Cheap clubs or not??

As a beginning golfer I have a beginner's set of clubs (read cheap off brand). I also use cheaper balls (Cougars are about $8 for a 15 pack) because I loose between 3 - 6 sometimes more on 9 holes. Lots of wooded area & water hazards on my home course to hook & slice into. I am wondering if using cheaper equipment might hamper improvement in my game. I'm torn between thinking start cheap & upgrade as needed & worrying that some of my problems might be from inferior clubs or balls. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Nothing beats properly fitted clubs, you never know the clubs maybe the root of your slice.

Cheap clubs are fine for beginners as long as they fit correctly. Go to a local fitter and get them checked. There are plenty of decent sets of clubs available secondhand rather than buying cheap new clubs. Again you need to get these checked for loft/lie/length etc before purchasing.

As for balls obviously stick with cheap ones if you are losing loads. Most of the cheaper balls are distance balls which are ideal for beginners anyway.

Good luck!

I had the opposite situation.

I figured I'd improve quickly, so I invested in a set of clubs designed for mid-handicappers.

They were definately NOT helping me. More likely they have been part of the reason that I took fairly long to improve, as they tended to penalise small mistakes harder.

Of course, this does not mean that customfitted clubs are not a good choice - I think they are.
Just that going for a "name brand popular high quality set" does not necessarily help your game.

dificult question. If in cheap you mean a low quality, then yes it would be better to get a proper set (though you still should be able to do so without spending a arm and a leg). Though just because a club is inexpensive compared to a off the rack name brand does not mean that it is a worse club. I would talk to a golfer who knows something about clubs and proper fitting and have them look at the set.

On golf balls, it will make a diference at the point when you are hitting the ball consitently and have trouble holding the greens or stoping the ball on the green until then just use the cheap ones or the expensive found balls.

Bob

Get the better clubs if you are going to continue to play golf for the rest of your life. But if your not sure get better with what you have. Have fun.

Thank you all for your replies. I think I will take them to my local pro & have them evaluated as Bob suggested. If he thinks they're worth it I'll try having them fitted although at a purchase price of $130 USD I doubt that they are worth that investment. Thanks again for all of your help. Smacky

As you live in the USA have a look at this site: www.pinemeadow.com Their clubs are great value and of top quality, I have been using a set for two years and have not has a single fault or complaint. (I don't work for them )

I'll often state that if it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

That said, there's some serious R&D that goes into more expensive clubs that cheaper clubs don't get, or do.

Honestly, make doesn't really matter (to a degree), as opposed to the style of club.

Cavity backs are the most forgiving thing out there. Sure, they're not as pretty as blades, but they're easier to play.

The shaft is the thing to spend some cash on. Make sure they're aligned properly (your clubmaker can test them and tell you), and make sure they're the right length for you.

I play custom built, custom fitted clubs that are cheaper than any OEM. I've made sure it's the indian, not the (beautiful) arrow.

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True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com
PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

I was told once that any golf club ($$--$$$$) in the hands of a repeatable, decent swing will score well for that swing. Any golf club ($$--$$$$) in the hands of a non-repeatable, poor swing, won't score well for that swing. Kind of made sense back then, and is not that far off now.

I learn to swing your basic junk variety, hand me down blades, long before cavity backs came along. By the time I was able to afford a nicer set of fitted clubs, I already had my own repeatable swing down. That swing made it easier for the fitter to fit me, since my swing would not be changing too much, and the new clubs save me a ton of strokes.

My point is, it might be more advantageous to have a decent swing before getting a set of fitted clubs, since most beginner's swings will improve over time. If fitted from the very start, as a swing evolves, the clubs most likely have to be re-fitted a few times as a swing progresses. What brand of clubs can survive several adjustments over a period of time during swing learning process?
jmho.GJS

hi gjs
think you make a very good point about having to have some sort of swing before you get fitted, something that you can repeat at lest some of the time, i know a friend of mine was told to play a bit more with the clubs he had before going to back to thr pro to be fitted, he was very pissed off at time as he wanted new pings at time but pro would not sell them untill he could fit him
with something he said would work for him, took him another 6 weeks of work before the pro set him up, that was 17 years ago i think like me he still has the same clubs lol
good point made gjs
bill

Oh forgot! and they fit them, they have a fitting wizard on the site that will allow changes in flex, club length, shaft make and different grips.

My clubs are Knight Virage. A cheap set that only cost me $100 on sale at Canadian Tire. I've got no complaints with the irons since they seem to be pretty good quality and work as well as some of my friends expensive irons. I only have two concerns with cheap clubs. The first is how they fit. Standard length works well for me but some may need to have them fitted. Second concern is the driver. In my experience, the drivers from cheap sets don't stack up with the "name brands" in either quality or performance. I've bought a few cheap department store drivers and also tried out a few from other golfers. I've found they just don't hit like the quality drivers that you have to pay more money for. Technology in good drivers and the quality of material is so far advanced IMHO that you probably would be better off investing in a Cleveland, Nike, Calloway, etc. driver especially if you play more then 3 or 4 rounds a year. You can find high quality drivers at very good prices on Ebay as long as you know what you are looking for. Also, end of season sales or start of season sales at golf shops is a good place to pick up "last years model" really high quality driver with good savings off the original price.

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Golf is a game of inches. 36 inches = 1 yard
I think you put that one about 2160 inches too far right. LOL

Classic Tour Highly High Bore (Cleveland HiBore clone) 10.5 degree, Gramman TP440 stiff 3.5 torque shaft
KZG Maraging Power 9.5 degree steel shaft #1 "fairway wood"
Knight Virage woods, irons and wedges
Knight putter
Cheapest double titanium balls I can find. lol

I spoke to my local pro & he agrees that fitting can wait for me until I have a repeatable swing. BrianW, thanks for the link. I am in the US & have been looking here http://www.paradoxgolf.com/modules.p...&file=landing2 . I've actually ordered a SW from them & am pretty happy with it. But I am going to check into Pinemeadow golf.

I was once there. I bought a low end Top Flight set of clubs that were new. A year later I bought a used set of Callaway Hawk Eye Irons from ebay at a good price. Every now and again I compare the clubs - I hit the 5 iron from both sets and there really is no comparison that Hawk Eyes are so much better - I also upgraded my driver - many times over now. Next year will be my third summer golfing and I will get clubs fitted.

I would buy a good set of used clubs, play for a while - groove a swing - and then get fitted

Good Luck.

James

I have cavity backs and recently bought an old set of Mizuno blades. I've always been told that blades are hard to hit. I have to say with these clubs, I can hit the 8 iron 125 yards, where the CPR's I'd be using a 6 or 7 iron for the same distance. Now I feel like I can hit the ball where I want to. I can not say enough about the clubs. I love them.

For instance tonight I faced a shot where the green was behind a stand of trees. I pulled the 8 iron and smacked it right over the trees right on to the green. There's no way I could hit that shot with the other irons. For the distance, I'd have to use an iron with a lower trajectory.

Suffice it to say, I thought all irons were the same. Now I know differently. That being said if you are a beginner, your ball striking probably will not be good enough for you to tell the difference.

If it's money I'd encourage you to try out used clubs. Even an old set of GOOD clubs will be better than a new set of ****py Chinese ones. Check ratings on the web, ask here, or look through old issues of Golf magazine for ratings. Any of the old Mizuno's, Ben Hogans, Callaways, Clevelands, whatever.