Seeking advice and input on my golf clubs. (New player)

[New-Golfer]

I've casually played golf a few times a year for a decade. I'm 30 years old. I have no idea what my handicap is...probably 20 or higher, but I'm reasonable athletic with good hand eye coordination, and am confident I can improve considerably with more time devoted to playing. 

I'm now at a point where I fortunately have the time, money, and interest in playing more regularly. I'm hoping to play about once per week once courses open this spring. I've always used a set of my dad's old/out dated/cheap clubs, but have just recently bought some of my own. 

I'm seeking feedback on whether this is a decent set of clubs or if I should look to return/exchange any, and also which clubs I should still look to add to my bag. My main concern is that I purchased a used set of irons from second swing that are a half inch longer than standard. I didn't realize this at the time and unfortunately the salesman didn't inform me either. I'm 5'8" which is a little shorter than average so it concerns me that my irons are a half inch long. Although, considering there's generally a half inch length difference between each individual iron anyway, that doesn't sound too harmful. I've considered that I could also choke up a little to shorten the club, but am not sure if that's considered a good idea/solution or not. I don't want to develop bad habits by playing with clubs that are too long, but I don't have a sense of how absurd/harmful it would be for me to use irons that are a half inch long. 

Anyways, here are the clubs that I have so far. The only one that I was fit for is the driver. 

Driver: New Ping G425 custom fit. (Very happy with this club/purchase).44 inches long. Set up with draw bias since I have a tendency to slice drives. 

Irons: Used Ping i210 set. 5-9 iron with a pitching wedge and gap wedge. I tested a bunch of irons at the indoor simulator and the ping i210s felt the best and I performed the most consistent with. 

Additional wedge: New Ping Glide 4.0 56 degree E model. Standard length. 

Putter: Used (perfect condition) Ping Anser 2. 34 inches in length. 

I feel pretty content with my driver, putter, and wedges, but am primarily concerned that the irons being a half inch longer than standard would be bad for me. I realize I probably should have gotten fitted for the irons, but I was purchasing used so there were less options for customization. I have the option to exchange (not refund) the irons for in store credit at second swing, if I decide the current set won't work. Of course there are no ping i210s in standard length, so if I exchange I'll have to replace with an entirely different set or buy a new customized set.

Appreciate any input and guidance. I'm pretty new to the sport but am looking to get into it a lot more seriously. Apologies if my questions aren't able to be answered on a forum. I can certainly talk to the fitters at second swing to sort things out and get questions answered/fitted but figured I'd start here and hopefully get some feedback from people who don't have a bias intending to sell me products. I'm a bit disappointed that the salesman at second swing didn't even inform me that the used iron set that he selected for me to test was longer than standard. It makes me hesitant to take their advice on club purchases. 

Greatly appreciate anyone who can help point me in the right direction!

 

 

 

[revkev]

Nice club choices - very nice!

 

Couple of questions - if the driver was custom fit what shaft did they fit you into?  That could give you a clue about the shaft you should have in your irons.  Also is the shaft in the irons graphite?  Graphite shafts are often a bit longer than steel.  Additionally you should be concerned with the lie of the irons.  Ping has a color coding system that will tell you the lie angle of the club - a "too long" shaft might be offset by a flatter lie.  

 

If the shaft is steel but you like the clubs you have the option of going to a club repair guy and having them cut down.  You could then get the lies checked to see if they are correct for you and if its not too drastic a change have them bent.  You could also consider a reshaft since you like that head.  Reshafts can be as cheap or as expensive as you'd like.  Bottom line you have lots of options to get a set of irons that you are happy with and that will play reasonably well.

 

Good luck

[New-Golfer]

46 minutes ago, revkev said:

Nice club choices - very nice!

 

Couple of questions - if the driver was custom fit what shaft did they fit you into?  That could give you a clue about the shaft you should have in your irons.  Also is the shaft in the irons graphite?  Graphite shafts are often a bit longer than steel.  Additionally you should be concerned with the lie of the irons.  Ping has a color coding system that will tell you the lie angle of the club - a "too long" shaft might be offset by a flatter lie.  

 

If the shaft is steel but you like the clubs you have the option of going to a club repair guy and having them cut down.  You could then get the lies checked to see if they are correct for you and if its not too drastic a change have them bent.  You could also consider a reshaft since you like that head.  Reshafts can be as cheap or as expensive as you'd like.  Bottom line you have lots of options to get a set of irons that you are happy with and that will play reasonably well.

 

Good luck

Thanks for the reply and input!

The driver has a regular flex shaft. The fitter said my driver swing speed was right on the cutoff between regular and stiff.

The iron shafts are stiff. Steel. True Temper XP 95. They are all red dot which is 1 degree flat, so maybe that helps to offset the increased length as you mentioned above? I'd have no idea how much that 1 degree flatter lie matters though. Is it enough to offset the half inch longer than standard irons? 

 

Appreciate the insight!

[cksurfdude]

19 hours ago, revkev said:

If the shaft is steel but you like the clubs you have the option of going to a club repair guy and having them cut down.  You could then get the lies checked to see if they are correct for you and if its not too drastic a change have them bent.  You could also consider a reshaft since you like that head.  Reshafts can be as cheap or as expensive as you'd like.  Bottom line you have lots of options to get a set of irons that you are happy with and that will play reasonably well.

Yes! ..second what ^that^ very smart man said

If you like and trust that fitter you already saw, take the irons back there and ask to have them fit to you. Would also second Rev's suggestion on looking at graphite shafts while at the fitters .. lots of good options at reasonable prices.

[Kansas King]

On 3/2/2023 at 4:46 PM, New-Golfer said:

Thanks for the reply and input!

The driver has a regular flex shaft. The fitter said my driver swing speed was right on the cutoff between regular and stiff.

The iron shafts are stiff. Steel. True Temper XP 95. They are all red dot which is 1 degree flat, so maybe that helps to offset the increased length as you mentioned above? I'd have no idea how much that 1 degree flatter lie matters though. Is it enough to offset the half inch longer than standard irons? 

 

Appreciate the insight!

If you're reasonably strong/athletic, you're going to probably be knocking on the door of stiffer/heavier shafts in the not-so-distant future. Realistically, your i210s will probably fit you okay today. However, you should take them somewhere and hit them on a lie board to determine lie angles and look at face markings for length. An extra 1/2" isn't the end of the world with irons and being 1* flat may help compensate for that as well. If possible, I would recommend going to a golf shop with a launch monitor and see if they will do a free iron fitting. Maybe even use the Mizuno shaft optimizer if they have it. It may not be the i210s in the hitting bay but even if you tried the new i230s, you'll still get a good feel for what iron shafts you need. If your using a regular driver shaft, the XP 95 is probably okay in the irons but if you go through a fitting and you find out the DG S300 is best, then you'll probably want to send those irons back and try again. There is not a shortage of irons in the world, there will always be more used sets, especially at 2nd Swing.

[New-Golfer]

1 hour ago, Kansas King said:

If you're reasonably strong/athletic, you're going to probably be knocking on the door of stiffer/heavier shafts in the not-so-distant future. Realistically, your i210s will probably fit you okay today. However, you should take them somewhere and hit them on a lie board to determine lie angles and look at face markings for length. An extra 1/2" isn't the end of the world with irons and being 1* flat may help compensate for that as well. If possible, I would recommend going to a golf shop with a launch monitor and see if they will do a free iron fitting. Maybe even use the Mizuno shaft optimizer if they have it. It may not be the i210s in the hitting bay but even if you tried the new i230s, you'll still get a good feel for what iron shafts you need. If your using a regular driver shaft, the XP 95 is probably okay in the irons but if you go through a fitting and you find out the DG S300 is best, then you'll probably want to send those irons back and try again. There is not a shortage of irons in the world, there will always be more used sets, especially at 2nd Swing.

 

This is really helpful advice and input! I'll definitely go back and get fitted and then either make the necessary adjustments to my current i210 set, or exchange them for something that fits better.

Thanks for the insight.

[GolfSpy SAM]

While I've not been into a 2nd Swing personally, lots of people here have, and they (from what I've seen) tend to have a good reputation for helping their customers.  If you liked your fitter (personally, I mean), and got along with him/her, I'd go back and ask them the reasoning behind the +.5" shafts, and let them know you have some concerns.  Let them have you hit a few of the irons (6 and 9, perhaps - not just a 7) so you get a sense of where your misses are (if any).  The great thing about store-credit from a place like 2nd Swing, is there are effectively limitless options at your disposal.  Lots of great suggestions above, but the simplest route could just be to go back and express your concerns, and let them assuage any worries (yeah, I said "assuage" - so sue me.  ).

Welcome to the forum, and welcome to the game! You'll spend the next ... 60 years chasing better scores

Let us know what you decide!