I am a new member and hope you all don't get sick of all my questions! OK, here comes the first one.

[cnl390]

I have once again begun to play, well try to play, golf.  When I was in junior high and high school we would play from first light until it was too dark to see.  And without any cheating, do overs or gimmies I would shoot around 120.  The problem is that was 40 years ago.  Now all of my brother in laws and friends play golf and I have been left out.  So I got myself a set of clubs and have a lot of questions, so please humor me.

First of all let me tell you about my clubs.

Ping Rapture 10.5 degrees driver

Ping Rapture 14 degree 3 wood
Ping G15 Black Dot irons - 4,5,6,7,8,9,L,W,U
Ping Anser G2i putter

I have practiced a little and played 9 holes with my in laws (shot a 57) and find that I really like the clubs.  However I have nothing to compare them to so I don't know if they are right for me or not.  I am 6'2" about 260 lbs and 59 years old.  In the little bit of practice I have done I seem to hit the short irons pretty straight and the long irons and drivers with a slight fade.

My questions are:

1) Are the Rapture drivers good forgiving clubs, or should I trade them for something else?

2) I noticed that there are some new clubs called hybrids out there.  If I wanted to get 1 or 2 for my bag would it/they be?  And should I get Rapture or G15's?
.

Sorry for all the quetsions, but I warned you.

[Meddle]

That's a really nice setup you have there. The one thing I would say is since you are pretty tall, the lie on your black dot irons may be too flat for you. But honestly, I think that setup should do just fine until you get a little more consistent with your swing, and are able to tell what you like and don't like about the clubs.

[Desert]

I echo the lie issue. You might want to go to ping's website to do a "fitting." Basically, you input you height, distance from wrist to floor, etc. and they tell you what lie you're likely to be. It's a static fitting so it may be different based on your swing. If the static fitting is drastically different (i.e. it says you need a yellow or green dot which is more upright), and if you find that your black dots are starting right (not just a slice), you "might" want to get the lie adjusted. I would check with a club fitter first though. As far as hybrids go, I'm in the same boat as you, but you should probably consider a 3H (20 degree) and 4H (23 degree). Good luck!

[CorkDoinWork]

You could always go to a local golf store and ask them to fit you for lie and length and generally your clubs. Good luck.

[cnl390]

There is an Edwin Watts Golf Store two doors down from my office, and after listening to all the input I am seriously thinking about going over and getting evaluated.  However I am such a beginner I am afraid I would get performance anxiety and not be able to hit the ball very well at all while being closely scrutinized.  But I will go to the web site and do the static fitting and post the results.

Also, would posting the the shaft specifications to my drivers help?

Thanks

Charles

[cnl390]

I finished the Ping nFlight web fitting and the recommended clubs are as follows...

Driver   G25, 9.5, TFC189D Regular, 45.75", 360 ID8 gold

Iron   G25 Yellow, TFC189i, Stiff, +.25, 360 ID8 gold

This is what I currently have...

Driver   Rapture V2, 10.5, TFC939D Regular, 4.26 flex, 52g weight, 52% stiffness, 18.566 EI (avg), 7.74 GJ (avg)

Irons  G15 Black dot, TFC 149 Regular

This is all pretty much Greek to me.  I do know that I cannot afford a set of G25 right now.  I seem to hitting my irons OK.  I will probably sell my 3 wood and get a 2 or 3H.  Driver kind of worries me.  Even though all the numbers mean nothing to me, from looking at them I think it might help me if I did get a new driver.

Please help me out here.

[colin007]

That driver is too long and the iron shafts are too stiff.

[cnl390]

Originally Posted by colin007

That driver is too long and the iron shafts are too stiff.

This is what is confusing to me.  You say the irons are too stiff, but the Ping nFlight recommends a stiff shaft.  Are my TFC 149 Reg stiffer than TFC 189i?

[WUTiger]

Remember that an online fitting is only a starting point. It eliminates iron models and flexes that are clearly outside what you need. You would basically take the online fitting recommendations and try out those clubs, see if the hit as nicely as the computer promised.

From what you found from your fitting:

• Your R.flex G15 irons are black dot, which means they are standard (average) lie angle.
• From your fitting, the recommended yellow dot is 1.5* upright, and the iron flex is Stiff.

If you are going to keep the R.flex irons, you could have them bent 1.5* upright. With the recommendation Stiff flex, you might find a slightly used set of G15s in Stiff flex and see if you could trade out your R-flex version for the Stiffs.

Basically, if you hit the irons fairly straight, you could keep G15s and just have them bent. When doing this, have the clubfitter check your grip size. If your hands are bigger than normal, the fitter could pop off the grips and put an extra layer or two of tape underneath. If you grips are too thin, you can end up missing to the left, or gripping the club too hard and choking off your swing power.

As for the Driver, your current one is close enough to the recommended one while you're learning.

And, it the 3W is iffy, you might try a 4W. Most golfers can hit a 4W better - and longer - than a 3W. A 4W plus {a 3H or 4H} might get you started. You can find used Ping hybrids, and some new ones from a couple of  years ago, for a good price.

[cnl390]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

Remember that an online fitting is only a starting point. It eliminates iron models and flexes that are clearly outside what you need. You would basically take the online fitting recommendations and try out those clubs, see if the hit as nicely as the computer promised.

From what you found from your fitting:

Your R.flex G15 irons are black dot, which means they are standard (average) lie angle.

From your fitting, the recommended yellow dot is 1.5* upright, and the iron flex is Stiff.

If you are going to keep the R.flex irons, you could have them bent 1.5* upright. With the recommendation Stiff flex, you might find a slightly used set of G15s in Stiff flex and see if you could trade out your R-flex version for the Stiffs.

Basically, if you hit the irons fairly straight, you could keep G15s and just have them bent. When doing this, have the clubfitter check your grip size. If your hands are bigger than normal, the fitter could pop off the grips and put an extra layer or two of tape underneath. If you grips are too thin, you can end up missing to the left, or gripping the club too hard and choking off your swing power.

As for the Driver, your current one is close enough to the recommended one while you're learning.

And, it the 3W is iffy, you might try a 4W. Most golfers can hit a 4W better - and longer - than a 3W. A 4W plus {a 3H or 4H} might get you started. You can find used Ping hybrids, and some new ones from a couple of  years ago, for a good price.

Thanks a lot for your input.  I think I will go with 4W and a 3H.  The irons, might be tough to find a trade.  I could probably sell mine and then buy another set for the same price, but the hassle factor comes into play.  I am going to look into having them bent.

[Desert]

Originally Posted by cnl390

Thanks a lot for your input.  I think I will go with 4W and a 3H.  The irons, might be tough to find a trade.  I could probably sell mine and then buy another set for the same price, but the hassle factor comes into play.  I am going to look into having them bent.

The one good thing about Ping is that they have amazing customer service.  You should call their 800 number and speak to them about your situation. They will typically bend the clubs for free (though you will have to pay shipping unless you wanted to take them directly to their Arizona factory).  But, don't get too caught up in the lie.  If you are hitting the black dots straight and consistently, why change them?  Another option is to go to an authorized Ping fitter where you live, and ask them to hit a yellow dot iron.  You may love it, or you may hate it.  For me, having my G20's adjusted to the right lie made hitting my clubs sooooooooooooo much better (As an example, my 7i went from a strong fade 130 yards, to straight/slight draw 155 yards...same swing).