Getting new golf clubs......

[Gibsons]

Originally posted by: Otaking
So... is there a "golf for dummies" that I can read up on? I want to play

Or is someone can do a cliffs notes on how you swing/play, that'd be great.

This is a good place to start, imo. Text

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: laurenlex

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: laurenlex
I think you are paying for Tiger's new yacht if you buy Nike irons.

I will stick with Ping, Taylor Made, Cleveland, or Mizuno when I replace my old Pings.

I think Calloway is like Nike, you are paying for advertising.

The Golf Warehouse

And if you buy Cleveland you're paying for Vijays new yacht. If you buy Taylormade you're paying for Sergio's new yacht. If you buy Ping you're paying for Mark Calcavecchia's new yacht. If you buy Mizuno you're paying for the chairman of Mizuno's new yacht. They have a very chintzy tour payout program, that's why they went from being the #1 iron on tour to being the #8 iron on tour almost overnight. They stopped paying for PGA players to claim they use the stuff. It doesn't matter which brand you buy, you're paying for the advertising and for HUGE profits to the manufacturers. The clubs themselves are made in Chinese sweatshops by unskilled workers using dirt cheap parts.

Ok, you pwned me there.

Have a local club builder custom make you a set with your choice of heads, shafts, and grips.

DING! DING! DING! We have a winner. Off-the-rack OEM clubs are all junk. It doesn't matter whether it's a $1000 set of Callaway, TM or Titleist or a $300 set of Ram, Northwestern or Golden Bears. It's all made in the same place by the same people for about the same costs. The only way to get a true set and to get clubs that fit properly is to have them custom made.

 

[andylawcc]

so would Ram and Golden Bear consider "off-the-rack" junk then?

 

[Jhill]

If you are a beginner I would go the cheap route. Get a set of component clubs custom made from a local club builder. There is NO WAY you will notice a difference.

I love blasting my 150 dollar component driver 30 yards past some guy with a 400 dollar nike driver. Then I usually out shoot him by 10 strokes.

I am not ripping on nike clubs but a lot of your money is going into the name.

Wait until you get good before you drop a lot of money into clubs as you will probably beat up your first set learning how to play.

 

[meltdown75]

I'll get a new set one day. It's my next big purchase. Honestly, I have never really hit a set of modern irons. I'm using Dunlop Blue Max sticks from 1979 or 1980. Until I break 80 with these though, I really don't see any use in picking up a new set.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: arod
If your looking for something similar to the slingshots but less $$, give the nike crp set a try. I like my set and was alomst half the price of the slingshots.

second for the Nike CPRs...I got the iron set as opposed to the fairway woods set.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: andylawcc
so would Ram and Golden Bear consider "off-the-rack" junk then?

Well, yes, but I actually have a lot more respect for Ram and Golden Bear than for supposedly high-end stuff like Nike, Titleist and Callaway. It's all made the same place by the same workers from the same parts made in the same foundries. The biggest differences between $300 irons and $1000 irons are advertising and profit margins. If you buy inexpensive stuff like Ram you're getting a MUCH better value as maybe $100 of the $300 is in the price of the parts and the rest is profit. On a $1000 set you're still paying around that same $100 for the parts with $900 in profit.

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: andylawcc
so would Ram and Golden Bear consider "off-the-rack" junk then?

Well, yes, but I actually have a lot more respect for Ram and Golden Bear than for supposedly high-end stuff like Nike, Titleist and Callaway. It's all made the same place by the same workers from the same parts made in the same foundries. The biggest differences between $300 irons and $1000 irons are advertising and profit margins. If you buy inexpensive stuff like Ram you're getting a MUCH better value as maybe $100 of the $300 is in the price of the parts and the rest is profit. On a $1000 set you're still paying around that same $100 for the parts with $900 in profit.

The only sh!tty part is going to the tees with a bag full of RAM and getting snickered at by all the rich guys using Ping, Cleveland, Callaway, etc etc. I mean, we all know those guys are out there, and 85% of them gravitate to golf for some unknown reason. It really can be a "ooh look at my stuff" sport sometimes.

edit: not to say you have to be rich to play those products, but you know what i mean?

 

[endscape]

I've demo'd slingshots, and they're decent clubs. The one problem I have with them is that they whistle when you swing them. Nike's are, however, not very forgiving, so if you need a little help, I'd get a set of Ping G2's and have them fitted. If you are dead set on Nike's, look at the CPRs, or the Pro Combos if you're a better player.

 

[Jhill]

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: andylawcc
so would Ram and Golden Bear consider "off-the-rack" junk then?

Well, yes, but I actually have a lot more respect for Ram and Golden Bear than for supposedly high-end stuff like Nike, Titleist and Callaway. It's all made the same place by the same workers from the same parts made in the same foundries. The biggest differences between $300 irons and $1000 irons are advertising and profit margins. If you buy inexpensive stuff like Ram you're getting a MUCH better value as maybe $100 of the $300 is in the price of the parts and the rest is profit. On a $1000 set you're still paying around that same $100 for the parts with $900 in profit.

The only sh!tty part is going to the tees with a bag full of RAM and getting snickered at by all the rich guys using Ping, Cleveland, Callaway, etc etc. I mean, we all know those guys are out there, and 85% of them gravitate to golf for some unknown reason. It really can be a "ooh look at my stuff" sport sometimes.

edit: not to say you have to be rich to play those products, but you know what i mean?

I think the opposite. I laugh at the guys playing the expensive stuff that can't hit a ball worth crap. I bough some persimmion woods from a thrift shop once and went to the range for the heck of it to see how they hit. Some people snickered at me until I started outdriving them. For some reason they didn't want to stick around with their 1,000 clubs much longer.

 

[pmoa]

i actually have the old pro combos. I love them. The three iron is one of the easiest three irons to hit. getting the old pro combos may actually save you a couple hundred.

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: Jhill

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: andylawcc
so would Ram and Golden Bear consider "off-the-rack" junk then?

Well, yes, but I actually have a lot more respect for Ram and Golden Bear than for supposedly high-end stuff like Nike, Titleist and Callaway. It's all made the same place by the same workers from the same parts made in the same foundries. The biggest differences between $300 irons and $1000 irons are advertising and profit margins. If you buy inexpensive stuff like Ram you're getting a MUCH better value as maybe $100 of the $300 is in the price of the parts and the rest is profit. On a $1000 set you're still paying around that same $100 for the parts with $900 in profit.

The only sh!tty part is going to the tees with a bag full of RAM and getting snickered at by all the rich guys using Ping, Cleveland, Callaway, etc etc. I mean, we all know those guys are out there, and 85% of them gravitate to golf for some unknown reason. It really can be a "ooh look at my stuff" sport sometimes.

edit: not to say you have to be rich to play those products, but you know what i mean?

I think the opposite. I laugh at the guys playing the expensive stuff that can't hit a ball worth crap. I bough some persimmion woods from a thrift shop once and went to the range for the heck of it to see how they hit. Some people snickered at me until I started outdriving them. For some reason they didn't want to stick around with their 1,000 clubs much longer.

:evil: it is true. it is very funny to see someone with expensive gear and a 25 handicap. it just makes no sense. well, i guess if you're just picking up the game, that's fine. i don't know.... it's just a funny sport in that way. underneath it all, i guarantee that my broke ass is jealous that i don't have a modern set by now.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: andylawcc
so would Ram and Golden Bear consider "off-the-rack" junk then?

Well, yes, but I actually have a lot more respect for Ram and Golden Bear than for supposedly high-end stuff like Nike, Titleist and Callaway. It's all made the same place by the same workers from the same parts made in the same foundries. The biggest differences between $300 irons and $1000 irons are advertising and profit margins. If you buy inexpensive stuff like Ram you're getting a MUCH better value as maybe $100 of the $300 is in the price of the parts and the rest is profit. On a $1000 set you're still paying around that same $100 for the parts with $900 in profit.

The only sh!tty part is going to the tees with a bag full of RAM and getting snickered at by all the rich guys using Ping, Cleveland, Callaway, etc etc. I mean, we all know those guys are out there, and 85% of them gravitate to golf for some unknown reason. It really can be a "ooh look at my stuff" sport sometimes.

edit: not to say you have to be rich to play those products, but you know what i mean?

True. There's a certain snobbery in golf in that people will tend to look down on brands they don't recognize. If a person is insecure about it they'll probably want to waste money on the name just to impress their friends. A better way to impress people is to beat them though and a custom made set of quality sticks that FITS is the first step in that direction. I've been laughed at more times than I can count. Hell, I had the balls to pull out a bright yellow driver in the US Amateur Public Links qualifer. Everyone laughed, but they stopped laughing once I hit it. I got snickers last week when I got paired up with a couple of equipment snobs in a practice round. They looked in my bag on the first tee and didn't recognize a single club. No doubt they were thinking that I was a poor chump who couldn't afford "real" clubs. I shot 71 and neither one of them broke 90. Think they were still laughing at me after the round?

You can look good through equipment or you can look good through your play. If you buy clubs because the brand impresses other people you're only going to look good, you're never going to be good. Golf clubs are not a pair of socks. It's not one-size-fits-all and it's not the color that matters. If they don't fit it doesn't matter how much they cost, what brand is stenciled on or how much your friends might oooh and aaah over them.

 

[meltdown75]

True. There's a certain snobbery in golf in that people will tend to look down on brands they don't recognize. If a person is insecure about it they'll probably want to waste money on the name just to impress their friends. A better way to impress people is to beat them though and a custom made set of quality sticks that FITS is the first step in that direction. I've been laughed at more times than I can count. Hell, I had the balls to pull out a bright yellow driver in the US Amateur Public Links qualifer. Everyone laughed, but they stopped laughing once I hit it. I got snickers last week when I got paired up with a couple of equipment snobs in a practice round. They looked in my bag on the first tee and didn't recognize a single club. No doubt they were thinking that I was a poor chump who couldn't afford "real" clubs. I shot 71 and neither one of them broke 90. Think they were still laughing at me after the round?

You can look good through equipment or you can look good through your play. If you buy clubs because the brand impresses other people you're only going to look good, you're never going to be good. Golf clubs are not a pair of socks. It's not one-size-fits-all and it's not the color that matters. If they don't fit it doesn't matter how much they cost, what brand is stenciled on or how much your friends might oooh and aaah over them.

Holy sh!t. I have first tee jitters enough - you must be good at handling pressure if you hit a nice ball with that yellow driver. I see quite a few yellow shafts though - the yellow & purple ones. Another thing I don't really like is galleries. Last year was my first time playing in my home course's club championship tourney and I shot really bad, mostly because I was nervous and had high expectations of playing well. Well, there were a few galleries... and they fvcked me up big time.

I love the game so much though. wow. Check out this pic from a course I played this morning:

Kingsville GCC, 9th hole, white nine

I barely made it over the creek and ended up near those cedars to the back right. Got my bogey...

edit: lol i can see my buddy's shot on the green. eheh

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: meltdown75


Holy sh!t. I have first tee jitters enough - you must be good at handling pressure if you hit a nice ball with that yellow driver. I see quite a few yellow shafts though - the yellow & purple ones. Another thing I don't really like is galleries. Last year was my first time playing in my home course's club championship tourney and I shot really bad, mostly because I was nervous and had high expectations of playing well. Well, there were a few galleries... and they fvcked me up big time.

I get first tee jitters too. So do a lot of top amateurs, tour pros, major champions and hall of famers. It's natural. Hitting a yellow club is no different than hitting a black one. The ball doesn't know what color club is hitting it, if you make a good swing the ball with fly with a yellow head on a puke green shaft with a Pepto-Bismol pink grip.

EVERYBODY chokes their first time in competition. The first time I entered the US Amateur I was 7 over through 4 holes. I was so nervous I couldn't talk let alone swing. But I got over it and you will too. The secret to being comfortable in competition is to play in competition as often as possible. It'll get easier every time you do it. Stick with it, learning how to handle the pressure of tournaments makes you a better player every single day. If you know you can hit a shot when it counts it becomes childs play to hit one when nobody is watching.