Pandaman

Thanks everyone. At least when I play today I can say I got my first round in the 60's.

Changing length is relatively easy and inexpensive, but will almost certainly require new grips at the same time. I had a 3 wood extended a few weeks ago and the extra cost was around the price of a ProV1.

I have Cobra King F7 Fairways and Hybrid and love them (I believe Rick Shiels still uses an F7 3wood). You should find them at decent prices now too. I hit them off low tees or occasionally off the deck, and from the fairway or rough. I recently got a 'duplicate' 3 wood to use instead of driver, I set the loft to lowest (13deg) and had an inch added to the shaft to give me more options. I turn 60 in a couple of days and have a relatively slow swing speed (around 85mph Driver, reach 90 on a very good day), and hit both 3 woods further and straighter than my driver on average.

Voted 1, but more realistically it's 0 to 2 (and sometimes more) depending on conditions and if I'm 'on it' that day. Seriously though, I am very nearly 60 and usually hit my 3 wood around or just over 200 as long as i hit it ok, and a bit longer if i nail it. I recently ditched my driver (as i was getting less distance and more trees on average) and replaced it with a second (identical) 3 wood but extended the shaft by 1" and set the loft to 13* (as opposed to 16* on my 'original'). So I now have (what i call) a 3w, 4w, 5w, 4h top end of my bag and it works ok for me. Given that I'm not especially consistent or long, i am usually fairly even off the tee to driver users of similar handicap.

Pushing rather than carrying means I can carry more stuff, like drinks, snacks, and waterproofs. I don't have gamble on whether to take my waterproofs out, or leave an extra layer the car to save a little weight.

I agree, a fitting in itself can't fix fundamental swing faults. But even a basic fitting can help ensure you are using suitable equipment, for you. I view 'fittings' as having two distinct levels... The first, would be the standard 'store/pro' type fitting where you try various models and shafts to see what works best for you, and sort out the length and lie angles etc. And maybe optimise the adjustable bits. The second would be a much more detailed 'tour type', and possibly multi visit, process. Tweaking individual club lofts etc to really dial them in. I doubt the vast majority of us would be consitent enough to gain a significant benefit from this, but it would be a great experience all the same.

If you have an adjustable wood or hybrid you can experiment.

This ^^ is exactly what I was going to say.

The Kirkland 3 piece has a a urethane cover too, which at the price is great value. No doubt QC is not as 'tight' as more premium brands, but that's not unreasonable to expect given the price difference. The nearest 3 piece urethane competitor I know of is the Inesis 900, which (in UK) is just under twice the price, but still great value. Basically, both are well worth a try.

GPS watch for me (Garmin S60). I love the convenience (and time saving) of just glancing at my wrist for basic distances. With the option of zooming in on the map to get more detail when I need it. I had a TomTom previously, which I quite liked, but the map view on my current one is great, especially on unfamiliar courses.

My thought is go see a local club pro. Ask about checking length and lie (especially as you say you are on the shorter side), as that could be one reason you struggle with irons, he/she should be able to adjust that without it costing too much (you may need new grips as part of the process, but that's not especially costly). And get a lesson or two and see how it goes. You can then take it from there. Invest in newer clubs if you want, but I would suggest waiting a little while. I'm a high handicap. I got fitted into King F7s throughout the bag (apart from LW) a few years ago and am very happy with them.

I play other courses maybe 2 or 3 times a year. I do like and enjoy the change and the fresh challenges. But then again I am pretty erratic so get a fair bit of variety at my home course anyway.

3 for me... Cobra everything except for.. Putter -SeeMore LW - Progen I consider myself brand agnostic, but got fit 3 years ago, expected a mixture, but ended up with all Cobras, apart from LW and Putter as I kept my existing ones due to budget. Replaced my Oddysey 2 ball with a SeeMore in a fitting a year later. Most likely changes are wedges and driver, but no immediate plans.

Inesis 900 for me. I'm upgrading from a cheaper different brand that I've used for a couple of years and get on ok with, but feel I may benefit from a better quality ball. I like Srixon Soft Feel, but i get a eurethane cover for about the same price with the Inesis so giving them a go this season.

Could it just be that they are 'new', and therefore 'different' to what you are used to? So, yes, your swing is causing it, but mainly because you are still in the groove of swinging your old clubs, especially on course.

I would also say get fit if possible, even if it is to just get the length and lie angle you need so you can shop for something close and get it 'fine tuned' later. I'm no expert, but I believe length can also be adjusted a bit after purchase, but will likely mean new grips too. Though any adjustments to used clubs can be limited though, so no gurantees that the amount of tweaking you may need is possible.

A lot less. Due to lockdown and courses not able to open.

Yes, different balls can absolutely make a difference. Any sim/monitor that captures ball data will measure what the ball actually does. So balls with different launch charactrristics will naturally give differrent results. Depending on the monitor, appropriate markings and 'dots' etc can help the monitor see what the ball is doing, giving better readings, but shouldn't affect ball performance in themselves. I tested this on SkyTrak a while ago, and different models can and do perform differently for launch angle and spin, and therefore flight too. The biggest difference I noticed being eurethane covers compared to others. Launch was lower and spin was higher for eurethane, at least with the models I tried. I could actually see the launch angle difference visually too, so the monitor certainly seemed to register it properly.

Gamers for me. Though I do have some cheap clubs i use on occasion for swing practice into a net at home.

I've been using a cheap 'store exclusive model' brand name for a while, and they served me fairly well. But I wanted to move to a better quality ball No way I want to spend top price range though. Going to use the Inesis 900 this season. Having tried them briefly before. Same price bracket as Srixon 333 and Soft Feel, with a eurethane cover. I tried the current Kirkland 3 piece too, not bad for the price, they worked out just a litte more than the 'budget' ones I used. Which is the thing often ignored when referencing them, they are a cheap ball, so should really be compared with other low cost options.

Because i don't have space for a permanent setup I just bought a 10'x10'x10' replacement net and used 1" x 2" batten timber as props, but sturdier timber would be better. Not 'cheap', but no more expensive overall than some of the 'better quality' free standing ones. I have attached an image, hopefully it appears here ok. The two rear props hook into brackets on the fence and outbuilding to hold them stable, and I use guy ropes attached to wall hooks for the front posts. Sets up/down in under 10 mins. It doesn't show on the image, but I use carabiner clips to hang an 'impact net' to protect the main net. Hope this helps or give useful ideas.

Speaking from experience... I have an 8' square net and even when hitting as close to it as I can my wedges can get way too close to the top for comfort, close enough for me to lose confidence so I daren't swing fully. And I skied my driver over the top once too (saved by my neighbours tree), scared the living $##t out of me enough to stop me using it for anthing other than a backstop for chipping. IMO, no matter how good you are, the odd 'sprayers' CAN happen. It only takes one close call to cause you to lose confidence so you don't swing normally after that, meaning your practice is not as useful. I would highly recommend that you try to get a cage type setup to contain the wild ones if you can, and get a smaller (cheaper) replaceable impact net/panel to cover the main impact area. I have gone through my 'impact panel' in a year, spinning golf balls are quite abrasive, replacing the cage net frequently is not the most economical plan.

Interesting idea. But I would guess the results would be the same, or so close as to be irrelevent or indecisive. I think the 'accelerating vs decelerating' thing is more to do with quality and consistency of strike.

This is probably very much down to the individual player rather than 'brand'. What is a 'good fit - off the shelf' for you may not be ideal for me. I would say most OEMs 'standard' will be 'ok' for many, but when it comes down to the details of length and lie angle then minor differences can make one a little better 'fit' for some than others (never mind the shaft). Sometimes different heads just 'work' for you when another isn't quite as good.

Mine was Skytrak (luckily ordered it just in time, before stocks ran out), which got delivered on my first day of full lockdown. And upgrading my outdoor net so I could use it safely.