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First set of clubs? $1,600?

SuperStroke
Hawk said:
Don't do it.
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I agree. I shot 88 the other day with my new clubs (see sig) and shot just as well a day later with a full set of Tommy Armour 855's in the bag. Lots of better options out there then spending that much money unless you have the money to burn.
 
Andy216 said:
What about buying used?

Any negs? Things to look out for?
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Some of the OEM's have pre-owned sites and I know for a fact there are some great buys at Callaway Pre-owned and the clubs or most often than not in better condition that stated plus you don't have to worry about get anything counterfeit.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
Some of the OEM's have pre-owned sites and I know for a fact there are some great buys at Callaway Pre-owned and the clubs or most often than not in better condition that stated plus you don't have to worry about get anything counterfeit.
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I was going to make this suggestion as well. TaylorMade has preowned site as well.

To the OP be careful on EBay. Lots of fakes around there. Stick to reputable sellers.
 
Nothing wrong with previous owned clubs at all.

Is their a reason he is pushing the Bridgestone clubs? Are they a Bridgestone only shop?
 
Trust your swing to somebody who has no stake in what clubs you buy, and buy your clubs from someone who has no stake in how your swing progresses.
 
buying something that does not fit your game will lead to frustration and might sour your love of the game
 
Would any set you bought through him come with the membership? It almost seems to me that he has a set that he is looking to unload or something. If the clubs are a good fit is say they're a good deal, but if not they'll cause you more frustration no matter how cheap they are.
 
Andy216 said:
I have been taking lessons for a few weeks, and I am loving it so far.

My my teacher broached the topic of buying clubs. He suggested getting a set of Bridgestones that I would "grow into." Point being that if I got cheaper clubs, I would likely want to upgrade relatively soon.

The he set he suggested would run me $1,600. But he would include an annual membership with the purchase.

I expected to to pay about half that (but with no membership).

Thoughts?

Was my expectation of price too low? Or is he trying to sell me something that is a bit more than what I need?
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Andy216 said:
The golf course. Runs $1,100 a year.

With a membership, all golf and golf cart rental is included.

That at would bring the cost of the clubs to $500, but I didn't plan on buying a membership, so it's not really as significant a savings.
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I was ready to say "Absolutely not!" right off the bat, but this is an interesting deal. Which BStones have you been hitting? Are they the clubs you have been hitting "best" when trying different models/brands? Have you had a chance to spend time with the driver and fairway woods? Regarding the membership... You weren't planning on that, so it is easy to discount. Considering the membership, are there any constraints (i.e. time of day, only certain days, etc)? Is this particular course one that you would be OK with playing, almost exclusively, for a year? If so, how many rounds would you be able to get in? $$$ wise, is the course worth it? If you're at all interested in the deal, you could always counter his proposal to see if there is more wiggle-room.

Generally speaking, I think you could put together a decent bag, of used clubs, for a huge savings via eBay or the THP Marketplace.
 
It's hard to pass up free golf but at what cost?? Embarrassing yourself in public for a year?? Get fit and find some clubs that suit you. Chances are you'll end up gaming them for 3 seasons at least and save a thousand bucks in the process.
 
I would say, by the sounds of it may be too good to be true. Yes you save money with the membership, but in order to recieve "clubs that you can grow into"may not be the best option. Starting out in golf I would get a more forgiving set ie) Callaway xhot, taylormade speedbladez, mizuno Ez. Try as many sets as you can with many shaft options to fit your game best. After that I woukd suggest a custom fitting and even better if it is included in your set of irons. If you can find the specs and set you like on ebay or craigslist to save a little money money all the better. Hope this helps.
 
There is a ton of great advice in this thread already so I'll keep it short. I would avoid the entire idea of "growing into" clubs...there is no guarantee that you'll ever grow into them. Hundreds and even thousands of us weekend golfers practice as much as we can and never really see any improvement.

I would maybe ask if the same deal would apply to a different set of clubs that offers more forgiveness, that is if the membership interests you at all.
 
ArmyGolf said:
There is a ton of great advice in this thread already so I'll keep it short. I would avoid the entire idea of "growing into" clubs...there is no guarantee that you'll ever grow into them. Hundreds and even thousands of us weekend golfers practice as much as we can and never really see any improvement.

I would maybe ask if the same deal would apply to a different set of clubs that offers more forgiveness, that is if the membership interests you at all.
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Excellent advice.
 
Hawk said:
Interesting deal. On paper it actually sounds good. I can see why you are pondering.

Those clubs aren't all that friendly to beginners though.
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I'd get a membership deal with a better set of clubs that fit you now. Find out their options, go hit some samples, then get fit.

Why do I suggest this? Because for me a membership is much more important for learning the game than any set of clubs. Not a membership per se, but just the ability to go play often, with no additional money out of pocket, and you can show up to a range for 30 minutes a day if you want with no hassle.

That only applies if you like the course, it has good training facilities (driving range, pitching range, putting green, par 3, etc), and it's conveniently located so you could darken it's doorway daily if you wanted to.

I have a few par 3 memberships that include unlimited driving and chipping range balls and I think I spend $400 for them, both, annually and I made that money back by April 1st of this year, and I've been playing free ever since.

Anyway, if the membership doesn't do those things for you I agree with others that you need to not be sold a package through a pro. There's a long history of pros supplementing their income pushing clubs (goes back to Tommy Armor and Claude Harmon) that don't necessarily fit the best interest of the golfer.

And I totally agree with the wisdom here that "grow into them" is golf language for "run don't walk away from the salesman".
 
If I read correctly that you can join a golf club and have all golf and cart rental covered for $1100 a year, I'm flabbergasted! That sounds like an unreal deal to me.

But as to your actual question, I agree with most of the prior posts. There's no point buying something now that is not suited to your skill level with the plan of "growing into it." I don't have enough knowledge to make a character judgement on the pro/teacher you're seeing, but that really sounds like someone who's trying to do make a buck and isn't real concerned with how much you enjoy the game or whether you stick with it or now. Many people are shortsighted and don't understand that it's better to work with a customer based on their current level of skill and create a repeat customer for life, rather than going for the big payday right off the bat.
 
A $500 set of Bridgestone clubs can easily turn a profit if you don't like it. I would try and have him throw the fitting in for free so at least it matches what you need. The DPCs will be fine if you use you membership and play often, you will see your ballstriking improve pretty quickly.
 
oh my.... i started in october and a friend loaned me his back up set of forged blades with rifle shafts. he told me something similar. "grow into these and if you can hit these you can hit anything" well i hated life and i hated golf. even walked away from the range handing half buckets of balls to others out of shear frustration multiple times and used a driver and wedge for all my golf hits on the course cause i could hit the wedge and it made me smile and not curse.
ended up getting a set of gi and took some lessons and now golf is great and life is good.

p.s. 1600 bucks is a huge commitment for someone who is only into this such a short time.
 
What if you never "grow into" the new clubs, it would just be a waste of money.

Spend an amount of money you are comfortable with, for clubs you like.

Buy a cheaper full box set if you are starting out, or even buy some used stuff. Plenty of top quality stuff from a season or two ago is available for some really good pricing.
 
I'm in the complete opposite boat as most here. I look at things from a realistic standpoint and the reality of it is that $1600 for just the clubs/bag is definitely competitive, throw in a free membership and from a monetary standpoint, you can't beat it. As for growing into clubs...absolutely. Are some clubs more forgiving than others? Yes, but they aren't magic. A bad hit is a bad hit. A fat/thinned shot on a blade won't be a great shot with SGI's. The forgiveness of a club is more of a marketing ploy than actual results. Not saying forgiveness doesn't exist but it isn't as day and night as some people want you to think (I went from Di11's to X-forged and struggled for maybe a week and eventually my irons became my strength). So in reality, what's going to happen is you'll quickly get sick of looking at big shovels and will want something a little smaller. You'll get them and maybe it'll be tough at first but it will more or less force you to get better (or perish lol).

Here, a range membership will run you $1200. $1600 for unlimited golf, and a full bag is a no-brainer I think.
 
Forgiveness being a marketing ploy is absolutely laughable.
 
Andy216 said:
I have been taking lessons for a few weeks, and I am loving it so far.

My my teacher broached the topic of buying clubs. He suggested getting a set of Bridgestones that I would "grow into." Point being that if I got cheaper clubs, I would likely want to upgrade relatively soon.

The he set he suggested would run me $1,600. But he would include an annual membership with the purchase.

I expected to to pay about half that (but with no membership).

Thoughts?

Was my expectation of price too low? Or is he trying to sell me something that is a bit more than what I need?
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don't do it man!

You can buy a set of used GI irons on ebay for next to nothing. Heck, I got a lightly used set of rocketbladez for $300 last year... they appear to be going for $240-270ish now... (and obviously you don't have to get TM rocketbladez) you can do that with almost any iron set that is lightly used from 2013...

I would bet if you knew the stiffness of shaft you were looking for that you could spend an afternoon on ebay and piece together a driver, wood/hybrid, iron set, wedge, putter for under $500... that's a hell of a deal for your first ever set... the course membership is bogus as the season is already half over
 
JB said:
Forgiveness being a marketing ploy is absolutely laughable.
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Although I agree the statement does hold merit. A good ball strike is a good ball strike. I would place more emphasis on offset if I was a begginer.
 
I love the idea of forgiveness being "not necessary" and yet people using hybrids, annd large driver heads. Good ball strike may be a good ball strike, but missing with mass is far less penal.
 
JB said:
Forgiveness being a marketing ploy is absolutely laughable.
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**C'mon JB! There hasn't been any improvements in irons in at least 30 years!**

#alien
 
Here's an example of me looking for under 10min

Driver Cleveland classic xl 10.5 $59ish shipped
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CLEVELAND-C...91224081074?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash=item2c85d7eab2
Hybrid used adams idea A2 3hybrid $30 shipped
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Adams-Idea-...71519076387?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash=item3f37cc5023
Iron set Rocketbladez 5-pw $239 OBO shipped
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mint-Taylor...00725468789?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash=item5d4d196675
Wedge Cleveland NEW cg15 59ish shipped
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-C...71378631926?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash=item27e6f664f6
Putter new yes! Athena $35shipped
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Yes-C-G...60981803618?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash=item540c313262

All for under $422 shipped! (I even 'splurged' on a new SW and new putter

that doesn't mean go out and buy this set. This is just to show you how easy and inexpensive it can be.
 
rallo said:
Here's an example of me looking for under 10min

Driver Cleveland classic xl 10.5 $59ish shipped
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CLEVELAND-C...91224081074?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash=item2c85d7eab2
Hybrid used adams idea A2 3hybrid $30 shipped
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Adams-Idea-...71519076387?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash=item3f37cc5023
Iron set Rocketbladez 5-pw $239 OBO shipped
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mint-Taylor...00725468789?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash=item5d4d196675
Wedge Cleveland NEW cg15 59ish shipped
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-C...71378631926?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash=item27e6f664f6
Putter new yes! Athena $35shipped
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Yes-C-G...60981803618?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash=item540c313262

All for under $422 shipped! (I even 'splurged' on a new SW and new putter

that doesn't mean go out and buy this set. This is just to show you how easy and inexpensive it can be.
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I like this idea -- just don't know enough to find the right clubs myself...
 
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