Beginner/casual golf clubs?

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Noodleface

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Today I became whiter than I ever thought I possibly could become and played my first round of golf. The wife's extended family has a golf tournament every year (skipped a few) in memory of her grandfather that passed away who loved golf. I got to play with his old set of clubs, and they were pretty nice but I couldn't tell you what they were at all. What I can tell you is they were way too short for me (I'm 6'3", he was probably 5'6"). The driver was a good length and I was able to hit the ball pretty good for my first ever time swinging a club (couple 200 yard drives, absolutely terrible with any irons/putting).

I'm looking for something I could get if I were to play casually maybe every month or couple of weeks? I Probably wouldn't be interested in buying a bunch of individual clubs and would rather buy an all-in-one complete set unless something was really laid out for me. Also, do they make clubs for taller dudes? I was hunched over when i had to use his irons and it was pretty rough.

Any recommendations? I'd probably be looking in the $200-400 range for now as it's not a serious hobby yet.

ALso just as a terrifying first experience side note. When we were at the cars shooting the shit before we left, a golf ball came and slammed into my mother in laws car 2 feet in front of me, left a humongous dent in the side. Then her brother was sitting in his truck with the window down and a ball came flying in and hit him in the back of the head. Had to go to the hospital needing stitches and had a concussion.
 

Grimmlokk

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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If it was your first round of golf you can't necessarily judge the club length. Especially if you thought the driver was a good length. There's not generally going to be a big difference between the clubs used by two different height people at the casual level, unless he had custom shorter shafts. It's more likely your stance at address is just wrong or you aren't used to it. Not supposed to be standing straight at all, even with the driver.

tiger-posture-lead_640.jpg


Also what the fuck kind of shitass club are you playing at where balls are constantly flying in to the parking lot?

No real advice on what to buy though, just don't immediately dismiss his clubs due to length before you are sure that's the problem.
 

Noodleface

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Well I forgot to mention I was playing with a guy that plays multiple times per week and seemed really good. They paired shitstains with more professional golfers among us. I had to really hunch with the irons and he also stated that I probably wanted something longer. It wasn't unbearable, but definitely not comfortable. The driver was really comfortable and noticeably longer, so I'm not sure if the driver was just a different size or what.

As for shitass club, it was pretty shitass but only 2 balls hit the parking lot today and they hit us.
 

Khane

Got something right about marriage
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Golf clubs are varied in length. The shorter the distance the club is meant to hit the ball the shorter the shaft will be. That's why the driver felt the most comfortable for you, it's the longest club in any bag and the wedges are the shortest. At 6'3" pretty much any standard set of clubs is probably going to be too short for you.

Just go to Dick's and get any starter set of clubs (Walter Hagan for example). They should come with a driver, 2 fairway woods, a complete set of irons from 3 through pitching wedge and a putter and will probably cost you $150. Buying a nicer set of clubs will do you absolutely no good since you aren't at the point where things like flex of shaft or material will make any difference. Figure out if you really do enjoy it before dropping real money on a real set.
 

Falstaff

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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Go to a place that will measure you for the ideal club length, like Golf Galaxy or Dick's or someplace like that.

and buy a used set. or a cheap new set if you can find it since you obviously shouldn't care about the brand this early in your golfing career.

Have fun!
 

Khane

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A lot of times places like Dick's or Golf Galaxy charge you for a fitting and then just pretend to custom fit the length of the shaft and just give you stock clubs anyway.

Don't worry about the brand at all. It's not going to make a difference for you at this stage. That set looks fine. The fact that it's only 6-PW might be detrimental a year or two down the road if you actually find yourself golfing a lot. For now though the hybrid will fill the gap of 3-5 iron all by itself until you really start hitting the ball cleanly more often.

Give this site a browse before buying, they have a lot of great deals. I buy a lot of apparel and golf balls through them:

Discount Golf Clubs | New Golf Clubs | Golf Equipment from TaylorMade, Adams Golf, Mizuno, Callaway, Cleveland, Wilson, Nike
 

Noodleface

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It was pretty addictive. I had literally never hit a golf ball in my life, and I was in the first group so basically 20 people were behind us watching. When I got ready to go I think I heard snickers and laughing and everyone was expecting a dud. First swing out the gate and I absolutely demolished the ball. Everyone was cheering and everything, it was crazy. The set I was using was really nice, just too small.
 

Eomer

Trakanon Raider
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Your golf clubs will determine approximately 1% of how you golf, especially as a beginner. Maybe less. Just buy a used set as others have said. Make/brand/model isn't something to worry about, unless they're knock offs or something.
 

ZyyzYzzy

RIP USA
<Banned>
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Your golf clubs will determine approximately 1% of how you golf, especially as a beginner. Maybe less. Just buy a used set as others have said. Make/brand/model isn't something to worry about, unless they're knock offs or something.
The 1% thing is absolute truth. I would go try and find a used set with longer shafts for yourself. I'm 6'3" too and most shafts that come with sets are too short for me.

Also, I hope you aren't left handed. Lefties are like the naggers of the golf world. It is pretty hard for me to pick up a new club when I want one because golf shops so horribly discriminate.
 

Eomer

Trakanon Raider
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Left handed golfers should be rounded up and shot, as far as I am concerned. Bunch of fucking freaks.
 

Noodleface

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It's kind of weird. I'm right-handed but I have to play hockey left handed (feels weird right handed), but I golf right handed. My wife is a leftie but plays golf right-handed as well.

Thanks for the tips, I'll look into used as well.
 

Khane

Got something right about marriage
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I am also one of those "weirdos" who plays hockey lefty but does everything else righty (including golf)
 

Springbok

Karen
<Gold Donor>
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Buy a used set of Taylor Mades (or something similar - Callaway, Cobra etc) and go from there. You can usually get a full set of irons and a used driver/putter for well under $300. New clubs under $300 are a waste of money. I still use an 8 year old set of DCI's and they play fine. Have to re-grip them from time to time, and they have some blemishes... but they are great irons. Enjoy - practice makes perfect. To learn, take your 7 iron and hit the driving range 3-4 times a week for 2 months. Leave the other clubs at home, and thank me later. The only way to get "good" at golf is to hit balls until your hands bleed.
 

Noodleface

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I definitely need practice with the irons. Although my driving was probably pretty bad, I was getting good air time and distance at least. I think of all my swings it was the least worrysome. When I had to use an iron on a ball on the fairway I had a lot of trouble. It takes a certain finesse at first that I wasn't used to, whereas with the driver I felt like happy gilmore.
 

Khane

Got something right about marriage
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Buy a used set of Taylor Mades (or something similar - Callaway, Cobra etc) and go from there. You can usually get a full set of irons and a used driver/putter for well under $300. New clubs under $300 are a waste of money. I still use an 8 year old set of DCI's and they play fine. Have to re-grip them from time to time, and they have some blemishes... but they are great irons. Enjoy - practice makes perfect. To learn, take your 7 iron and hit the driving range 3-4 times a week for 2 months. Leave the other clubs at home, and thank me later. The only way to get "good" at golf is to hit balls until your hands bleed.
I agree with almost none of this advice. The full sets under $300 are perfectly fine for a beginner golfer and provide all the function he will need. You have no idea how abused a used set of clubs was by the previous owner(s). I played with a set of Northwestern irons that cost me $110 brand new for 10 years. Name brands in golf are highly price inflated and offer almost no benefit over cheaper alternatives.

Practicing with a 7 iron is fine, but you need to practice with longer and shorter irons as well. 7 irons are the most natural "fit" to a beginner golfer because their length feels more natural at first, but that is kind of like telling someone to only ever practice hitting a baseball off a tee. It will help somewhat but you need to involve the other clubs, especially your wedges and longer irons or hybrid. Driver is too fun not to practice and I laugh at people who leave their driver in their bag for an entire round because "they can't hit it".

As for practicing until your hands bleed... really? The best way to practice is to properly align, set up as if you're on the course, hit then back off and do the whole thing all over again. Taking this slower approach helps keep your hands dry (not sweating from rapid firing), which helps prevent the club from sliding around in your hands, which prevents blistering and bleeding even if you hit 200 balls.

The best advice I can give you is, before you think about anything else, learn how to properly grip your club. Hand position is more important than anything else for a beginner golfer and a proper grip actually helps your entire swing.
 

Eomer

Trakanon Raider
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I definitely need practice with the irons. Although my driving was probably pretty bad, I was getting good air time and distance at least. I think of all my swings it was the least worrysome. When I had to use an iron on a ball on the fairway I had a lot of trouble. It takes a certain finesse at first that I wasn't used to, whereas with the driver I felt like happy gilmore.
That's because you're teeing up with the driver, so you don't have to worry about the height that your club comes through the ball at nearly as much as you do with any other club. The driver also has an massive sweet spot compared to the other clubs. Really, in all honesty, modern drivers are pretty much cheating, they're so big and light and forgiving.

As has been said, you're best practicing with mid irons for thousands of shots to get your swing mechanics to the point where you're at least consistent from one swing to the next. Then you can go get some lessons and be taught what different adjustments will do to your swing, ball flight and so on. It might be worthwhile to take a short lesson or two at the start so you know the basics and don't develop any really horrific habits right off the start.

And the other thing to keep in mind is once you get even passable at hitting the ball reasonably consistently, by far the most strokes to be had by practicing will be spent on shots within 80 yards of the hole: pitching, chipping, putting, and sand. If you can hit a 5 iron 200 yards of the tee box consistently, you just about don't even need to worry about a driver at most courses unless you're playing the long tees. But try to get under 100 when you 4 putt every hole and/or take 2-3 shots to get out of every bunker.
 

Springbok

Karen
<Gold Donor>
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I agree with almost none of this advice. The full sets under $300 are perfectly fine for a beginner golfer and provide all the function he will need. You have no idea how abused a used set of clubs was by the previous owner(s). I played with a set of Northwestern irons that cost me $110 brand new for 10 years. Name brands in golf are highly price inflated and offer almost no benefit over cheaper alternatives.

Practicing with a 7 iron is fine, but you need to practice with longer and shorter irons as well. 7 irons are the most natural "fit" to a beginner golfer because their length feels more natural at first, but that is kind of like telling someone to only ever practice hitting a baseball off a tee. It will help somewhat but you need to involve the other clubs, especially your wedges and longer irons or hybrid. Driver is too fun not to practice and I laugh at people who leave their driver in their bag for an entire round because "they can't hit it".

As for practicing until your hands bleed... really? The best way to practice is to properly align, set up as if you're on the course, hit then back off and do the whole thing all over again. Taking this slower approach helps keep your hands dry (not sweating from rapid firing), which helps prevent the club from sliding around in your hands, which prevents blistering and bleeding even if you hit 200 balls.

The best advice I can give you is, before you think about anything else, learn how to properly grip your club. Hand position is more important than anything else for a beginner golfer and a proper grip actually helps your entire swing.
All of this is absolutely wrong. Saying shitty $110 clubs work as well as used quality clubs is a fucking joke. No idea how used and abused they are? What? Are you in the business of buying things sight unseen? Get real. Practicing until your hands bleed is a god damned turn of phrase. If you can hit your 7 well, you can hit any club in the bag. If you think that is incorrect, you're doing it wrong. Whats more funny are all the out of shape monkeys who can drive the piss out of the ball and can't layup or make a 10 foot putt with any regularity. You can listen to Khane, who sounds like a middle manager at an insurance company - or listen to me - a guy who plays birdie golf (legitimately) and who regularly plays Southern Hills. Up to you Noodle.