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How Impactful Is Golf Equipment On Your Handicap?

Now there are some things that can improve... there's a club shaft that @Jman is testing right now that, through some voodoo and magic, does appear to give between 2-5 MPH gains... the manufacturer says it's true for everyone that's tested it. Jman said he's seen it on his launch monitor. Xcaliber Rapid taper shaft... there's a review thread of it.
 
Canadan said:
I think it's a blend of confidence, comfort, and swing variables.

Do I think I'd fare well with something built from 2015? Of course.
Do I think changing on the fly to accommodate things will benefit even more? Definitely.
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I think you nailed it here. New clubs can make you more confident and comfortable which can have a positive impact on your game. It can also work in the reverse but if you’ve found something that is helping with a specific swing issue, cap can definitely drop.
 
I think playing the correct equipment fitted or not that gives you confidence will help your handicap. If you love your old 5w then play it.
 
dacatalyst41 said:
I think you nailed it here. New clubs can make you more confident and comfortable which can have a positive impact on your game. It can also work in the reverse but if you’ve found something that is helping with a specific swing issue, cap can definitely drop.
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Yeah man, it's two-fold.

A new club can get you out of a funk with the old honeymoon phase.
An old club can get you back on track when something isn't right.

We're funny creatures.
 
I got fitted for all new clubs from driver all the way down to putter last month. While I am still getting used to them and sussing out distances, they've definitely helped my confidence and improved my game. I hit my new driver about 20 yards further than my old one, and it has pretty much completely eliminated my fade (without turning it into a hook). I hit my new irons on average about 10 yards further than my old ones, they're more forgiving, more consistent with distance, and I have more confidence with them. Distance control with my new putter is far better - I have at most 1 or 2 three-putts per round since I got it, and am averaging 32 putts per round over the last 12 rounds.

With all that said, clubs aren't magic wands. My bad scores come from my inconsistency, and no club can help when I hit a hard pull out into the bushes, pull my head up and top it, or skull a chip clear across the green. I'm confident that I have the right clubs - now it's up to me to use them right.
 
I still believe that you will only see a noticeable change of you upgrade every 5 years or so. Make changes more rapidly and the changes will be so small that you may not notice them (unless you were not fitted correctly in the first place).

The added confidence and enjoyment shouldn’t be overlooked either. Having fun WILL bring your handicap down!
 
Id say it makes much less difference than we think it does. I say this because I go back and forth between playing modern clubs and playing vintage clubs and the modern clubs are never more than 5 strokes better on a given course. Much of that is distance off the tee too.
If I put my modern woods in the bag with my vintage irons, I doubt my scores would be any different.
 
I ha e found some equipment making incremental improvements in my handicap. However one of my most recent purchases have helped the most. Last fall I had a new shaft put in my driver. It’s a Hrzdus black and it didn’t bring more distance, (which everybody wants) but it did tighten my dispersion drastically. At my age I am not long any longer (hahaha) 225 off the tee CONSISTENT. But I am in the fairway 11 out of 14, and the other 3 generally in the first cut.
no more in the woods!
playing from the shirt grass automatically cuts 3-4 shots every round. Now I need this shaft in my 3 wood!
Anybody need a Fujikura Pro stuff shaft for driver and 3wood?
They have a medium kick and a smooth load. These are the blue shafts. LOL
 
Custom fit irons, wedges, and putter helped me out a lot. I hit a ton of wedges close last year. Better tech and more confidence helped me lower my handicap 1.5 shots before sliding up to end the year a full shot less.
 
I'm fairly confident I could shoot basically the same scores with the bag I had in 2013-2014. The J40 irons and wedges would work perfectly fine today, and the 910D2 driver was amazing.
The only difference that would worry me is not having my hybrids since I used to go 3w-5w-4I.

I think that says more about my game than anything else. As a streaky 8 I basically feel like I'm not good enough to take advantage of new tech anyways.
 
dacatalyst41 said:
In the last couple of years, we’ve seen YouTubers posting videos of old tech vs new tech with results...in some cases...being shockingly similar. It begs the question, how much impact does new tech have on your handicap and overall play?
Obviously fitting matters, but how does a bag you were custom fit into 6 years ago (hypothetical) compare versus a bag you are currently rocking?
Do draw biased drivers actual fix the slice?
Have you seen your handicap drop with new equipment or is your swing primarily responsible for changes in your play?
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I got a slightly used Callaway GBB driver about a year ago and picked up 30 yards from my 15 year old driver and improved accuracy. It definitely helped my scores a bit. That said I went from 20 year old Callaway irons to Titleist AP1 710s and saw no improvement in my handicap. They are way more forgiving on my many mishits but I had been in a rut lately and a poor swing is way more impactful than the clubs imo. I'm newer to golf so maybe not the best person to answer as my swing is so inconsistent.
 
Swing
I’m sure you’ll get mixed opinions, I’m also sure there are a lot of low handicappers here that wil say they have clubs older than say 5 years their playing today.
 
ArmyGolf said:
I'm fairly confident I could shoot basically the same scores with the bag I had in 2013-2014. The J40 irons and wedges would work perfectly fine today, and the 910D2 driver was amazing.
The only difference that would worry me is not having my hybrids since I used to go 3w-5w-4I.

I think that says more about my game than anything else. As a streaky 8 I basically feel like I'm not good enough to take advantage of new tech anyways.
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this is me. The 2020 bag is slightly better then 2010 but not sure if it reduces my score. Now, when I improved the fundamentals of my putting then had a putter similar to mine custom fit that really helped. I don't think my swing as an 8 to 10 handi is good enough the get the most out of the newest ball or hybrid.

I'd like to call out an exception. 2 of my friends were playing clubs so ill-fitted for them that it was simply crazy. One of the guys I simply gave my 2010 irons which were closer to what he needed and he is now improving each time I play with him. I should note that both of my friends self fitted themselves into both upright and very long clubs. Had either use some simple wrist to floor measurements they could have potentially avoided years of mis-fittted equipment.
 
TCB2010 said:
Swing
I’m sure you’ll get mixed opinions, I’m also sure there are a lot of low handicappers here that wil say they have clubs older than say 5 years their playing today.
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I once played with a guy and I don't think any two irons in his bag were of the same make. He had a simple do nothing swing. I think he finished around 75 as I recall and my nice set of branded clubs and I ended up closer to 105. I have not forgot that lesson
 
It's the Indian not the Arrow! (y)

But what fun is that .... we like shiny & new. :ROFLMAO:
 
dacatalyst41 said:
In the last couple of years, we’ve seen YouTubers posting videos of old tech vs new tech with results...in some cases...being shockingly similar. It begs the question, how much impact does new tech have on your handicap and overall play?
Obviously fitting matters, but how does a bag you were custom fit into 6 years ago (hypothetical) compare versus a bag you are currently rocking?
Do draw biased drivers actual fix the slice?
Have you seen your handicap drop with new equipment or is your swing primarily responsible for changes in your play?
Click to expand...

If a player has 20 year old or newer equipment of stock specifications I don't believe new equipment will impact his/her scoring average.
 
On the 6 year old equipment question I'm going to throw my 2 cents in and say that if you swapped out my current gear for the Bio Cell driver, and Slingshot Tour irons out in my garage (which have been built to fit me as well as they can now) that I'm 1000% percent sure I would not be able to score the same. I'm confident I would score well, but not the same. 10 yards on a drive and one club longer in the irons is the difference between a 6 and an 8 on approach. 2 clubs of distance matters. Speed retention on mishits means being closer on mistakes. Again, closer matters. More stability in the head means slightly more fairways hit. Fairways matter. And that's all just off the tee. A slight percentage of advantage on things with the irons would apply too. None of that has to be earth shattering individually to add up to an insurmountable advantage with the exact same level of play.

And that's with older gear that's been changed to fit me now. People, bodies, and swings can change a lot in 6 years, much less 20 or more. What fit then might not compete at all now. I still have my 20+ year old OG Big Bertha that was 'fit' for me back then, and recently got some numbers with it. I still hit it well, but it can't even remotely compete with anything current. That's just silly.
 
It sounds like a cop out but I think it depends on how the clubs fit. If you have a 10 year old set of clubs that fit you well you are much better off than the latest stuff that doesn’t fit.
 
I play better with "less forgiving" clubs apparently. I found out that your swing is horrible, more forgiving clubs can't camouflage it.
 
I'm pretty confident I would score the same with a bag of 25 year old clubs vs brand new and I'm going to put it to the test if courses ever open. I was going to use my 9 hole league this year to mess around and play different bags. I have a full mid 90's bag ready to go...including wound balls if needed.
 
I think your question is flawed due to one specific thing. When you see guys hitting old vs new clubs online and getting the same results the reason being is center face contact. Where clubs have really advanced is off center forgiveness. And this is what will help the vast majority of people.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
J.B. Cobb III said:
I play better with "less forgiving" clubs apparently. I found out that your swing is horrible, more forgiving clubs can't camouflage it.
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That is a dirty little secret of the golf industry.
 
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