Do clubs really help your game?

[Kevin04]

Hi Folks

I am a novice to golf and although I have not attempted to calculate my Handicap, I think it is roughly at the moment around 28 or so from my last 3 scores on the same course.

My father had a spare set and I ended up just using them, They are not in a bad condition but they are quite old, maybe a good few years.

Would you recommend me to buy new clubs or wait a few rounds and see how the old clubs are fairing up? of course I wouldn't be buying a great few clubs like alot on here have, but there is a decent deal with Wilson's I've seen in the local sports shop for $250 which include a hybrid.

My main question is do new clubs affect your confidence on the course?

mucho thanks.

[Borf]

would you become a great painter if you got the best paint brush in the world?

[iacas]

would you become a great painter if you got the best paint brush in the world?

Irrelevant analogy. Or backwards analogy. Whatever.

Skilled craftsman and artists both care a good deal about their tools, but good tools alone do not make you a skilled craftsman or artist. To the OP: not many specifics provided. I suggest you get fitted and see if the clubs are even close to appropriate for you. If they are, use them for awhile and start to develop your game. When you've broken 100 or 90 or something (you decide), evaluate your game, what clubs are available, and talk with your pro. He should be able to help since I'm going to assume you'll take a few lessons from him in the meantime.

[Borf]

you got my point, so I think thats all that matters

[Kevin04]

Cheers Isaacs for the reply and Info.

[beisenhauer]

Absolutely. I play much better with clubs than without.

But seriously... I agree with iacas: The club is a tool. To someone relatively unskilled, all tools may look pretty much alike. Some tools require more skill than others to use effectively. On the other hand, poor quality tools, or tools unsuited to one's skills are going to make the task more difficult, regardless of one's skill level.

Speaking from recent personal experience, I got fitted last month for a new set of irons. They have helped a great deal. My iron play is generally a lot better (of course the lessons I got over the Winter didn't hurt any either.) The only problem I'm having is getting used to the distances with the new clubs (about 10-15 yards longer than my old ones). The old set wasn't bad, but they were almost 20 years old. My irons are now the one part of my game where I'm most confident, and I attribute that to a large extent to the change in equipment.

[allin]

Irrelevant analogy. Or backwards analogy. Whatever.

Right on, besides until you have played for a bit you will not really have any idea of your strengths an weakness, or personal esthetic. You could well waste most of your money as entry to mid level clubs have little resale value.

[SubPar]

You can get a good quality set of perimiter weighted irons, used or demos, for a bargain price. Get them at a shop where they can make sure the shaft flex, lie angles, grip size and club length are right for you. As Iacas suggested, develop some skills, and take some lessons to set you the right path.

The better you get, the more you will benefit from better clubs.

SubPar

[dkglf98]

I hit my O.G. Callaways very well but eventually outgrew them the better I became, now my 695's are absolutely fantastic and better than my old gardening tools.

I think to start, lessons would make more impact than the clubs.

[DJYoshi]

i think they HELP. game improvement irons help you get the ball up and still have an ok result off of mishits thin and fat shots. but don't expect to go out and get all the same clubs, shafts, grips and balls that tiger uses and have the same result.

it's like any sport..the best gear doesn't mean you'll be the best....i think the clubs have to suit your swing type though.

[Danfix99]

I think clubs improve your game. I especially noticed it after I bought a new putter. I don't think clubs alone make you a good golfer, but they help. I don't think Callaway, Ping, and all of the other golf companies pay those club-making engineers the big bucks for nothing.

[SubPar]

...I don't think Callaway, Ping, and all of the other golf companies pay those club-making engineers the big bucks for nothing.

No. They pay them to come out every year with more expensive, goofy looking new models that are "the best clubs ever" so they can keep selling to the same customers over and over. It's like a license to print money.

SubPar

[Kevin04]

Hi Folks,

again much thanks for the replies. I can drive, putt and chip reasonably well but major disapointment at the moment or last season (still haven't got out yet) is my 3-4-5-6 Irons and getting loft in them, I am going to go practising with friends and play 9 holes and see how they go
so i was basically not looking at a new set just a 3iron or so

thanks again

[dkglf98]

Why didnt ya say so, get a hybrid.

[BASHERBAKER69]

no, clubs don't make that much difference. The companies make you think that they will help as thats the job of their PR department. But truthfully, however, if you can hit it anyway and can play, the right equipment can make you even better- but, if you couldnt hit it in the first place, all the technology in the world will not help you.

If i had my way, id force all new starters to play with hickory shafts and Dunlop 65s to encourage them to learn how to hit the ball properly !

[packerfan1]

Go to a club pro or someone who can evaluate your swing....someone who can honestly tell you if clubs will help your game at this point. You might be able to get by with what you are using until you get a bit better, then some updated equipment (made withinthe last 5 yers or so) will probably help. You probably don't need the latest driver irons and such just made in the last year or so, most of us don't!

[Ben]

There is a great deal of advantage in today's drivers as opposed to the drivers and fairway woods of the past. As far as irons go.. eh. I play forged blades (which I wouldn't recommend for a beginner) I say a forged piece of metal is a forged piece of metal. That's why I was playing a set of clubs from '72 last year. I gave them up because the shafts weren't right for me. I think a properly matched shaft is going to do one more good with a set of irons than the heads themselves.

[Kevin04]

Went to a driving range here, I'm out of town and borrowed 2 clubs from the range Nike slingshots (7iron and 9)and felt a great improvement in my shots,