Photon Guy

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I am looking to get a set of golf clubs by Pro Flite. Somebody said in another folder that they are of low quality but I am not a professional golfer and in fact I don't have any experience with golf whatsoever other than miniature golf and hitting balls at a golf driving range. Dick's Sporting Goods sells the set for $150 and that's a sale price so Im wondering if it would be a good investment. As I said I am not seriously into golf I am just starting out. Also, with Dick's Sporting Goods in general, they seem to have quite a big golf department. Anybody have experience with them? Is Dick's a good place to go for golf equipment?
 
You're probably talking about me saying they were low quality.

As a beginner, you'd probably think they were great. And that's not a problem. The problem comes a year down the road when you've started to get good and trying to shape shots and understand the feel of the clubs. At that point you'll want to upgrade. So, is it better to spend $150 now and then spend double that upgrading, or spend the $300 now to build a set with Adams Blue clubs that'll last you 3 years?

If you're familiar with motorcycles, it's like the 250 vs 650 bike for a newbie. The 250 works and runs and the new guy is going to have fun with it, for all of one season, then it's time to upgrade.

Me, I'd rather spend the money now
 
If you're familiar with motorcycles, it's like the 250 vs 650 bike for a newbie. The 250 works and runs and the new guy is going to have fun with it, for all of one season, then it's time to upgrade.

Me, I'd rather spend the money now

I agree with the club concept. The bike concept is only good if you're a responsible rider. If you swing a high dollar club too hard you may mishit the ball. If you twist your wrist too hard on a 1/2 liter bike, you're laying on your back trying to figure out what happened. :)
 
I'm assuming you mean Top Flite.

If you have a Golf Galaxy or PGA Superstore near you, or any golf specific chain, you may want to go there first. As mentioned, a set of used clubs may get you a lot further and will last you longer.

My first set was a boxed set like the one you're describing. The driver shaft was a noodle and the irons felt very harsh at impact. Plus the grips constantly left black gunk on my hands. A set of used Callaway X20 irons I bought for $80 felt and performed 100x better.


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I am looking to get a set of golf clubs by Pro Flite. Somebody said in another folder that they are of low quality but I am not a professional golfer and in fact I don't have any experience with golf whatsoever other than miniature golf and hitting balls at a golf driving range. Dick's Sporting Goods sells the set for $150 and that's a sale price so Im wondering if it would be a good investment. As I said I am not seriously into golf I am just starting out. Also, with Dick's Sporting Goods in general, they seem to have quite a big golf department. Anybody have experience with them? Is Dick's a good place to go for golf equipment?

If $150 is not a huge investment for you I would pull the trigger. When I started, I borrowed a set from a friend to see if I enjoyed it, once I got hooked I started to invest in a more quality set.
 
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agree with other comments on this thread; buy a used, slightly better club. It will keep the investment low and leave you with a quality product to grow with. As a beginner, you're going to skying drives off the crown, hitting fat shots and punching out from shady lies in the rough. Your clubs will take a beating while you are learning. No need to pay for showroom new finish you are going to rough up pretty quickly....
 
You're probably talking about me saying they were low quality.

As a beginner, you'd probably think they were great. And that's not a problem. The problem comes a year down the road when you've started to get good and trying to shape shots and understand the feel of the clubs. At that point you'll want to upgrade. So, is it better to spend $150 now and then spend double that upgrading, or spend the $300 now to build a set with Adams Blue clubs that'll last you 3 years?

If you're familiar with motorcycles, it's like the 250 vs 650 bike for a newbie. The 250 works and runs and the new guy is going to have fun with it, for all of one season, then it's time to upgrade.

Me, I'd rather spend the money now

Im not sure if I will still be doing golf a year from now. As I said it is something new to me and while I find it fascinating Im not sure just how much I will like it when I get into it. If I do end up really liking golf than I might break the bank and spend a few grand on a set of high quality clubs but that will be sometime down the road, it will take me awhile to find out how much I really enjoy golf and also it will take time to save up on such a set. I will have to really enjoy golf before I make such an investment. If I end up not really getting into golf, if its something I just do every once in awhile than a $150 club set would probably be fine as I would not use it all that much and most of the time it would sit in the closet.

As for bikes, I do have some experience with that. From what I know you have to be ready for a bike with more power, you have to be able to handle it otherwise you could get yourself killed. That's what i was told in my motorcycle class, but that is another topic.
 
I'm assuming you mean Top Flite.

If you have a Golf Galaxy or PGA Superstore near you, or any golf specific chain, you may want to go there first. As mentioned, a set of used clubs may get you a lot further and will last you longer.

My first set was a boxed set like the one you're describing. The driver shaft was a noodle and the irons felt very harsh at impact. Plus the grips constantly left black gunk on my hands. A set of used Callaway X20 irons I bought for $80 felt and performed 100x better.


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Yes that's right its Top Flite. Thank you for the correction I don't know why I was saying Pro Flite. The closest store to me that has a good selection of golf equipment is Dick's and the $150 for the club set is a special that I believe they are running for the spring and summer. I have thought about buying some used clubs as its been suggested here and I mentioned that to the fellow at Dick's. He said I could do that although if its a used set it would probably be missing some clubs.
 
Im not sure if I will still be doing golf a year from now. As I said it is something new to me and while I find it fascinating Im not sure just how much I will like it when I get into it. If I do end up really liking golf than I might break the bank and spend a few grand on a set of high quality clubs but that will be sometime down the road, it will take me awhile to find out how much I really enjoy golf and also it will take time to save up on such a set. I will have to really enjoy golf before I make such an investment. If I end up not really getting into golf, if its something I just do every once in awhile than a $150 club set would probably be fine as I would not use it all that much and most of the time it would sit in the closet.

As for bikes, I do have some experience with that. From what I know you have to be ready for a bike with more power, you have to be able to handle it otherwise you could get yourself killed. That's what i was told in my motorcycle class, but that is another topic.

Yeah, motorcycle analogy wasn't perfect.

If you don't know/think you'll be still playing in a year, I guess you could get away with the $150 set. Though, I would think that, if you did decide to leave golf, it would be because you got frustrated. There's a whole lot less frustration in a $250 used set vs the $150 new set because the used set will feel better and be more forgiving.
 
Welcome to THP and the game of golf. Hope you enjoy whatever clubs you get.
 
For the same 150, you should be able to get something used on Craigslist. Even a higher quality set and may even include a bag and pull cart.
 
Yes that's right its Top Flite. Thank you for the correction I don't know why I was saying Pro Flite. The closest store to me that has a good selection of golf equipment is Dick's and the $150 for the club set is a special that I believe they are running for the spring and summer. I have thought about buying some used clubs as its been suggested here and I mentioned that to the fellow at Dick's. He said I could do that although if its a used set it would probably be missing some clubs.

Well, you asked for our advice and opinions and we gave it. It's up to you to decide what you want to do. If that's listen to a Dicks sales rep and spend $150 on a box set, then that's fine.

If you end up not liking the game, then you're out $150 since those sets are unresellable. If you spend $300 on quality used clubs, I'm willing to bet you can recoup it if/when you decide to sell. Or if you stick with it, you can easily trade those in towards a better set. No one will take Top Flite in trade.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.


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Not trying to hijack or tell you what to do, but a simple look on Craigslist in my area netted this posting. I'm with the field that if being patient and looking for the correct set will reap you better rewards than the box set.

https://tucson.craigslist.org/spo/6167043570.html


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While I am also on the side of buying higher quality used clubs rather than the Top Flites due to the same reasons others have mentioned, the bigger question is what kind of budget are you playing with?
 
While I am also on the side of buying higher quality used clubs rather than the Top Flites due to the same reasons others have mentioned, the bigger question is what kind of budget are you playing with?
This. If $150 is all you got, then that's that!

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Nothing wrong with gaming a $150 all in one bag when you are picking up the game. I started off using a brand nobody has ever heard of and then slowly started changing out each club over the early years.
 
I'd recommend getting a nice, quality used set on eBay or elsewhere. The $900 set of irons 4 years ago can be had for < $150; the same goes for drivers, wedges and putters.
 
I purchased a full set of Taylormade clubs including RAC irons an R5 driver a burner driver, r5 3 wood, two rescue mid hybrids and a no name putter For around $200 a few years ago.
 
I bought a "cheap" set from a box store starting out as a new player. I took lessons with these clubs as well. Then my course had an event and I was able to hit some name brand clubs. It was night and day difference between the two. Within 6 months I had purchase a set of Callaway Big Berthas from CPO. I wish I had started with that set first instead of wasting money on a cheaper set.

You have to ask yourself if you are going to play regularly or once a year. Then go from there.
 
As a beginner, you'd probably think they were great. And that's not a problem. The problem comes a year down the road when you've started to get good and trying to shape shots and understand the feel of the clubs. At that point you'll want to upgrade.

Most beginners aren't shaping shots or understanding the feel of the clubs after a year or so. Most amateurs are just happy to hit it straight at consistent distances. One can find some really good clubs cheap on eBay to try the game if they're not ready to invest in it.
 
That Top Flight set is crap! You will have better shots with a quality used set and it will be about the same cost your looking to spend. Even 3-4 year old used clubs are much better than the Top Flights. As Fingerz said, the performance of the used will out way the newness of the Top Flights. I got my girlfriend a set of the Top Flights. She could hit the driver about 120 yards. She never goes to the range and I can't for the life of me get her to practice. She plays about 1 time a month with me. She used the Top flights about 12 rounds and no range. So it's not like she used them a lot and grooved a swing or anything then moved on to a better set. I bought her a set of Cobra's this year. She tee'd off on the first hole, never swinging the Cobra's before, and hit one 185 yards. She was shocked! I started laughing. Hit another I said. Boom... Pretty much the same distance. True story! So, the quality of the set with help with distance and accuracy for a beginner. You need all the help you can get. I say find a nice used set in your price range and avoid those Top Flights like the plague.
 
No perfect answer. Top Flite will work okay and the grips will be good / new. Used clubs would likely be better BUT grips may be hard &/or slick.
 
i played my first two seasons with hand me down clubs. Free was the right price for me!

It comes down to time and money. If you want to do some digging, you can find a set of used clubs that are way ahead of the top flight set for around the same money. But that will cost you time and energy.

If you dont want to spend the time and energy to research used clubs, then get the $150 starter set and have at it. The cost of that will be not being able to re-sell if/when you decide to move on (either from the game entirely or on to a better set of clubs)
 
That Top Flight set is crap! You will have better shots with a quality used set and it will be about the same cost your looking to spend. Even 3-4 year old used clubs are much better than the Top Flights. As Fingerz said, the performance of the used will out way the newness of the Top Flights. I got my girlfriend a set of the Top Flights. She could hit the driver about 120 yards. She never goes to the range and I can't for the life of me get her to practice. She plays about 1 time a month with me. She used the Top flights about 12 rounds and no range. So it's not like she used them a lot and grooved a swing or anything then moved on to a better set. I bought her a set of Cobra's this year. She tee'd off on the first hole, never swinging the Cobra's before, and hit one 185 yards. She was shocked! I started laughing. Hit another I said. Boom... Pretty much the same distance. True story! So, the quality of the set with help with distance and accuracy for a beginner. You need all the help you can get. I say find a nice used set in your price range and avoid those Top Flights like the plague.

Alright thank you for the feedback. I've been thinking of getting used clubs from the very beginning but when I saw the set of new Top Flight clubs at Dick's Sporting Goods it looked like a really good deal. Of course, I want to do research and find out more information before I jump in and buy something that looks good on the surface. I did ask the salesman at Dick's about getting used clubs and he tried to steer me away from that. As it is though, he is just doing his job of trying to get me to buy from Dick's since Dick's is out to make money. Even before your post I was starting to feel skeptical about Top Flight. Now, I don't think I will be buying Top Flite clubs. As I am brand new to golf I have no knowledge of what the good brands and the bad brands are although I will say that Dick's looks like they have a sizable golf department and they do sell what appears to be some of the high end stuff. I will be taking a golf lesson on Monday and I will ask my instructor some of the stuff I've been asking here.
 
Alright thank you for the feedback. I've been thinking of getting used clubs from the very beginning but when I saw the set of new Top Flight clubs at Dick's Sporting Goods it looked like a really good deal. Of course, I want to do research and find out more information before I jump in and buy something that looks good on the surface. I did ask the salesman at Dick's about getting used clubs and he tried to steer me away from that. As it is though, he is just doing his job of trying to get me to buy from Dick's since Dick's is out to make money. Even before your post I was starting to feel skeptical about Top Flight. Now, I don't think I will be buying Top Flite clubs. As I am brand new to golf I have no knowledge of what the good brands and the bad brands are although I will say that Dick's looks like they have a sizable golf department and they do sell what appears to be some of the high end stuff. I will be taking a golf lesson on Monday and I will ask my instructor some of the stuff I've been asking here.
Being brand new to golf I'd be willing to bet the top flites would be perfectly fine. However, like everyone has mentioned, you will outgrow them. If you're already taking lessons then you're already outgrowing them before you bought them.

I recently went through this getting into cycling. A cheap Walmart bike would work, but be less enjoyable than a well tuned bike. You never know if cheap equipment could be the factor of making you give up on something you might have enjoyed otherwise.



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