A Little Help

I am new to the site and new again to golf I haven't played in 20+ years and am looking to start again. The main problem I have is that I am really confused, when I use to play none of these equipment choices were available. I have been in several golf shops and everyone seems to have really different opinions and ideas about the clubs,shafts, and club configuration for you bag. What I am looking for is some input into a set of clubs that I can play and wont outgrow too quickly. Like I said earlier I use to play and shoot in the mid 80's I have hit a few balls in the stores recently and it looks like my current swing speed with a 6 iron is about 78 mph. I have tried the Callaways Xr and the Ping G30 I hit booth of them ok @ 150 yards and pretty straight with a 7 iron, I have hit a few hybrids but never played with one. Are these along the line of clubs I should be looking at ??? Other questions graphite or steel ?? 3-4 hybrids and 5-pw or 3-pw just irons. All the new clubs I have tried seem to be alot easier to hit then when I use to play, I have read alot about the equipment but the technology has changed so much at times it just gets confusing ??? Any help or advice would be great !!! Thanks

dragondrake said:

I am new to the site and new again to golf I haven't played in 20+ years and am looking to start again. The main problem I have is that I am really confused, when I use to play none of these equipment choices were available. I have been in several golf shops and everyone seems to have really different opinions and ideas about the clubs,shafts, and club configuration for you bag. What I am looking for is some input into a set of clubs that I can play and wont outgrow too quickly. Like I said earlier I use to play and shoot in the mid 80's I have hit a few balls in the stores recently and it looks like my current swing speed with a 6 iron is about 78 mph. I have tried the Callaways Xr and the Ping G30 I hit booth of them ok @ 150 yards and pretty straight with a 7 iron, I have hit a few hybrids but never played with one. Are these along the line of clubs I should be looking at ??? Other questions graphite or steel ?? 3-4 hybrids and 5-pw or 3-pw just irons. All the new clubs I have tried seem to be alot easier to hit then when I use to play, I have read alot about the equipment but the technology has changed so much at times it just gets confusing ??? Any help or advice would be great !!! Thanks

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Hey Drake, welcome to the sight, you will find a ton of great information and a ton of people willing to help you out... IMO, If you have the coin to swing it (looking at the XR's and G30's i'll assume you might), I would recommend going to a golf shop that will custom fit you for clubs, they will have you try different brands, different grips, different shafts, everything to find the ideal set for you and build them to your custom specifications... everybody here will also have different opinions on what clubs would suit you best, but I think all of us will come to the agreement that getting fit for clubs will be the best way to go.

First off welcome to THP. Glad to have you and even more glad you found the game again.
You are right, a lot has changed.

Starting up, here is what I would recommend.
Find a set of combo irons. Meaning hybrids in the low end (3,4) and irons the rest of the way. Something forgiving in the irons. Cobra Fly-Z combo is last year's set from them and featured this design and it is a bit budget friendly since it was last year's set.
Then find a driver that you like the look of and sounds good at impact to you.

You are just starting your journey so dont break the bank because if you fall back in love with the game, as it comes together from the swing side of things, you will start to tinker a bit more with equipment and find out what you really like.

As for shafts, if your 6 iron is around 78 I would say you would fall closer to regular (generally speaking, as there is more to it than that, but its safe). Graphite vs steel would be a personal preference. I chose graphite because of a bad wrist and its easier on the joints. Others prefer steel because of cost and a certain feedback through vibration they provide.

Hope this helps and tons of THPers have info that can assist.

First welcome to the site and back to the game.

You're going to get a lot of different thoughts here, and almost all of it is going to be solid advice.

First either of the sets you mentioned are just about as good as they get, and are only a year old. So they offer some of the most current shaft options.

The best bet is to find a qualified club fitter in your area who isn't predisposition to selling you a certain brand or model. But beyond that, just go hit as many as you can for yourself until you feel you have found something you can be consistent with and like the results and the look of.

You won't quickly outgrow either of the two sets you mentioned.

Welcome to THP! You've come to the right place if you want knowledge. There is a lot of info here, and I agree. I started golfing not long ago after a few year's hiatus, and things certainly have changed. There is a lot of stuff out there, and truthfully it can certainly be overwhelming. There are a ton of reviews here about different clubs, shafts, grips bags, pretty much anything you could ever want to know. I think the place to start when buying new clubs, is figure out your budget, you can spend anywhere from $50-$10,000+ on clubs. Getting a fitting is important, knowing what kind of clubs you should be looking at will help narrow down the options. From there you can make a much more informed decision about what clubs you want. THP is really good about getting clubs into a variety of skill levels, so you can read through a lot of the threads here and find what people with similar skill levels, swing speeds, say about a lot of clubs, but the answer will be in the numbers, the clubs you hit the best, and feel the most comfortable with will be the best for you. THP is also really pretty good about identifying what segment clubs are marketed for, (i.e. high handicapper, low handicap player)

A couple of big picture things I would keep in mind:

Graphite has changed and vastly improved over where it was many years ago, so don't discount it as a viable option.

Hybrids work great for some people and not others, depends a lot on your swing and how you feel about hitting the club.


Welcome and please join in! Don't hesitate to ask questions, someone will know the answer and will share.

Welcome to THP and welcome back to the game!

When I was in your shoes maybe 4 years ago I found an extremely well kept set of 3 or 4 year old used SGI irons and a new but one season old (read: heavy price reduction) driver. That was enough to get started. I started taking lessons and playing again. I filled in gaps as I found deals. After some time passed I then went back and acquired 'real' clubs. That worked very well for me and I'd do it the same way again if I had the chance.

I wouldn't worry about outgrowing clubs. Things are a lot different than they were 20 years ago. Back then there were pretty distinct classes of clubs - players irons, SGI, etc. Now there's a whole lot more overlap. You may want clubs with different characteristics as you improve your skills and learn more about your swing, but you aren't likely to outgrow anything, maybe ever.

Welcome to the site!

I would go the fitting route for sure! A good fitter will see where you are going and try to get you some longevity out of a set. There is nothing wrong with going with 1-2 year old gear to save the cash and really see what you like - aka tinker.

Most of all - have fun and welcome back to the game!

JB said:

First off welcome to THP. Glad to have you and even more glad you found the game again.
You are right, a lot has changed.

Starting up, here is what I would recommend.
Find a set of combo irons. Meaning hybrids in the low end (3,4) and irons the rest of the way. Something forgiving in the irons. Cobra Fly-Z combo is last year's set from them and featured this design and it is a bit budget friendly since it was last year's set.
Then find a driver that you like the look of and sounds good at impact to you.

You are just starting your journey so dont break the bank because if you fall back in love with the game, as it comes together from the swing side of things, you will start to tinker a bit more with equipment and find out what you really like.

As for shafts, if your 6 iron is around 78 I would say you would fall closer to regular (generally speaking, as there is more to it than that, but its safe). Graphite vs steel would be a personal preference. I chose graphite because of a bad wrist and its easier on the joints. Others prefer steel because of cost and a certain feedback through vibration they provide.

Hope this helps and tons of THPers have info that can assist.

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Well said! Welcome to THP!

dragondrake said:

I am new to the site and new again to golf I haven't played in 20+ years and am looking to start again. The main problem I have is that I am really confused, when I use to play none of these equipment choices were available. I have been in several golf shops and everyone seems to have really different opinions and ideas about the clubs,shafts, and club configuration for you bag. What I am looking for is some input into a set of clubs that I can play and wont outgrow too quickly. Like I said earlier I use to play and shoot in the mid 80's I have hit a few balls in the stores recently and it looks like my current swing speed with a 6 iron is about 78 mph. I have tried the Callaways Xr and the Ping G30 I hit booth of them ok @ 150 yards and pretty straight with a 7 iron, I have hit a few hybrids but never played with one. Are these along the line of clubs I should be looking at ??? Other questions graphite or steel ?? 3-4 hybrids and 5-pw or 3-pw just irons. All the new clubs I have tried seem to be alot easier to hit then when I use to play, I have read alot about the equipment but the technology has changed so much at times it just gets confusing ??? Any help or advice would be great !!! Thanks

Click to expand...

Welcome to THP and golf again. I would suggest going with the most forgiving irons you can handle looks wise and that perform for you, lots of good options out there tant can be had for decent prices. For longer clubs 3,4 and maybe 5 I would suggest a hybrid.

The two sets you tried are very solid offerings, some others to consider would be Cleveland Altitudes, Cleveland 588 MT, cobra Amp cell, Wislon C100, c200 or D200.

1st welcome to THP.

Another option is sites like callaway preowned. Some good savings to be had


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Welcome! Lots of great advice already and you could check the callaway xhot combo sets. They are a good set imo and can be had really cheap right now.

Welcome to THP, there's plenty of great golf info here and a bunch of first rate people. I'd agree with the advice given thus far, start with some gently used clubs as you familiarize yourself with the new technology and equipment. Have fun as you uncover your preferences and enjoy the journey. Good luck!