We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Do you ever buy a club sight unseen?

For years I’ve just bought stuff online without trying it out first. Only regretting a few drivers. One was Nike and the other the R15
 
I've been known to purchase without trying or seeing a time or ten.

Sometimes it works out but too many times it hasn't.
 
Not sight unseen, but I have in the past bought clubs a few times right from the store without having a chance to try them first. Mixed results. Nowadays, I'll either wait for a demo day at one of the local courses or make the drive to somewhere where I can swing them before deciding.
 
Took a punt on a heavenwood. Thing has been a game changer for me and has stayed in the bag ever since.
 
I've never been fitted and it's hard to hit/test clubs where I am with my dexterity. I've definitely bought my share of clubs that didn't work for me, but I do so much research about what I want to buy that it usually works out really well. I did custom Forged Tecs, a custom TM SIM and custom wedges recently and everything has worked out great so far. Also by custom I just mean I didn't get stock set ups. I switched shafts and stuff like that to stuff I thought would work better. Actually nothing in my bag had been tested before I bought it. Like I said, I strike out sometimes for sure but the majority of stuff works out. If it doesn't, I sell it and move on :)
 
Prior to my latest set all my clubs were bought online although I did build a couple sets myself back in the early 2000s. Those were sort of fit for me by using a lie board and ruler and choosing a shaft based on my limited knowledge. I think they worked because I felt like they worked. When I got fit my numbers on my old clubs were way off in regards to spin and stuff.
 
Yes, I bought a Heavenwood a few years ago and for the last 3 years it has been my most favored and trusted club.
 
Yep, I buy stuff on eBay all the time. There are pictures there though, does that count as seen?
 
Sight unseen only once. Was looking for a lefty Bio Cell 3/4 wood to go along with my driver, and it had no pictures on Ebay listing. It DID say 25$ and free shipping. So, I pulled the trigger after 24 hours of no image update. Several days later I open the box and there is a black one in the factory wrapping never swung. There was a ding the size of a pencil point the head.

I buy most of my stuff second hand or clearence/older models so pictures work, along with reviews and gut instinct. My driver was new through Hurricane Golf for 60 bucks, just a few years old. Building 7-Pw Bio Cell Irons this spring which i bought last October for 10 bucks a head new. Time to update the 96' Burner Oversize irons.

I did get burned on 3 Adams A7 hybrids. Got all 3 for 40 bucks and did not like them. Sold them to Rock Bottom Golf for 40 bucks in credit after getting a season out of them. Tried a used Fly Z 3/4 hybrid. Liked that so I found a 4/5 as well.
 
More than I should. I have a personal hangup about hititng inside, so unless it's an outdoor demo, I pretty much buy site unseen.

Some things it has worked great - my current bag Ping G400 Max, G400 fairway, Cleveland hybird Srixon 565 irons, CBX2 irons. But also some short lived clubs I didn't like as much G410 and G400 hybrids, original CBX wedges.

Just pulled the trigger on a Cobra SZ Extreme driver that I've never hit. But the buzz was so good that I was curious. The demo today was cancelled due to rain, so I just placed an order and will hope for the best.
 
Used to do that back in the day before I knew anything about getting fit. Now that I know the types of clubs that typically work for me, might work in a certain situation. In the past I’m sure I would have been way better off getting fit.
 
OldandStiff said:
That's almost exclusively how I buy them. There are no clubs to be seen here. It's the reason I found this place.
Click to expand...
100% this.

Everything I’m using was bought online, and my initial involvement with THP was reading club reviews.
 
All the time. Usually works OK but occasionally not.
 
Bryndom said:
Have you ever bought something sight unseen? Without fitting or testing? Did it work for you?

I try to get fitted or at least go to the local stores to swing any club before I buy them, but I’m sure some don’t have access to the local stores.
Click to expand...

Bought my 33" SL Marxman without ever seeing it. It's probably one of the best putters I've ever had. Definitely top 5.
 
I bought a GBB Heavenwood off Callawat pre-owned. Worked out well for me, it's a good workhorse club.
 
Whole bag is site unseen of the actual clubs. Before buying I had seen different sets of what I was buying in person. I also was able to read a lot of reviews on here to help with my selections.
 
All the time.
 
I'll throw this out there and be the internet and THP abomination. I've, literally, never tried a club before I bought it. Not once, ever. I live in a small community that has ZERO golf shops to try clubs in. All the local courses carry RH only demos. In order for me to even try a club, I have to spend $100.00 in gas just to get somewhere that MIGHT have the club I want to try and drive back home. I rationalize (incorrectly) that the $100.00 spent on gas is $100.00 that I no linger gave to actually buy the club.

I've used personal reviews from this site to guide all of my purchases since joining. Fortunately, I haven't bought a dud yet using THP user reviews as a guide. I DO plan on going down to Phoenix and get properly fitted for irons this year, though. At least that's the plan. We'll see if life actually allows.
 
Buy online pretty much all the time. Once in a while will buy something from the store, but it is rare.
 
I've bought many clubs sight unseen and some have worked out and some have turned out terrific. Hit and miss (no pun intended, maybe). :laughing:
 
Sure did, and glad I did!
Hey I'm a senior player and was watching champions golf show and Tom Lehman came out showing off the CBX 3 wood spin killer with the Hzrdus Smoke shaft, Whoa.
Just kept it in mind, then ran across a deal and well bought it without ever swinging it Ha Ha..
I really, really like my fairway finder off the tee box, always on the green grass and LONG. Some of the guys could not believe I was out driving them with a 3 :ROFLMAO:
Only use it when the Driver misbehaves and piss"es off enough to put it in the doghouse until I regain my composure:censored: But it's a killer...
 
Picked up a custom set of f9 irons late last fall. Recoil smac wrap shafts one length 4-7 8-pw stock length. Smoking deal on a new set of clubs. Been a good fit.
 
Everything in my current bag was bought sight unseen, without demo or fitting. Being in the middle of nowhere with zero local golf retailers, it kind of forces your hand. Driver, Heavenwood, wedges and putter were love at first sight.

The hardest to find something that worked best for me was when it came to irons. Probably took 4-5 sets before I settled on something. 2 sets of Apex, the original and CF16s were bought, with grand designs of having those wonderful irons in the bag, and I just couldn't get them to stick. The main problem is usually shaft. I want graphite, nowhere here has anything to demo, so it is a crapshoot.

I think it has worked out pretty decently with everything else though.. And the Wilson Staff C200s have been hard to unseat since I settled on them.

I honestly think I have had more issues with things that I have demo'd before purchase not working out. Putters especially are great in the store, and then I get them home and issues start popping up.
 
I buy individual clubs online based on reviews - driver, putter, wedge. However I wouldn't buy irons without a fitting.

My latest purchase was an Odyssey Stroke Lab #3 putter. It was wonderful looking, got great reviews from Golf Digest Yearly Club issue, as well as other online review forums. I used it twice and returned it for a refund. It was a wonderful putter, just not for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top