paulballs

Regarding that comment, I'm definitely a weekend warrior and I definitely feel like I'm in the minority here.

Well maybe next time I buy a new set I'll give it a go. Unfortunately, I just bought a brand new set of irons this year off the rack. The driver I'm using is the same one I had 8yrs ago.

I posted this because I'm curious how much it actually helps. How many strokes is it actually going to save you? I generally think everyone wants to get better. Right now I'm not even breaking 100 again. I'd like to get back to the Mid 90s, I think I'd be happy there, but I don't see how a fitting is going to benefit me at all. I understand if you get to low handicap you obviously play a lot and have put in alot of time, effort, sweat, money to get there, and at that point why not. But I've seen numerous posts, guys brand new looking to buy some irons, and 9 out of 10 say "go get fit." I just don't see why that's the overwhelming advise, and curious how many people actually do it. By reading here it “seems like" it's a good 90%

I've been an on again, off again golfer for 20yr. The best I ever got was shooting consistently in the mid-90s 7-8yrs ago. Since then I haven't played until this year. Just reading around random threads about equipment, almost everyone says "go get a proper fitting." I've never done this. Only bought clubs straight off the rack. I don't know anyone that has ever done this. None of the guys I've ever played with have ever done it. So how many actually do?

From personal experience, I would look for something 5-PW and/or GW. I just bought a new set this year, chose the 4-pw/gw option which was an extra $75 or so. I never hit my 4 iron.

Repeatable swing. I've been an on again, off again player for probably 20yrs, with some long lay offs in between. Up to this year I last played in 2011. I find some days I hit the ball very good, some days I can't hit it at all. And by that I mean EVERYTHING is a shank, snap hook, fat, sideways off the toe. I believe my biggest problem with that is my tempo. No matter how many times I tell myself "nice and easy, easy take away to the top, then let the club do the work" once I engage that first take away move I'm way too fast. If I could find some solution to this issue I would be in much better shape.

Comparing this to an actual driving range or real world golf practice/experience is like comparing Go-Karts to real racing. It's meant to be a recreational activity for the masses, like darts or bowling. If you get caught up in what kind of balls they use and how far they fly and the chatter around you, it's not for you. I'd sincerely doubt many ppl go there with the idea of getting in some real ball striking practice time. I've done it, it's fun, it's different. I love going to the range and hitting balls too. But the 2 things are not the same animal.

Totally disagree that it's a teen hang out. I've been multiple times to multiple locations in different states, its mostly a mid 20s - 30s crowd. It's not intended to be any kind of golf simulation or driving range. It's like darts/bowling with a golf ball. I enjoy playing golf, but I also enjoy Top Golf. BTW, you can put your name on the wait list and leave. They will send you a text when you have about 15min til your stall is open. Granted you can't go very far, but you can even reply "need more time" and they offer I believe 15, 30, 60min more increments.

Yes https://www.usga.org/RulesFAQ/rules_answer.asp?FAQidx=9&Rule=4 I'd have a hard time spending $130 on it. I got a generic one off Ebay for $30.

Too often Ill use it for just 1 swing 😭 Never played 18 with 1 ball. Generally about 2 lost per round. Although I've been up to 5-6 on a few rounds.

Last year this guy kept hitting into us. Did it 3 times without us saying a word. I was playing in a 2some, he was a single but playing 2 balls (which is why we didnt let him around) and we had a group ahead we were waiting on anyway. Anyway on the 16th my partner is hitting his 2nd shot from the fairway and a ball lands about 5 feet behind him. I picked it up and threw it in the nearby lake. The kid comes rolling down the fairway in his cart, saying WTF is all that, blah blah. Im a pretty mild mannered guy but when I come unglued I let loose with the best of them. Told him what I thought, why I did what I did, he didnt seem to want to get out of the cart.

Are you sure it was a guy?

I realize people get fitted for a reason. Ive never done that, granted I just got back into the game in 2009 after a long, long absence. I bought some cheap clubs to get me started in 09 and just this year invested in something better (TM Burner Plus). Im hitting the ball much better, I like to think due to the new irons, but Im sure its a combo of going to the range more often and having more experience than I did 2yr ago. Im probably a 25 handicap, and while I know virtually nothing about fitting and lie angles etc, I highly doubt having all that done is going to improve my game by any significance. Later down the road, when Ive really put in some time and shooting in the mid-80s I might potentially look into that. But at my skill level straight off the shelf clubs are going to be as good as anything. To use this analogy my 11yr old wants to be a drummer. For Christmas I got him a drum kit, spend a fair amount of $ on it, about $650, but that was more or less a "starter" set. I didnt want to get him a total piece of crap, but I wasnt going to drop $2k on a drum kit either. I figure once hes played that for a few years and I see he is really serious about playing then we will looking into a more high-end set of drums. Same with the clubs. If the Superlaunch are anything close to the Burner Plus Tito you will be happy with them as-if. Buy something off the shelf. Play them a while, work on your game. Then later down the road when you are ready to upgrade look into all that. Im not a golf professional, I just play one on tv.

Please don't take offense but you are a 30+ handicap and are concerned about custom club fitting? I'm sure off the shelf superlaunch irons would be fine.

I've bought from rockbottomgolf and hurricane golf and had great experience with both. Low prices and fast shipping.

My total golfing experience would probably be 4yrs. I played 2yrs back in 95-96, then gave it up and started in 2009. Never had a hole in one, and like many others never even close. Think the closest Ive been on a par 3 is 12-15 feet from the cup. Someone else had a similar story to this one though. Back in 95 I was on a long par 3, about 180 (well long to me) with a large pond right in front of the tee box. First ball I topped right into the water. Teed up again, next ball came within 6" of going in for par.

I started in 2009 with a new set of RPM irons. I played golf way back in the mid-90s but gave it up for about 13yrs. I went to a range with a friend and they had a set of RPMs, an Adams driver, and an Adams stand bag for $200 which I bought to get me started. The got me through 2 seasons but I decided to upgrade this year and went with some TM Burner Plus. To answer the OP question, I think you will see an improvement with better clubs. I still struggle to break 100 consistently but alot of that is my chipping and putter, I lose alot of strokes there. I upgraded that original driver I had to a TM Burner that same year and it was a big improvement over that Adams driver. And my Burner irons seem to be a big step up over those Adams RPMs also. I am hitting my irons much, much better. Even on off-center shots the ball is going pretty straight. Ive seen ball marks way out on the toe but the flight path was darn near where I was aiming. The Burner Plus an a game-improvement iron and I believe it. Ive only had then about 3 weeks now, been on the range a number of times and seen alot more consistent ball striking. Ive only played 3 rounds with them. First time out was a disaster, 107, but have been under 100 the next 2 times out, 97 and 94. I shot my best 9 this year on Sunday, had a 43 on the backside.

Some of the comments here are laughable: "No self-respecting golfer would ever pull out a brush tee on a tee box" Really? So now golfing acumen has come down to what kind of tee you use? If you wanted to hit the ball off the top of a pen cap and thats what you felt comfortable with I say go for it. If you like Zero Friction, wooden, plastic, no slice, forward lean, brush tees, or whatever, use em. I just started playing golf again in 2009 after a 13yrs layoff. A good friend dragged me back out to the driving range and he was using brush tees so I decided to try them. I liked them so I bought a 3 pack of the multi height, but I only ever used the orange one for my driver. In 2010 I bought a 3 pack of orange, gave one to my buddy, and am still using them. So thats 3 tees, and Im starting my 3rd season of golfing here in 2011. I never, ever, not once have knocked the tee out of the ground. Ive never seen anyone else use these tees, but I personally say they are at least worth trying.

Well I had someone give me an old Odyssey putter they didnt want any more, a dual force 662. The shaft looks to be about 2" longer than the one I was using. And the offset is in the shaft, not the putter head so it looks weird staring down at it. Im going to give this a try and see what comes of it before buying something. Ill just grip down to where I feel comfortable. I recognize that most of my issues are lack of practice, but the last 2yrs I putted much better with the same amount of limited practice so thats why I felt a need to change the putter.

I would go with Taylormade. I started out a few years ago with a budget set of Adams irons and an Adams driver. I bought 2 Adams hybrids to go along with that at the time too. So I guess at that point I was an Adams man :) But I could not hit that driver for anything. So I bought a TM Burner driver and seemed to hit it pretty good. In fact it became one of my best clubs, sadly I only use it 13-14 times a round. So this year when I was looking for a new, better set of irons I went with TM Burner Plus. Very happy with them after a few weeks. Still have the Adams hybrids in the bag. Not in any big hurry to replace them at the moment.

Taylormade Catalina cart

What part is best: None What part is worst: All As I alluded to, Im sure its 90% me and has nothing to do with the putter Im using. Also, its March 7, the greens arent exactly in great shape. They are very, very short, fast, and my distance control has been horrible. With this same putter the last 2yrs Ive putted much, much better, so maybe some of it is the greens. Ive not previously played this early in the year the last 2 season. I just feel like maybe I should move on to something new, but at the putting green at Golfsmith or Golf Galaxy I cant see any distinguishable difference from one to the next so I dont know what exactly Im looking for. Ill go back and spend a good 2hrs trying a bunch and settle of something I guess.

Ive demoed everything from a $20 putter to a $250 putter and I cannot tell any difference whatsoever. Ive lost all confidence in the putter Im currently using, an old Dunlop pewter blade, no insert, nothing fancy. I just about broke the think today on the course to insure that I buy something new. I realize its 90% the puttee, not the putter, but Im set of getting something new. So back to the question, I like the length of the one I have now, 35". But Ive tried everything and cant see any noticeable difference on a practice green at the store. Aside from aesthetics and whether or not it has a ball pick up, I stumped at to what I should buy.

Play something cheap. You wont feel so bad about losing them. I primarily play Top Flite D2 feel or straight. I bought a box of Top Flite Eagles last year, basically a rebranded D2 ball for Target stores but they no longer carry them and Im about out. I have also played the Nike Mojo, and they are still making them, contrary to the above post. They are $18-20 for a box of 24. Not the best "feel" coming off the putter though. Ill probably be picking up a box of these before my next round. I havent played them in a while and Im almost out of my D2s.