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Buy Without Try?

SuperStroke
more often than not...I buy without trying. I try to do my research and compare club specs, etc, to clubs I have hit. Get the specs on a current or past driver, for example, then see how they match up with something I'm considering...mostly just to go "well I really hated Driver X and this one has the xyz same features/specs so...maybe not for me"

Of course tech changes and not all specs are equal once you start mixing other things up on a club...but...it at least gives me something to think about as I compare clubs I might buy.
 
JB said:
Are you a buy before trying person with equipment?
Click to expand...
Yes, absolutely yes!

Every single club in my bag was bought before trying. Has been that way through many, many, MANY clubs over the last 10+ years.

So bad that I actually cannot recall the last club I tried before buying. Inexplicably, I've never been fitted for any club.
 
I was but I don’t plan to do that again. Made a mistake on a driver. That money should have stayed in my pocket.
 
I did it with a 5W, but I already had the 3W in the bag at the time so had a fair idea of what to expect

Apart from that, the only other time was when I bought a second-hand set of clubs to replace a cheap starter set I was using at the time
 
It's not clear from the majority of responses what is meant by "try". For those who always try before you buy, how are you trying out the clubs:

Are you hitting into a net in a golf store?

On-course demo?

Outdoor demo on a driving range?

U-Try program from Global Golf or something similar?
 
I'm fortunate to live in an area that has plenty of demo options, so I'm all about trying before buying.

Wasn't always that way... used to be I'd see some beauty pics and decide that's the one. I'd go and take a couple of swings in the hitting bay, but my mind was pretty much made up. I changed clubs a lot more during that time. Funny how that works. Now, I'll demo 2 or 3 times and compare against my gamers.

About the only thing that I'd be comfortable with buying unit would be the G425 driver. With PING drivers of the last 10 years you pretty much know what you're getting - in a good way - especially when there are no shaft changes involved.
 
I'm basically the definition of buy & try these days. With the fall of Golfsmith and the lack of places to hit clubs without showing up to a course driving range on a Thursday, it gets pretty limited. Even the stores that do have hitting bays & some of the fitters around here don't have much selection. There is a new CC somewhat nearby, but my last CC experience was just ok so I haven't committed to anything there as I'm usually looking for something to fit a gap, like a new hybrid or some wedges.

I usually have a good idea what I want, but they aren't always home runs. The misses are resold, usually online. I've had a lot of luck recouping costs on my last few efforts, but it definitely doesn't always go that way.
 
90% of the time. Im in a very rural area and there is little to choose from w/o driving 1-1.5 hours. I was fitted for my irons but have bought drivers and woods based on reviews. This is mostly the reason I have a stack of shafts in the basement and 3 iron sets.
 
Only thing I will buy based on looks alone is a putter
 
I buy without trying all the time but I also do a lot of club flipping which has let me try so many different irons, shafts, drivers and putters that I have a very good understanding of what fits me and does not. My latest iron purchase I was fitted but I ended up having to get lies changed since they were going right on me.
 
not lately, nice to be fit in to new clubs.

I did blindly buy a Tour Edge 3w, but it had my preferred shaft as stock offering.
 
I buy without trying almost exclusively. There's a pretty good golf shop close by, but my bank account says I have to shop for prior year's equipment so those are tougher to find to hit first. My process has always been to read the review threads on here and roll with the decision. Not that I have much choice, once the clubs I buy are extended and bent there's not really any turning back :LOL:
 
Until very recently, my home course never really had any extensive lefty options. And this year they had almost every wood option but hardly any iron lines. So it's getting better but is still lacking in quantity of options. Being a lefty definitely necessitates my buy without trying mindset most of the time.
 
Bit of both really. I’ve purchased 4 putters untested and I’ve sold/traded two of them and looking to offload a 3rd.

My 3 wood I bought without trying it and until recently it was Money.
 
Often yes, with the idea that if I don't like it, I can pass it along here on THP with a bit of a loss, but giving someone else a shot!
 
Not the majority of my purchases, but I’ve been known to dabble
 
I really try not too. I'm also a heavy researcher :ROFLMAO: its actually how I originally found THP years ago (lurked for a long time) was looking up some reviews for an older club.
 
I'll hit a putter before I'll buy it. And if there is a chance to do an outdoor demo, i'll do it. But I detest hitting in a bay. If I can't demo it on a green grass range, I'll just take my chances.
 
Not so much now as in the past


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All tried during demo days at my club, except for the wedges.
 
every club I have ever bought was done so before actually swinging it, sure I know that's a terrible way to do it but most of my clubs were bought on super discount online and I couldn't find them locally, sometimes it doesn't work out, others it does, thankfully they were so cheap its a gamble I was willing to take.
 
Should be the theme of my bag! Everything is a buy without try... Not sure I'm good enough to realize where the equipment is leaving strokes on the course!
 
Et Tu Brute? said:
It's not clear from the majority of responses what is meant by "try". For those who always try before you buy, how are you trying out the clubs:

Are you hitting into a net in a golf store?

On-course demo?

Outdoor demo on a driving range?

U-Try program from Global Golf or something similar?
Click to expand...
On-course demo is the ideal scenario, but I'd prefer to at least be able to hit it outdoors on a driving range. Hitting into a net in a golf store is of pretty limited use - it lets me hear it and feel it, but I really have no idea what the ball flight is doing. It could sound and feel great off a mat into a net, then I get it out into open air and discover that I'm hooking it clear into the next ZIP code, or hitting ground balls, or hate the turf interaction or whatever.
 
The "buy without try-ers" are who keep golf manufacturers in business ;)
 
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