Clubs to buy

[Valarie]

Hello,

My 18 year old, 6'2" beginner son wants a set of golf clubs for Christmas.  I found: Callaway Golf IR RAZR X Black Iron Golf Clubs - 8-Piece, 3-9 Iron, PW for a very nice price ($275).  My question is, is it necessary to go crazy and spend a lot of money for a fitting and an expensive set for a beginner?  The set is not extra long, just the standard size.

Help!  Christmas is creeping up.

[boogielicious]

Hello,

My 18 year old, 6'2" beginner son wants a set of golf clubs for Christmas.  I found:  Callaway Golf IR RAZR X Black Iron Golf Clubs - 8-Piece, 3-9 Iron, PW for a very nice price ($275).  My question is, is it necessary to go crazy and spend a lot of money for a fitting and an expensive set for a beginner?  The set is not extra long, just the standard size.

Help!  Christmas is creeping up.

Welcome to the site @Valarie

It is not necessary to spend a lot of money, but if the clubs are too short for him, then he may struggle a bit more than the usual novice struggles.  For his height, he may be in standard length depending on his wrist to floor measurement.  But he also may be 1/2 or more over standard.  There are fitting guides like the one on the Ping site below that can help guide you.

http://www.ping.com/fitting/nflightweb.aspx

Best of luck.

[Pretzel]

Hello,

My 18 year old, 6'2" beginner son wants a set of golf clubs for Christmas.  I found:  Callaway Golf IR RAZR X Black Iron Golf Clubs - 8-Piece, 3-9 Iron, PW for a very nice price ($275).  My question is, is it necessary to go crazy and spend a lot of money for a fitting and an expensive set for a beginner?  The set is not extra long, just the standard size.

Help!  Christmas is creeping up.

If he is 6'2" it might be good to measure his wrist to floor distance to see if lengthened clubs might be a good fit for him (playing with clubs too short isn't very fun and makes the game harder), but you don't need to go out and necessarily buy the latest and greatest from a golf shop to have a set a beginner can use and enjoy.

It's possible to purchase new shafts (you can find entire sets on eBay often for an equivalent price to one or two of that same shaft if it was bought brand new) and then put those shafts into the clubs trimmed to the correct length if that's an issue. If he is handy with a vice (using a soft bike clamp) and a heat gun/blowtorch it could even be something he does himself, or a golf shop can usually do it for a relatively inexpensive price.

[jamo]

It's not 100% necessary for beginners to get fit, but you might want to look at different types of clubs. Beginners sets tend to be pretty cheap, and you should be able to find used clubs of higher quality for around the same price.

[bste]

Welcome, no a fitting is not necessary, ther are fitting guides on several sites @golfworks has one as well .

Just measure wrist to floor for length, should work to get you started and the clubs you mentioned are a good set.

Good luck.

[jmanbooyaa]

I second the used clubs. I am 6'2 and was using Callaway X 22 tours half inch longer. I am currently using Cobra Amp Cells and they are standard length which is .25 under my old X tours that were lengthened. If you were to get last years models in either Cobra or Taylor made they should be .25 over what standard used to be

[WUTiger]

...  My question is, is it necessary to go crazy and spend a lot of money for a fitting and an expensive set for a beginner? ...

Has your son played a little and taken a couple of lessons? If so, he would benefit from what's called a basic static fitting. The clubfitter looks at  how the club fits the golfer's stance and body build. The clubfitter can adjust lie angle and shaft length if need be. Also, fitter determines how thick the grips should be.

Also, be cautious about someone who fits clubs using only wrist-to-floor measurements. I attended the basic GolfWorks school, and the instructors warned that wrist-to-floor is only a rough starting point: the fitter has to see the player hit some shots to really determine what shaft length and lie angle is needed.

If you buy a new set of irons, the basic fitting should be free. And, he needs to hit the irons before you buy them, to make sure they work for him. So, avoid eBay . If you have family friends who golf, they might suggest a good golf shop which could help him find a set.

Also, beginners don't need to be taking clubs apart and reshafting them. Maybe in a couple of years after he learns the game, but not now. Get clubs that already fit him when he takes them home.

I know this is a lot to throw at you. But, I'm glad you're supporting him. Merry Christmas, and let us know what clubs he gets!

[dkolo]

Hello, My 18 year old, 6'2" beginner son wants a set of golf clubs for Christmas.  I found: Callaway Golf IR RAZR X Black Iron Golf Clubs - 8-Piece, 3-9 Iron, PW for a very nice price ($275).  My question is, is it necessary to go crazy and spend a lot of money for a fitting and an expensive set for a beginner?  The set is not extra long, just the standard size. Help!  Christmas is creeping up.

If he's really a beginner, a 3 and 4 iron may be useless. Especially at cranked lofts, those might wind up being really tough. Have him at least try similar long irons before buying them. I bought a full Callaway box set from Costco for $375 two years ago that had 5-SW. The x-24 set. Later iterations have been called RAZR Edge and Xtreme. Same clubs. Really good value. They go Driver, 3w, 5w 4h, 5-SW. All you need to buy is a putter and bag. I've since bought a gap and lob wedge, and a blade style SW. Very happy with it. Explore Callaway Preowned. I saw the latest year's set down to the magic 375 price point over Black Friday.

[onthehunt526]

Tour Edge Hp-20 full set, you can get that for $300, you get a D, 3W, 5W, 4H, 5I-PW, SW and putter, and you can get it at 1" over std, for the set, they also have a Backdraft GT set that has 2-Hybrids and 5-PW... with D, 3W, 5W and a putter for $399... the Max-D45 set with the same make up for the same price... Tour Edge has a limited lifetime warranty so if you snap the Head off your Driver hitting your tee shot on the 17th Hole, all you need to do is call them and send it back, and they will repair or replace it. By the way, all the Tour Edge package sets include a stand/cart bag