should I look into new clubs?

[featherbuster]

I'm currently playing

callaway X-20 tour irons with project x 6.0 flighted shafts

Cobra S2 driver (9.5)  stiff flex

Taylormade SLDR S 3 wood stiff flex

Adams Pro Hybrid 23*  stiff flex

Vokey 58*

Ping g5i Anser putter

I started playing about a year ago and bought all my clubs off of a friend. I have not taken lessons yet but I plan to this month. I finally broke 100 this week and its got me on fire to get better an now break 90. Ive been doing some reading on here and I'm starting to wonder if i jumped the gun by buying clubs that's meant for a lower handicap player.

My irons seem to be the better part of my game. when I make a bad swing i usually hit behind the ball taking up some earth with it. I can hit my 7 iron about 140-145. My driver fly's straight then curves to the right with the occasional straight shots. I feel I could get more distance but the harder I swing the more it curves right at the end of the shot. The 3 wood and hybrid stay in the bag i cant seem to get ball off the ground unless I'm teeing off with them.  

Should I keep grinding it out and learning with the clubs I currently have or should I buy some clubs thats meant for a higher handicapper?

 

Edited June 3, 2016 by featherbuster

[alleztom]

58 minutes ago, featherbuster said:

M. when I make a bad swing i usually hit behind the ball taking up some earth with it. I can hit my 7 iron about 140-145. My driver fly's straight then curves to the right with the occasional straight shots.

Should I keep grinding it out and learning with the clubs I currently have or should I buy some clubs thats meant for a higher handicapper?

 

If you're keen to get better invest in lessons not clubs. All except the 3W to me seem helpful enough as clubs for that type of scoring.

[saevel25]

7 hours ago, featherbuster said:

Should I keep grinding it out and learning with the clubs I currently have or should I buy some clubs thats meant for a higher handicapper?

This is an interesting subject that comes up. I look at it two ways. Well first, the X-20 Tour are categorized as Game Improvement Irons. They might say tour on them. I think that is a bit misleading with that iron. 

Back on point. Note, this is all with regard to personal preference. If a player wants to play less forgiving irons there is nothing wrong with that.  

1. If the golfer knows they are going to staying as a high to mid handicap then they should play more game improvement or super game improvement irons. 

2. If the golfer is taking lessons, and expects to get better. I don't see any issue or harm with them playing a less forgiving iron. 

Again, it depends on the golfer. I know some single digit handicap golfers who play game improvement irons. I know some mid-handicappers that play more blade irons, and vice versa. 

 

[DaveP043]

I'm admittedly an old guy, I first learned the game starting back in the early 70s.  At that time, we didn't have "game improvement" clubs and "player's clubs", we just had golf clubs.  We had forged irons, and wooden woods.  Sure, some were more expensive than others, the steel shafts had different flexes, there were higher- and lower-compression balls, but they were largely similar.  We learned on those clubs, because that's all we had.  The clubs you have now are plenty good enough to get started with.  You're better off to do as @alleztom says, invest your money in lessons, and practice and learn to swing properly.  Once you begin going in the right direction, you can look a little more critically at clubs.

[Patch]

Newer clubs are never the answer unless the golfer has a decent swing to begin with, that will allow a qualified club fitter to work with. With out some sort of swing instruction, even newer, off the rack, game improvement clubs can be a poor fit for the golfer. 

As already posted, some swing instruction is a better way to go before buying newer equipment. Even if you only take a few group lessons on the basics of the swing, you will be more knowledgeable on what you might want to buy. Heck, with a little more swing knowledge, you might find your present set of clubs are a good fit. 

[featherbuster]

Thanks for all the advise. I was just thinking I might have made the learning curve a little steeper with the clubs I have. I was told the sweet spot is alot smaller on the tour model irons. I also noticed that my driver face could be put in open netruel or closed position. I put it in the neutral position even though I feel it would help if I put it closed but I'm worried I would just be living with the problem instead of fixing it.

I do plan to take lessons in a couple weeks. I went to nevada bobs to see who offered lessons in my area an they told me that I could take lessons in house with them on a track man. $75 for one 30 min lesson or $150 for three lessons. 

I'm thinking of getting the three lesson an splitting them up to one lesson a month. Would this be the right way to go about it or should I keep searching an find someone giving lessons outdoors on a range with real grass? 

 

[Tat14]

Don't listen to these dudes, man.

Go buy at least $1000 worth of new stuff. You'll feel great from the moment you leave the store up until the next time you tee it up.

All kidding aside, your gear is fine - those irons are forgiving as some would tell you. Lessons and perhaps get a feel for the 3W (tee and deck). Add the D and hybrid later.

I recommend outdoors, but I lack the awareness of the latest simulators and how they compute trajectory based on how your ball hit the screen, etc.

[WUTiger]

On 6/3/2016 at 11:42 AM, DaveP043 said:

 ...  You're better off to do as @alleztom says, invest your money in lessons, and practice and learn to swing properly.  Once you begin going in the right direction, you can look a little more critically at clubs.

One club tweak to consider:  getting a Vokey 52* wedge to match your 58*. Right now, you have a 12* loft gap between your 46* X20T PW and your Vokey 58*.

[Buckeyebowman]

Two questions I would ask are; how old are you, and have you had your swing speed checked for your driver and 5 iron? The reason I ask is because I'm 63 years old and hit my 7 iron 140-145 yards. My swing speed is not what it was when I was younger, and I now play regular shafts. Yet your clubs, which you said you bought from a friend, seem to be set up with a lot of stiff shafts. These may, or may not, be serving you well.

But, I tend to think getting some lessons is the way to go. Improving your swing mechanics will help your game no matter what clubs you are playing unless they're real clunkers, which yours certainly are not! A good instructor, operative word being "good", can tell you more about your swing in a half hour than you can figure out on your own in a whole Summer. I'd prefer outdoor lessons, but the advantage of indoor is that you don't have to worry about the weather. Plus, your instructor will, probably, determine your swing speed, look over your set, and make recommendations.

I'm also in the same boat as Dave P043. When I was coming up maybe the equipment wasn't as good, but there wasn't this much complexity to deal with either. The first good set of irons I bought featured clubheads that were tiny compared to today's game improvement clubs. Yet, we somehow learned to hit them.

Oh, and I would go for the multiple lesson plan, maybe even multiples of 3 if that's the guy you decide to go with. A single lesson won't do all that much for you. There's an old golf joke that goes like this;

"Sign in a golf pro shop, Series of 10 half hour lessons, $500. Single lesson $1000. If you want a miracle, you're going to have to pay for it!"

[featherbuster]

9 hours ago, WUTiger said:

One club tweak to consider:  getting a Vokey 52* wedge to match your 58*. Right now, you have a 12* loft gap between your 46* X20T PW and your Vokey 58*.

I apreciate the heads up I actually looked at a new wedge the other day. I wasn't sure which one I would need with all the different options they had. 

 

7 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Two questions I would ask are; how old are you, and have you had your swing speed checked for your driver and 5 iron? The reason I ask is because I'm 63 years old and hit my 7 iron 140-145 yards. My swing speed is not what it was when I was younger, and I now play regular shafts. Yet your clubs, which you said you bought from a friend, seem to be set up with a lot of stiff shafts. These may, or may not, be serving you well.

But, I tend to think getting some lessons is the way to go. Improving your swing mechanics will help your game no matter what clubs you are playing unless they're real clunkers, which yours certainly are not! A good instructor, operative word being "good", can tell you more about your swing in a half hour than you can figure out on your own in a whole Summer. I'd prefer outdoor lessons, but the advantage of indoor is that you don't have to worry about the weather. Plus, your instructor will, probably, determine your swing speed, look over your set, and make recommendations.

I'm also in the same boat as Dave P043. When I was coming up maybe the equipment wasn't as good, but there wasn't this much complexity to deal with either. The first good set of irons I bought featured clubheads that were tiny compared to today's game improvement clubs. Yet, we somehow learned to hit them.

Oh, and I would go for the multiple lesson plan, maybe even multiples of 3 if that's the guy you decide to go with. A single lesson won't do all that much for you. There's an old golf joke that goes like this;

"Sign in a golf pro shop, Series of 10 half hour lessons, $500. Single lesson $1000. If you want a miracle, you're going to have to pay for it!"

I'm 23 an I have not had my swing speed checked before. That's one reason I was leaning towards lessons with a track man. I feel that I swing about 60-70% of what I got so I can make a decent shot. If I swing my driver the way I would like to I put a big slice on it and the only way I've found to fix that was to slow down.

 

 

[Buckeyebowman]

I think you're leaning the right way. Good luck.

[EMC2144]

I'm dealing with a similar dilemma in terms of having new clubs but feeling that I should change. I started 2 years ago and after playing some of my dad's old old irons (with regular flex shafts) I went and got Cobra Bafflers. They were very difficult to hit poorly, but I'm looking into new clubs that'll help me get better. The pro I go to let me try out some of his Cobra King F6 demos, which I loved. Distance wise I gained about 15 yards (~170 with my current 7i to 185ish with the F6). I just don't know if I can justify spending more money already. I also want to add hybrids in, since my long iron game had regressed, but I'm not sure if I'm better off buying separate to supplement my current bag or buy a combo set. Any suggestions? Or ideas on other irons that people like in the game improvement category that can serve me as I continue to develop without holding me back, as mine seem to now?

Why must I enjoy such an expensive sport? 

[Buckeyebowman]

Well, you could always give up golf and take up fly fishing!

Seriously, it's nice when you can try before you buy, like with your teacher. I'd look for demo days at courses and stores in your area as well. I've managed to cobble together a set that works for me, but I have enough "other" clubs laying around that I could open a second hand golf store!

One thing that golfers and fishermen have in common is that we're always looking for the latest and greatest. I'm kind of looking around for a new driver right now because my friend has started outdriving me, and I don't like it! He has a newer Ping G3, and I have an older Taylor Made R9. Hmmmm. But, I've swung his Ping and I don't like the way it feels.

My advice to you would be to go slow and do lots of research. That way, when you do decide to spend money it will be money well spent! I see far too many guys trying to "buy" a good golf game. Equipment can help, but the swing's the thing!

[EMC2144]

Well, one club I now have to replace is my 3 wood. Striped one off the tee 250 yards down the fairway on its final strike. The clubbed managed to go about 75 yards, which was crazier to me than the perfect tee shot. RIP my friend.

[Buckeyebowman]

3 hours ago, EMC2144 said:

Well, one club I now have to replace is my 3 wood. Striped one off the tee 250 yards down the fairway on its final strike. The clubbed managed to go about 75 yards, which was crazier to me than the perfect tee shot. RIP my friend.

Or, maybe you could take the clubhead and shaft into a golf shop, and they could rebuild it to original specs. You're in SE PA, so not that far from Philly. Gotta believe there are some folks in that area who could do that for you.

[EMC2144]

I could, but it was one of those cheap ones from Gigagolf because I didn't want to spend a lot of money on them, since I was both a poor college student and still needed to learn to hit woods. It cost me $50 with a Grafalloy ProLaunch Red shaft free upgrade (which I think makes the club head worth pretty much nothing) so it wasn't worth much, and the shafts splintered so far up that it's unusable. Have been eyeing the F6 woods, since I hit the 3 about 270 off the tee and 240-250 off the deck at a pro day.

Edited June 11, 2016 by EMC2144