[retired_bigsean999]

*wroe

[aeonteal]

I think I forgot to mention that my town benifits from having Europe's only PING factory (so I'm told) and so they pile shed loads of money into the local course which is pretty good. Shame the prices are ridiculously expensive, especially for non-members. Awesome courses though.

[retired_princesspouty]

Thing is, it's good to take your time and get the right set, because it'll last you longer then. No point in spending £180, then needing to buy another set in a year's time.

The guys at American Golf should be able to advise you properly. If they start showing you the TaylorMade irons for £850 run for the hills.

As a guideline my set is:

Benross V12 driver (£80)
MD Golf 3 & 5 woods (£60each)
Howson GBH Attacker Utility (£25 - best buy ever)
MD Golf Equaliser Utility (£40)
John Letters T4 irons 5-PW (£140 custom fit)
MD Golf Superstrong Sandwedge & Lob Wedge (£60 each)
John Letters putter

I bought the irons and putter two years ago now (Letters is now owned by DirectGolf), and still don't intend to change them even though I'm way better than I was.

The MD Golf stuff is awesome, and half the price of the big manufacturers. If I do buy new irons at some point, I'm 90% sure it'd be one of their sets.

I'm still waffling about buying clubs... doh!

[retired_princesspouty]

The wedges were £30 each, not £60!

[retired_uxsillyxgoose]

yeah thats exactly my fear. id rather get something thats gonna last me a good while even if it means living off beans and rice for a few months. ill definitely look out for the md golf stuff then and if they do start pointing out silly priced clubs to me ill flash my student id at them until they see sense :cool:

[retired_salemcobol]

Originally posted by Retro:
<BLOCKQUOTE>Originally posted by Springbok256:
Mine came from China \o/. Full set of Callaways for £65, totally fake but do a great job for the rubbish player .

I wouldn't advise this for most people. Often they are made from substandard materials. Maybe you got lucky.

Second-hand is ok, but not necessarily. For instance, if Bling (being tall) needs the lie adjusted, he'll have to pay a custom-fitter to do it, which may cost a few quid per club. Then if he needs longer shafts, they'd probably need replacing completely which could cost say £10 per club (at least).

If he buys a mid-range new set, he can get the custom-fitting for free, or at a lower fixed price.

Told you it could be complicated NLB! </BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, i missed the bit about Bling being massive

Custom fitting is not as expensive as it was though, I would say about £80 to £100 a decent price, which is not too bad, as even a re-grip will cost you about £30 to £40 a set of irons.

I`d still say a good set of 2nd hand clubs will make a big difference as good clubs have so much more feel although alot does come down to personal preferance. I`d love a good set of blades as they always feel less clumbsy to me, its probably the same reason i prefer small headed woods.

If your get a new set, make sure and buy a good gap wedge as they will lower your score substantially, as beginners usually struggel with control, a good gap wedge will sure that instantly and make you feel like a proper golfer, when you launch a 60 degree wedge 30ft in the air for it to land softly by the pin !

[retired_princesspouty]

Originally posted by Verbal:
Yeah, i missed the bit about Bling being massive

Custom fitting is not as expensive as it was though, I would say about £80 to £100 a decent price, which is not too bad, as even a re-grip will cost you about £30 to £40 a set of irons.

I`d still say a good set of 2nd hand clubs will make a big difference as good clubs have so much more feel although alot does come down to personal preferance. I`d love a good set of blades as they always feel less clumbsy to me, its probably the same reason i prefer small headed woods.

If your get a new set, make sure and buy a good gap wedge as they will lower your score substantially, as beginners usually struggel with control, a good gap wedge will sure that instantly and make you feel like a proper golfer, when you launch a 60 degree wedge 30ft in the air for it to land softly by the pin !

I love small headed woods too - some 3 woods look like drivers these days, which is fine if you only use them as a driver, but not ideal if you want to hit them off the deck.

I looked at the Mizuno ones, which were lovely but about £120 each. So I then tried the MD ones and they had small heads. I can sweep balls off the deck nicely with those.

I went to a custom-fitter for regrips - they were £5 a club. He also shortened my putter - which was a revelation (I average less than 2 putts a hole now).

I spent ages with this fitter - a really fascinating bloke who taught me so much about clubmaking and buying, what to look out for etc. I could have spent all day with him, just soaking up this information.

Totally agree about the lob wedge. My MD Superstrong Players is 60 degree and saves me plenty of shots a round.

[retired_salemcobol]

I wish I could get back into golf again, but watching it all day takes its toll and all I see is work when I walk around the course

I had a great 3 wood ages ago, it was a diawa or something similiar, the head was tiny, a lot smaller than my current 5 wood and it was brilliant off the fairway.

When I use a driver I always come down on the ball and kill it into the deck, but the 3 wood is enough to curb that and I can then use it again off the fairway to make up any distance on the par 5's.

I found my 60 degree wedge good for 5 shots a round. Being shorter off the tee, meant i was coming in with lower irons and strugging to get enough control, so i was getting loads of 20 to 30 yard chips from various cuts, the wedge saved my game really.

[retired_princesspouty]

When I use a driver I always come down on the ball and kill it into the deck, but the 3 wood is enough to curb that and I can then use it again off the fairway to make up any distance on the par 5's.

I hit down on the ball too. If you're like me, you're probably a pretty decent striker of the ball with irons as a result (you may be a slicer too though). My problem is that I sway a little with my hips.

I have to concentrate to take my club back on a flatter plane for my driver, and to resist swaying.

Mind you, I was using a 3 wood exclusively to drive until November. I'm now hitting my driver about 230 yards on average, sometimes more... which is a big improvement.

My favourite shot around the green is a simple low chip with my pitching wedge which I'm getting good at.

Often when I'm 30 or even 50 yards short with a clear run I'll play a bump and run. I did that a couple of weeks ago and it got to a few feet from the hole, and my mate thought I'd scuffed it... he said "Spawny but effective". I showed him that I'd played it with a 5 iron, and said "Played for and got!"

[retired_salemcobol]

You play a totally different game to me, mate. I am cack handed (yes I have tried changing) so i tend to draw (massive hook ) the ball. my irons are good, with good control on anything from 150 yards. I average about 240 yards with a 3 wood, but not in a straight line most of the time

Close to the green i like to fly it with a bit of spin and I`m usually pretty acurate, with 9 out of 10 from 20 yrds within a flag length. My main problem was keeping it in play off the tee, I tend to find all sorts of trouble then have to scramble it to the green.

I would love to play some good par 3 courses, as I`m never over par through the par 3's