Returning to Golf after long layoff - New clubs advice

[ReturningGolfer]

Hello all,

Looking for a little advice. I a former golfer that hasn't played in 10 years and am returning to the game. I'm looking for advice on how to get a new club setup to get back into it.

Before I stopped playing, I played for 15+ years and fluctuated in the 5-8 handicap range. I think I played over 100,000 holes of golf in that timeframe. Due to life, I haven't played in 10 years and had to get rid of my clubs.  I'll note that I'm an in shape man in their 40s.

I know the game of golf but never knew much about clubs. Back when I was playing, I was playing with a set of hand-me-downs: 1980s blades that had an unimaginably small sweet spot by todays standards. They were good for learning but I wasn't particularly sorry to see them go.

I bought a used SW and 7-iron just to start getting my swing back. Swinging feels comfortable, I am striking the ball decently, and have fairly consistent misses. But I haven't swung a wood or driver or practiced putting in a long time. Now it is time to put a set of clubs together: putter, irons, woods, driver. I'll note again that I do not have a current set of clubs.

Any recommendations for how to best approach getting a set of clubs? I would consider a fitting, but any advice on how to make it productive and end up in a decent set of clubs for me. Note that I don't live in a major city, so not PGA pros near me. Only a few brand associated fitters.

I'm not looking for advice on specific clubs, but rather how to approach finding something right for me. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

8 minutes ago, ReturningGolfer said:

Hello all,

Looking for a little advice. I a former golfer that hasn't played in 10 years and am returning to the game. I'm looking for advice on how to get a new club setup to get back into it.

Before I stopped playing, I played for 15+ years and fluctuated in the 5-8 handicap range. I think I played over 100,000 holes of golf in that timeframe. Due to life, I haven't played in 10 years and had to get rid of my clubs.  I'll note that I'm an in shape man in their 40s.

I know the game of golf but never knew much about clubs. Back when I was playing, I was playing with a set of hand-me-downs: 1980s blades that had an unimaginably small sweet spot by todays standards. They were good for learning but I wasn't particularly sorry to see them go.

I bought a used SW and 7-iron just to start getting my swing back. Swinging feels comfortable, I am striking the ball decently, and have fairly consistent misses. But I haven't swung a wood or driver or practiced putting in a long time. Now it is time to put a set of clubs together: putter, irons, woods, driver. I'll note again that I do not have a current set of clubs.

Any recommendations for how to best approach getting a set of clubs? I would consider a fitting, but any advice on how to make it productive and end up in a decent set of clubs for me. Note that I don't live in a major city, so not PGA pros near me. Only a few brand associated fitters.

I'm not looking for advice on specific clubs, but rather how to approach finding something right for me. 

Normally around this time of year many courses and clubs will have demo days. Sometimes with several different equipment brands on the same day. They are normally busy, but also offer the chance to try different clubs and irons with no obligations and so on. While not a fitting these can often be the perfect start for someone in your situation. 

The opportunity to try new clubs and see what you like to look/feel of and what performs well to give you a head start. 

At least this is where I would start if I was you and wanted to see what was new and available. 

[cnosil]

18 minutes ago, ReturningGolfer said:

 

 

I'm not looking for advice on specific clubs, but rather how to approach finding something right for me. 

New doesn’t have to be brand new.   Do you have any golf stores near you that sell. Used clubs?   Go in and try them ou and see what you like and what you hit well.  The store near me lets you try them on the course for a few days and has a great return policy.  

[BreakfastBall15]

I second the demo days. Most of the time they’re free and you get to try whatever they have. If you come across a setting you like you can go through a true fitting to get everything dialed in

[Erin B]

I third the demo days and concur with @cnosil. I would also recommend a fitting. Unfortunately you don’t have your own clubs so you’d have to go somewhere that’s probably a golf sales store. Still, better than buying off a rack or second had with no knowledge of what you should be in (blade, muscle back, cavity back, or combo set). PGA Superstore or Golf Galaxy would be a good place to start. At least that way you can try out different shafts, heads, and putters. Again, not huge on the store fittings, but given your situation I’d start there if it was me.

[ReturningGolfer]

Thanks all for the advice. Unfortunately I'm in a town of 100k people. So the best there is for golf retail is Dicks sporting goods and there are no Demo days (already called local courses).

[GolfSpy_APH]

2 minutes ago, ReturningGolfer said:

Thanks all for the advice. Unfortunately I'm in a town of 100k people. So the best there is for golf retail is Dicks sporting goods and there are no Demo days (already called local courses).

Tricky, that's too bad. 100k is a good amount of ppl. My town is less than 1500.. Anyway. 

There are good DTC brands that offer great value for money. A brand like Stix offers a full bag, same with Byrdie Golf design and others. 

Another guy entry point and would allow you to update/upgrade as you needed if you really got back into it? 

[Erin B]

12 minutes ago, ReturningGolfer said:

Thanks all for the advice. Unfortunately I'm in a town of 100k people. So the best there is for golf retail is Dicks sporting goods and there are no Demo days (already called local courses).

Does your Dicks store have a sim? If so go try some of their equipment. At least you’ll get a feel for the new technology.

[Rob Person]

Welcome back to golf!!! Another out of the box idea is to find a full set or piece together a set from marketplace. Low-cost,  and once you are back into the "swing" of things, resell, or trade them in towards a newer set. 

As far as Dicks,  ours has a demo bay, but it always seems to be either broken, or booked out.  Maybe see if you can go in and hit a few different drivers, woods, etc. Of course they won't have anything other than the newest stuff,  but it may give you an idea.

[ReturningGolfer]

Thanks all. My Dicks does have a sim, which the person working the golf shop said works sometimes (not while I was there). That is probably what I will do. This will be good for drivers / woods. Unfortunately in my area all of the irons they carry are pretty far in the game improvement direction so they don't even have things like T200 or P790 to hit.

I did think about buying used (and have bought a few clubs used to start). It just gets expensive to buy a set for a year with the intent of getting something more suitable there after. 

[skraeling]

46 minutes ago, ReturningGolfer said:

Thanks all for the advice. Unfortunately I'm in a town of 100k people. So the best there is for golf retail is Dicks sporting goods and there are no Demo days (already called local courses).

my golf galaxy was doing a free fitting day (granted it was taylormade sponsored) for just the Qi10 driver.  They dont do them often and I cant remember seeing them do irons ever.  But its something (and I did get something out of it, and it wasnt even a new driver).

your handicap was pretty dang low, odds are you could get a lot out of a fitting even not having played in a long time.  Might be worth it to rent a set and play a few rounds to get really back into the swing of things (ok bad pun I know).  Assuming you havnt played at all or hit any ranges since your break.

I got a TON out of a fitting for my irons and I was at the time probably a 25hcp.

as far as being stuck with GI irons?  I really wouldnt sweat it too much.  I honestly dont ever plan to replace mine even if I do eventually make it to single digit handicap and these are super game improvements. 

1. clubs are expensive and not getting cheaper

2. I like em.

3. why play clubs that are harder to play? 

How often REALLY do I need to "shape a shot".  Practically never.

Edited March 29 by skraeling

[Erin B]

11 minutes ago, ReturningGolfer said:

Thanks all. My Dicks does have a sim, which the person working the golf shop said works sometimes (not while I was there). That is probably what I will do. This will be good for drivers / woods. Unfortunately in my area all of the irons they carry are pretty far in the game improvement direction so they don't even have things like T200 or P790 to hit.

I did think about buying used (and have bought a few clubs used to start). It just gets expensive to buy a set for a year with the intent of getting something more suitable there after. 

There are some really good DTC brands out there now. Check them out. Takomo, Sub70, New Level, Haywood to name a few. Some of them will even have a conversation with you about your needs.

[Rob Person]

6 minutes ago, Erin B said:

There are some really good DTC brands out there now. Check them out. Takomo, Sub70, New Level, Haywood to name a few. Some of them will even have a conversation with you about your needs.

@ReturningGolfer alot of these companies also offer virtual fittings too. It's not the same as in person, but may be an option.

[Erin B]

@ReturningGolfer I was reading some of the articles from MGS and came across this one. Made me think of your situation. https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/driver-shopping-dos-and-donts/ 

Don't know if you're reading some of the advice from MGS articles but there are some good ones out there that will help you with your endeavor.

[Fore67]

I spent many years in retail (attained a master fitting certificate with Titleist, Callaway, Taylor Made, Ping and Mizuno) and always provided the best advice on this question that I could.

1. Have you been hitting balls and getting comfortable with a swing you can take to a shop to demo clubs? If you are going in cold, they could sell you anything just because you hit a couple square. If you're not close to game shape, buying any clubs at this time would be doing yourself a dis-service and wasting your money.

2. I absolutely agree with any opportunity to hit a demo day on the range and try out as many manufacturers clubs as you can.

3. Head to the hitting bay at your favourite retailer. Narrow down a couple of manufacturer's and take on a 7 iron, a hybrid, a 3 metal and a driver. You will get tired! Factor in some rest or do it over a series of visits.

4. Don't be too concerned with 'the latest' from any manufacturer. The best deals will be had on 1 or 2 year old models. The differences that you might feel between the newest model and an older model (when in your 40's as a 5-8 cap) will be negligible. Also if your swing speed isn't over 110 with the driver, you won't notice any differences at all.

If I could provide further advice or answer any other questions, please feel free to reach out.

Cheers,

Mike

[Indy_Oz]

Welcome back to the game.

I could have pretty much written that same post 18 months ago! I returned to golf after 20 years away, in my late 40s, having been ~5HCP around 2000/2001.

Main piece of advice: Don't over-invest in clubs initially. Thrift store, used section at big box stores, Facebook etc. Use big box stores and courses to have a try with used clubs on sale. Either have some lessons, or video yourself and use free golf apps with swing analyzers to get some coarse tips. I spent time at ranges to just get used to swinging clubs again, recorded my swing and watched youtube lessons. After quickly hitting an improvement wall, I did a couple of free/ cheap swing analysis lessons and ignored the sales pitches. Then found a golf coach with good reviews nearby and took some lessons.

Not diving into big spending sprees on sets of clubs is because your swing and requirements will change quickly. I went from regular shafts in loaner irons to needing X-stiff after a few months. I was already in decent shape and strong, but didn't have the mobility/ rotational speed and control for a while. Yoga and switching to golf workout programs helped with that.

I was lucky and a friend loaned me some more modern clubs than my 1990s set and I slowly built my bag. Plenty of trial and error, buying and selling, but that's the nature of golf when you're a tinkerer.lol

Good luck!

 

Edited March 30 by Indy_Oz
Typos

[Bossfan]

On 3/29/2024 at 11:05 AM, GolfSpy_APH said:

Tricky, that's too bad. 100k is a good amount of ppl. My town is less than 1500.. Anyway. 

There are good DTC brands that offer great value for money. A brand like Stix offers a full bag, same with Byrdie Golf design and others. 

Another guy entry point and would allow you to update/upgrade as you needed if you really got back into it? 

Sub 70 is a very good DTC option. They have very good clubs. Lots of shaft and grip options. They have clubs for every skill level. The prices are very affordable and they also have preowned clubs that are less expensive. I’d check their website and then if you’re interested give their customer service a call . Their customer service is some of the best I’ve ever dealt with.