Expensive equipment. worth it?

[Juancd75]

Hello all. I am sure we all faced this question when starting. I chose to go with decent equipment and spend the rest of my money on lessons. No sense in spending outrageous money on equipment and not know how to even grip the club. Lord knows i need the lessons!!!
Has anyone tried (and is willing to admit it) inexpensive equipment and found it to be either just as good or very close to the expensive ones?
What was the least expensive club you bought that seemed to perform like an expensive one.

Kindest Regards,
J

[cmarkmyers]

My wife's Dunlop 7W is very whippy but works about as good as my V-Steel ($20 vs. $110 at the time). My $20 Aserta putter works better for me than more expensive putters I have tried (Ping Ug-le, some Never Compromise). The Snake Eye's clubs I made are better than my last irons (Tour Edge) and the Tour Edge wedges I used to use worked better for me than my Pings.

But it all depends on the person. Some things just work better than others, regardless of the price. And being fit for a cheap club is usually better than getting an expensive one off the shelf.

However, other things being equal, most of the time more expensive equipment means better technology, materials, and components. As such, more expensive items will generally perform better.

Again it comes down to personal preference and player ability. A good player is much more likely to be able to notice the difference between high versus low quality items. So I guess ymmv.

[BritBoy]

When I moved to the America from England I was a 6 handicap but decided to sell my clubs and told my wife that I would just buy new ones when we got there. 12 years later I picked up a $99 set of Rams from ShopKo, shot 120 first time out with them and was totaly hooked all over again. I played with the Rams for about 8 months and then upgraded to Nike slingshot irons, ping driver and putter, cobra 3 wood, and Adams wedges. At that point the strokes just started to drop off, there was no comparison.

While I was playing with the Rams I thought they were great, but as soon as I got the new clubs the quality of the Rams was evident.

I truly beleive that in golf clubs, as well as most things, you get what you pay for.

[SSandlin]

From my limited experience and from knowing and watching others, I think there is a connection. It seemed for me when I first started, that I was very happy with a $125 full starter set of Wilsons. Once I was on the verge of breaking 100 for the first time, I tried more expensive clubs and saw instant success of about 5 strokes per round at least. Now that I've gotten into the 80s and low 90s, I could probably take most irons that are comparable to what I have and shoot the same score, but would not gain much from the "tour type" irons that are the next step up. However, I think once you get into that single digit handicap range and your skills allow you to work the ball at will, then an equipment upgrade is almost essential if you want to be able to maximize your skill set.

As a friend of mine told me, "the sad part about this game is that the better you get the more expensive it becomes."

[flap]

The Great thing about this game is that you think you can buy a better game.Well ask my credit card company YOU CAN'T.But hell as long as I can afford it I will try anything that Phill or Freddie or Bubba can hit 330 yards and stop on a dime cause this old fart can do it too!!!!