buyer's remorse

[pxc]

A few weeks ago I bought a Callaway FT-5 at Dick's for $150. I did try it out on the swing analyzer and it felt better than the Cleveland HIbore XLS I was also trying out. It was farther and straighter too. I really didn't need a new driver, as I'm a new player.

Anyway, I've been making some decent strides in my swing since then. Nothing incredible, I've just been able to get rid of my constant fade/slice. This is true with my driver and with my irons.

At the range yesterday I tried out a Nike Sumo2 driver. The sound was really loud, but I was hitting it both farther and straighter.

I feel now that I made a mistake getting the FT-5. I originally wanted a square driver but let myself get talked into a more "traditional" driver with the idea that I could grow into this one more.

Now I'm not sure what to do. I am not rich. I do fine but I can't afford new clubs all the time. But I wonder if I shouldn't try to sell off my FT-5 while it's still pretty new (only used once on the course) and buy a different driver if I'm not going to be happy with the one I have. Or should I just deal with it and learn to swing it? I was thrilled with it initially, but now I wish I'd just gotten an FT-i or Sumo2 or other square driver like I originally wanted.

If you all were in a similar situation what would you do? Something else to keep in mind is that my irons are beginner irons. I hit them ok (straight at least, not much distance in the bigger irons). It seems kind of dumb to sell and buy another driver but keep my beginner irons, but then again i won't get anywhere near as much for my beginner irons (actually I'll probably just keep them for backup) as I would for the Callaway driver.

[Golfaway]

Sell it and buy what you want. It's all about confidence.

[Greg]

Somebody will definitely buy it, a lot of clubs for sale on this forum, you might not get all your money back but im sure someone would delighted to get a "like new" ft-5 driver. How many times have you actually hit it, any new clubs, especially a driver will take a while to adjust to. But if you're set on the Nike driver, sell the callaway now and you wont lose much.

[janif]

I personally think that the Ft-5 is a amazing driver, but if You already think that bying one was a mistake you probably should sell it and buy the Nike. I think that especially the driver and a putter should be exactly the ones you feel the most comfortable with...

[Msokol13]

I felt the same way a couple of years ago when I bought my PING consumer staff bag.

It is a sharp looking bag but it is heavy as hell. I sold it and got the bag I should have gotten in the first place.

I learned an important lesson about patience and waiting before I pull the trigger on purchases from now on.

[max power]

You're not going to get much for your driver, and it's a really good club. I'd give it some time.

[DriverTees]

If it's really new, can't you ask the store to switch it for something else? Pretty sure they are cheaper clubs out there. Otherwise, ask if you can hit a Sumo2 for a bit on the course. Sometimes your expectations grow so much over time, that it'll end up being worse anyway.

[pxc]

  DriverTees said:

If it's really new, can't you ask the store to switch it for something else? Pretty sure they are cheaper clubs out there. Otherwise, ask if you can hit a Sumo2 for a bit on the course. Sometimes your expectations grow so much over time, that it'll end up being worse anyway.

At Dick's if you swing the club on the course at all you can't return it. My club looks almost new, but you can tell I've hit it. I guess you would call them brush marks.

I am probably going to see what I can get on CL and ebay. If I can't sell it for a decent price I'll hang on to it for a bit til I can just buy exactly what I want. I did email Callaway customer service just to see if they'd go for an even exchange for a like new FT-i if I payed shipping for both. I don't expect them to say yes but with the stories I've read on here I figured it is worth a shot. The worst they can say is no.

[Muttface]

Callaway has the "trade in trade up" program which is a good way to minimize your losses. You buy the club you want outright (through callawaygolfpreowned.com) and tell them which club you want to trade in and they will give you an estimate of the value of your trade in. You send in the club and they then credit your account. I won a slightly-used Hyper-X driver on Ebay for $79.00 and could not keep the thing from going right. I then purchased an FT-i from the pre-owned site for $130.00 and traded in the Hyper. They gave me $65.00 for it.

[pxc]

  Muttface said:

Callaway has the "trade in trade up" program which is a good way to minimize your losses. You buy the club you want outright (through callawaygolfpreowned.com) and tell them which club you want to trade in and they will give you an estimate of the value of your trade in. You send in the club and they then credit your account. I won a slightly-used Hyper-X driver on Ebay for $79.00 and could not keep the thing from going right. I then purchased an FT-i from the pre-owned site for $130.00 and traded in the Hyper. They gave me $65.00 for it.

Unfortunately they only give $60 for the FT-5.

[uttexas]

Sounds like you will be selling it. Craigslist and this site have free posting. I purchased my TM Burner from this site (from someone in my area) and am really happy with it.

Make sure to test out all the drivers you can before purchasing one.
I'd go to Dicks, Golfsmith, and the PGA Superstore near you and try out the following:

Nike, TM, Cleveland, Adams, Cobra, and Ping

I'd hate for you to get the Sumo2 and end up preferring something else a month later.

[mhodar13]

I say just get used to it. Work on your swing and see how you like it then. There is always gonna be something bigger and better coming out, so I would say just play it. Go to the range and hit a bucket with it. It takes more than just 1 round to get adjusted to a new club.

[pxc]

uttexas - I am not necessarily set on the Nike. If I am able to sell the FT-5 for a decent price I will do so, then I'll go looking for the right club for me among the brands you listed. The Nike was just the club I tried out, because I wanted to try a square, high MOI driver.

mhodar13 - If I can't get a decent offer for it I will probably just stick with it. I don't hate the club, I just liked the Nike better and feel like I should've tried some more clubs before buying this one. It may turn out to be a $150 lesson in patience.

[Muttface]

  pxc said:

Unfortunately they only give $60 for the FT-5.

If you don't decide to keep playing it and try to sell it, you're going to take a hit no matter what. You can sell it back to Callaway for $60 and take a $90 hit and get something you really like or take less of a loss and try to sell it privately. For me the hassle of trying to sell it privately (responding to incoherent emails, late night phone calls, people standing you up, risk of not getting paid, etc.) was not worth the few extra bucks I might have gotten out of it. You're unlikely to get your full $150 back. Take the hit (one way or another), buy something you really like and get on with enjoying your golf game.

[Trav]

Check ebay, see what the club has been going for, decide if the difference (if any) between what you paid and what you can sell it for is worth it in terms of being happy with the club you want. If you are unhappy with your club, for any reason, it will constantly grate on you.

[hkmp5]

Honeymoon phase pure and simple , buy the nike, two weeks later you will fing another that you can hit 600 yds perfectly , buy a club and stay out of the golf shops for awhile, keep it .

[mhodar13]

Ya, I din't even look at anything before getting the burner, but I like it. If you didn't have a 460cc driver before the ft-5 than stick with it. It takes time to get used to the bigger head on it. And chances are if you do get a square driver you won't be able to work it like with the ft-5 once you get better at the game. The square head is too darn forgiving for a good drvier player. I could never hit a square driver. I can't even stand holding it in the store.

[enduro]

Drivers deprecate in value almost immediately. I'd try and sell it through craigslist or something else locally where you might get $100.00 for it. But these things just don't hold value at all.

Just play the thing I'd say. A club is a club and at this level I can't imagine it making much of a difference.