Nice, instead of using the Clickgear tomorrow I might put a half set together and strap it.

Booker- the only one I use with any regularity is the shoe scraper that attaches to one on the struts. I don’t use an umbrella so don’t need that one. some. of the older guys use the seat but I don’t have one. I also have the cold weather mittens and use them a few times a year when the temps are in the 30s.

I've always preferred to carry (when not riding) but experimentation is the spice of life.

Now I just need to sell of some surplus gear to pay for a driver fitting.

Clubs question:

tl;dr get fitted, just buy new irons or buy a set of used irons?

Last summer I proved to myself I love this game and will play regularly (at least 2x/wk). I'm using a pair of shitty Wilson irons that I got for like $200 at a Black Friday sale at Dicks like 5 years ago. They sat in a box for 3 years and then last couple years I used them, last summer a lot. I don't know what "good irons" feel like or what difference they make but I feel like I should be starting to upgrade. I also have a Ping 4H, recommended by you fine people, that is my favorite and best club in my bag. I hit 80% of fairway shots with it. Obviously I feel like I need to hit more irons (I don't hit long at all) so thinking it's time for an upgrade.

With that said, do I suck it up now and do a fitting and really invest in a pair of proper irons? I'm 6'3'' so not sure if being a little taller makes it more desirable/necessary to get fitted. If not the fitting route would you guys recommend buying new irons, or buying something used off of ebay? I have a friend who is like a 2 handicap and a member of a sassy club who says he buys all his irons used, and for him money is no issue, and to never buy new. I'm not going to cut corners to cut corners but obviously this year wasn't the best financially so if I can get away with buying something new or cheaper or avoiding a fitting maybe that's the preferred route to go. But if the fitting is worth it and the clubs last a decade then I can certainly go for it.

So, how often do you guys upgrade clubs/irons? What are some good irons you'd recommend me looking into (new or used, whichever you think is best)? Does buying good used irons and then looking to get fitted in 3-5 years seem reasonable? Or 5-10 years? I really don't know...Thanks as always for all the help. Oh and my scoring is bad, but like I said only really played for 1 summer. Breaking 100 is a feat for me and I'd say happens 1 out of every 5 times out.

You're welcome for the Ping 4h recommendation, really tough to go wrong with Ping hybrids and FW's for the reasons I earlier mentioned.

OK, so your friend is wrong. Tons of good players know nothing about fitting, and that's fine. If he got properly fitted instead of just playing whatever he might be a +2 instead of a 2. Who knows?

Here's what I would tell people when fitting, these clubs will last you approximately 10 years and they will be perfect for your swing. Take the number of rounds you'll play per year and multiply it by 10. Then take the overall cost of the clubs and divide it by the number of rounds and determine how much your clubs will cost per round.

So if you play 50 times per year and your irons and fitting cost $1500, that's $3 per round over 10 years. There is no right or wrong involving the cost factor, some people think it's worth it, some do not. But that's how I always broke it down and then let the golfer make the final decision with zero pressure. Most ended up buying the clubs, but certainly not all.

So, if I was fitting you without seeing your swing, just based on height and current skill level here's what I would do.

First I would bring up the fact that your height typically causes a steeper swing resulting in a club that needs to be 1-2 degrees upright. This isn't always the case of course, but that's where I would start. Of course this also could mean a shaft that is .25 inches to .75 inches longer than standard.

Then I would pull the following iron heads:

Ping G425 and G700
Titleist T300 and T400
TaylorMade Sim2 Max
Callaway Mavrik and Mavrik Max
Srixon ZX4

I would test the above with various steel and graphite shafts to see what reacts the best. We're obviously missing a ton of data here that you just have to see in person such as swing, ball flight, ball speed, spin and sidespin, etc.

I'll leave you with this, you've now seen what a new and easy to hit club can do. Using that for sort of a baseline, think about what you do with your current irons and then imagine what you might be able to do with properly fit new irons.

Wow what a great post! Ty ntnBO!

I never thought my hybrid feeling so good bc it was a proper club, bc I never had a hybrid before. When you put it that way it makes me super excited to get irons!

So you think I can do fitting + good irons for ~$1500? Will that make my current hybrid useless since I'm fitted for irons but not my hybrid? And eventually I'd need to buy a new driver too but I can't really afford all that in one swoop.

Lastly I belong to a sim and can get all that ball speed swing speed data if it would help (its not pretty).

Since you have a 4h the longest iron you need to get is a 5i. So 5-9i and PW, GW, SW. That's 8 clubs, a little less than $200 per club and that's $1500. So, maybe you could do it for $1500. Maybe. If you need to do it piecemeal due to cost you get the 5-PW first and then add in the other wedges as finances allow. But your next step is definitely the 5-PW and that's only 6 clubs.

No, your current hybrid will not be useless. Rather it's a continuation of what you are trying to do throughout the bag. The flat bottom on the club help with eliminating lie angle issues, therefore if you find the right shaft you're good. And it sounds like you're hitting it well so I'd say it fits.

The ball speed data is just a starting point for determining shaft flex.

If you go forward with this you need to make sure you can find a good fitter.

I'm going to defer to ntnBO because he's an actual authority in this area but a couple of comments.

First, if you want to do a casual self-test to see whether you should likely be playing irons that are longer than standard and more upright, the Ping iron chart is one place to start. It will give you an idea based on your height and a wrist-to-floor measurement. It's not a substitute for the expert eye of a good fitter, but it's still informative and something you can use if you decided to look for a used set.

Also, what's the loft of your 4h? 21? 23? If you can, look into getting a matching 5h or 6h which will reduce the number of irons you buy in a set. No reason to buy a 3i/4i/5i if you've got the distances covered with your hybrids.

As to how often you replace irons, I bought a set of Ping Eye2s in 1991 through my pro (yes, starting with the iron chart) and used them exclusively until just a couple years ago. They're still my backup set. A good set, especially one that's fit, should last a long time.

We have Perfect Swing Golf 20 min away which is supposedly a top 25 fitting place in the country :shrug:

I'll give them a call but what does the fitting itself typically cost? I think I will start with 5-PW

This is a very good thought. Most players who shoot around 100 I advise to start with the 6i because hybrids are easier to hit. He already knows he loves his 4h which is 23 degrees. So add in the Ping 5h which is 26 degrees with the same shaft and then start with the 6i.

Good call.

Iron fittings are typically in the $150 range, looks as though your place charges $100. Some places will apply that fee towards the cost of your clubs if you buy. Some do not.

Looks as though Perfect Swing should have everything you need from a glance at their website and the fact they are a Golf Digest Top 100 Fitter.

FWIW I think you can get a pretty nice iron set like they're describing for less than $1500. One trick is to get the fitting data from the sim and then use that to find clubs that suit you second hand. You can also buy standard clubs and then have them adjusted if your swing requires it.

Like the set of TM Burner irons I bought was something like $450 brand new for 4-GW and they played great. $1500 just sounds very high to me.

So look to buy 6i through PW? Then 3H and 5H? Would it make sense for me to get 3H instead of 5H? As basically I'd want more distance? Or does that not make sense. I can hit my hybrid straight and pure and fade it too when necessary but the most I can hit it is like 170 and more often I hit between 140-150. I'm a very weak hitter. For context I only drive it like 180 too.



I've heard great things about them. Going to give them a call tomorrow. Really appreciate your help and advice so much.

This interests me too. I searched some of the irons ntnBo mentioned above just to get a feel for price and they all have adjustments you can make when ordering online. I think since I'm such a novice it's best to get a proper fitting from experts but theoretically I could get all that information from my simulator if I knew how to apply it.

Two questions: What does your bag look like now, and how do you feel about fairway woods?

In general, you want to cover as many yardages as possible. So consider a hypothetical bag setup like this:

Driver
3 wood 180 yards
5 wood 170 yards
3 hybrid 160 yards
4 hybrid 150 yards
5 hybrid 140 yards
6 iron 130 yards
7 iron 120 yards
8 iron 110 yards
9 iron 100 yards
PW 90 yards
GW 80 yards
SW 70 yards
Putter

In this hypothetical setup you'd have all your clubs gapped to 10 yards.

If you got a 3h instead of a 5h, that would leave a gap -- you'd have clubs for 160, 150, gap, 130.

If you got the 5h (and didn't have a 3h) -- you'd have clubs for 170, gap, 150, 140, 130.

You don't want gaps from inside 150 yards, because the closer you are to the green the better chance you have to hit the green and it's easier if you can just take a standard swing with the right club instead of trying to hit something harder or softer to cover a yardage gap.

The reason why you should get the 5h is because it would cover the same gap* as a 5 iron and the 5h will be easier to hit. The 6-PW set should be ideal for you.

The 2+2 distances thread has more examples of how people build a bag -- I don't hit it that much further than you do and I use four hybrids.



* at least it would be close enough

Booker that's great info! Thank you! The fact that you dpn't hit much further than me is encouraging and DEFINITELY makes me want four hybrids in my bag. Do you have a hybrid instead of a wood as your 4th? I need to try hitting my 3W again. Completely took it out of my bag once I got my hybrid, but it's an old Callaway hand me down so not sure how optimal it is. I'm definitely gonna try it though.

I would definitely give a 3 wood a fair shake -- it will almost certainly go further than the longest hybrid. I am just not at all consistent with fairway woods (never have been, at least not since I was a kid) so I carry a 2 hybrid as my longest non-driver club most of the time instead. I do sometimes put a 3 or 4 wood in the bag -- if I practiced more I'd probably keep it in.

I'd suggest this:
Driver
4w (tough for higher handicappers to get 3w in the air off the deck)
4h (which you already have)
5h (same model and shaft as your 4h)
6-PW
GW and SW (hopefully same model as your other irons)

Add in putter and that's 12 clubs. And quite honestly, that's enough until you start shooting in the 80's. And if you're currently hitting driver less than 200, you don't really need to worry about gapping the longer end of the bag.

Side note, don't worry one iota about the distance you currently hit your clubs. Everybody has to start somewhere and your good shots are just as important and enjoyable as other's good shots.

It's not a good idea at all to try to go around fitting advice and get clubs through a cheap outlet. First off, you're almost certainly not going to be able to find exactly what you need. Lie angle, length, shaft flex, shaft model, exact swing weight, whatever. It's a recipe for disaster. Second, let's say you get fitted for the Ping 425 irons with an Accra 60i shaft. Well, seeing as how Ping doesn't offer that shaft you're not going to be able to buy those for some website. They would have to be put together custom.

Now, what you could do to save some money would be to get an iron set that's 1 generation old (Ping 410's or Titleist AP1's for example) and then take them in and get them retrofitted for shaft, lie, length, etc. But quite honestly, you're not going to save much when it's all said and done.

I see that you said you hit your driver 180 or so, that means you would be in the 110-120 neighborhood with your 7-iron. Based on that I could take a quick look at some stock shaft options in the models I mentioned that might suit you. Of course you would want to hit them at some facility before you bought. But of course that would be expert guesswork that may or may not work perfectly.

But stop into your local custom fitter and ask some questions and see what you think before making any final decisions.

LFC,

Before you go buying a bunch of hybrids, fairway woods, or wedges, get your pw-6 figured out. How strong\weak the lofts are on those will play a part in determining what else you need at each end of the set. You may buy a set of irons that has a 6 iron that's as strong as a lot of 5 irons. Now you won't need the 5h, but you need an extra wedge at the other end.

Just don't have your mind made up ahead of time about exactly what you need. Like was mentioned above, just fill gaps. I only have 12 clubs in my bag but I don't want to fill the last 2 spots till I get my new irons and find out where my gaps will be.

My Dad's Titleist setup that he bought in 1972 and used until the late 80's was this exactly:

Driver
3w
4w
5w
2-PW
putter

Not that I recommend this setup or anything.

I just feel like for a high handicapper who just started playing a lot, his game is likely to change a lot over the next year or two, so a custom fitting at this stage would be counter productive. I think the money could be better spent by buying a quality used set off Ebay in more or less standard settings and then put a little money into lessons. Then save the custom fitting for a couple years down the road when he has a consistent swing.

Is his height going to change? No. (this goes to shaft length)
Is his lie angle going to change? Highly unlikely.
Is his swing speed going to change? Highly unlikely. (this goes to shaft flex)

The #1 rule of fitting, you fit the clubs to the golfer's swing. The golfer does not try to fit his swing to the clubs he currently has.

Why would you knowingly buy a set of clubs that almost certainly won't fit your swing? And since OP is 6'3", this creates shaft length and lie issues. If he was 5'10" then it's easier to fake it.

You are correct that lessons would be a good thing. But why would you teach someone to play better with clubs that don't fit? Golf is hard enough as it is.

In my time at a Golf Digest Top 100 Fitting Studio, I saw exactly one potential customer that we just wouldn't fit. She only made contact less than half the time, wouldn't have made any difference what club she had in her hand. I don't think she could have broken 1000 on a golf course.

If you shoot 100 you've probably got a fairly reliable repeating move.

Don't get me wrong, it's a fair question. One I've fielded dozens of times. And there's nothing wrong with people buying clubs off eBay if you're just donking around with no hope of improvement. But OP has indicated he wants to do this right and try to improve. You can't fake properly fitted clubs.

It looked to me like the cost of the fitting itself is pretty reasonable - $100? $150?. At a minimum LFC should come out with a set of recommended specs - lie, loft, shaft - and hopefully with a recommendation for some clubs that fit where he is and what he wants to spend. I'm pretty confident that no decent fitter is going to recommend some $400/club set with an expensive shaft upgrade to someone who hasn't played a bunch.

The question of whether he wants to pay retail for a set of the latest model or wants to troll eBay for a used set is another matter entirely.

Booked my fitting today. Thank you guys soooo much for all the advice and feedback. Earliest they can get me in is May 5th.

Question: I told him I just wanted to buy 6-PW to start and he of course said no problem. I will still get fitted for driver and woods too right? Or is that extra and an additional fitting? It was $100 for the fitting. Nothing towards clubs. Told me irons range from $110-125 per iron usually. So to do the fitting + irons for ~$750-800 is better than I expected. Maybe get a 5h as well and do a driver next season.

Looks like the quote is for an irons & wedge fitting.

If you've got budget for it and you really like what they fit you into, consider getting a matching gap wedge and sand wedge as BO suggested above.

Ah ok. I'd probably just buy the same Ping as my 4h For a 5h since I hit it so well. Not gonna pay $100 extra for 1 club