HelRaza

I bought a pair for Callaway S205BK's for $60 at my local pro shop. They are great and everyone I play with who has tried them wants to get a pair.

I met up with my instructor at the driving range. He bough some balls and we headed over to hit them. We started with an 8 Iron and we went over my swing. When fitting me with my clubs he gave me some very basic swing mechanics to work on. He was impressed at the progress I had made but found some things I need to work on. I was doing a few things wrong. I was pulling my head too quickly, swinging at the ball not through it, and not turning my wrists enough when I was swinging. He seems to have me over exaggerate the corrections and then had me swing normally. It worked. I was a little inconsistent, but I got the "feel" what the correct swing was like. I have to say I was impressed with the progress we made. He wanted me to get 3 days of practice in before our next lesson on Tuesday. I am going to play 18 on Saturday and hit the driving range Friday and Monday. He bought me another bucket of balls before the end of the lessons so I could work on things after he left. Honestly though, about a third of the way in I was beat. It was about 105 here today. I can definitely tell when my mechanics break down because I'm tired. Now I know what people mean by golf shape. All in all I am having a lot of fun with this, and enjoying golf more...the more I learn.

Yea I am happy with my clubs. They are not the best thing on the course, but all my friends who have better sets tried them and really liked them. I can deal with them just fine for now. My first lesson is tomorrow after work. I hope to get at least 18 in this weekend if not more.

I didn't really sign up for a set we're just doing as many lessons as it takes. I want to start from the ground up though.

You're all way ahead of me, but I am taking my first lesson on Wednesday. I went in to get my clubs fit and he actually showed me how to swing a club correctly. I was able to take that to the range today with my new clubs and make good improvement. What should I expect to get out of beginner lessons and how many should I take before it will take playing a while to get to a point where more instruction can help? I'm sure this is a relative, but a general idea would be helpful.

I ended up getting the Top Flite XL clubs. I got my fitting today. Everything was standard other than when he tested my loft i was hitting on the inside of the club a bit. He is going to have me use it this weekend and we will do it again once I get used to the clubs. He actually gave me a quick lesson as we were doing the test. After he showed me a few things...it all kind of clicked. I went to the range with some buddies from work and gave them a try. The combination of the new clubs and learning how to swing a bit made a HUGE improvement. It was night and day. I can't wait to keep working at this sport and getting better. My first lesson is at 5:30 on Wednesday. I am playing 18 tomorrow and I can't wait...the addiction has begun. Thanks a lot of all the advice and information guys. I look forward to posting here more.

I don't have a game yet. hehe So I think the beginner set is the way to go until I figure it out.

This is what the Pro wants me to to buy: http://shop.callawaygolf.com/compset...efault,pd.html

What do you mean by custom? I am getting fitted tomorrow. I assume whatever I get will be custom fitted right? Isn't that what a fitting is? That brings up another question how do I get properly fitted when my swing is a train wreck and I don't even know how to swing properly yet.

So I went with a friend to the pro shop today and I tried out the Adams A7 set. http://www.adamsgolf.com/products/irons/a7_set.php I really liked it and it's on sale for $450. Then I would need to get Fairway Woods, Driver, Putter and a Bag. The Used selection was pretty weak other than drivers. They had a 2009 Nike SQ Dynamo STR8-FIT 10.5 for $150 and a Taylor Made Tour Burner for $120. Only used Irons they had were Cleveland TA7's.

Yea that's really the debate I have been having in my head. Getting a set that I grow into or getting a good quality beginner set. I am lucky, especially in this economy, that I could get a better set if I thought that was the best choice. So price really isn't a huge consideration. The Pro at the local shop I have been at seems to be a super nice guy, who was actually steering me away from the more expensive clubs. I am going to speak to him on Friday and make my choice and get fit. However, the TF's seem to be the front runner right now. I figure I can hack away with these for a year or so trade them in a for a few bucks and get a better set when I can truly take advantage of them. Thanks for all the great advice guys. I will definitely be sticking around and sharing my journey to becoming a better golfer. The funny thing is right now my driver is my best club, which isn't saying much... But once I start taking lessons the Pro wants me to take the driver out of my bag. It's going to be a long road ahead, but I am looking forward to it.

I am going in for a fitting Friday morning. I will figure out what clubs I am getting then. Right now I am thinking of going with the Top-Flite set. Earlier it was Nike or Adams, but since then I played 9 holes after work and realized that I have such a long way to go. It seems just silly to get a decent set now.

Yea he has been super nice. Just need to decide on the clubs already.

So I spoke with the guy at the pro shop again today. He said that the only used clubs he right right now that he thought would work for me were a set of Cleveland TA7 Irons for $150. He also said he would be happy to look boxed sets from other vendors if I was interested.

I'm in Champaign-Urbana.

Private Jet collecting?

I am starting to realize this pretty quick. However I see you have Top-Flite in your bag...at least if you sig is current. What do you think of them?

Great article. Thanks for sharing it. I am definitely getting some lessons from the pro I met with today. He seemed to be very well respected by some of the regulars that were in the place when I got there. I agree with the boxed set. I would have thought that the Top-Flight was a pretty low end set but he was so high on them that it was tempting. Another attractive option was the Nike SQ Match Speed Iron set which also had a $200 signing bonus when purchasing the set. I think I will take my concerns to the Pro and discuss some more options. Thanks again for your input...everyones input for that matter. I definitely want to smash some beers when I play, but I also want to get better and take it seriously. I don't do anything half way. Yea the resale value was something I was definitely considering. I will have to get some more information about the trade in policy they have. I will just have to take a look at the used selection they have.

Well that's where I'm kinda torn. I mean at my level, which is horrible, is it really going to matter if I get Top-Flite or Callaway? I would have to imagine that it's going to take a couple years before I am going to be seeing much of a difference from high end clubs and solid beginner clubs.

Went to see the Pro today. He was a super nice guy. Wasn't trying to up sell me, in fact he was trying to down sell me. They do all the fittings and let me try the clubs and bring it back if Im not happy for free. He said if I really picked up the game I could trade these in for something more. The clubs he really thought I should start with were a box set. It was a Top Flite XL 15 pc set for $199. He was really high on these clubs. Said they were alloy and that they were made by Callaway. He said if I was dead set on spending more money he would recommend the Nike SQ Match Speed which was around 600 bucks plus they had a $200 credit I could use on any other Nike Golf Product. He also had the Adams A7 and said I could get a putter and some used woods. He said I should wait on a driver. The cool thing was he also gives lessons for $40 each and just was a pleasant guy to be around. So should I push him for used clubs or pull the trigger on the Top Flites for now? Edit: I forgot to mention everything is 10% off for fathers day.

Central Illinois. There are a couple shops here. I am going to check them out. I just don't like shopping uneducated.

Okay thanks guys. I definitely have something I can go off of.

I have no idea what to look for in used clubs. I have looked on ebay and I am really not sure what to pick. Maybe I will head to the local shop and see what they have tomorrow.

I can see your point about buying new, but I have no idea what to look for in used clubs.

What do you mean by Component maker?