Iron Set for Beginners and Clones

[RussianCarl]

Hello, I am new to this forum and golf in general and I am trying to find a good beginners set of irons. I've looked through all of the popular sets and large retail sporting good stores and I have to say I don't like what I see. Nobody has been able to tell me what the clubs are made out of or the shaft and I see this is a big problem.

An option I have been considering lately is going the clone route. I hear that they are pretty decent and the cost is very appealing. Another plus is that you can assemble your own golf clubs. I've been wanting to try it for years and I think this is the perfect opportunity. It would be hard to mess up and even if I do they would be cheap beginner clubs.

At any rate, the dilemma I have is finding an iron set that is made for beginners but is not too offset. All of the maximum forgiveness sets I see not only from clones but from Nike, Mizuno, Ping, and Callaway start off at around 6.5 - 7mm for the 3 iron. This seems like quite a lot to me and even though I am a beginner I would prefer a club that has a wide sole/enlarged head, perimeter weighting, and a cavity in the back without the huge offset. Do you have any suggestions? I have been looking at the Nike OS Pro line set but that is quite old, and I don't quite have the cash for a full iron set of Mizunos.

So where is a good in between where I can get moderate forgiveness without the ridiculous offset? I want something I can use for years and I practice golf more often than is probably good for me. It doesn't matter if it is a clone club or a name brand as long as it works.

And while I am on the subject - are clone golf clubs any good? I wonder if they are since the quality controls are not as evident as with a large branded company. Does anyone have experience with using clones? Are they reputable at all?

Sorry for the long post... I just didn't want to create two threads on a related subject. Thanks in advance for all the help.

[mtrevors]

You're going to be hard pressed in getting a set of game improvement irons without an offset.

You may want to try Golfsmith's Snake-Eyes series. I had a set back when I started, they did the job...

[RussianCarl]

Thanks for the suggestion but I'm not too keen on golfsmith products.

At any rate, how much offset is "too much" offset that will start to affect your game once you become a mid to low handicapper. I'm of the mindset that forcing myself to use more difficult clubs will make me a better player in the long run, but I know enough not to start with blades right away. Do the offsets really matter or am I exaggerating the importance of the clubs too much? All of the game improvement clubs seem to have it and I guess what I'm looking for is a decent range from 3 iron down to PW for offset in mm.

So far I'm thinking of the Taylor Made R7s, Nike OSS, Callaway X-20, and Callaway Wide Sole Fusion irons. These all have big offsets but will they be so big that I won't be able to "work" the ball? Like I said I practice a lot so I really want something that is the best of both worlds.

So... help?

[Snake]

And while I am on the subject - are clone golf clubs any good? I wonder if they are since the quality controls are not as evident as with a large branded company. Does anyone have experience with using clones? Are they reputable at all?

I don't know if you would call them clones since they aren't trying fool you into thinking they are name brand clubs, but I have a set of

Pinemeadow clubs that I'm very happy with. Quality seems top notch so far and the price is great. I doubt they will meet your lack of offset needs, but like mtrevors said, not my game improvement clubs will.

[bballglf23]

For irons I would go with ping eye2's, there classics, about 20 years old, but are still the best irons today. Earlier this year ping accidently let out that all their irons are based off of karsten's ping eye2's.

[The Rambler]

the eye2's are great clubs. but whatever you do dont get a set of irons just so you have a set. wait until the right deal comes along and pounce! lol just don waste ur hard earned cash

[RussianCarl]

I don't know if you would call them clones since they aren't trying fool you into thinking they are name brand clubs, but I have a set of

I was thinking of Pinemeadow too but I just thought they were a bit on the expensive side. Lately I have been looking at component websites such as bestbuygolfsupply.com, golf-components.com, and diamondtour.com. These sites seem to list a great deal of information about the item as far as what it is made out of, the weight, and what not but I am hesitant still because I can't doublecheck these figures at home. Furthermore, I can find these same heads on eBay for even cheaper and it makes me wonder if they are just poorly constructed.

For instance, I really like the look of the SV2 Plus driver head which is supposed to be a Nike Sasquatch Sumo2 clone with a square head. It runs about $50 but I'm not sure how good it is at all since it is very difficult to find solid reviews on clone golf components. And just earlier today I found a set of Nike clone Pro OS combo irons on DiamondTour for $60 assembled. How can I beat a deal such as that even if they don't end up being great clubs?

[bballglf23]

Instead of getting some fake nike driver, that is probably pretty bad. They have 3 or 4 year old callaway big bertha's for 30-60 dollars on ebay. The SV2 may be a good driver. But I doubt it.

thats just my personal opinion

[The Rambler]

you know there might be a reason why golf companies spend a ton of cash in R&D;

[slackhouse]

i have the sv2 irons and the sv3 driver, 3 wood and 5 wood. i love them. the quality seems great too. i haven't had any problems with any of the clubs.

[RussianCarl]

i have the sv2 irons and the sv3 driver, 3 wood and 5 wood. i love them. the quality seems great too. i haven't had any problems with any of the clubs.

Great to hear a positive review. I'm kind of stuck between the SV2 Plus and the SV3 at the moment. What made you choose one over the other? It looks like the SV3 is more square as far as the driver head is concerned, which is what I am looking for, but it is also orange instead of yellow. I really dig the yellow one... if you have an SV3 in that color where did you get it if you don't mind me asking.

Also, how do you like the shafts on your clubs? I haven't been able to find much information on Apollos. I've been thinking of going with their Shadow Ultralite Graphite but I'm hesitant because I don't know what they are made of. I'm definitely looking to stay on the cheaper end of graphite shafts even though I know that they are very important to the overall club. Any experience with the Aldila value line?

[fusioncal]

Hello, I am new to this forum and golf in general and I am trying to find a good beginners set of irons. I've looked through all of the popular sets and large retail sporting good stores and I have to say I don't like what I see. Nobody has been able to tell me what the clubs are made out of or the shaft and I see this is a big problem.

How much are you willing to spend on a set? With that info, at least we can recommend which sets to choose from.

[denver_nuggs_15]

do not buy from bestbuygolfsupply.com. they have been reported by the better business bureau many times.

[cubfanbob]

If you're just starting out, don't spend too much until you know what you really want and need - and you won't be able to figure that out until you've played for a while. For now, I suggest a set of Top-Flite Tour 2003 irons - about $100 on eBay.

[Philbo]

Don't worry too much about the offset thing... the reality in, unless you are an absolute natural or your natural beginner swing is a hook (unlikely), then having too much offset is never going to be an issue for you.

To be honest, i started off with a pro set of King Cobras, bad idea because they were too hard to hit for a newby. So i switched to the Callaway Big Bertha 04 and haven't looked back since. In fact, i'm still playing with them and i'm currently playing off 10. So i guess the lesson is you naturally become adept at whatever you start playing with and it just gels, even if you start getting beyond the mid-handicapper range.

From past experience, i can only comment on wedge clones. I cannot remember the names but i have tried a clone of the cleveland 588 and titleist vokey oil can. The cleveland clone worked well but the titleist clone was a shocker... so you will probably get a mix of good a bad. pot luck maybe???

Words of warning... steer clear of the clone drives and woods... they are absolutely rubbish. This is ware the technology lies and where R+D put all their money so buying a clone will probably make things worse than say buying a 5 year old + driver from a big brand. you could probably pick up, say a Taylormade R580 or even an R7 for next to nothing these days.

In saying that, my recommendations would be this. Grab youself a second hand set of clubs from a reputable brand. Go for the super game improvement side of things because it makes the game heaps more from when you learning and makes you want to keep playing instead of turfing the clubs in the next lake you see. Clones are a risk, some may do the job while others may not. Don't worry about whether the clubs will be appropriate when you lower your handicap because you do get used to clubs, better player clubs are harder to hit and thus less enjoyable, in a few years time when you do reach this level, the clubs you have now will be outdated etc... the list goes on.

Hope this helps... good luck

[RussianCarl]

Well I'm looking at spending around $250 for a full set. I'm not entirely comfortable buying off of eBay since you can't really tell if the item has any defects from the picture... such as shaft splinters or dents.

As for best buy golf supply, thank you for the heads up. I am running all the websites through the Better Business Bureau online site at the moment to see if they are good. So far, Golf-Components.com comes up as accredited, where as Best Buy has quite a few complaints. I haven't been able to find Diamond Tour for some reason... probably because of a different company name.

In regards to clone, I have been doing quite a bit of research but it is such a divided issue. Some people swear by it while others say they are rubbish. I can understand why some components can be trash... but when a site is BBB certified and lists quite a bit of detail on the clubs materials and vital statistics can it really be that bad? I'm really interested in getting a square driver so I guess that has what prompted me to go the clone route... since they are so new and so expensive.

At any rate, like I said i'm looking to spend $250 to $300 at the maximum on a decent set for beginners that will last me several years. I golf quite a lot and I know I will have to upgrade eventually but I am hoping for not too long. My budget is a little low and I don't mind buying a used product as long as I know it is legitimate and in very good condition. If I can get a set of irons for $150-200 that would be perfect and leave enough for a decent driver and 3 wood or hybrid club.

I've looked into the Top-Flite Tour 2003 irons and though they are cheap I can't seem to find any manufacturers information on the clubs. I am kind of a stickler for details and I like to know what metal material the head and shaft are made from.

I've also looked at the Ping Eye2's. They definitely look cool but aren't they really old? The price is reasonable on eBay but they sure do have quite a bit of variation on dots. I understand that blue dot is +1deg lie, and white dot is +3 but what are all the others?

Any and all suggestions for clubs or otherwise are greatly appreciated.
Thank you all so much... it is really helping my club buying process.

[cubfanbob]

> I've looked into the Top-Flite Tour 2003 irons and though they are cheap I can't seem to find any manufacturers information on the clubs. I am kind of a stickler for details and I like to know what metal material the head and shaft are made from.

Heads are steel. Shafts are either Precision steel [same folks that make Rifles] or graphite. For a beginner, I'd suggest steel.

Long story short: just pick a name brand, NO clones. As a beginner, you're looking for a set to last you a couple of years - until you decide that either you're serious enough about the game to want a better set, or that golf really isn't for you. Regardless, you're going to be hitting a LOT of strokes and taking some of them from some very "interesting" lies those first few seasons, so you don't want to be too self conscious about getting your clubs scratched up and dinged.

Have fun!

[Philbo]

my take on it is this...

If you spend say $500 (double your budget) on a decent set of clubs, it has many advantages:

You have a better set of clubs compared to clones, guaranteed of quality ( i have purchased on ebay and so long as you purchase from a reputable dealer with good feedback, you can pretty must be rest assured that they will not rip you off - that's the whole point of feedback from customers and in a lot of ways, these businesses only sell on line, so feedback and return customers are vital to their survival.

Buying better clubs early saves you forking out AGAIN a few years later when you get better. Ie. $250 now, few years time $500 and you've pain $750 over the years. Aren't you just better off spending $500 now and not upgrading for the next few years (you already have decent clubs !!!)

I guess it does really come down to what you can afford though, and if you can't part with larger sums of money from the get go, then i guess your reasoning seems logical.