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Newbie that just dipped his toes in golf asking for used club purchase advice/help here: So a couple months ago I did a 1.5 month golf training program with a pga pro just for kicks because the opportunity presented itself, having never even touched a golf club before. Now I feel like I'm officially hooked and during the whole program I was swinging my kitchen spatula at home to work on my form. While my nearby sim has decent-ish callaway strata loaner clubs (that I can finally hit straight and at their rated distances for the most part) I feel like I'm ready to start building my own club collection. Just a few personal quirks to keep in mind here. Right now I'm very much in love with the physical aspect of golf, the body movement and ball striking. I'm not really that interested or feel ready to play rounds just yet. Would it be stupid of me to get something less forgiving (but below blades) and start with that so I can grow into it? I understand using those too early would make me rip my hair out in the course, but what if I just want to feel those good ole hits that by chance happen between a ton of hooks/slices and work on my swing/precision? tl;dr: love ball striking, dont care about holes
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Mar 22, 2024 00:35
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Thanks for the input! I've done some research and bought two used iron sets at around the same price point (around $30 per iron), with free returns from ebay. I plan on keeping the one that makes the most sense for me and returning the other one. I'm going to the sim this weekend with both to compare them. Both are standard length, which feels right to me at 6ft. 1) 2015 mizuno jpx 850 forged, with extra stiff true temper dynamic gold shafts and MCC align grips. 7-GW, rated 'good' condition by the seller, $150. Its a beauty, the grips are amazing, lots of dings and bumps (not in the face though), the previous owner left a pretty impressive wear pattern on the sweet spot but the grooves feel sharp. This is the one that I feel could be a dumb way to start especially because of the x stiff shafts, but I'm thinking that I can use them to improve my ball striking and as short irons/wedges maybe I can get consistent enough with them compared to longer irons. I could complement them with more forgiving longer irons/woods/hybrids in my bag. 2) 2016 mizuno jpx ez forged, with stock standard shafts and grips. 4,6-8,PW,GW, rated 'excellent' condition by seller, $200. These really look brand new (like just shop testing usage, they probably never seen a divot), the range coverage is a lot wider with the 4i and 6i, it could probably be all I need for beginner par 3 courses. They are one step above the JPX 850 in forgiveness while still being forged and have standard shafts, both things that feel more adequate to a beginner. From what I read, the JPX-850 is a GI set that dips into player's territory and the JPX EZ-F is one step below, very much in the GI set but probably less forgiving than non forged GIs. So summing up, the EZ-F are in much better condition, cover more range, have a shaft flex that's probably good for me to start building my golf muscles and are more forgiving (while still being a forged GI club, so I still have my work cut out for me). I guess I'm being stubborn about the JPX-850 with x stiff flex shafts. I think once I finally try them out I'll have the answer I already know. If anyone has played them, I'd love hearing about it
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Mar 22, 2024 01:26
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Thanks for the advice, I already knew I was overstepping with the more advanced clubs but having anything at all will tide me over for a while. I'll let you know how it goes at the sim. as long as I can actually swing the clubs and stay injury free I'm good until I feel ready for a proper fitting. I was supposed to get an almost complete Callaway rogue x set for free but I got ghosted after the donor realized their value, oh well.
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Mar 22, 2024 13:49
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Urethane posted:I haven't played either but mizuno irons are super solid, seems like whichever you prefer will be a fantastic starter set. My only tip would be to regrip them as they likely need it and fresh grips make a huge difference (though of course you can wait until after you choose a set and know you won't return it.) Regripping is very easy to do yourself as long as you are okay working with solvents, but you can usually pay a shop to do it as well for a higher price. Yeah the golf pride MCC align grips on the 850 are pretty much in mint condition and feel amazing, I can actually hold them for several minutes without getting sweaty and the visual cues are pretty useful. Whichever clubs I end up with I'm definitely regripping them with those.
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Mar 22, 2024 14:00
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Awesome thanks, I'll definitely look into those as there's a lot of time to test all these irons before deciding which one I'll keep. If anyone wants to suggest more models that would be good for beginners and last me at least the first year I'll take any and all advice, it's a lot to take in at once.
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Mar 22, 2024 19:18
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to devil's advocate myself, it could happen that I end up making friends at the range and someone invites me for a round and I have to either refuse or just ruin everyone else's fun instead of playing with clubs of my level. though right now I don't know anyone and the people who took the training program with me never reached out so
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Mar 22, 2024 20:40
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Absolutely, I agree with what everyone said here and that's my main goal, just get a starting set so I can forget about numbers and gears and shafts and just play. I know I posted this a bit prematurely since I've yet to go to a range or sim with them, but I just wanted to have someone else to talk with while I don't know any golfers just yet. I'll let you know how it goes! To start I got myself a cheapo golf club sling, $12 callaway gloves and a golf towel. That's all within my starting goal of $240. I have a wellness stipend that I can use to pay a gym or just buy sports stuff and here we are. I had this misconception that golf was an expensive sport for rich guys and while it can be, I'll probably spend less on it this year than I did on running shoes last year. And DC feels like a good place to be a golfer, with 3 courses just minutes away by bike and other methods of public transportation. nerdz fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Mar 22, 2024 |
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Mar 22, 2024 21:36
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GEMorris posted:Golf is an expensive sport unless you can ignore the gear bug completely AND have affordable public courses nearby. yeah I think I can do both! DC has plenty of cheap courses no labels but I believe its the stock standard flex https://www.truetempersports.com/en-us/dynamic-gold-xp-95-steel-iron-shaft.html
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Mar 23, 2024 00:04
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I'm 6ft1/2 with arms an inch longer than average, moderately athletic with a heavy emphasis on callisthenics, which feels similar to learning the golf swing and it's what drew me in. I've been working on a very smooth swing though, mostly to avoid flare ups from my joint issues from callisthenics
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Mar 23, 2024 02:19
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club testing trip report: pretty interesting and expected results! now I know what a forged club feels like and what an extra stiff shaft does. Wow yeah I couldn't get a good hit in, out of 30 or so, not even with the wedges. couldn't get the ball to go up, and even on sweet spot hits the ball felt super weak. The ez forged was a lot lot better. I'm still not doing the carry and launch angles I did with the strata set(which honestly should have been my real purchase to begin with but I can always use them at the sim). But I was hitting the ball consistently and the ranges were also consistent, with decent grouping when I wasn't even trying to do that. I had the pressure of testing different clubs which probably didn't help but I certainly felt I could get used to the ez forged in a short while. I even hit a nice fade shot, my first one! It felt fun to use and that I can learn a lot from it, unlike the jpx 850 which felt pretty much impossible. It was a very interesting experience, it's nice to know how hard certain things are to manage expectations. I still had trouble with anything under 6i but we'll see how that goes, I can always get hybrids nerdz fucked around with this message at 14:47 on Mar 24, 2024 |
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Mar 24, 2024 14:45
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Swarmin Swedes posted:East Potomac has a great deal where for 18 dollars you can rent a practice hole (which ranges from 100-130) for an hour with a shag bag and when you return the bag you get a code for a free medium bucket of balls. Great way to work on the wedges and short game. wow that's a steal, the medium bucket is 12 by itself. thanks for the info I'll do that next time
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Mar 25, 2024 20:22
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so I just scheduled a 1.5h beginners fitting session that sorta doubles as a lesson. They'll help me figure out my basic measurements and will help me figure out if the clubs I have can be adjusted to my needs. Feels like something that will pay for itself by avoiding bad purchases and I'll see if they can help me with my existing elbow issues to make it more sustainable in the long run.
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Mar 31, 2024 15:00
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xsf421 posted:That honestly sounds like a fantastic idea, especially if you’re non-standard height/weight or have mobility issues. Yeah it looks like a good deal to me, at $150 it's 1.5h of trackman sim, lessons and fitting all in one. In DC any of those can be $150 or more by themselves. And yeah I am slightly nonstandard by having arms that are 1.5in longer than average and my fingers can almost loop around a standard size grip. That caused me a lot of hand cramps in my left hand from holding the club for too long. I noticed that If I just keep trying to figure things out by myself I'll just get hurt quite early on since I really like to put in 2-3 hours of swinging which might be another obsessive behavior problem in itself but that's for another specialist
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Mar 31, 2024 23:54
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GEMorris posted:Are you thoroughly stretching before every range session? Please do. I'm currently in Florida right besides an incredible driving range, one of those where you hit the real turf. Maybe I'll get some loaner clubs and hit a few balls.
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Apr 1, 2024 03:46
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from my beginners experience their suggestion doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. starting with less but better fitting clubs should be a good way to go about it as you'll hardly ever use a full bag if you're starting out and definitely not a driver. That would also allow you to get higher end clubs, better shafts and grips etc. I'm in the same situation as you are. I'm planning to start out with like 6 clubs total, but I'll get the best grips and graphite shafts so I can avoid my current joint pain issues. I can probably do that at under $400 if I'm savvy enough.
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Apr 2, 2024 19:38
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re: fitting I think for a beginner it's mostly about figuring out lengths, grip sizes and shaft material/flex, at least for me.I think the part where they figure out the head might be too much for beginners. A beginners set that really worked for me besides my failing elbows and big hands was the Callaway strata. the intro one has everything you need for like 250 on Amazon. that's cheap enough that you get all you need and you can just sell it used if you grow out of it. If you buy your stuff new from a golf shop I believe a few of them will do a simple fitting included in the cost of purchase. edit: another consideration after getting your clubs if you just go for off the rack. does it hurt to play? are your fingers getting tired and you lose grip strength after playing? does your back, shoulder, wrist or elbows hurt and it only gets worse? then off the rack is not for you, see what an instructor or fitter can suggest for you. nerdz fucked around with this message at 22:58 on Apr 2, 2024 |
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Apr 2, 2024 22:51
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yeah, in my case I'm a very active callisthenics guy and the pains mostly come from that, the golf just made it worse. my swing technique issue is being bad at swinging and hitting the mats hard
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Apr 3, 2024 01:17
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I feel like I swing with my butt because it is all sore the next day. That feeling of leading the down swing with the hips and then doing one coordinated movement is starting to feel like it takes a lot less raw power to do. and it's hurting a lot more when I hit the mat
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Apr 3, 2024 13:25
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waffle enthusiast posted:Clubs came in and I’ve watched 34 hours of YouTube top tips why am I still bad at golf? are you watching the break par guaranteed videos, those are important
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Apr 7, 2024 14:50
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The beginners golf fitting session was very productive. From the fitter's assessment my current clubs are actually stiff and not regular flex, or at least a very very stiff regular so not that good for me. He addressed my elbow concerns and showed me how my poor technique was causing strain and showed me how to avoid it, and just like that the elbow pain was gone, both during and after the session. He gave me some feedback on my swing and on things I should work on for a while. He figured out my flex, grip and shaft lengths. We tried a bit of driving, of course that wasnt very productive but at least we got a good length and loft. I was also fitted for a putter and tried several until I found one that felt really good. After that he told me to return my clubs if I could since it wasnt worth it adjusting them and once I found a few listings with my specs he would let me know what was the best pick. I found 5 that matched the description and he picked a Callaway Rogue X with 5-GW, a +.5" KBS90 max shaft, midsized CP2 wrap grips with some life left in them. They were a bit more expensive but this is a complete set with no further adjustments needed. All in all, a very positive experience and I feel it was worth it at $150.
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Apr 8, 2024 20:57
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My new clubs arrive next monday and the weekend will be sunny at 80f, this is bs
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Apr 10, 2024 01:30
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bought 2 used iron sets from 2nd swing to try for a couple months and see which one I'll keep. the one that's condition 6 looks like a condition 8 and the one that's condition 8 looks like a condition 6 with worn sweet spots and loose ferrules. this might be an easy choice. The Callaway rogues seem to lose their head graphics quite easily which is why they were rated lower but besides that they're pristine. I noticed they usually go used for a lot less than other sets, hopefully that's the reason.
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Apr 13, 2024 20:06
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nice! I got them and a combo set of Mizuno jpx ez. Cast 5 and 6, forged 7-pw which felt like an interesting combo to me. we'll see which ones I like best though just by looking at them the rogues look way more forgiving, I'll give the rogues a try tomorrow then the mizunos next week. both are the exact same length,shaft flex and grip size, I'm trying to be objective and not fall into the trapping of which one looks better, is thinner etc.
nerdz fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Apr 14, 2024 |
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Apr 14, 2024 02:36
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these rogue x clubs are so weird. they're supposed to be super game improvement but they do it in a very beginner unfriendly way. The lofts are very very strong, like 1½ clubs or more all the way so hitting a 5 iron is almost the same as hitting a 3 iron. I guess that would make the ball go farther for people who can hit a 3i but it just feels like they're mislabeling the clubs, even with the very wide soles and low center of gravity. I feel I'd be better served by more traditional lofts and then adding hybrids/woods instead of having clubs I'll have trouble using for a long time.
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Apr 14, 2024 20:15
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I can confirm that after every single lesson you come out with a different, way better swing. They just notice simple stuff that you can tweak and suddenly you have a much better understanding of what you're doing. I'm trying to keep my sets cheap exactly because I want to focus most of my budget on lessons. That last fitting/lesson session not only solved my pain while playing, I've got a pretty good foundation to build up on with dead straight shots. I wasn't hitting any far with the new clubs, but the grouping was impressively tight for me and the videos from my right side showed I was hitting the ball dead center with my sweet spot every time I actually hit them right. nerdz fucked around with this message at 21:53 on Apr 14, 2024 |
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Apr 14, 2024 21:50
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I'm trying recording and journaling my range sessions and it's very interesting. I write down what worked, what didn't, any specific pain or injury and what I want to try on the next session. Looking at the videos it's clear to see how my longer swing form completely breaks down by the end. Like I can see that my performance on the longer clubs might have been affected by me getting tired before actually getting to them, so next time I'll skip every other club on my warmup. Ending with wedge half swings was very very good and let me finish the session on a positive note.
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Apr 15, 2024 19:59
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xsf421 posted:What if the logo balls are pinnacles? how do you like your 7 wood? I'm planning on buying one as my tee club after I'm used to my irons.
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Apr 16, 2024 02:22
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xsf421 posted:I love it, but it’s not really long enough to be a good tee club for most people. With a more typical swing speed you’re looking at 180-200 yards. oh yeah I mean,200yds would be great for me. I'm not quite there with drivers just yet so my plan is to gradually get longer clubs once I master them until I can reliably hit drivers. I keep hearing good things about them nerdz fucked around with this message at 12:39 on Apr 16, 2024 |
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Apr 16, 2024 12:36
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I just got my new (used) regular flex clubs and after the fitter gave me some swing coaching my club head speed with a 6i is slightly over 80. It will be hilarious if the fitter made my swing too fast for the clubs he fitted me with.
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Apr 17, 2024 00:49
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To make things more confusing to me, apparently weight is not the same as flex either? I'm picking between two clubs with KBS 90 max regular and XP 115 R300 shafts. The KBS with the rogue X head really helps me send the ball up in the air. I haven't had the chance to try the XP115 shaft but I assume I'll get less height from it or something, but lets see
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Apr 17, 2024 17:34
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I went to a new golf course today and their driving range was closed but they had a chipping green so I decided to go for that for the first time. Wow, I had a lot of fun! I spent around three hours chipping around, hitting real grass for the first time. With no sim time pressure, no running out of range balls, hitting 20yds or less I was really forced to focus on my contact and control which I'm sure will translate into better swings with other clubs. I had the chance to try tall grass, bad lies, uneven lies etc and it was all very interesting. I got an Odyssey #7 putter so once that arrives I wanna do chipping and putting together. And when I get my sand wedge I want to play around with the practice bunkers too. I even tried to be fancy and hit a few flop shots, more often than not just sending the ball rolling way past the green. It also made me realize some really important stuff about cavity backs: some of their back designs can be a bitch to clean once they get full of grass and mud. And that the rogue X with the hot faces and a 46 degree approach wedge (lol) is very hard to hit anything around the green, but maybe I can get used to it. If I keep the rogues I'd have to get at least 2 more wedges for my short game though.
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Apr 18, 2024 18:35
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GEMorris posted:Be sure to also practice putting from off the green, its relevant in a higher percentage of chipping situations than people think, can be much less error prone, and almost no one practices it. Yeah in many scenarios just doing a toe tap with the wedge got me way closer in a more controlled way. I was mostly pitching and chipping to train contact, not exactly aiming for the flags today. Once I get a putter I'll do that for sure. EDIT: Though I did get a chip in at 15yds! (and a chip in at 20yds on a hole I wasnt aiming for ) nerdz fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Apr 18, 2024 |
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Apr 18, 2024 19:12
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Nice! Golf progress is a beautiful thing. A couple weeks from when my training program ended, I was carrying around 150yds with a 5i with my elbow destroying swing. Then I fixed it, got new clubs, my wedges and 9i carry increased a lot but I can't hit a 5i for poo poo right now. And now that I understand a bit about clubs I see why I liked the sim clubs so much, I was playing with ladies flex clubs.
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Apr 20, 2024 11:32
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went to the range today for the first time after a 3 hour chipping session last Thursday and it's crazy how much better my contact is. It made me buy a 56 wedge and I'll do one chipping+putting session a week. honestly I find it more fun that hitting the driver and probably more important too. Also is it normal for your form to break down after you get tired and suddenly you can't hit anything well anymore. I was reviewing my session videos and I had the worst slouch I've ever seen on down the line videos nerdz fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Apr 20, 2024 |
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Apr 20, 2024 23:32
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hmm, so at the driving range I noticed they use practice balls, as opposed to the sim. Do they fly lower/shorter than regular balls? I'm trying to get my hopes up that I actually didn't lose distance, I just stopped playing at the sim. I guess I'll have to go there every now and then to track my club head speed and real distances if that's the case.
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Apr 21, 2024 14:46
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Oh well, thanks for the replies, I imagine wind is another big factor for ranges as opposed to sims. At least the range and the sim use different apps, trackman vs toptracer so I might be able to draw comparisons once I'm more consistent.
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Apr 21, 2024 15:15
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my recent newbie experience,I just asked the same question last month: if you can use the loaner for a bit they'll serve you, but try to figure out the proper club length for your height/wrist to floor and grip size. I had access to a beginners club fitting where they figure out your basic measurements for cheaper than a club fitting. Maybe at a golf shop you can do that but honestly, the sizes I got from the fitter were the same I got online. If you have standard measurements you're in luck, if not it's very easy to look for them at second swing. It's hard to know if those takomo/Stix clubs are not just drop shipping Chinese cheap stuff. I'd personally get used clubs from eBay/2nd swing with free shipping and free returns. I've returned 3 sets of irons so far until I found the one I liked best. For new ones if you want a full set, Callaway strata is a great beginners set given you match their measurements nerdz fucked around with this message at 18:22 on Apr 21, 2024 |
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Apr 21, 2024 18:17
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also with an instructor they'll easily spot if the swing and posture are being hampered by the wrong measurements. As long as you get something with free returns you're good to try without fear
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Apr 22, 2024 00:04
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2nd swing is pretty good when you need something very specific. After getting my measurements, it was the best site that actually allowed me to pick a club with my desired shaft and grip types since ebay can be iffy with the pics. They also have ordering by club release date which is something I haven't found anywhere else and allows you to find better deals on newer used clubs even if you don't understand much about the brands. They also have rather cheap adjustments for any club you buy, a lot cheaper than getting them adjusted later if you want a shaft extension, lie angle adjustment and new grips. I got a 5-GW forged iron set with a great condition mcc+4 grip with them for $260, bought a mislabeled (and newly regripped) odyssey versa #7 in an uncontested auction for $10 and a mint 56 degree forged wedge for $40 on ebay. So I spent barely over $300 to buy a set of forged clubs with my fitted measurements. If I wasnt as particular about the clubs I could have probably done it with half that budget, older callaways in the X series are great deals and very highly regarded GI clubs from what I've read. I know a person that's big into estate sales and she told me she sees golf clubs very often. She'll start sending me pics too so maybe I'll score a few deals. nerdz fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Apr 22, 2024 |
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Apr 22, 2024 16:08
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 14:27 |
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I have exactly one ball that the sim gave me. It's a fun time at the chipping green
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Apr 24, 2024 03:32
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