Letting other people hit your clubs...

[Flyman]

I just started playing golf, but have a couple of decent clubs in my bag. Thing is, it is very unlikely that I would ever ask anyone to try out a club or that anyone would ever ask me to try out a club...I'm a lefty. And judging by the dearth of golf gloves and golf clubs for lefties (as compared to RH), I'd say that very few players would be able to hit my clubs, LOL.

[darkhunter139]

Originally Posted by Flyman

I just started playing golf, but have a couple of decent clubs in my bag. Thing is, it is very unlikely that I would ever ask anyone to try out a club or that anyone would ever ask me to try out a club...I'm a lefty. And judging by the dearth of golf gloves and golf clubs for lefties (as compared to RH), I'd say that very few players would be able to hit my clubs, LOL.

Although it probably sucks finding gear as a left I can not help being jealous when I see awesome sales on left handed clubs.

[Grndslmhttr3]

The only people whose clubs I've asked to hit are good friends of mine, and it's normally asking if I can try their driver (for example, one of them got a new i15 driver, which is pretty damn awesome). They know I'm not going to put marks on their clubs, and I trust they won't, either (nor would I care with some of them, since I've done my share of marking on them already). When they ask to hit one of my clubs, I have no problem with it. I don't mind people hitting my irons because there's nothing they can do to them from a normal golf swing that I haven't already done

Now, if I got paired up with some strangers at a public course, I'd never put them or myself in that position, and I'd expect them to be the same way; at least I'd certainly hope so, since that's the type of thing I'd have trouble saying no to.

Originally Posted by stjames

Later in the day, he hit an electrical wire way out there. The odds of that happening.....

I've done that before. I was kind of pissed because I smoked a low drive which was headed right down the middle and probably going to roll a ton, but hit the wire dead-on. My ball had a huge scuff mark from the wire, and thankfully made it across the street.

Also, why is this in Times New Roman?

[Flyman]

Originally Posted by darkhunter139

Although it probably sucks finding gear as a left I can not help being jealous when I see awesome sales on left handed clubs.

Well, I'm very new to the sport (as a 36yr old, lol), so I hope to see some of those great deals on LH clubs in the future, lol.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by garrettdennert

Depending on the person, I do have a problem with someone hitting my clubs.  Some of them, anyway.  Golf clubs in a way are an investment, and I've had that investment broken at the hands of others before.  One day on a driving range I let my friend hit my new TaylorMade driver (new at the time).  He took one swing, hit the the ball with the hosel of the club, and the clubhead went flying off onto the range about 50 yards.  Was this his fault?  Probably not.  Granted, he wasn't a very skilled player, but it was probably just a club malfunction, or a club that was poorly pieced together.  Either way, I knew he felt horrible about doing it, so I didn't let him know my discomfort with the club breaking, though it was like $350.  I then spent like $50 to get it fixed.  I guess my problem with letting other people use my clubs, especially strangers or beginners, is that if they are to break it, I know they're going to feel horrible about it, and therefore I'd rather have the malfunction happen to me.  When you're swinging someone else's club at the ground at 100 MPH, even if you make decent contact, something may happen to the club.  It's just natural, and it's just physics, really.  I understand where you're coming from, as well as the man who said no after bragging about the driver.  I think you have a good attitude towards it though, just a learning experience to keep in mind for the next time it happens.  Take care.

Garrett Dennert

If you consider golf clubs an investment, then I wish you luck in building your retirement nest egg.

Golf clubs are tools we play our game with .  They don't appreciate in value over time.  When I make an investment I expect a return on that invested capital.  The only return I get from my golf clubs is the pleasure of playing the game.  Thus they are an expense, not an investment.  They don't get abused, but they certainly get used, and after 2 or 3 years of use,they look it.  Once in a long while letting someone try a swing or two with one or more of my clubs isn't going to do more to them than I do myself.

[Jmdmbike]

Agree that it's not a good idea to be experimenting with clubs that belong to strangers, people you just got paired up with. But, my regular partner and I will occasionally ask to try a particular club. One example - he knew I was struggling with my hybrid - bad case of hooking the ball all over the place to the point I wouldn't take it out of the bag. He suggests I try his, a Nickent 4DX, which is a neutral club, no offset. Turned out that I hit it well and now happily own both a 20 & 23 degree. Wouldn't have happened if he hadn't offered up his club to try. But I wouldn't have taken up the offer with someone I only knew casually or just got paired up with.

[AustinH]

I only let my friends hit my clubs, because i trust them, and i would let a stranger hit my clubs if he were a good ball striker, but other that that, i wouldn't let anyone hit my clubs.

P.S- never hand anyone your clubs when your standing on concrete. Hahaha My scotty cameron has a huge scratch on it's heel because of that...

[hongman]

I too am in the camp that consider clubs as an expense versus a traditional "investment", although I can certainly see how emotionally vested or attached I may become to a particular club, i.e. a beayoutiful new driver!!  I will tend to let anyone I play with try out my irons, be it friend or stranger, as I highly doubt they could inflict any particular damage to an iron with 1 or 2 swings that I won't be inflicting to the very same club myself anyway.  However, I will restrict demo'ing of my shiny new driver to just my friends or regular playing partners who I know well personally, even if they are high handicappers with errant swings.  I figure  if a friend accidentally puts an idiot mark on my shiny new club, it's not as bad as if done be a stranger who I will never see again, cuz a buddy can be razzed about it every time the headcover comes off..!!   Jeez, where did this humongous dent come from??

Also, I just tell my subconcious that any errant skymarks or dings just creates a slight aerodynamic drag that actually stablizes the clubhead for a more solid impact, improved directional control....  and hence... more distance!!  Try it out for yourself... it works.... promise..!!

Maybe I have just been lucky, as no one has ever damaged any of my clubs when just trying them out.  Of course lately, I don't have any requests to try out 3 year old Taylormade r7 TP's, or 20+ year old Wilson Staff Goosenecks or Haig Ultra blades when I play 'em.

Any idiot marks.... are... my own... sigh.

My favorite club, and therefore most valuable, is a 40+ year old Spalding pitching wedge I've had since age 14.  It has a penchant for rusting where the chrome has worn, the grooves look sort of deformed, and the leading edge has gotten sharper from wear over the years, but it still can produce some wonderful shots when needed.  If only my shiny new Vokey's and Cleveland's can become so trusted.  No one's ever asked to try out my fav wedge, and no one except my best buddies will ever get the chance!!   We refer to this dinged and scarred beauty by its proper name forged in many a greenside battles... as... "The Magic Wedge"..!!

Besides, magic wedge aside, I figure letting someone else try out my clubs might help them find a better solution that works for them, and that's part of sharing this great game of golf for me.  Balancing the risk of an idiot mark versus the prospect of seeing the joy from someone hitting a great soaring shot with my borrowed club.... no contest... risk the idiot!

That's just me, as I never ask to try out someone else's new clubs ... but I might drop an ever so subtle hint or 2!

But If they don't offer, I don't ask.

[colnago1331]

Friends - yes; strangers - no.

[TheRichie]

fiends yes and then only if i know they are at the very least able to hit a ball, strangers ah hell no!

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by TheRichie

fiends yes and then only if i know they are at the very least able to hit a ball, strangers ah hell no!

I don't trust fiends.

[TheRichie]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

I don't trust fiends.

i dont either! i hate my inability to check through what i have typed lol

[GJBenn85]

I'll let golf buddies hit my clubs and they do the same with me.  Of course, we also have the understanding that if we cause any damage, we pay!

I would not ask to use a stranger's clubs and I would not let a stranger use mine.

[neophytea]

At the driving range some guy I barely knew walked up to my bag and took my new ping driver out without a word and started to put a ball on a T to hit.  I asked him why he doesn't ask before touching my equipment?  He got mad and started yelling at me for being rude and selfish.  I wanted to ask where his car was parked and was his wife home but I kept quiet.  Ruined my day.  Can't understand why I was upset, but I was.

[smellysell]

Originally Posted by neophytea

At the driving range some guy I barely knew walked up to my bag and took my new ping driver out without a word and started to put a ball on a T to hit.  I asked him why he doesn't ask before touching my equipment?  He got mad and started yelling at me for being rude and selfish.  I wanted to ask where his car was parked and was his wife home but I kept quiet.  Ruined my day.  Can't understand why I was upset, but I was.

Seems like a lot of really old, random bumps lately, but wow, that is a ballsy move!

I would let anybody that asked hit my irons (I actually get what seems like an unusual amount of requests from strangers, maybe because not many people play Mizunos around here and nobody sells them, but people hear about the reputation? Really not sure, just a guess.). I'd only let people who can play hit my woods though.

I'd never ask anybody to hit theirs though.  Maybe my friends, but probably not even them.

[Sai-Jin]

If I were you, I'd have snagged my club back, talk to him calmly in a very threatening way, but that's because I'm a skilled fighter and I can back it up.

Whoever does that whether it's golf or anything else in life deserves a little spanking. That's not excusable. He's the rude and selfish one.

[MacDutch]

I let people hit my gear. Played a round with a guy who was hitting his 3-wood all the time from the fairway, but he was playing from HCP 48 (yes in the Netherlands it goes up to 54). Let him use my 5 Hybrid half the round to help him out.

All my golffriends let me play their gear. This weekend one of them had a new 3-wood, one inch short shaft. He let me use it on his first round out.

Originally Posted by neophytea

Ruined my day.  Can't understand why I was upset, but I was.

If someone is rude and then starts yelling, sure I would be upset.

[CraiginKSA]

I'm left-handed, so nobody wants to try my clubs.  But I was paired with another lefty one day and he had an R11 which I was considering buying.  I have a Burner.  Anyway, he kept telling me how great it was and I should swing it.  I finally tried it out and it felt horrible!  So I saved some money trying out his driver.  Didn't feel right at all.