Breaking in new clubs

[hartrick11]

I just upgraded from Vokey SM5 wedges (54 M,60 M) to Ping Glide 2.0 Stealth (54 SS, 58 ES) last month. Have played 3 rounds + 2 range sessions so far and the ES grind is a dream out of bunkers, but my dispersion on full shots has been all over the map with both clubs. I don't change equipment too often but I have historically not had significant adjustment periods. I'm probably just playing poorly for a stretch and it should even out. My plan is to give it another month (3-4 rounds & 2-4 range sessions) but it got me curious about how long most people work with new equipment before they go back to their old sticks or buy something else. 

[GB13]

I give it 10 rounds and however many practice sessions are in between them. It I can't figure it out after 10 rounds it is time to move on. I would expect for you that it is either a bad stretch or just an adjustment period.

 

Are they the same specs as your old wedges?

[PING Apologist #9]

I give it 10 rounds and however many practice sessions are in between them. It I can't figure it out after 10 rounds it is time to move on. I would expect for you that it is either a bad stretch or just an adjustment period.

 

Are they the same specs as your old wedges?

I'm echoing GB13 here on all accounts and he beat me to the same question. My first instinct was to ask if those were similar specs for you-especially where lie comes in.

[hartrick11]

I'm echoing GB13 here on all accounts and he beat me to the same question. My first instinct was to ask if those were similar specs for you-especially where lie comes in.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys - I got the stock clubs for both but neglected to analyze the specs closely (I play Ping irons going back 8+ years so just assumed they would fit my game and let's be honest they just looked awesome and I couldn't say no). 

 

The length is the same, lie is a touch more upright for the Glides by 0.4* on the 54* and 0.6* on the 58* (I think - Titleist spec sheet rounds to 64* even whereas Ping shows 64.4* and 64.6*). The big difference is with swing weights as the Vokeys are both D5 while the Glides are D3 and D4. I got another range session in this afternoon and think I'm getting comfortable slowly, but may mess around with some lead tape to see if it makes a difference.

[NiftyNiblick]

In my experience, golf clubs differ from baseball gloves in that  they arrive ready to play.

The linkster him/herself needs the fine tuning.

[Will_Mac]

I don't switch clubs unless there's pretty much an immediate improvement.

 

Maybe, to be sure, 3-4 rounds of comparative play with my present club(s). If I have to develop confidence in a club, I immediately lose interest and move on.

[GB13]

I don't switch clubs unless there's pretty much an immediate improvement.

 

Maybe, to be sure, 3-4 rounds of comparative play with my present club(s). If I have to develop confidence in a club, I immediately lose interest and move on.

I don't know about this. There is always a learning curve for me. If I had gone by this philosophy, I would have gotten rid of my current putter. After about 12 rounds and many practice sessions, I learned the speed and line, and it is now vastly outperforming my old putter.

 

I have never had a club that I have instantly had confidence in. I need to develop based on prior results. Meaning I need to see good results to have confidence in a club. If I don't see good results I don't have confidence in the club and then it gets removed.

 

This probably varies person by person though. I need a lot of time with new clubs to evaluate and compare. You may only need a round or two and instantly have an desicion made.

[Will_Mac]

I don't know about this. There is always a learning curve for me. If I had gone by this philosophy, I would have gotten rid of my current putter. After about 12 rounds and many practice sessions, I learned the speed and line, and it is now vastly outperforming my old putter.

 

I have never had a club that I have instantly had confidence in. I need to develop based on prior results. Meaning I need to see good results to have confidence in a club. If I don't see good results I don't have confidence in the club and then it gets removed.

 

This probably varies person by person though. I need a lot of time with new clubs to evaluate and compare. You may only need a round or two and instantly have an desicion made.

Absolutely, everyone is different. Maybe if I were willing to take the time with clubs to see if I could better acclimate myself to them, it would work out to my benefit. I sure can't discount that possibility.

 

I only know that for me, I'm entirely unwilling to risk present performance for the hope of future success.

[EthanSterlingPrice]

I'm stubborn so I'll give it a while but I've never really kept track of how long to be completely honest. I am one of those guys that can have long adjustment periods if I'm not 100% sold from swing one or if there's a difference in weighting. There's only been two times I've quit on gear that comes to mind. I had been given a pair of shoes and just couldn't get used to the fit. Then I switched back to a previous driver after I finally admitted the newer one just didn't work for me.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[hartrick11]

I don't know about this. There is always a learning curve for me. If I had gone by this philosophy, I would have gotten rid of my current putter. After about 12 rounds and many practice sessions, I learned the speed and line, and it is now vastly outperforming my old putter.

 

I have never had a club that I have instantly had confidence in. I need to develop based on prior results. Meaning I need to see good results to have confidence in a club. If I don't see good results I don't have confidence in the club and then it gets removed.

 

This probably varies person by person though. I need a lot of time with new clubs to evaluate and compare. You may only need a round or two and instantly have an desicion made.

 

Update - loving the glide wedges, and in this case it was shockingly not the arrows' fault. I think with irons, woods or putters in the past I have only become intrigued after seeing an immediate positive reaction when first hitting a new club (similar to Will_Mac), but in this case it was just love at first sight combined with a pretty worn out sand wedge.

[PING Apologist #9]

Update - loving the glide wedges, and in this case it was shockingly not the arrows' fault. I think with irons, woods or putters in the past I have only become intrigued after seeing an immediate positive reaction when first hitting a new club (similar to Will_Mac), but in this case it was just love at first sight combined with a pretty worn out sand wedge.

Happy for you! Enjoy them, I sure have enjoyed mine!

[perseveringgolfer]

I'm a believer that a new club or set should work instantly for you, especially if you have been fitted.

 

You might not put a good swing on every shot (thats why we are amateurs) but if you need weeks or months to 'bed' in a set it probably means you are changing your swing to suit the clubs!

[GB13]

I'm a believer that a new club or set should work instantly for you, especially if you have been fitted.

 

You might not put a good swing on every shot (thats why we are amateurs) but if you need weeks or months to 'bed' in a set it probably means you are changing your swing to suit the clubs!

For me it is more about confidence. I don't need 10 rounds to hit good shots with a club, I need ten rounds to see good shots, to build confidence. They may work right away but I don't have confidence in them right away.

 

I am not sure if I am explaining myself well...

[MaxEntropy]

I'm a believer that a new club or set should work instantly for you, especially if you have been fitted.

 

You might not put a good swing on every shot (thats why we are amateurs) but if you need weeks or months to 'bed' in a set it probably means you are changing your swing to suit the clubs!

 

I've never had a formal fitting for anything, but I would assume you are correct - if it's properly fit, you should be good from the get go. As it is, I usually have a bit of an adjustment period to get used to things, except for the 3W I bought off the used rack. It worked beautifully from the start.

[jaskanski]

I rarely buy anything without first checking to see that it fits my game, so I don't really encounter this problem. 

[txgolfjunkie]

You could get fit and still have an adjustment period. You've been playing your old gamers for a year or so and then spend an hour getting fit...chances are you'll still have memories of how your old wedges performed. Who knows, the swing weight might be different than what you're used to. You might have a different flex/shaft in your wedges that might flight the ball higher or lower than what you've played the last few years. I think there's a learning curve by switching wedge brands. I've bounced around going from Scor to Vokey SM5 to Cleveland RTX3 to Callaway and each wedge took a month or so of practice and playing to get the yardages and ball characteristics down with each one. All this means is that you need to spend more time out on the course! 

[Mr. 82]

Whenever I buy something new to replace something else, there is always an adjustment of my swing to the club, and each club is different in how long it takes for me to get a feel for something new.  But normally within 2 or 3 rounds I am in a groove with a new club or clubs.  Now my PING G400 driver was instant love, as from the first tee shot up until now I have been super excited to know it's in my bag.  Best driver ever.

 

It is kinda wierd though, as the longer the club, the quicker amount of time it takes for me to feel good about it.  It's the short clubs that take the longest to get a feel for.  And I gave up trying to blame the putter for my putting, because they all cause me consternation, so I've had the same putter in my bag for going on 15 years now.  No amount of technology can fix what's between my ears.