Advice needed how to buy (used) clubs as a beginner

[TropicalSandTrap]

USed clubs are great value  I think global golf is a good gauge as to price and quality  be careful on eBay, but if you check the club versus what it is going for on global golf then eBay can be good too.  I have found even the value condition clubs are fine.  They are good bargains so if you get one and really don't like it then you can purchase a different one

about 10-15 years ago huge improvements were made in golf clubs, but it hasn't gone stagnant the past 5 years. You can get real good used clubs for decent price

for example:

driver:  you can get a decent callaway or ping or whatever driver for $60-80. It's more important to get the right shaft flex and a good loft than the brand 

fairwAy wood. Good fairwAy woods are cheap used. The callaway diablo that henrik stenson was using last yr in the open runs for $30 used 

hybrid. You can get a good hybrid for $30 as well. The Adams idea hybrids go for $150+ new, but $30 used

irons. I saw a set of callaway x-18 5I - PW for $125 recently. Heck, I still use those exact irons. They are awesome. Not that you need those same ones, but most high end irons from the past decade are still up to date. 

Wedges:  vokey wedges run from $30-60 used. Grab a 56, maybe a 52 and a 60

putter:  again, you can get a used anser for like $20-30. Most high end putters are all designed after the anser. I randomly bought a used ping pal 2 from the 90's the other day for $20, it's in great shape. I have 3 Camerons and a bettinardi all of which are plenty expensive but this $20 putter is still just as playable. 

TO sum up:

driver $75'ish

fairway wood: $35

hybrid: $30

irons: $150

wedges: $60

putter: $35

thats a full set of high end clubs for $400'ish. And if you decide down the line you want to spend $250 on a driver or $100 on a putter or invest in a new set of irons you can always do that later. 

[TropicalSandTrap]

Also:

unless you are larger than normal or very strong, I would start with regular flex for driver and fairway wood and hybrid.  Most amateurs are fine with regular flex.  If you are much larger and stronger than normal then stiff might be the way to go, but if you are in the realm of normalness go regular.  I hit the ball a decent distance for an amateur and I still use regular flex (I'm not huge but if we went to a driving range I would be hitting my 7 iron and 3W as far Or in most cases farther than 90% of the people at the range). I can hit stiff flex, and I have stiff flex driver and fairwAy woods and hybrids in a spare bag, but regular is my preference.  If regular isn't a fit for you, oh well, that's why you buy used at value condition to start  

most irons just use a standard shaft flex. Get steel shaft for your irons. Only old people use graphite shaft irons. 

[saevel25]

4 hours ago, TropicalSandTrap said:

driver:  you can get a decent callaway or ping or whatever driver for $60-80. It's more important to get the right shaft flex and a good loft than the brand always do that later. 

There is no industry standard for golf shaft flex. You could buy a 50 gram stiff flex and it would bend much more than a 70 gram regular flex. It is always better to get fitted.

[TropicalSandTrap]

A beginner doesn't need to get fitted. A beginners swing is going to change so much from week to week, and the swing get are using now probably isn't he swing they even want to keep long term. 

Pay $60-80 on a driver, see how it goes. If it doesn't feel right then you haven't committed much and you can try again. Fittings and purchasing new clubs are expensive and don't make much sense for beginners. 

[TropicalSandTrap]

Another thing you can do if you are on the fence about register or stiff shaft is just grab one of each. If you follow the price points I set up above, you could grab a regular and stiff flex and still be well under $500 for the complete set. Still much cheaper than buying a new driver with professional fitting. And just go to the range and hit a million balls with each and decide which one you like best. And what's the worst that comes of it?  You have an extra driver sitting around?

and while manufacturers can vary on flex, just get the same brand if you are worried about that. Callaway and taylormade and ping have enough quality control in their manufacturing where they are consistent. 

I was hitting my stiff driver the other day because I didn't have my regular flex. I still hit it fine, just was a little shorter and seems more "steered" or "aimed" than smooth flowing to me. But it's not like I hurt my game but my game taking 20 swings with a different club

[WUTiger]

On 7/12/2017 at 7:11 AM, Joeyvee said:

You can always add 0.75 - 1.00 inch extensions to your clubs.

Adding length to existing clubs will change the swingweight. In the case of 0.75-1.00 inch extensions, this would increase the club's swingweight by 4.5 to 6 points.

For every half inch you extend a shaft, figure on +3 change in swingweight. For every half inch you trim a shaft, figure on -3 swingwt points.

If you get factory-order shaft extensions, the clubmakers will reweight the club to maintain the desired swingweight.

On 7/10/2017 at 2:50 PM, jaochoo said:

So I went to that shop today for the static fitting... and it was ridiculous and disappointing: All he did was to measure the distance between my fist and the ground when standing straight to tell me that I'd need 0.75-1.00 inches longer clubs. It really was a 20 seconds fitting.

Wrist-to-floor is just a starting point for shaft length for doing a club fitting. You don't trim or lengthen shafts until the golfer has actually hit some balls with the test club, and you get face and lie-angle readings from the shots.

[FrankfurtDave]

On 7/11/2017 at 4:19 AM, WUTiger said:

Ouch!

This guy is a salesman, not a trained golf club fitter. I regret you were treated so badly.

What I am going to do is call on our TST brothers who have ties to and understanding of golf in Germany. 

Can any of you give @jaochoo advice on how to get used clubs - or new clubs - in Germany?

@Martyn W, @disaster, @RLM, @FrankfurtDave, @graham57, and (in Netherlands), @MacDutch.

You all would know the German and Western European scene better than me!

Has already been mentioned elsewhere but I have used golfbidder and ebay for my excessive club buying.

One other thing to consider or check on is whether your club (or any local club) has a for sale board. Mine does and often they will have sets available at good prices.

As for the fitting, I am very standard in height and structure and hence knew that standard length would be fine for me. I only think that a full fitting makes sense after a year or so when your swing has stabilized.

My advice recently to a colleague that just completed his platzreife and is already addicted was to look for a second had set from about 2/3 years ago in the Game Improvement category.

http://www.golfdigest.com/gallery/photos-hot-list-game-improvement-irons#1

My preference being something like the JPX EZ range. You can get a fairly decent set on golfbidder for around 300 Euros I believe although most are standard length. If you email them though they might be able to provide some alternatives.

[graham57]

As FrankfurtDave said, local golf clubs would be a good place to start (maybe the one you got your certificate at). Most people who have been playing golf for some time have accumulated several sets of older clubs in their basements (as golf is not as popular in Germany as Britain or the US, there usually aren't as many options for trading in an old set when buying a new one - that's why a lot of used clubs end up on ebay). The club might allow you to pin a note on the notice board saying you are looking for used clubs, you may get some good responses.

I live near Cologne, so if you are anywhere close and I can help with anything, let me know.