First good stuff, please help

[Diobacco]

I decided to buy:

Driver, 3 Wood and Putter

For the putter I like the SC Studio Style Newport... not sure which number I should get.

For Driver and 3Wood I was heading towards Titleist just because I like the brand. However, I heard they are tough.

What would you reccommend for high handicap? I guess I would need something as neutral as possible? I will not be a long hitter for a while as I am very focused on control at the moment.

Any advaise is very welcome!

[JaY_B]

Driver - You need to be looking at something with a lot of loft (you will hit the ball further and straighter) For this i would be looking at something along the lines of:
Nike Sumo Lucky 13
Ping G10
or Ping G2/Nike Sasquatch if your looking for something a bit older and cheaper.

For your 3 wood i would suggest something big and forgiving with a graphite shaft such as:
Nike Sasquatch (both versions new and old of this club are good and worth looking at)
Taylormade V Steel, a bit older and there fore a bit cheaper, but i used this club for a long time and i loved it, only not using it because the shaft is too soft now.
Callaway Big Bertha
Ping (have forgotten the individual names of the club)

I would suggest having the same 5 wood as your 3 wood, for consistency in feel.

Irons - for your Irons i would suggest something fat and forgiving:
Nike Slingshot Irons (or Slingshot Tour if you wanted something a bit harder to hit)
Callaway Big Bertha
Mizuno mx 23 (bit older but great clubs)
most of the Ping range
Taylormade CGB

For your wedges i would suggest going for either 52 and 60 degrees or 56 and 60 degrees, there are hundreds of wedges to choose from but the most popular are usually:
Titleist vokeys
Cleveland (any one of their range of wedges are rated highly)
Mizuno Raw Haze
Ping (slightly more forgiving)
Taylormade RAC

Putter is personal preference, keep trying lots of different ones until you find what you like, as a starting point you could look at:
Odyssey
Taylormade Rossa series
Scotty Cameron series
YES! putters

Hope this helps, looks like its going to be an expensive Christmas lol

[Ruckus]

If you like Titleist, try the 907D1. It's very easy to hit straight and elevate. Also, if you are looking at the SC Newport, the Newport 2 is the only one that comes in various shaft lengths. For a fairway wood, the 906f4 is easy to hit. Titleist is making more stuff for the mid-handicapper, so don't be too intimidated by the name.

[Shindig]

  Diobacco said:

I decided to buy:

If you like Titleist, but want something for a high handicap, check out Cobra. Try for a 10.5 or 12 degree driver; especially if you play a low-spin ball, you'll be looking at decently long and decently straight drives in no time.

[shortgame85]

  Shindig said:

If you like Titleist, but want something for a high handicap, check out Cobra. Try for a 10.5 or 12 degree driver; especially if you play a low-spin ball, you'll be looking at decently long and decently straight drives in no time.

FWIW, I agree that Cobra might be a better choice for one whose handicap is north of 20. Also, I might suggest that instead of fairway woods, you give low lofted hybrids a try. Hybrids are so easy to hit and so many very fine golfers are using these clubs. Many manufacturers make great hybrids but, since we're talking Cobra, they make some of the most popular. Good luck.

[Diobacco]

  shortgame85 said:

FWIW, I agree that Cobra might be a better choice for one whose handicap is north of 20. Also, I might suggest that instead of fairway woods, you give low lofted hybrids a try. Hybrids are so easy to hit and so many very fine golfers are using these clubs. Many manufacturers make great hybrids but, since we're talking Cobra, they make some of the most popular. Good luck.

At the moment I am using Hybrids (21* and 24*) from fairways... I am also using them from tee most times. I was thinking at a 3W to tee off whenever I do not feel confident to tee off with driver.

[shortgame85]

  Diobacco said:

At the moment I am using Hybrids (21* and 24*) from fairways... I am also using them from tee most times. I was thinking at a 3W to tee off whenever I do not feel confident to tee off with driver.

Your hybrids are similar in loft to a 4 iron and a 3 iron ( or 7 wood ). How well do you strike the ball with them off the tee or the fairway? If you have lots of confidence with your hybrids but are not so skilled with a 3 wood or other fairway woods, you may wish to sample a 15 degree hybrid. I suggest this only because hybrids seem so much easier to hit than fairway woods. But if you can hit a 3 wood as well as a hybrid, or just prefer it to a hybrid, then go for it. In any event, go for what gets you where you want to go most often.

[Island Par]

  Diobacco said:

I decided to buy:

Forgiving Drivers:

Mizuno MX-560 Ping G10 Cleveland HiBore XL Any of these would help improve your game, go for the high loft. For your 3 wood it would also be advisable to get same brand as your driver but then again it still would depend on what you're comfortable with. If you're having difficulty handling a 3 wood, try going for a 4 wood. Ping G10 series has a good 4 wood, so why not try out both their 3 and 4 wood to see which suits you better. Good luck in your selection! I'm sure you'll enjoy testing these clubs!

[907golfer12]

  JaY_B said:

For your wedges i would suggest going for either 52 and 60 degrees or 56 and 60 degrees

I would definitely have to disagree, 60* wedges take too much time to get a hold of, but if you spend a lot of time practicing and hitting wedges especially then go ahead. But I would suggest getting a 52* and/or a 56*. And I also agree with the suggestion to get a

SQ SUMO, I have one, and it is extremely forgiving, and it just wants to go straight and is hard to make it do other wise.

[Diobacco]

  shortgame85 said:

Your hybrids are similar in loft to a 4 iron and a 3 iron ( or 7 wood ). How well do you strike the ball with them off the tee or the fairway? If you have lots of confidence with your hybrids but are not so skilled with a 3 wood or other fairway woods, you may wish to sample a 15 degree hybrid. I suggest this only because hybrids seem so much easier to hit than fairway woods. But if you can hit a 3 wood as well as a hybrid, or just prefer it to a hybrid, then go for it. In any event, go for what gets you where you want to go most often.

My first 6 months of golf I played almost exclusively on Par 3 courses. When I started on regular courses a few weeks ago I just focused on gaining confidence with one club up at the time. Now I am in very good control with the 24* and 21* from both tee and fairway.

I tryied 3W only a few times at the range... I was thinking of setting 3W as next club to gain confidence with. Replacing 3W (and 5I) with hybrids it sounds to me like not going on the correct route... it is the same as a "chipper" I saw in a shop... it might be very effective but I see it as cheating like thing... (not sure I expressed my point clearly). Should I change my mind and go for Hybrid 18* or try 3W first and if I cannot gain confidence change approach? I am more concerned with Tee shots, as I think I will stick with 21* and mostly 24* from fairway for a while.

[Diobacco]

Thanks all for valuable help so far...

Thanks for encouraging me in spending money on golf gears as well!

[Diobacco]

Based on the fact that I will probably drop quite a few hp points in a year and gain sensibility to better feel differences from one club to another... I decided to put a price cap on the Driver and Wood. Also, I have a few limitations from specs available in the shop I selected.

My Choices are:

Driver Callaway Big Bertha 460 11*
3 Wood Big Bertha
Putter Scotty Cameron Studio Style

I still have a few things to decide... Any suggestion is more than welcome (also if you have any points against the selections above...)

1) Shaft Flex... At the moment I am not looking at swinging very very fast. What other things should I consider?

2) Putter lenght... I like very mutch the short one (33) any disadvantage compared to the longer ones?