How long does your Irons stay good and how often should they be replaced when your are not a good player, yet.

[golfdesperado]

How long does your Irons stay good and how often should they be replaced when your are not a good player, yet.

As a beginning golf desperado i think i am abusing the golf irons, woods, hybrids, driver probably a lot by hitting it into the ground at the wrong angles in front off the ball (Where else as a beginner). This surely creates a lot of forces on the clubs it is not intended for to withstand. Are the clubs being affected by it and are you as a beginner suddenly having another extra "handicap" playing with worn out clubs making it even more difficult hitting anything decent?

[Strandly]

Hmm, I'd be surprised if you could warp a club by simple mis-hits so much that it no longer worked right.

[Hacker James]

you could always take them in for a loft/lie angle check.  But not something I would worry about.  Like Trevino said "Its the Indian, not the arrows" (No offence to our Native American friends).

[Ernest Jones]

How long does your Irons stay good and how often should they be replaced when your are not a good player, yet.

As a beginning golf desperado i think i am abusing the golf irons, woods, hybrids, driver probably a lot by hitting it into the ground at the wrong angles in front off the ball (Where else as a beginner). This surely creates a lot of forces on the clubs it is not intended for to withstand. Are the clubs being affected by it and are you as a beginner suddenly having another extra "handicap" playing with worn out clubs making it even more difficult hitting anything decent?

Don't worry about it. Bash those suckers into the ground as hard as you can, that's what they're made for.

[TJBam]

If bad shots broke irons, I wouldn't be able to afford this game.

[rkim291968]

Wedges sometimes need to be re-grooved.   Grips need to be changed often if you play frequently.

[jamo]

If a golf club's not built to be smashed into the Earth, then it's not built for much.

[Big C]

I picked up my first set of golf clubs when I was 15 - a set of used Tommy Armour 845s irons. They had about 5 years of wear on them when I purchased them, and I proceeded to use them for another 13 years until finally purchasing a new set a few years ago. That's about 2 decades of play (granted my play was infrequent during my college years) without problems or issues.

[dbuck]

I played yesterday evening with a set of irons I have owned since 1979. Clean them often and change grips as needed and they will last a long time. As others have mentioned, wedges sometimes need to be replaced or reconditioned, although I am using a 30 year-old wedge as well. The modern metal woods and hybrids are also very durable as well.

[ghalfaire]

I also played yesterday with an old set of clubs.  I was at my second residence and didn't have my clubs and a buddy ask me to play.  so I found a Ping Rapture driver, a Cobra 5 wood and a 5-PW set of Nike CPR irons and a Nike SW (not part of the CPR set) in the garage and out I went for the round.  Played great and now wonder why I ever bought new clubs or if I ever will again.  I believe the newest club in the eclectic set I put together if 15 years old but they all still worked.  Oh, forgot I used an old bulls eye putter I had.  I did sort if miss not having a hybrid as could have used something between the 5 iron and the 5 wood.

[Lihu]

I don't think that a club really gets worn enough such that a high handicapper like us would feel any difference. Even wedges, which pros switch out very often, are not likely to see that much difference. I have many sets of older clubs, and they all hit about the same. The trajectories are roughly the same. If you can really compress the ball, I suppose it might make some difference. However, since I only carry a 7 iron about 145 yards the groove sharpness and depth don't make that much difference in spinning the ball back on the green. I do have a virtually brand new set of Ping I20s, but have not tried them on the course yet. Trying to wait till I hit the sweet spot more tightly so that I can make nicer looking wear marks on the club faces. :-P

[Zeph]

As long as they are not damaged, you can use them for decades. Most will buy new irons because they want new clubs, not because the old ones are broken.

[TourSpoon]

I have only seen a few clubs that actually have been worn out. It's usually the pet wedge of a low cap or pro that has consistently hit the ball in the same spot of the club face for years and the grooves are worn down. Remarkably, the old one iron that Hogan used at Merion in 1950 has a similar wear pattern, but the playability of the iron is fine as he demonstrated that day. This picture just amazes me.

[saevel25]

The only thing you'll wear out is the grooves. I think Johnny Miller talked about wearing out the grooves on the sweat spot, but how many golf balls did he hit over and over again. So i think your fine.

[Derrick Parker]

I just exchanged my 17 year old bronze head irons for a new set...I sold the old irons to someone who really wanted them a lot. They looked good and still have plenty of life left in them.