Current Clubs Ruining My Game?

[chadou23]

I know, I know... it's not the clubs, it's me.

But serious question.  I am 32 years old and have really learned to absolutely love golf over the past couple of years.  Only problem is that I'm not very good.  In fact I'm like in the upper 90's lower 100's not good. I have had lessons, play almost every weekend and have a year membership to a driving range.

My clubs were purchased when I was 18.  They are knock off Callaways extended 1.5".  I'm 6'2 about 215 lbs athletic build.  I feel that in the the 14 years that passed I understand the game much more and these just don't seem right to me.

I want to purchase new clubs and get a proper fitting, however, how do i get a proper fitting when I hit the ball so inconsistently??  I also feel a little embarrassed going to a golf store and hitting on the simulator because I'm so bad.

I would appreciate any recommendation.  Thank you!

[Derrick Parker]

I don't see how a set of irons that are not complete junk can ruin a game...no matter what you are still hitting a round ball with a flat metal surface. The key is the surface has to be square on impact and you have to be swinging in the direction of the target. That's it. Until you can do that what is a club fitting going to do for you? My irons are 17 years old. There are days when I am deadly accurate with them and days I can't hit a straight shot to save triple bogey. Either case, its me, not the clubs. I have promised myself that when I break eighty (and I have been three shots away a time or two) that I will then get myself a new set of Callaways to replace the ones I have now. Until then, I keep swinging the old ones. Yet,that really isn't true, I did replace my 3 to 6 with hybrids. I have days when I don't hit so good with them as well. Those days happen when too much time passes by between rounds or trips to the range. There is the answer for me.. I need more practice and playing time.

[hendog]

A fitting will have nothing to do with how good your swing is. It will measure swing speed to determine flex, imact with ground to measure lie angle and, if you get someone who knows what they are doing, wrist to floor measurement to determine length. If you shoot upper 90s legitimately then you are better than you think. I assure you the club fitter has seen worse and he won't care anyway. If you have some money to spend and you want new clubs then by all means do it. You'll find many threads in which people swear by the fitting. I am one such person. If you find that your current clubs are the right flex, lie and length then you may choose to save the money, but if these things are off, you will be swimming upstream trying to get better. At least do the fitting and then make up your mind. You may be able to simply get your current clubs adjusted for a fraction of the cost. By the way, finding out I needed to be 2 degrees up right on my lie angle changed everything. If I remember correctly I was about 32 and was shooting in the upper 90s. Now that was 6 years ago but I shot a 78 last Sunday with a 9 on a par 5. I'm just saying.

[mad max]

Originally Posted by chadou23

I know, I know... it's not the clubs, it's me.

But serious question.  I am 32 years old and have really learned to absolutely love golf over the past couple of years.  Only problem is that I'm not very good.  In fact I'm like in the upper 90's lower 100's not good. I have had lessons, play almost every weekend and have a year membership to a driving range.

My clubs were purchased when I was 18.  They are knock off Callaways extended 1.5".  I'm 6'2 about 215 lbs athletic build.  I feel that in the the 14 years that passed I understand the game much more and these just don't seem right to me.

I want to purchase new clubs and get a proper fitting, however, how do i get a proper fitting when I hit the ball so inconsistently??  I also feel a little embarrassed going to a golf store and hitting on the simulator because I'm so bad.

I would appreciate any recommendation.  Thank you!

If you shoot around 97-110 you are not a bad golfer you are about average.  The sales people at a golf store will not look down upon you at all, I think 80% of their sales come from people of your skill level. You could try a fitting from Ping on their website, it won't be as good as a true fitting but it is a starting point.

I would also check the actual lengths of your clubs.  Just because they were sold to you as 1.5" longer doesn't mean that they are 1.5" longer than the standard length in the U.S. or wherever you are from.  I my father's friend bought some knock off Callaways from China that were supposed to be standard and the length of his 6i was 1" shorter then everyone else's 6i.  This was about 10 year's ago so it might be a similar case.

What I would do if I was in your position is try to find a driving range around you that also sells clubs.  Try a few out and see what you like, bring your own clubs to compare.  If you have an instructor that you trust you could also ask their advice.  I wouldn't buy anything on the initial trip, go back on a different day and see if your initial impressions hold true the second time.  I also wouldn't buy a brand new set.  I would try buying a used set that is not the current model, but from the same family as the clubs you liked best from the driving range.  You could buy these from a place like e-bay.

If you do buy from e-bay don't spend too much, I would look at a iron set in the $200 to $300 range.  Look at the sellers rating if they have many sales and not too many complaints you should be good.

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by hendog

... If you shoot upper 90s legitimately then you are better than you think. I assure you the club fitter has seen worse and he won't care anyway. ...

[chadou23]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

Thank you all for the responses.  I actually haven't been playing too consistently over the past 14 years.  My consistent game started about 2 years ago and I have had about 6 lessons and a swing analysis.  Just this year my wife bought me a year membership to the range.

I really do believe though that my clubs are too long.  I am one of those freaky people whose arms are disproportionate to my body.  I feel like I can touch my knees without bending over. The shafts seem like they are lying too flat when I address the ball.

I will definitely bring my current clubs to get a static fitting.  That seems like the most logical step in the process towards choosing the correct clubs.  Depending on what comes of that meeting I will either look into getting some nicer used clubs or some cheaper new clubs.

[inthecup]

No brainer, get clubs you deserve them.  Life is short, a friend recently suddenly died at 46, no warning just dropped.  I have seen this happen over and over again.  To a degree you have to live for today and if spending several hundred $ to know your clubs are right makes you confident over the ball it is worth the money.  I got fit with similar numbers and as my swing changed the fitting continued to be good.  My clubs are 4 up, it makes a difference.

I would not go to a big store though, I would find more of a specialist.

[Mr. Desmond]

Give your clubs to me ... I'll ruin them.

I'd say get fit again and purchase some new irons. Knockoffs typically have hot spots - inconsistencies in the head. Plus, 1.5" over standard (38 inch 5i being the standard now) seems high unless you have baby arms.

Once you have a static (measurements) and dynamic fit (hitting balls), you can try www.callawaypreowned.com. SIgn up for their emails - they have sales. See if they have something you like.

Good luck.

[Mr Smell Good]

Originally Posted by inthecup

No brainer, get clubs you deserve them.  Life is short, a friend recently suddenly died at 46, no warning just dropped.  I have seen this happen over and over again.  To a degree you have to live for today and if spending several hundred $ to know your clubs are right makes you confident over the ball it is worth the money.  I got fit with similar numbers and as my swing changed the fitting continued to be good.  My clubs are 4 up, it makes a difference.

I would not go to a big store though, I would find more of a specialist.

I like this

[thanw]

Dump the knockoffs and get something that makes you happy.

[Mulligan Jeff]

If you look at a fitting chart for a 6'2" height it will show a "wrist to floor" chart. A 38.5" wtf measurement equates to 1.5" over standard length. If you are less than 38.5" wtf then your clubs are too long.

[thanw]

Originally Posted by Mulligan Jeff

If you look at a fitting chart for a 6'2" height it will show a "wrist to floor" chart. A 38.5" wtf measurement equates to 1.5" over standard length. If you are less than 38.5" wtf then your clubs are too long.

Agreed. They probably are too long. I am your same height and tried +2" many years ago and it was too much. Now I use +1/2" and a couple degrees upright.

[TMAdidas]

A new set could probably help with the extra distance/ forgiveness.

[GaijinGolfer]

Id say that fact that you have a 14 year old set of knockoff Callaways is all the reason you should need to want to upgrade.  As bad as knockoffs are now, they were 10x worse 14 years ago.  Yes, you are still just hitting a ball with a flat piece of metal but the specs and shafts of namebrand clubs, even older ones are much better and more consistent and you will play much better with a better quality set of clubs.

[chadou23]

Thanks everyone. I took everyone's advice here and went for a refit. My clubs were indeed too long. I should be a standard length. Now I need to find a club that I like. Since its been so long I wouldn't mind spending a little bit of money. Thanks everyone for the help!