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I'm a bit of a short hitter so my 3 wood comes out more often than most people and I've been very happy with my Nike Dymo - it replaced my Sasquatch 4 wood which I wasn't confident off the deck with. Cuts through grass very nicely, forgiving (I'm pretty decent off the deck now) and consistent. I opted for the square one but I think I would have been perfectly happy with the regular one too - I tried both and found the square slightly more forgiving with very little negative impact.

I have a 2 year old Nike SUMO (S) that's a bit too stiff for me and it's costing me too much yardage. After taking some lessons I feel my swing is consistent enough that I should get fitted but my question is should I get fitted to my existing driver or is a driver fitting about every facet such that I should be getting a new driver? There's about 40-50 rounds on the driver plus a similar number of buckets on it. It still feels great to hit (other than a slightly too stiff shaft) but I suspect it's getting close to its end of life and that a new (fitted) driver would be the best bet. Thoughts? Thanks.

Hi, I started playing golf more regularly about 2 1/2 years ago and have gone from a awful hacker (115-120 - 4-5 rounds) to a hacker (110 - last year (7-8 rounds) to a workable golfer (100 this year - 11 rounds). I feel like I'm ready to take the next step come Spring but I'm not sure in what order - in what order should I be doing the following: - getting lessons (never taken lessons) - getting my clubs fitted (never been fitted) - getting new clubs Some relevant stats that I've started tracking over my last 6 rounds: FW hit %age: 50% (average yd: ~240-250yd) GIR: 1 in 18 Putts: 40/rd, 3putts: 5 per round My playing partners who are all 10-20 strokes better than I am have observed that plain old experience playing golf is probably the biggest challenge for me and that I have the fundamentals to get into the low-90s in the near future and possibly into the 80's with enough rounds under my belt. Lessons would definitely clean up the inconsistent areas of my game (dodgy alignment or hitting it fat too often for example) I've increasingly grown unhappy with my hybrids/iron set (Nickent 3DX) - too much offset, clubhead is too thick and they no longer fit my swing shape (too long, I'm 5'6"). Initially they were helpful in minimizing my mistakes but I find that they are hindering me now instead of helping me - should I have them fitted or just get new clubs and fit those? Any advice is welcome - I'd like to spread out the cost of the above 3 options from now till the season starts up again in Spring but otherwise I think I will pursue all 3, I just want to get them done in a sensible order. thanks,

My advice is to buy used drivers off eBay (3ballsgolf is a bargain) and try them. If you don't like them you can sell them on Craigslist pretty quick and for a very small loss.

101. Used a new driver for the first time and hit 9 of 13 fairways but couldn't hit a green (1 GIR) and couldn't putt (44!!! 44!!!). I need better irons.

I have the non-RC version and think they're great although my swing changes of late mean their club faced is too closed for my tastes now so I'm hooking it far too often. Still though, they go a mile and are easy to hit off any surface.

I have a Nickent set of irons as well with the 45deg PW. I had 2 Vokeys (54.14 and 60.04) but have just added a 50.08 to the collection. If I had to start over again I'd go with a 50.08 and a 56.10 but then again I have room in my bag for 3 Vokeys as I don't carry a fairway wood. The spacing between my PW and my 54.14 was causing me problems as I have lots of shots in between those two clubs on the courses I play.

Hi, Took a look on eBay and a used stiff club looks like a good option, I'll keep an eye out for that. With the increased swing speed I've picked up this year I'm having trouble controlling the clubface so I'm spraying it more than I used. I tried my friend's extra stiff Burner and it was definitely a big improvement over my regular.

Hi, I've picked up another 20-30 yards off the tee this year and noticed that my shaft is no longer stiff enough (Regular stock Diamana on the original Sasquatch) and I need to upgrade but I don't really know what I should be looking for in a new shaft I'm happy with my ball flight as is and I'm hitting around 250-265 now (in pretty damp conditions) but that's all I know as potential criteria. Any tips? thanks,

I use an Odyssey centre shafted putter b/c I have a square pendulum swing. It's definitely not for everyone and I actually find it to be more sensitive to the line you're aiming for - be off a little and the end result is that you're much further off than a heel based putter but hit it square and the result is great (at least for me).

97 today with a 6:18 am tee time. Only took 3:45 to play. Inconsistent off the tee and shaky with the putter all day but the short irons were hot. Sank a 60 foot putt on the last hole for birdie - uphill over two rises, right to left to righ. Might have been the best shot of my life.

Nickent 3DX hybrid irons. I see them available for a few hundred. I have the 3DX clubs (1 generation ago) and they're good solid clubs

I usually pick up after double par as do my playing partners. It's punishment enough for the player when they get to double par so why make them suffer any more? The only exception is usually the 18th hole especially if things aren't backed up. We've paid our money so we're gonna have a go at it on the last hole and trouble often ensues for someone looking to hit his 1 in a 1000 shot.

Common sense eliminates most (if not all) of the problems with buying on eBay. Nearly my entire set of clubs is from eBay - my irons, my driver, my fairway wood and my two Titleist wedges. Every one of them is legit b/c I bought it from a reputable seller on eBay that had good feedback and had been selling for a long time. I love buying clubs on eBay - I can get them for such a low price that I can sell the club for more than I paid if I find I don't like it. It allows me to try clubs for free. There's about a dozen or so very legit sellers on eBay for golf equipment that I've seen - I've bought from 3ballsgolf, globalgolfusa, mortongolf, azgolfexchange with zero problems.

Thanks for the tips - I'm definitely consistent enough with my driver now that hooking up to launch monitor would help me. I'm definitely happy with my Sasquatch so I'd hope not to switch, I hope the issue is a shaft situation so I can swap that out.

Hi, I've gone through 3 drivers in the past 9 months as I learn the game and have come across a steady problem of very high ball flight off my driver. I'm not getting much roll off my drives so I'm losing out on some useful yardage. The tip I was given was that a flight that's about the height of a 5 story building is about right, right now I'm flying around the 7th floor or so and the ball just dies as it runs out of steam. I've used: Big Bertha 454, 10deg, reg stiffness - Very high ball flight. FT-3 draw, 9deg, reg - terrible club, just didn't work out at all. Sasquatch 10.5deg, reg - Great club, ball flight is lower but still a bit too high. I'm using Nike Mojo and Nike Juice right now and am going to take the HX Hot out for a spin to see if that helps bring my ball flight down but I figure it's swing issue or maybe a shaft issue. I do keep the ball forward in my stance - just ahead of my inside left heel which I find gives me very consistent contact. I've tried moving it inside a bit more and find my contact starts wandering a bit. Yardage wise I hit it about 235-245 right now. Any ideas on what I should be looking to do to bring that ball flight in line? thanks,

I'm at 3 right but in need of a 4th. I'm 44deg PW, 54.14 SW, 60.04 LW so it's a big hole and I'm looking for a 50.08 Titleist to fill that hole but I've got a full complement of clubs right now so I have to figure out what to drop. I just picked up a Sasquatch 4 wood which is a reasonable bridge I think between my driver and my 3H so I could drop my 2H. Of course I have the black nickel finish and it's damn hard finding a matching black nickel now, I think it's only available via custom order.

My trek to find the right driver appears to have ended. I'm on a Sasquatch (last year's) 10.5 deg, reg stiffness. Had a Big Bertha 454 10 deg then swapped to a FT-3 9 deg draw and now the SQ. The 454 was the longest club, the FT-3 was a disaster and the SQ is heaven on a bun for me.

Looking to take a look at some new balls to see if there's something that suits my game better. Been using nike mojo's lately and have tried out the new juice ball. I like the mojo's better than the juice - the juice feels a bit harder than the mojo and I didn't notice any difference off the tee in terms of distance. I shoot in the 90's (and dropping!) and use a Sasquatch right now. I have a naturally high ball flight so I'd like a low flying ball off the tee. Any suggestions on what I should try out?

Titleist 54.14 and 60.04 black nickel. The 54 is the best club in my bag.

Got an Odyssey White Hot #5 CS, 34" coming my way. Haven't used it on real grass yet but it was magic as soon as I starting making contact with it in a store.

In Canada at Golftown it's going for $300CDN and on eBay I'm seeing quite a few in the low 200USD range. I hit one at Golftown and really liked it but I was able to get a lightly used FT-3 on eBay for $149.

Q: At which point should someone get fitted in terms of how good a golfer they are? Does it make sense for an inconsistent swinger to get fitted, is a fitting more for someone with a relatively low handicap?

Depends on what problems you have. :) I just switched to a set of Nickent 3dx irons but have only had the chance to take them out on the course once and on the range a few times. I went from a set of 12 year old clubs to the 3dx and it's like I moved a couple centuries forward. I can't believe how much easier modern clubs are to hit - I've hit maybe a half dozen bad shots with it since I've gotten them. If your clubs are really old it might just be better to buy a used set that's a couple years old and then upgrade again in a year or two. That way you get to use mostly modern equipment on the cheap and then you can get what you really need later as your scores drop. I only got my clubs b/c I got them at a great price on eBay and I figure I can sell them next year for about what I paid for them and upgrade again.

Disclosure : I'm an eBay employee. I've bought golf clubs on eBay 3 times now with no problems and with GREAT prices. I got a set of Nickent 3dx clubs for $300CDN less than what it costs at Golftown. I've snagged a Vokey 60.04 for $75CDN and a 54.14 for $85CDN - that's half retail. All of them were brand new (the wedges weren't labelled as new but turned out to be). I figure if any of these clubs don't work out I'd sell them on Craigslist for about what I paid so buying on eBay for so much less lets me try stuff for free so to speak. As for who to buy from - check their feedback, ask questions about shipping, club condition etc and use Paypal. It's nothing I wouldn't do when trying to decide who to buy from in the retail world. In the meantime I'm on the hunt for a draw biased FT-3 to replace my BB 454.