What Club to Replace First?

[ALong17]

I had my first lesson today and the instructor mentioned that due to the shafts on my current clubs, I am not able to reach my full potential.  Being a complete newbie with no knowledge when I bought the clubs, I got a complete set of Ray Cook Silver Ray's with a uniflex shaft because the price was affordable.  I've already done a wedge fitting to cover the short game and am planning on going back next month to do a fitting for either irons or a driver.  I was wondering which you guys would recommend first as I can't afford a full bag fitting at this point in life? 

Thanks in advance! 

[Vinsk]

Welcome to TST. Some places will not charge you for the fitting if you buy the clubs. I’d recommend you get fit for your irons. With that information you could probably get a driver that will suffice and worry about it’s fitting later. You can always hit a driver for feel before buying just as a start. Of course your budget comes into play. There are plenty of good deals on eBay, 2ndSwingGolf, Callaway used, etc. Cheers! 

[Piz]

You can reach your full potential no matter what sort of clubs you have.  I'd ask the instructor for more specific information.  

[MarvChamp]

51 minutes ago, Piz said:

You can reach your full potential no matter what sort of clubs you have.  I'd ask the instructor for more specific information.  

@ALong17, please heed. An instructor's throwaway, offhand remarks irk me because they can and do have unintended consequences. Such as needless spending. Nail him/her down about the shafts...What's lacking, what's a potential solution, and what are recommendations where you can go for further info, etc. Best, -Marv

[Patch]

From what I have read uniflex shafts are in between "R" and "S" flexes. Kind of in the middle of all the flexes.

If you know your swing speed, see if falls in line with those two flexes. If it does, your instructor might be giving you some poor advice. 

Also check to see if the lie angle on your clubs can be changed. If so, and a fitting shows something different than what your clubs are, you can have them adjusted, which would cost much less than a new set of clubs. Example; I recently had 12 irons checked, and adjusted as needed for $5 each. ($60)

My swing was also checked.($20) New grips installed ($60) So for $140, I now have updated, fitted clubs. 

Just a thought on saving one's golf budgeting. 

 

[ALong17]

Tha is for the advice!  He didn't go into to much detail when he said it and I definitely paid way to much attention to it than I probably should have.  I have no idea what my club speed is at this point.  I did do a wedge fitting as I only had a pitching wedge and was fitted for the Cleveland RTX-4 with a regular shaft and just from that club compared to the others it is a noticeable difference in the weight which feels like my swing is smoother.  But I'm also playing cavity backs which I'm sure makes a huge difference as well.  

I did ask during my fitting if they could adjust the line angle and was told that they thought my current clubs would be to "brittle" for any adjustments if that makes any sense.  

I improving with these though so will probably hold off until I'm playing decent and have my swing down pat!  

[ALong17]

I got a notification that my course was doing a Titleist Thursday event today so I went ahead and signed up.  Figured there's no reason to pass up a free fitting.  The results were astronomical!  I only worked with the irons, going next week to do the driver and woods, but just the change in shaft stiffness and moving the line angle had me hitting straight and consistent.  

My current clubs are way to flexible and are shorter than standard, which threw me off because I ordered them long.  

He fit me into the new T300 with a stiff shaft, 4° upright, and at a standard height.  If only I had the grand to spend on them! 😉

[Buckeyebowman]

31 minutes ago, ALong17 said:

I got a notification that my course was doing a Titleist Thursday event today so I went ahead and signed up.  Figured there's no reason to pass up a free fitting.  The results were astronomical!  I only worked with the irons, going next week to do the driver and woods, but just the change in shaft stiffness and moving the line angle had me hitting straight and consistent.  

My current clubs are way to flexible and are shorter than standard, which threw me off because I ordered them long.  

He fit me into the new T300 with a stiff shaft, 4° upright, and at a standard height.  If only I had the grand to spend on them! 😉

Do they offer a payment plan? Heck! You can get a payment plant for lawnmower these days, why not golf clubs! Considering what some sets cost, it kind of makes sense. 

[ALong17]

19 minutes ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Do they offer a payment plan? Heck! You can get a payment plant for lawnmower these days, why not golf clubs! Considering what some sets cost, it kind of makes sense. 

You would think! But I figure Christmas is coming up and I've been good this year maybe it's in the cards.  

[cooke119]

As a newbie I'm surprised the instructor is talking to you about shafts, you need to get a swing going first before thinking about shafts, IMHO.

[ALong17]

He was pretty adamant that my swing is pretty good.  We focused on grip as it was non existent and setup.  He watched me swing though and said after that the shaft I was using was to weak for my speed.  I assume he was able to tell that from what he was seeing.    

[Buckeyebowman]

On 9/12/2019 at 9:49 PM, ALong17 said:

You would think! But I figure Christmas is coming up and I've been good this year maybe it's in the cards.  

I hear you! My buddy gas given orders to his entire family that all birthday and Christmas gifts must be golf related! He usually has enough golf gift cards to buy another new Driver every year! 

[tinker]

Your shafts, or clubs for that matter aren’t holding you back. In his prime Fred Couples used a ladies fairway wood. As a 25 year club builder I have found that a lot of golf course pros don’t really understand equipment as it relates to average players. They go by what the club reps tell them.

[slprrex]

ALong17 had a similar start as you with my pro.  He thought my swing was pretty good so focused on strengthening my grip too. Next lesson was for chipping as i didn't have that technique down at all. 

Recently went thru an iron fitting and found stiffer clubs will help with consistency so I'm chomping at the bit to get these here....xmas may be more realistic.

Since I've taken a few videos and realize i could use a stiffer flex, I've really been focusing on a slower take away and slow/smooth transition when beginning my downswing.  It's really helped with my consistency with existing clubs AND during my fitting.  Clubhead speed stayed within 1 mph during my 2 hr fitting. Just thought I'd share those slow down thoughts in case its something that helps you as well.  GL on the new clubs.