Joey G

My 3-W irons are from 1978 (original Eye), 460cc driver & fairway woods are from 2004 (G5), putter is nearly as old as my irons. I did recently get some news wedges 56* and 60* but I spent $30 each for them on Rockbottom Golf. I'm cheap but sank a 60-yard approach shot today with the 60*. I'm cheap and I know it...but, it's not the arrow, it's the Indian.

Right now, for me, I would benefit from a weekly session. Maybe not in 6 weeks, but right now at least a weekly lesson would help me develop good habits.

I'd look at your current bag and decide what you need/want to replace first and do it in stages. Like others have said, shopping used will get you more club for your $. I just got into playing again and badly needed to upgrade the contents of my bag, this is what I just did... 1 - Irons. Research the Ping color chart a little and figure out which color code best fits you. Then hit eBay or a good resale shop (like Club Finders) and find you a nice set of Eye 2 irons for $200 or less. It's a easy system to use to get used clubs that fit you and there are an abundance of these sets available. I actually inherited my old Eyes from my grandfather...you can get them much easier today. ;) 2 - Woods. This was next for me, if your current irons are playable, you may start with a driver and fairway woods. I went to Club Finders and bought my G5s (D, 5w, 7w) one at a time for $50-70 each. One man's trash is another man's treasure, I love these clubs and occasionally out drive guys with newer, more expensive drivers. 3 - Wedges. After much thought and advice, I decided to go cheap here since I am playing with a 56* and 60* for the first time. I bought a pair of Rock Bottom's Ray Cook brand Blue Goose wedges and after playing 18 Par 3 with them, I like them so much that I am think going to take the 3i out of my bag and get a matching 52*. Bought these on their "open box" special for $30 ea but again, lots of good used deals to be had too. 4 - Putter, I just put a new oversized grip on my old putter. But again, there are a LOT of options on ebay and other sources. 5 - Grips and new bag! Now that I have my bag together, time to regrip 'em all to match and play! Based on your post, I don't know if a $300 "complete set" would be much of an improvement over your current setup. But if I am not reading this right and you're looking to get a complete set deal, I just got a great deal on a Lynx woman's starter set for my wife and they're well made for the money (currently priced at $299, I got them for $169 at Golfsmith). Lynx and Zevo are/were Golf Smith's "store brand" for less and seem to be a good value. You may be able to score these cheap in the next few weeks as Dick's will likely liquidate these lines. Other stores have their own "store brands" for the complete set on a budget niche'..Dick's has Top Flight sets in that range, Rock Bottom's line is Ray Cook in this price range (check out the open box specials). You can also check out the "clone" companies like Pinemeadow, Giga, or Diamond Tour but these may not be USGA conforming if you want to play competitively. I think you're better off taking your time and shopping used gear. I was able to put together a respectable bag over about 6 months and have made major improvements over my old pawn shop Dunlap set I bought in my 20s...playing better and with more confidence than ever. Good luck.

Not that bad? It's terrible...but who doesn't watch a train wreck... I kinda liked the retro design in chrome...but then I saw the different colors and they looked like a mixed box of Christmas tree ornaments.

Doing new grips for the first time this winter, posting here to follow this one. Was leaning towards the Golf Pride tour wraps for price and looks (right color of blue) but appreciate everyone's comments here to help me with the decision.

Thanks for the reply. That is one of the courses we're checking out.

Planning a trip to Destin for Spring Break '17 and fishing for recommendations on where to play a round of golf while we're in town this trip. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Got the new wedges yesterday and here are my initial thoughts. 1 - finish is much softer, more like a satin finish and not nearly as bright as the images on Rock Bottom's website. I consider it a plus. 2 - did a little chipping with them and some full swings using foam balls and they seem very well balanced and I swing them well...as well as others I have tried that cost more. 3 - the components seem well made, the grips are a little disappointing (thin feeling) but they aren't unusable. I've been planning to get new grips for my driver and fairway woods anyhow so I need to do 5 instead of 3 now, no biggie. Hoping to get 9-holes in at the Par 3 course tomorrow evening and see how they perform there and how the finish holds up.

I definitely find more fairways with my 12* than I ever did with a 9*-10.5*. I'm able to control my chronic slice better and occasionally even hook a ball to the left. At first I carried my old 10.5* and the 12* both to the range, even when I hit the 10.5* well there was no real distance loss with the 12* but in my case, the consistancy in accuracy was very noticeable. Only driver I've ever been able to hit where I want it to go. May not be my last driver but my next one with be a 12* too.

Well, here's an update. For better or worse, I couldn't resist the $30 "open box" specials on Rockbottom Golf and picked up a pair of their Ray Cook Blue Goose wedges 56* & 60*. Thanks for the link TourSpoon, great deals on that site! I'll let you know how they look/perform in 10-14 days.

Thanks for your time and help, guys. I have completely changed the direction that I was heading with this decision.

That's good to hear as that's the way I would prefer to go but a recent thread here had me concerned with buying a used wedge. Thanks.

It might be worth keeping my 1i in the bag just to set-up that quote. :)

Alright, so I am just starting to pick the game back up after a decade long break, and the next logical step in terms of updating/improving my bag is to replace my current 1980's S wedge and kick the antique 1i out and replace them with a set of wedges to give me more options for the close game. Since I will be experimenting with lofts beyond a standard sand wedge for the first time, I don't want to spend $300 on set of wedges. I just missed out on a set of 3 Snake Eye 350 SL wedges for $59 at a Golfsmith store that's closing near me...kicking myself for waiting over a weekend to get back there. Now I'm trying to decide what to do.... 1 - Used name brand stuff? I'm obviously a fan of this approach from the contents of my bag, but am a little concerned about the condition of the grooves and finish on the sweet spot of used wedges and how the groove wear might affect playability and life span. 2 - The 3 for $100 (or so) crowd a - Giga Golf S2 - Fitted - available in black and in an "oil can" finish too. I found some older threads here related to this question but they weren't really relevant and the only reviews seem to be on the company's websites or that one guy re-posting the same negative review about Giga everywhere that he can. b - Diamond Tour Felon - Fitted - these are non-conforming clubs but I'm just a weekend warrior not a competitive player...my buds aren't going to be checking my club grooves and it's available in black. The potential spin performance kind of intrigues me a little...and it's illegal...chicks dig bad guys... c - McGregor VIP / Wilson Harmonized / Top Flite Tour - all available in black for around $30 each club at Dick's or GS right now. d - The Snake Eyes 350 SL sets are normally around $99 but are not on the Golfsmith website anymore? Might be able to track a set down at a different store. So, I'm leaning toward one of the new sets and really just looking for some feedback and first hand experience with any of the wedges (or sets) listed above to help me narrow the field a little and maybe avoid a bad purchase

My irons are from 1978, driver and woods from 2004 (same G5 as you)....at my current playing level, I don't feel like my clubs are holding my scores back. I will be updating my wedges to something designed this century in the near future but I'll probably regrip and keep playing my grandfather's old Eye irons a couple more years. There's something to be said about being familiar with your equipment too. The control you talk about with your driver comes from hitting a lot of balls with it and getting to know how it responds to different things. That's tough to give up considering that it could take weeks to develop that relationship with a new driver...at least that helps me cure the new toy bug and keep the wallet closed. :)

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2016/09/25/arnold-palmer-obituary/1881465/

Copy & Pasting my own answer on a similar thread here.... I agree about borrowing or grabbing a CHEAP bag of random clubs at a garage sale to start with but when you're ready to invest a little dough into your own set, there are really three ways to do it... 1 - Get a cheap beginner set from Golfsmith or Dick's (or other online source). Advantages (if you go instore) are you get to see/swing them first, some assistance with selection, a good matched set to start learning the game with even if they are not fitted. I recently spent $169 on a set of Lynx Tigress clubs from Golfsmith for my wife...same set is currently listed on their site for $299. They are actually quite well made/designed and will likely be all she ever needs for her game. Dick's also had a Top Flite set in the same price range...she liked the color of the Lynx set better. ;) 2 - Roll the dice with an online "Clone" company like Giga, Diamond Tour, Pine Meadow, Hireko Golf, etc...You don't get to swing them first but you can use their online fitting systems to customize size/shaft/grip options a little more than just the standard options in a box. I used to have a Pine Meadow driver that I could hit ever bit as far as my brother-in-laws latest greatest. This is a good article about clone clubs http://planet-golf.com/what-are-clone-golf-clubs/ 3 - Used brand name stuff, one man's trash is literally my treasure. Try EBay, Club Finders (or other like websites) and buy a used set of matched irons of proper size/flex (used Ping Eye 2 iron sets go for $90-125 all day) and then piece together your other clubs individually. Again, you won't get to swing them first and you could get burned on a deal along the way...but if you take your time and shop smart, you can assemble a nice bag without breaking the bank this way too. I'm lucky here in Dallas to have a PGA store, a Golfsmith, a dozen Dick's Sports, and also Club Finders Golf (used golf specialist) all within 20 minutes of my house so when I started building a new bag I decided to take the #3 route...but I am considering finishing it off with a couple of new clone wedges rather than going with older/used wedges. Good luck whatever you decide.

I currently carry both a 1i and a 2i (+ a driver, and a 5w). Fixing to add a 7w and dump one of them. I have definitely used my 2i to tee off when having slice issues with the driver or instead of a 3w from the fairway...I can't hit a 3w to save my life. I mainly use these clubs to get out of trouble with overhanging limbs when I need to punch out low and back into the fairway. I'll probably keep the 1i for this purpose and put the 2i into the office bag now.

Thanks for taking the time for such an informative reply, much appreciated!

This is what the divider looks like...

Anyone own(ed) one of these Silencer bags? In the market for a new and wondering if these are built well? Does the silencer dividing system hold up? TIA.

I'm thinking of getting a 7w after reading this thread. I'm playing with a 12* driver, an 18* 5w and have been struggling with getting a 3w (which I struggle to hit well) or a hybrid (which I have never even tried to hit) to round out my woods. I'm now thinking 21* 7w is on the shopping list...feed the addiction.

Save me a seat in the "Breaking BAD" cart of old hacks if it's not too far. I'm in Rowlett off George Bush and Lakeview Pkwy.

Yup, just got the same 30% Off email today...I guess there's always the PGA store and Club Finders right across the street...

Oh no! That's the store that I go to...just got a great deal on a set of women's clubs for my wife and daughter there. Wonder if they will start clearance pricing soon or just move the inventory to another location?