I have to disagree with knockoffs. They’re fine if you’re just planning to tee it up on the weekends with your buddies, but a bag full of knockoffs will scream loser in a corporate setting.
I am a decent golfer because our high school had golf for gym and a few friends gave me free tokens who worked there. I can’t putt, but I am good at hitting with irons. I always thought the key to golf is to just not be noticably frustrated, because it really can be when you’re playing. Just have fun Greenie. I like it the times I’ve done it, but I can only do 9 holes at a time - 18 is too much until you’re pretty good.
Bump. Wanted DoW to see my story.
On an aside note, I’ve more-or-less decided to buy a set of beginner’s clubs. There are two that I’m looking at. They both come with everything you need–clubs, covers, and bag. The two sets are the Adams Speedline and the Callaway Strata.
The Callaway Strata on Amazon costs about $200. But it’s not available with extra length, and comes with ten clubs (driver, 3-wood, 5-hybrid, 6-PW, and putter).
The Adams Speedline costs $400, but you get twelve clubs (all the ones above plus 5-wood and SW). From what I can tell, these clubs also seem to be slightly higher quality than the Callaways, and slightly easier to hit.
Since I’m not sure that I’ll ever really take up the game, and don’t know that I’ll ever play too often, I wonder if I should pony up the extra dough for the Adams clubs. I figure that my beginner set may be my last set ever, if I don’t play often. On the other hand, if I really do start playing often, I can upgrade piece by piece.
Advice?
Assuming you are looking at playing 10 or 12 times a year and just having fun, those would be a solid buy. You get everything you need and you’re able to hit the range/course just fine. Adams makes decent products. Certainly not high end, but a decent product and what I would refer to as a weekend hacker product. Adams seems to favor forgiveness over pushing the boundaries of club performance. I had a set of their Idea irons and they were extremely forgiving and held up to my 20 or so round per year useage.
You do pay for a lot of marketing in golf clubs, but there is a definite difference in quality between a $200 set, a $500 set and a $1000 set. On lower end beginner sets, I’ve had club heads fly right off, ferrules loose on every club, grips that disinegrated to nothing in 1 year, etc. For a set you’ll likely have for a decade or more, you likely have no need for $1000 clubs, but the Adam’s set sounds like the perfect mix of quality and value. I’m getting my oldest a set of adult clubs this year and those are one set I’ve looked at. I’d have bought them for him for Christmas but a friend has a barely used set of $1200 Callaway irons he wants to replace and I’m trying to get him to sell them to me for pennies on the dollar.
greenaman is white???
Greenie: Go on ebay, you can find sets of Titleist and the like used one or two years for 2-400$ for a set of good used irons. That will get you through the learning phase. Ditto for 3wood and Driver and putter. I would just invest in a decent used set rather than buying a cheap new set and upgrading later. I almost pulled the trigger recently but decided to just stick with my sticks until I knock off a few more strokes.
Pay for some lessons. KEY.
Golf is a great game to learn with some buddies on a public course. I am the first person to play golf in my family, and it was too expensive to play reguarly up until a few years ago. There’s serious (business) street cred if you’re good, and quite honestly it is fun and relaxing if you approach it with humility and realize you’ll probably never be a pro. Avoid the douche bags when you can but they’ll be out there. I’ve played a lot of different sports and theres no variation between the percentage of douchebags in each sport, it’s just more visible because money comes into play. Find 3 other people you like and book tee times so you never get paired with dbags.
Greenie - is there a Play It Again Sports in Midland? If so, take a look at what used clubs they have to offer. I was going to suggest you check out Golfsmith or Golf Galaxy for used clubs, but looks like neither has a location anywhere near you. If not, check out the annual club reviews in Golf Digest from 2-3 years ago to find a brand and model that will likely suit you and try to find a used set on eBay.
I agree with mj17 on getting lessons, it is money well spent. I disagree with him on only playing when you have your own 4-some. While you will occassionally be paired with some d-bags if you go out as a single or 2-some, you’ll also be paired with some really great people who you likely would never otherwise meet. I don’t expect that you’ll gain any lifelong friends from a random golf pairing, but you’ll certainly meet some interesting people and have some nice experiences. The vast majority of golfers out there are great people and they won’t care if you suck as long as you keep pace. When you’re starting out, there’s no point in carding a 12 and holding everyone up, so put the ball in your pocket and tend the pin with a smile for the rest of the group.
^There are a few pro shops on the courses around town. There is also a Golf Headquarters in Midland and a Golf Etc. in Odessa. They tried to sell me on the idea of getting a used set of irons/hybrids, a driver, and a putter. Basically, you’d be piecemealing together a set. Don’t know if that’s better than a matching set or not.
Also, I’m 6’2". Not exactly BChad, but not exactly Danny Devito either. Don’t know if I need extra length or not. I know you can get fitted for clubs, but I imagine you’d only do that if you’re serious and already have your swing established.
^ Very few people have a complete matching set of clubs. My bag looks like this:
Putter: Ping
SW: Wilson (it’s a cheapo piece of crap, but I’ve had it forever and am confident hitting it from sand or grass)
LW: I don’t even know what brand it is, dad gave it to me and I’m confident hitting it
GW - 4I: Ping (custom fitted)
3H: Cleveland
4W: Callaway
Driver: Cleveland
A fitting might be helpful and isn’t expensive or overly time consuming if you’re interested, but most off the rack clubs can be ordered +1 inch, which should do the trick. My clubs are +1.5 or so, but I’m all arms and torso with fairly average legs, so my wrist to ground measurement isn’t as big as some guys my height that need +2 or +3 inch clubs.
If you can hit the fxing ball well no one will care if your club says Taylor Made or Wal-Mart Blue Light Special. Again, no offense to you, but so many think you need a set of clubs at the cost of gold to be any good. If you have a single digit handicap, no one will care what you’re swinging.
Higgs makes a good point, and I didn’t mean you should never play with randoms, but if it bothers you so much, 4somes provide a decent hedge. Just don’t hold anyone up or even the nicest guys will be annoyed. I’ve also met some pretty interesting folk on the course as I rarely have a foursome. Great to get to know different walks of life especially when we usually surround people we have common interests to.
No added playing bonus for matching set, play with what works. And if it doesn’t work, don’t buy new ones, it’s probably not the club but your swing.
Matching set is certainly not required, no advantage at all. I’m the only white guy with all Nike, except for my wedges (Cleveland) and putter (TaylorMade). My wife plays all Callaway. But in both cases its about fit and not price, neither of us has sets over $1,000 despite being 30+ times a year golfers.
Corporate golf is all about networking and marketing. Showing up at a corporate golf event with a bag full of knockoffs is akin to showing up at a networking cocktail party in clothes that are clearly from Wal-Mart, which I’m pretty sure you would never do despite your frugal nature. Clubs do not make the player, but they make the first impression. Although I really don’t care what other people have in their bags (or how they play as long as they are fast), there are plenty of DB’s who do and unfortunately they are often the folks you’re trying to do business with.
I mean no offense by my comment and I agree with your follow up. It kills me that part of the game is about looking good. Reminds me of playing basketball when I was younger. You’d pick the guys who had a good jump shot for your team, not the guys who had the flashy clothes and brand new air jordans. Golf should be the same way, but sadly, it is not.
There’s a special circle of hell reserved for slow golfers, as well as for people that keep the keypad sounds on their phone
One of the questions I asked at the golf store was “Is Adams known as a ‘beginner’ club?” I know Callaways are known to be a good brand, and I didn’t want to show up and meet colleagues and potential clients with a set of “el cheapo” clubs.
I know it’s stupid and superficial. But then again, my Ironman Triathlon watch tells time just as good as a Cartier, but I wouldn’t wear the Triathlon to the White House.
Just my personal opinion, I think of Adam’s as a high handicapper’s club, but that isn’t a group that includes only beginners. What will mark you as a beginner is the complete set of matching everything, including head covers and logo bag. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but if you are concerned about not looking like a beginner, you may not want to get an all-inclusive package.
The best way not to look like a beginner is to learn to hit the ball well. No one will care what’s in your bag.
if you work in finance and believe this to be true then you’re one naive motherfucker…