Cheap and good ? How to buy?

Hi,

I bought my first set of clubs last August for 150 euros. It is a starters bag and has worked very well for me. I will buy a new set this summer or next winter. I do not want to use much money, but I would like to get the best possible equiptment for me.

I am 186 cm high so regular clubs might be a little short. Maybe 1/2 inch longer? Shaft could be regular or semi-stiff? How would I know??? Second hand equiptment are good enough for me - but how to buy them from approad?

Whether you need longer shafts is also dependent on your arm length not just your height. I'm 186cm too and play with standard shafts but you may need to have slightly longer shafts. Shaft stiffness depends on your swing, swings with faster speed allow stiffer shafts so that depends on you too.

I would recommend you go out and do some research on what you want: blade or cavity-back, graphite or steel, regular or stiff shafts, premium or value brand. Do this by testing at your local range and reading a few golf magazines and then decide how much you want to spend and what exactly you want.

I bought my irons (Mizuno MX-23) brand new from ebay and have been very happy with both the price and the performance. It also helps that there is info on the seller (via feedback), a compaint reconciliation process and that you are covered to a certain extent by PayPal.

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Cleveland Launcher 460 - Aldila NV 65 x-stiff
Callaway Big Bertha 3W - Aldila NV 75 x-stiff
TaylorMade Rescue Dual TP (16°, 19°) stiff
Mizuno MP-32 2-PW Rifle Flighted 6.0
Titleist Vokey Wedges 52°, 56°, 60°
Scotty Cameron Circa 62 #3 35/330

I have bought several clubs off ebay and believe that it can save a lot of money from buying them in a golf store.

But, the thing about ebay you need to know what your looking for first. You can also end up with a lot of over priced cheap items if you do not know what you want or need. Better off to talk to someone and get it right the first time.

Bob

Hi,

sounds reasonable advice to find out first what I want and then buy it.

I need to find a place to "test drive" different clubs. I do not want to hit them off a mat at a range. It's not the same as from grass. Best way would be to be able to play a round or two with a set of clubs. I don't know about reading about features. I can't make any sense of the reviews. (I do not have the experience to compare or evaluate the results.)

There's a place online (the name escapes me) where for a fee you demo clubs. I think the fee is monthly, and you can demo so many clubs per month. Not a bad way to test the waters if you can't get to a shop.

Hi Hannu

From what you say I guess golf retailing especially on-line is less well developed in Finland than here or the States which creates a problem.

You could try www.onlinegolf.co.uk who offer a try & replace 90 day deal (one go only unfortunately!) with reasonable postage to Finland (free if you spend enough!) a wide range of sticks and costs from £200 to £900 depending on your taste, including some reasonable mixed (ie. rescue & irons) sets from Benross & Progen that are good value if you don't want a big name.

They also give advice (e.g for improvers, for 20+ for 10+ etc) on the site which could help you narrow down your choice - you can also ring and discuss the choices.

Some time ago I bought my set of Callaway X14 on Ebay and I've been very happy with them. They were almost new and I paid about $240, this is when they were still selling for over $500.

I first went into the golf shop and checked out what I wanted (I know this isn't fair), then I went on ebay to see if any sellers had what I wanted for a good price.

Just ask the seller a lot of question. And pick a seller that has a lot of good feedback and deals mostly in golf equipment. There should be some sellers on ebay that are in the UK I would think.

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Life's a game, golf is serious!