Why do you change clubs so often?

[StLCardsFan]

What is the HCP of the friend who could but chooses not to play the latest equipment? Is he a low single digit too?

Yea, he's in the 2-4 range. Played with him on Sunday and he did nothing special, missed a few easy putts and still shot even.

 

[gioguy21]

i change clubs b/c i have no kids and no wife. i have a good job, i don't have debt and golf is my avenue to let out personal competition thanks to baseball being over.


ps. my psychiatrist says i can make any athletic/sport exercise a drug in which i become addicted to it and emerse myself in it. personally, i think she's full of shiesse.

pps, i have a LOT of dvd's, blocks, mats, instructional how-to's and instructional books on yoga for sale.

 

[BoostLE]

OP, so why did you switch to the latest Ping irons and KBS shafts? Better numbers?

For me it's fun to try all of the different designs and styles of irons. I'm trying to leave the bag alone for at least 3 years at a time, but it's tough with Roger dunn being so close by.

 

[JesseO]

See the thing is, when people wonder why we change equipment so much, it mostly not the delusion that it will make us play better. Some people, myself included, just getting new equipment. We get bored with our old stuff, so we change it out.

 

[tahoebum]

Asks the man with the i20 irons.

If your handicap continues to go down, who cares how you get there. If you can afford them why should anyone have a say in that. Someone ask me once how many sets of clubs I have had in my life. Answer, as many as I wanted.

I was thinking the same thing. The Ping i20 irons are very old - they were released for sale by Ping 185 days ago!!!! :act-up:

 

[CapC]

I like buying new clubs because my better half said no more fishing rods / reels.

 

[Jugger18]

For me it was updating old aging equipment. My Tri-metal was beginning to de-hosel (i just made that up). My irons were pushing towards 20yrs old and were showing it. Also dropped the 2-iron and got a hybrid for short par 4's.

 

[nseals]

I am what you would call a "gear junky". If it is new, I want it. Last 5 drivers would be: Callaway Diablo, Diablo Tour, G15, R11, R11s. See what I mean. No problem with any of them. Just wanted the latest and greatest.

 

[Schweitzer_07]

Yea, he's in the 2-4 range. Played with him on Sunday and he did nothing special, missed a few easy putts and still shot even.

I think we all know of someone who by way of natural talent can play par golf or close to it with equipment that isn't new and doesn't necessarily fit them. My childhood best friend that's currently in med school is that way. He's been naturally athletic his entire life and although he doesn't practice much at all anymore due to school and only plays once a month or so, he still shoots in the low to mid 70's with ease. He plays Titleist 690 MB irons and doesn't even carry any fairway woods or hybrids. His putting isn't great but somehow he's good enough with his irons and long enough off the tee (the only legit 300+ driver of the golf ball that I know) that he can work his way around the course successfully.

That being said, I'm of the opinion that equipment can hurt or hinder someone's game. It's all relative and no one can make the generalization that switching equipment is either good or bad for any individual's golf game. If someone has the funds and the urge to buy new golf equipment, why not? I know how exciting it is to have new clubs waiting for you on the doorstep. I can see where playing with a set of irons for a long period of time can help you IF they are properly fit for you in the first place, but many times that's not the case for the average golfer anyway, so switching often probably wouldn't have that great of an impact IMO.

 

[Mulligan9111]

Personally I think when it comes to golf equipment there are two types of golfers. Those who can adjust to new equipment quickly, and those who get comfortable with their old equipment and struggle to adjust to new equipment. I don't think either one is better than the other, just different.

I fall into the category of struggling to adjust to new equipment. This isn't to say that I haven't tried to play new equipment. Throughout the years I've tried to play new drivers, just this year I tried to play the Nike VR Pro driver and ended up going back to my R7 and before going to the R7 I played the 983K driver for a long time. I've demo'd new irons, fairway woods, wedges, etc. But I've always come back to my old clubs because they are comfortable to me.

On the other hand, a couple of my buddies are able to switch to new equipment and not lose a beat. I actually envy them a little bit because I do think if I could just adjust to the newer equipment it could help my game in the long run. Unfortunately I'm not very patient when it comes to new equipment, if I don't start seeing an improvement within a couple of months, I go back to my old clubs.

I'm one of those people who just worries about my own game. If other golfers want or need to buy new equipment to enjoy the game, who am I to judge? All you have to do is look at the tour players. Sure there are some who play older equipment, but a lot of them play the newer equipment too. I think that is the best thing about golf, there is more than 1 way to play the game.

 

[rghilljr]

I had a friend tell me once that "new equipment cannot buy you a game but with out it you don't have a chance"!!

 

[Kmac]

I had a friend tell me once that "new equipment cannot buy you a game but with out it you don't have a chance"!!

I like that one.

 

[thepete]

I don't change that much but when I do it's
a) because they're worn out (applies to irons, wedges)
b) because something fits me better (woods, putter).

Nothing more complicated to it than that.

 

[marcv68]

im with you 100% right now breeze.... i am not changing a thing till after this pro am at least. i wanna hit some stuff in AC but besides that im not changing anything till after. i even am keeping the same putter and ball till then. i really am interested to see how much this helps my game. i really don't think it will hurt anything.

I have used the same putter for the past four years. I also think the ball should probably stay and never change too. Although my new ball, the Wilson FG tour just came out I wont go to another ball, hopefully for a while. If I find consistency with my putter it stays! As well as the ball so predictability with these 2 is easy. New irons or driver will not make the ball do stuff its not doing now. Wedges, maybe, I dont know.

 

[ehamady.6]

I play my irons and wedges until they wear out, which averages 3 years.
I'll trade in my driver, 3 wood, and/or hybrid if the new models obliterate them in performance.
My putter is the only club I hang onto for 10 years. Once I find the "one" I'll play it for a decade.

 

[Badger_Golfer]

The quick answer is, "because I can". Beyond that, I have no logical reason other than wanting to try something new. I guess thats one of the few advantages of being into high-end Japanese golf equipment. Its all so expensive that I cant go and buy a new club on a whim. I cant exactly go off and spend $600 on a driver or $1800 on a set of irons at the drop of a hat without my fiance asking, "are you crazy???"

 

[Oregon Jack]

Because even tho clubs look nice, after a while some decide to stop working for you. Its all in your/our/my mind(s). If we decide we dont like how a certain club feels/looks, than it wont work.

 

[Lefty_JW]

I do love the whole equipment aspect of golf and can get a bit carried away sometimes, but I tend to not change my clubs too often unless I can see a proven advantage to my game. Will happily change my driver if it gives me another 10 yards of distance. Am a bit more conservative with my irons. I've played golf for 3 years and have owned (disregarding a cheap starter set which I used for the first couple of months) only one pair of irons and wedgens, about 3 different drivers and one putter (don't think I will ever change the putter unless it breaks).

Definitely agree that there is a mental aspect to it as well. If you don't feel like you can hit a certain club chances are you won't be able to, and if changing to a different make/model helps you get over that mental block then I see nothing wrong with that.

 

[Ooo]

Since I'm closer to seventy than sixty I understand that you can't buy a winner. Been playing five years this month and have had about twenty drivers, about twenty iron sets and about twenty putters. Keep hoping something will help. I am figuring out what doesn't work, I buy very few new clubs. Fortunatly there is a local shop that will trade and allow about 85% of what you paid on trade in, so I havn't spent a lot of money. Biggest problem is that I am not giving myself a chance to get used to the clubs. I have figured out that I need an offset driver and fairway wood, a face balanced or close putter, and game improvement irons. If I could keep my head down they would all work much better.

 

[Colt]

Because even tho clubs look nice, after a while some decide to stop working for you. Its all in your/our/my mind(s). If we decide we dont like how a certain club feels/looks, than it wont work.

This. Sometimes it just gets in your head that you can't hit something. I switch from 1 hybos to 3 woods all of the time. Sometimes when I get into a funk with irons I get it in my head that I can't hit em'. I buy a new set that I like and even though I have the same swing I use it more confidently and BAM, light switch on!

just like Lee Westwood hates the high draw.

Lee would lose his mind if he played a round with me...


Tapping till 12-21-2012

 

[Scrap Iron]

I'm in the mindset of keeping clubs for years helps with consitancy but I have 4 reasons on why others change
1. It's exciting to have new clubs
2. They can
3. THP reviews empty people's wallets
4. Maybe there is a little magic in the new clubs

 

[yorkem]

I will disagree with you and say this, new clubs do make me a better golfer. How can that possibly be true you ask? It's simple really. I buy a new club, and I go and spend hours on the range working on my swing while hitting my new piece of pride and joy. Would I orcould I go to the range anyway? Sure, but with a new driver, or wedge, or whatever, it makes it a little more fun. JMO

 

[InHartWeTrust]

I want to start off by saying I really don't like your tone in your original post. This has to be one of the most judgmental things I have seen on this site. I imagine you and I play a very different game. You see distances that I can't imagine and our bad shots are very different. I hope we share a similar enjoyment in the game because I truly love it, including the equipment side of things. I probably have more money than sense sometimes but I've worked for it and after I pay all of my bills I spend it on the things that I want. I buy new equipment because I do like new things and I hope it will help me in my game. But I also take lessons on a regular basis and practice very regularly. Have I made equipment mistakes in the past, maybe/probably, but some of us have to find our swings regularly, only to have them quickly run away again. Things we can hit well at the store or in demo and seem great can change. We all try, but we are not as successful as you are in our endeavors.

Well let me be the first to apologize that it offended you. I can promise I did not intend to, which I mentioned numerous times in the first post. I am just truly curious as it is something that I personally don't relate to. I think text sometimes does not translate, and I can assure you it was never my intention to offend anyone.

It seems like most of the THP'ers here are realists, unlike the club ho's I know from day-to-day life. Seems like most here just enjoy the thrill of having something new, not buying it because they are convinced it will make them better (people I know in real life, including my cousin, honestly just blame their golf game on their equipment....he, and others I know, are delusional when it comes to this).

I'll be sending you a PM to apologize, personally, in the case that you do not see this post. I am sorry again that I offended you.

I love new equipment, for me it really changes my mindset which already sucks while golfing, but I'm trying to get my swing fixed and then hopefully I'll stop blaming equipment!!!

I can 100% relate on the changing of the mindset. I am a big advocate of having two putters for when one goes sour, changing the club can refresh your swing/stroke from a mental standpoint, which is very tough to just do on your own (actually it is darn near impossible).

When I was a younger Buck, I used to buy basketball shoes like they were packs of gum. I had every color of Adidas Forum's among other fits. I never thought a pair of new shoes would make me jump higher, or have a better right hand dribble. I just really liked new kicks. I imagine that is the same thing with golf clubs for many of my THP brethren. As long as you are not buying golf clubs at the expense of feeding or clothing you family, have at it. Live and let live.

This seems to be the case for sure, and I got the answers I was looking for when creating the thread.

 

[Colt]

IHWT, I'm positive that there was no poison in your post. But you knew you were opening Pandora's box on this one right? (that was a joke and not a statement) I think that your answer 90% of the time on here is gonna be that shiny clubs are good clubs. And as we know newer clubs are shinier! That's my mindset anyway. I truly wish I could get over it as I'm starting to think it's a bit of a sickness.


Tapping till 12-21-2012

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

I just want to sell all of my clubs and get a complete extensive fitting done, like I've said before the Club pro doesn't use a launch monitor he guesstimated everything.

I know there is a golftec 3 hours from here, I may have to go get fitted by them that way I can buy everything exactly to my specs and don't have to guess anymore or change clubs so often