Used Equipment Strategy = Better Lottery Ticket ?

[CCRyder 141]

I have been listening to a backlog of podcasts recently and just finished the "Used Clubs" Podcast on No Putts Given. I also recently upgraded my driver and irons and did so with used clubs. I deployed what for me seemed like a logical strategy.  I still understand it is all a bit of a lottery ticket (especiialy the irons due to quanity of shafts) but for me this made sense and fit my budget. I ultimately bought newer irons ( ie technology) than I thought I could because of money saved from doing a $200-300 fitting into $600-1500 clubs.(which was out of the question) I am curious what strategies others use to make informed used purchases ? 

 

1. Have a basic understanding of swing speeds/tempo and play a few differnt shaft flexes from differnt brand clubs I already owned or borrowed. ( also be honest with oneself about club head type...those Hogans are pretty though)

2. 3 years or less on the Irons and Driver upgrades. Fairway woods up to 8 yrs. ( I don't have hybrids yet.)

3. I needed to get a good enough deal on the driver that a shaft change wouldn't break the bank.

4. Adjustablity ! ! ! I needed a driver that I could adjust as much as possible since I was purchasing  first without a full fitting. 

Final Assumptions: I planned from the beginning to get fit into my driver at my nearby Dicks (which happens to have a rather good golf dept. in our area) and I planned to let a fitting determine the upper end of my bag ie hybrids, utility, fairway woods.  Their prices are reasonable and are free if you buy a similar amount of merch (any merch). My plan is to wait when I am stocking up on balls or apparal and do the fittings at those times. Keeping my current Fairway Woods for another 2-3 yrs and I will need to see compelling tech and shaft combos to make the shift. 

Boop bop be bop boop and out came: 

$85 - Wilson Staff Triton Driver w/ Weight and Sole Kit, stock shaft - truly like new condition from Ebay. 

$350 - Cobra Fmax One Lenght 5i-GW - gently used, steel shafts, appeared to be only mat use, from Ebay.

 

Future Needs / Hopeful Budget: 

1-2 Hybrids/Utility Clubs - $85-120 each 

1 - One Length SW - $60-85

 

*** In an effort to be above board and provide all the info I used and am using I did a $30 per 90 min session on a trackman at a nearby GC. Of course I did this after buying my clubs (totally illogicial but I lucked out and swing speeds, dispersion etc. genreally affirmed my shaft  choices and head types) 

Edited January 9, 2021 by CCRyder

[hckymeyer 6,626]

I truly believe in fittings, over the years I have been fit enough times that I have a pretty good understanding of what will and won't work for my swing.  It's hard to stomach the couple hundred dollar cost of a fitting but if you look at the benefit in the long run it can easily save you money.  I'm lucky enough that I live in an area with a few high quality fitters near me so I have options there, but I try to go when they have a deal like 50% off a full bag fitting or something like that.  

If you've been fit a few times and see trends or even the same results it makes it much easier to buy used equipment with a high degree of confidence that will work for you.  For me a fitter does a much better job of finding proper length, lie, swing weight etc that you can then apply to your club purchases.  Just realize that when buying used you may have to take the clubs in to get adjusted to get them just right.  It also helps if you can do your own club work to save some money.

Glad your used club journey is working out well for you, just don't rule out a fitting down the road.  You are paying for the information and specs of a fitting, nothing says you have buy brand new clubs from them.

[fozcycle 15,092]

The Wilson Staff Triton is the most adjustable Driver made. You have two sole plates, multiple weights for three locations and an adjustable shaft. No other driver can say that.


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[fixyurdivot 16,617]

Absolutely nothing wrong with used equipment and, in many ways, makes good sense - particularly if your inclined to switch up the bag often. Last generation clubs can be had new or near new for significant discounts.  My recommendation, if you have not done so, is to get fitted and establish some specs.  That way you can really zero in on finding used gear that meets what you need... at least be much closer to center target.  Not sure where this outfit is, but those look like 1970 prices.  A Truespec full bag fitting is north of $350.00.  Presuming they have Skytrack or GCQuad LM systems and good reviews, I'd jump all over that.

[jaskanski 1,321]

7 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

Absolutely nothing wrong with used equipment and, in many ways, makes good sense - particularly if your inclined to switch up the bag often. Last generation clubs can be had new or near new for significant discounts.  My recommendation, if you have not done so, is to get fitted and establish some specs.  That way you can really zero in on finding used gear that meets what you need... at least be much closer to center target.  Not sure where this outfit is, but those look like 1970 prices.  A Truespec full bag fitting is north of $350.00.  Presuming they have Skytrack or GCQuad LM systems and good reviews, I'd jump all over that.

I saw these prices and thought "are they from the 1970's" lol. 

No idea how they make any money out of club repair and adjustment services either - but the old adage "you get what you pay for" is probably ringing alarm bells if you think you're getting a quality fitting at those prices. Maybe they have Elves to help or something?

[CCRyder 141]

Absolutely nothing wrong with used equipment and, in many ways, makes good sense - particularly if your inclined to switch up the bag often. Last generation clubs can be had new or near new for significant discounts.  My recommendation, if you have not done so, is to get fitted and establish some specs.  That way you can really zero in on finding used gear that meets what you need... at least be much closer to center target.  Not sure where this outfit is, but those look like 1970 prices.  A Truespec full bag fitting is north of $350.00.  Presuming they have Skytrack or GCQuad LM systems and good reviews, I'd jump all over that.

Right on, yeah I plan to get fit into the Triton in the few weeks, this spring I will also have the irons loft and lie checked for quality control.

One of the biggest lessons I learned based on what I was sharing above was to maximize my initial strategy I should not have started to look at clubs until I went and got the specs.

I cannot stress that enough I was mistaken to start looking at them on eBay because then I just got sucked in to buying a set before I'd implemented my full strategy of establishing some baseline statistics.

The pricedis above or the posted prices at my local Dick's sporting goods which I would normally be suspect of using but my local Dick's in Frederick Maryland has a pretty strong reputation and a pretty full-fledged golf section with club repairs and lessons and simulators.

I'm not under the impression that my local Dick's sporting goods is going to be as thorough as a boutique or independent brick and mortar fitter but I believe they can get me fit into that Triton driver.

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[CCRyder 141]

I appreciate your feedback and overall agree with you that the fittings and fitting processes is the ideal situation.

I truly believe in fittings, over the years I have been fit enough times that I have a pretty good understanding of what will and won't work for my swing.  It's hard to stomach the couple hundred dollar cost of a fitting but if you look at the benefit in the long run it can easily save you money.  I'm lucky enough that I live in an area with a few high quality fitters near me so I have options there, but I try to go when they have a deal like 50% off a full bag fitting or something like that.  
If you've been fit a few times and see trends or even the same results it makes it much easier to buy used equipment with a high degree of confidence that will work for you.  For me a fitter does a much better job of finding proper length, lie, swing weight etc that you can then apply to your club purchases.  Just realize that when buying used you may have to take the clubs in to get adjusted to get them just right.  It also helps if you can do your own club work to save some money.
Glad your used club journey is working out well for you, just don't rule out a fitting down the road.  You are paying for the information and specs of a fitting, nothing says you have buy brand new clubs from them.

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[BMart519 1,382]

- Use online tools like PING's webfit, a lot of fitters (especially at big box stores) pick iron length and lie off static charts which you can easily find in these online tools. 

- Go in and demo clubs in the winter when stores aren't busy (obviously a challenge with COVID). One night a store rep (who wanted to make a sale) basically did an iron fitting at no cost for me - I hit the PING G400 and G700 to see the differences (had previously demo'd Srixon, TM, Cobra, Titleist). He gave me different lie angles to try and 1 or 2 shafts. I had pretty much narrowed it down to the G400 or Mizuno Hot Metals after previous demos.

(I paid for an iron fitting in 2020 and ended up fit into the G410 as opposed to buying used, which I almost regret because the fitter was average at best and we never discussed swing weights (my fault). If you look like "a golfer" its not hard at most big box stores to ask them to throw a demo club iron together from the fitting cart, especially if the demo set on the wall doesn't have the shaft you want. )

- Time permitting, buy the demo clubs at the end of season, next season or 2 years down the road after you were fit to them to some degree. 

- I signed up for a Titleist Thursday and compared TS2 and TS3, Callaway demo day and got fit into an EPIC Flash, then tried the PING G400 & TM M5 (MGS True Spec online driver fit), and Cobra F9 in store. After I whittled down those results, I hit the 2 top performers: G400 (tried 2 different shafts) and F9 after an 18 hole round where I hit driver well. The F9 won, so I grabbed my gamer from the trunk (Callaway XR) to make sure the monitor wasn't "juiced". The Cobra was  20 yards longer with tighter dispersion due to lower loft, heavier and shorter shaft. I then got lucky when the F9 was 40-50% off for a 2019 end of season sale in Canada. So I paid $300 for a new driver that I was able to compare to 6 other heads, some with multiple shafts (the sales rep even let me swap shafts when I bought it). 

You get what you pay for... These driver demos took place over 2-3 months with an eventual purchase 4-5 months later. That was the better part of 4-5 hours hitting balls on different monitors and travelling to courses and stores (5+ locations). I could have paid $100-150 and hit all those drivers in one day to same time and gas, but if I was swinging poorly that day, it might not have been the best fit. 

DISCLAIMER: my irons are +0.5" long (1 degree upright) but standard length/lie is no problem for me to play. Driver swing speed is 95-100mph with smooth transition so most mid-mid, 60g, stiff shafts work well for no cost options. If you swing 120mph, need X flex, and are interested in upcharge options, I couldn't have pulled this stuff off dropping into demo days and stores. 

[Herts JoaTMoN 85]

The key thing for me is patience. Not jumping on the first set or club you see once you decide what you want, but setting up watch lists. setting yourself a price point your happy to pay and also a condition you are happy to accept. If you do this then chances are if you don't get on with them you will at least be able to get your money back by moving them on again.

I've played enough that I know generally what will fit me in terms of length lie and shaft weights and im happy to pull shafts to replace, add swing weight etc to get a club to my specs and feel preferences.

[CCRyder 141]

Update ... Finally got in to my local Dick's sporting goods for a driver fitting. It went really well even though I already had purchased the driver it being a very adjustable driver made for some interesting work for the fitter.

He took his time was informative it was really was really focused on swing weights and as you'll see in this picture we made some progress.

I really appreciated that he didn't even try to upsell me on a shaft when he realized I had a shaft in another driver at home that could be pulled and make an improvement in this driver.

Next up will be to work on the top end of my bag and figure out how to make the gap between my five iron and my fairway woods.

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[scooterhd2 738]

7 hours ago, CCRyder said:

Update ... Finally got in to my local Dick's sporting goods for a driver fitting. It went really well even though I already had purchased the driver it being a very adjustable driver made for some interesting work for the fitter.

He took his time was informative it was really was really focused on swing weights and as you'll see in this picture we made some progress.

I really appreciated that he didn't even try to upsell me on a shaft when he realized I had a shaft in another driver at home that could be pulled and make an improvement in this driver.

Next up will be to work on the top end of my bag and figure out how to make the gap between my five iron and my fairway woods.

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Setting up with the driver on the ground and aligning the ball slightly toe side has done wonders for me. Looks like it could help you as well if you are already setting up in the middle or heel side. 

[CCRyder 141]

I will give that a try ! It was a cold day out on course today @ 30 degrees with a 15-20 mph wind but I felt more confident when I pulled driver and the results were straighter. Mostly used fairway woods though today.

 
Setting up with the driver on the ground and aligning the ball slightly toe side has done wonders for me. Looks like it could help you as well if you are already setting up in the middle or heel side. 

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[CCRyder 141]

I also learned at the DSG that essentially some DSG's are equipped same as a Golf Galaxy right up to not stocking Mizuno's. Fortunately the Frederick, MD DSG is one of those full feature Golf Galaxy type. Hat tip to Nick who was doing my fitting.

It would be nice if they had Wilson shaft adapters though. Wilson needs to step up and get in the big box. They only carry 2 Wilson balls and that is the extent of wilson staff in DSG.

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[CCRyder 141]

Update...I had a great driver fitting as noted above but I can tell as we were going to start working on the upper end of my bag the fitter was pretty hell-bent on putting me in hybrids which I very well may end up in regardless.

Fortunately / unfortunately their foresight machine wasn't reading irons that day so we didn't do that part of the fitting.

At this point I'm thinking of going to 2nd swing in Columbia to do a fitting for the upper end of my bag.

I really want an opportunity to at least try a driving iron / utility iron versus hybrids in compare those to my current five iron.

I'm trying to practice what I've preached or have been learning which is to not shop right now while I'm waiting to get fit for those clubs but man is it hard I've almost pulled the trigger on several utility irons.

My thinking in going to 2nd swing is they can technically fit me into used equipment which is more in line with my budget. I've heard relatively decent things about their fitting process.

2nd Swing also carries more brands. I was surprised when I got to Dick's sporting goods that they could not do shaft adapters with my Wilson staff equipment. They also didn't carry any tour edge equipment. So essentially two of the major value-friendly manufacturers weren't even available.

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[CCRyder 141]

Just wanted to give a little update. again this is a bit of a hybrid approach as far as being fitted, buy new versus used. at the end of the day I wanted to add additional OL wedges to my set. my set came with a gap wedge. Cobra really obviously likes their wedges at roughly 115 to $145 on the secondary market or new market and that's just not what I like to spend on a single wedge.

So I did my research looked at loft lie weight of shafts weight of heads and determined that the pinhawk SL irons were really similar to the Cobra irons that I have.

So I picked up a sand wedge and a lob wedge off of Monark Golf total of $77 for both clubs and I'm pretty pleased with how this is turning out looking forward to the snow melting and getting out on the course but overall the appearances of things and the weight and feel compared to my Cobra clubs is pretty spot-on.



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[CCRyder 141]

Here are some pics.

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[CCRyder 141]

Also in keeping with the lottery ticket aspect here I couldn't resist pulling the trigger on a $30 single length hybrid from diamond tour just to give it a try I'm currently hitting my five iron as a 175 180 club every once a while I'll even pop it out the 200 with roll.
But I know in reality I should have something for that gap to my 5 wood. this is a true just it's so cheap I can try it out use it on the launch monitor see how it works and if I want to pull the shaft and change out the shaft it was so affordable it's not a big deal.

I'm really impressed with the quality these are technically cheaper than the pinhawks but build quality seems really good overall the club is a bit heavy but that's probably cuz I don't know technically what I'm doing with regards to shaft selection but I'm going to put it in play and see how it goes and then take it from there.

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[CCRyder 141]

I would be remiss not to note that the Cobra f Max irons do feel like a higher quality club compared to the pinhawks.

Which is to say good on Cobra for making an entry level super game improvement iron that still has some class and good finish.

I'll probably do a what's in the bag later this spring but at this point my bag is done for the time being.

If things settle down with the pandemic I still hope to go to second swing golf and do a fitting on the upper end of my bag just to confirm that I'm in the right combination of things.

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