Starter Clubs

[Gilly]

You can upgrade whenever you'd like. Typically, once the grooves start going south on your lofted irons is when you should definitely start looking for a new set. If you can see yourself continuing to further your game and are committed to getting better, then by all means, go for it!

[drglew]

If your starter set is still in decent shape, i'd say there's no mandate to upgrade if you're still mostly shooting over 100's with a full complement of inconsistent misses, as it's more likely to be the swing rather than the clubs. A series of lessons would be a much better investment.

One CAN shoot good scores with a starter set. I remember shooting a mid-80's round using my mom's ladies starter set a few years ago, even though the shafts felt like spaghetti and i had to adjust for a giant draw instead of my typical fade due to the huge offset & whippy shafts (but results don't lie...maybe I should have stolen her clubs...hmm).

If your original set included woods, my opinion is the first "upgrade" should be a new driver rather than irons though. You'd probably notice the difference more there than in any other club, considering how much technology and forgiveness they can incorporate into a 460cc head these days. And you don't have to spend a ton if you don't want to or go used -- there's plenty of inexpensive top brand stuff on the web, usually a model from 1-2 years ago, but certainly better than 99% of "starter" drivers.