan Apex Pros with Apex 3 shafts.  He claimed to own 5 sets of them so he'd never have to play the "crap" they sell today.  

At his urging, I found a nice set of lefty Apex Pro's on eBay and purchased them which led me to start a collection of Hogan irons.  

I'm not sure I'd ever call Callaway clubs "crap", but I have read here at TST that the Hogan models (Apex Pros, maybe) were very good players clubs. Also read where some of todays clubs are not that much different in design.

I don't know much about it, but I believe the Radials were an early attempt at game improvement clubs.

In any case, you can pick up a set of used Hogan clubs (the old company) at very reasonable prices. Some are in very good condition.

13 minutes ago, mvmac said:

Apex was a line of Hogan irons but Callaway bought the rights to the name when they acquired Hogan. They kept the "Apex" name when they sold Hogan a few years ago.

Or you may be referring to the Hogan Apex Edge Pro's, but those really weren't "players" irons.

Those are the ones Don suggested I buy.  

There is no doubt that there is an endless supply of people that believe they can buy lower scores. Otherwise we would not have so many suppliers and all of that advertising. I believe that the technology really improved in the years from around 1985 until maybe 2000.  Most of the easy improvements have been made. Now we have reached diminishing returns with equipment, and a small improvement costs a lot.

1 hour ago, mvmac said:

Apex was a line of Hogan irons but Callaway bought the rights to the name when they acquired Hogan. They kept the "Apex" name when they sold Hogan a few years ago.

Or you may be referring to the Hogan Apex Edge Pro's, but those really weren't "players" irons.

Yes, the Hogans Apex Edge Pro's are the ones I was referring to. Thanks for the clarification that they are/were not players clubs. I can see by the picture that they were cavity backs and perimeter weighted.

Did the Ben Hogan Golf Company (pre-Callaway) make other models that were thought of as a "players" club?

It's probably an equal combination of good instruction, smart and hard work, getting fit and playing and practicing every day for 4-6 hours that can lower your scores. I don't see a way to get around paying a heck of a lot. It was just like @BuckeyeNut said.

I've also heard that if you'd been playing for some number of years that it is difficult to lower your scores more than a few strokes. I haven't found this to be the case, but maybe I'm only now just getting to the "playing some number of years" phase. I don't see myself getting better than a few stroke from where I am now, but that's kind of because I feel like there is too much to improve. However, if I was a 20 handicap, I don't see why I can't get to an 8 or 9 handicap.

Here's a site that shows many of the classic Hogan clubs

http://web.archive.org/web/20011206100727/www.benhogan.com/53-99_Clubs.html

To a certain extent you can buy a lower score, but you need to be realistic about it.  A 36 handicapper playing blades with an inappropriate flex and hitting the ball all over the clubface will definitely benefit from getting a fit set of SGI irons.  However, once you start to reach around bogey golf or so, buying the game is a lot harder and the improvements are a lot more incremental.  At the end of the day, a consistent swing will do more for your game than spending money on new clubs and balls with the "latest technology"

On 2/28/2016 at 2:31 PM, JonMA1 said:

Yes, the Hogans Apex Edge Pro's are the ones I was referring to. Thanks for the clarification that they are/were not players clubs. I can see by the picture that they were cavity backs and perimeter weighted.

Did the Ben Hogan Golf Company (pre-Callaway) make other models that were thought of as a "players" club?

These are a hybrid players club. The short irons are musclebacks, the long irons are cavity backs...They are fantasic clubs, especially with the T4 shafts. I've been playing them for 15 years and haven't considered replacement.

On 2/27/2016 at 4:39 PM, newtogolf said:

As for lessons, sure, if you're lucky enough to find a good instructor.  It took me six attempts to find one good instructor, most people don't have the time, money or patience to work through all the bad instructors out there.  

There was another thread here about how feels change over time, even when your priority piece does not change. I think this was a really good and overlooked thread. Ineffective communication is a massive barrier in golf instruction.