LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

Not only are my clubs slightly short for me AND about 7 years old, but I only today found out that they are also KMart clubs.

I was thinking of getting at least a new set of irons for $200 or so. Maybe something like old WilsonStaff Di5s ( http://www.golfdiscount.com/Detail.bok?id=2480 )

I assume this is worth the upgrade, just to get rid of 7 year old KMart clubs. But is there a set distance prediction in terms of how many yards I'll pick up on a given club?

Reminder: I'm a 100ish golfer so maybe having KMart clubs doesn't matter?

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

I don’t think you will see any great gain in distance between the two sets you might pick up a yard or two from the longer shafts. If you move from clubs that are too short to ones that fit id imagine you will find setting up to the ball easier and more comfortable and gain in consistency from a better set up eliminating some tops and fats.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

Weird, I know nothing about golf but I figured I might pick up 5-10 yards just because of the club quality.

I would almost certainly pick up significant distance if the club length is indeed short. I don't THINK these are junior clubs, but they sure seem on the short side, and I'm only 5'10". Longer clubs essentially means more physics speed! Hehe.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

The length of the club has an effect on distance since it affects clubhead speed, but I don't think you will necessary get more distance.

Distance is also produced by hitting the ball off the sweet spot of the club and and with a longer club, you are less likely to hit the sweet spot.

Also, not all brands of clubs use the same loft angles and this is a major determinant of distance. So you may gain or lose distance depending on the loft angle. On Kmart clubs the quality control is probably not great and the loft angle will not alway be what they are supposed to be. Even on well made name brand clubs there is some error on the loft angles.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

FWIW, I played an older set of WilsonStaff irons all the way through high school (when I could actually play) despite "new" technology. I hit them really well, and at the time simply couldn't find a set I hit better.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

MaxPower,

So....are you saying I should upgrade or it isn't worth it? I mean I know that it's "my choice." But in terms of striking the ball, are you saying I'm likely to do better with the WilsonStaffs than with the KMarts?

I see they Hey_Porter enjoyed them, so that is certainly comforting if I decide to upgrade. (Thanks for the input).

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

Its hard to say. I'm sure that Wilson clubs are manufactured with better quality control and probably are superior clubs to Kmart clubs. Although I have heard that some of the cheap sets that are made by Nicklaus are pretty good. My brother has a cheap set of irons that he bought and while I prefer my Callaway X-14s, the cheap ones are pretty good.

The important thing is to get clubs that are right for you. You can only do this by being fitted or by at least hitting some shots with the clubs before buying them.

My opinion is that if you have the money, you should upgrade and get a set made by one of the major brands. I don't think I would buy kmart clubs, but I have seen some guys with crappy looking clubs play some good golf.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

There wont be much of a jump in quality from KMart clubs to $200 Wilsons. Splurge and get some closeout taylormades or something respectable. They run like 300 for 3-PW at the right sites.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

[ QUOTE ]
There wont be much of a jump in quality from KMart clubs to $200 Wilsons. Splurge and get some closeout taylormades or something respectable. They run like 300 for 3-PW at the right sites.

[/ QUOTE ]

Kind of hard on Wilson I know they have lost some prestige since their heyday in the 60s but they have made some nice clubs over the last few years. Hopefully splitting the business between Wilson staff and Prostaff/Ultra will allow them to compete again in the premium market.
Stainless steel heads and true temper shafts should be an improvement over metal alloy heads and no name shafts.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

ghostface,

It's not like theyre just $200 [censored] models. (Okay, I don't know, maybe they are). I was just looking at really old models is all, rather than the new stuff. They were costly when they were new....Haha.

KMart ones are NEVER costly. I don't know if cost equates to quality though, so I've no idea. Looks like maybe sticking with KMart is okay for now.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

I've used fat shafts, for example. Awesome shaft, head was terrible. I've never played cast irons, always forged, so I guess I'm spoiled. Cast irons feel like poo to me.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

My advice to you is to spend an extra hundo and buy something you will like and not want to replace in a few years. Don't spend the extra money for this years model, find a gently used set on e bay or something. Head to your local big box sporting goods store and take a few clubs in their cage and see what feels/looks good. Then go shoping for the best deal. Most of the time, our Sports Authority store has last years irons on sale for around $300(Taylor Made/Cleveland/sometimes Callaway and Nike).

Dude, if you are worried about the quality of your clubs, it will have an impact on your game. I doubt you will see much increase in yardage, but you might notice newer clubs will be easier to hit, so you will have less bad shots to deal with in your round.

.02 from another 100's guy. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

Haha. Thanks for your solid post benny. I tend to agree with you. The problem, of course, is going to be money. I'm tripling my loan debt for school so $300 for golf clubs seems both insignificant (to 30k) and unecessary (I suck anyway at golf)....

But I think your post is echoing my current sentiments. I'll have to see how my next few rounds go and make a decision in a couple weeks. I am definitely needing to shell out the $50 for galfin shoes.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

you can find footjoys for $20, save the money for clubs

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

ghost, are those good for walking? i will almost exclusively be walking this summer and will want the ol 'sneaker type' golf shoes. no way i can use those old stiffy ones that i used to own (before i outgrew them a couple years ago). ? And are you talking internets? I didn't see any shoes at Dicks under $50.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

I doubt they are gonna be always on sale for $20 but a friend of mine just got the sneaker type a few weeks ago for $20 locally. So I guess just check local shops for sales.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

Here is my two cents about golf. I have played golf for 28 years and I am only 35. I started real young. Anyways if you are a 100's or high 90's shooter do this. Don't worry about an extra 10 yards. Figure out how to hit the ball in the fairway even if you only drive it off the tee 200 yards. Just keep the ball in the fairway.

Then spend 3/4 of your pratice time putting and chipping. Getting good at those two things will knock a ton off your score a lot more than 10 extra yards on your drive.

If you are 225 out on a par 4 for your 2nd shot. Just take a 7 iron and put it down there 140-150 yards. Chip up and make a solid bogey and sometimes a par.

Start worrying about distance when you shoot regulary in the 80s.

Re: LC: Beat: My clubs suck. w/ question
 

ding!