Golf club set recommendation for high school boy

[jayre]

My son(14)'s entering high school and stands around 5'7.  He's been using his grandfather's old clubs and wants his own.  Please recommend brand and model for both iron sets and a driver.  I prefer to buy new but gently used ones are ok too.  Thanks.

[WUTiger]

The best thing to do would get him a fitting at a good golf shop in your area. If you have adult friends who play golf, you might ask them for recommendations. If he has been taking lessons from a teaching pro, possibly this person could help.

One thing to consider would be his growth patterns. As he's likely still growing in height, chances are he would need to change clubs before he graduates from high school.

A good fitter could chart him for such things as clubhead speed, shaft length, lie angle of the clubs, and grip thickness (how big his hands are).

He should try out different clubs and find a couple of sets he likes, and narrow it down from there. You don't have to buy all clubs of the same make and model, but if you can do this it's easier to line up the shots because they will have similar looks at address (standing over the ball).

Above all, he should avoid the Pro player's type clubs, as he likely doesn't have the clubhead speed and ball-striking ability to use these more difficult clubs.

If you buy new clubs, the golf shop clubsmith can custom fit the clubs to your son and get them shipped in from the factory. This would cost no more than "off the rack" clubs, unless he gets fancy shafts or grips with an upcharge.

Used clubs are always an option, provided he can get a set that fits him, or can be adjusted to fit him.

Also, you can get good prices on "last year's model" of irons or woods, which often have never been owned by anyone. It's like getting a good price on a 2014 model car in January 2015.

[flopster]

First thing has to be determined is where is he at playing ability and is he going to use these a lot or just occasionally, I'm assuming his grandfathers were probably OS irons with senior flex graphite he will definitely be too strong for these now or in the near future especially if he's going to learn to play competitive. If he's only playing occasionally then a standard GI set will do fine and save money buying used, if he wants to pursue being more serious get a fitting. There are a lot of good brands just avoid the ones in a box at Wally's.

[jayre]

Thanks for the good recommendation. Yes his grandfather's set are graphite flexible so he'll need a regular steel shaft.  I don't want to get too technical but just get a good starter set of a name brand.  A neighbor is selling his complete set of Callaway X-18 I'm also considering.

[flopster]

Thanks for the good recommendation. Yes his grandfather's set are graphite flexible so he'll need a regular steel shaft.  I don't want to get too technical but just get a good starter set of a name brand.  A neighbor is selling his complete set of Callaway X-18 I'm also considering.

That sounds good, I have heard the x20's are probably the most forgiving iron out there so the 18's are probably the predecessor and are probably close to the same in forgiveness. find a couple good hybrids Adams is pretty good and probably callaway driver and 3 wood will be fine. You can go 2 years old and pay 20% of new and get virtually the same technology. R flex should be fine but even S will be alright he will just grow into it.

[Nate Gebert]

What about a Strata set that can usually be had for around $200 dollars. Beginners set, but good enough for the casual high schooler imho...

[onthehunt526]

If you don't wanna break the bank... Tour Edge, makes really nice stuff... You can get a complete set of Tour Edge Max-D45 on EBay for about $300, brand new... They have a Limited Lifetime Warranty, so if he caves in the face of his Driver trying to kill one you are covered... I recommend them to everyone. Their customer service is Second to None... They are a little hard to find in Golf Shops, but if you put in your area code or zip code at their website, you can find a dealer near you... A lot of guys on here spend upwards of $2,000 on their set of clubs, I upgraded my entire set this year, and actually bought the same model set of irons twice and still haven't spent $1000 yet... I'll show you why: X Rail Woods and Hybrids Driver: $70 3-wood, 3-hybrid, 4-hybrid: $231.08 (shipped) Irons Both sets are Tour Edge Exotics CU With KBS shafts (4-PW, used) $190 With Dynalite 90 (4-AW, new with demo 6i), $260 shipped... Wedges: Exotics CU SW $40 shipped new Exotics Tour Proto (52,56,60) $110 shipped used Putters: Tour Edge Bazooka Geomax 05 $29 shipped new. Wilson Augusta $15 mint used sporting goods store. Bag: Free, (RockBottomGolf, didn't have the Exotics CU irons in stock to match the price of Budget Golf, so they gave me $100 gift certificate)... As you can see I've only spent $950 on upgrading my set... And that's the Exotics line which is more expensive, its a 3 year old model but still... You can also custom fit Tour Edge clubs, if you get an in-line club, cystom-fitting is free... They are second to none in quality too...

[WUTiger]

What about a Strata set that can usually be had for around $200 dollars. Beginners set, but good enough for the casual high schooler imho...

Not sure @jayre said the son was going to be a casual golfer. Is he going to play on the school team?

If you don't wanna break the bank...

Tour Edge, makes really nice stuff... You can get a complete set of Tour Edge Max-D45 on EBay for about $300, brand new... They have a Limited Lifetime Warranty, so if he caves in the face of his Driver trying to kill one you are covered... I recommend them to everyone. Their customer service is Second to None... They are a little hard to find in Golf Shops, but if you put in your area code or zip code at their website, you can find a dealer near you...

... You can also custom fit Tour Edge clubs, if you get an in-line club, cystom-fitting is free... They are second to none in quality too...

This route is OK for those of who have a lot of experience with Tour Edge. But for a high school kid who (I assume) has never been fitted for clubs, a face-to-face fitting would be the best way to go. e-Bay purchases can be a hassle if they don't fit your swing.

eBay is great if you want to pick up a 3 Hybrid to match your 4 Hybrid, but I would be cautious of mass purchase of clubs you've never seen before.

If @jayre can find a TE fitter, that's great. But I've found that a quite a few shops that claim to carry TE just have a few clubs on the shelf, and don't get heavily into fitting.

[onthehunt526]

Not sure @jayre said the son was going to be a casual golfer. Is he going to play on the school team? This route is OK for those of who have a lot of experience with Tour Edge. But for a high school kid who (I assume) has never been fitted for clubs, a face-to-face fitting would be the best way to go. e-Bay purchases can be a hassle if they don't fit your swing. eBay is great if you want to pick up a 3 Hybrid to match your 4 Hybrid, but I would be cautious of mass purchase of clubs you've never seen before. If @jayre can find a TE fitter, that's great. But I've found that a quite a few shops that claim to carry TE just have a few clubs on the shelf, and don't get heavily into fitting.

It also depends on where he lives if he's in a TE dead zone or not...

[jayre]

Update

I am again looking for a new iron set and a driver for my son.  Until now, he's been using my old Mizuno driver and MX-17 but I want to start playing with him and buy him a new set.

I do not want custom fitted ones yet as he's at a growing stage and he's still not mature enough as a golfer to quite know which club feels better for him.  So my plan is to get him a year or two old popular models with lots of positive ratings and forgiveness.  Of course, I'd avoid the pro players type but do want to stick with a good brand.  Please suggest some brand and models.  I promise not to hold you responsible if there's any regret on our part later.  Thanks.

[Mac62]

Update

I am again looking for a new iron set and a driver for my son.  Until now, he's been using my old Mizuno driver and MX-17 but I want to start playing with him and buy him a new set.

I do not want custom fitted ones yet as he's at a growing stage and he's still not mature enough as a golfer to quite know which club feels better for him.  So my plan is to get him a year or two old popular models with lots of positive ratings and forgiveness.  Of course, I'd avoid the pro players type but do want to stick with a good brand.  Please suggest some brand and models.  I promise not to hold you responsible if there's any regret on our part later.  Thanks.

If you're looking for year or two old models that get a lot of positive reviews and are very forgiving, the Ping G20 or G25 are definitely worth looking at.  If you go to Ping's website you can even do a quick online fitting for him and get an idea of which "color" you should look for (Ping irons are coded by color dots for different lie angles).  For a driver, look for a Ping K15 - it's a very forgiving, easy to hit driver.  If you Google these, you'll find many very positive reviews.

[jayre]

Thank you for the feedback!  I'll definitely look into that.