Is my equipment good enough?

I had my first meeting with my high school golf team the other day, and as a Freshman I didnt know what to expect. When I got there at the range, I thought Id definetely be the worst player there. All the returning kids shoot low to mid 70's. I usually average a 78 for 18 holes. I noticed every kid on the team played some type of forged muscleback blade iron. I have been playing Ping i5's for a while now and they do OK for me.

I was talking to the captain(a senior) who is going to play D1 college golf next year, and he asked if I was trying to earn a college scholarship and when I told him that I would like to he basically laughed in my face. He said that I would never develop a good enough swing using those "shovels" as he called them. At first I ignored it but then other kids told me the same thing. I even had the coach ask me why I felt the need to play a club that is more about forgiveness. He asked if I lacked ambition to practice?

I am very dissapointed as I couldnt wait to start with these guys as I just moved here and couldnt tryout for the team at the beginning of the year, but now Im not sure if I even want to go back. I talked to my dad and although he doesnt play golf, he told me that if its important to me he would try his best to get me some new irons. I appreciate it very much, but is it necessary? Is the team right? Will I always have to rely on a forgiving club as I wont know how good I strike the ball? Will my swing get sloppy as I wont need to strike the ball well to get a good shot, as they said? Please help! Also should I go back or just wait till next year?

Wow. Play what you like. We have a lot of guys with expensive equipment here, and more than a handful swear by Ping and their designs. Don't listen to that mess.

I had my first meeting with my high school golf team the other day, and as a Freshman I didnt know what to expect. When I got there at the range, I thought Id definetely be the worst player there. All the returning kids shoot low to mid 70's. I usually average a 78 for 18 holes. I noticed every kid on the team played some type of forged muscleback blade iron. I have been playing Ping i5's for a while now and they do OK for me.

 

I was talking to the captain(a senior) who is going to play D1 college golf next year, and he asked if I was trying to earn a college scholarship and when I told him that I would like to he basically laughed in my face. He said that I would never develop a good enough swing using those "shovels" as he called them. At first I ignored it but then other kids told me the same thing. I even had the coach ask me why I felt the need to play a club that is more about forgiveness. He asked if I lacked ambition to practice?

 

I am very dissapointed as I couldnt wait to start with these guys as I just moved here and couldnt tryout for the team at the beginning of the year, but now Im not sure if I even want to go back. I talked to my dad and although he doesnt play golf, he told me that if its important to me he would try his best to get me some new irons. I appreciate it very much, but is it necessary? Is the team right? Will I always have to rely on a forgiving club as I wont know how good I strike the ball? Will my swing get sloppy as I wont need to strike the ball well to get a good shot, as they said? Please help! Also should I go back or just wait till next year?

Let me just say that this is complete bs by your so called team captain. Play what you want to play there is no rule that says you have to play a forged blade or muscle back iron to play competive golf, just ask Kenny Perry or any of the ping guys on tour, If those are the Irons you are comfortable using and you can hit solid shots with them, who cares what these kids think. The only thing that matters at the end of the day in competitive golf is the scorecard. A 75 is the same with a set of mp 32's as it is with I-5's.

Hopefully you can use this a motivating factor to improve this year to kick this guys a** on the golf course. I played crappy old cougar cavity backs in high school and was good enough to finish in the top ten overall in my conference in the bay area(quite a few schools involved in that one) Cavity back clubs like your I-5's are easier to hit consistent, will your swing get sloppy just because of your clubs? No it will not.

Ever hear the old saying "Its the Indian not the arrow"

Good luck I hope this can motivate you to go out and make the team and show these clowns up

Don't be influenced by the suggestions of others about your game unless they are a very respected teaching pro. Another guy on your golf team is not qualified enough to make any accessment on which type of irons you should or should not be playing. You should play with what works the best for you regardless of type. Why don't you tell the guys on your golf team to go to Ping's website and see how may of their tour staff is playing these so called shovels. In fact without doing any actual stats, I would venture to say that only about 15-20% of PGA tour golfers use muscle back blades. The majority are using some type of players cavity back and even hybrids. Just make sure that you are fiited properly for the i5s that you have. Then let your game show them that it does not matter. Moving from i5s to a set of muscle back blades is not going drop your handicap and make you a better ball striker over night or in six months. My guess from an outside standpoint, is the members of your golf team are letting their egos determine that they should be playing blades. When you go to your first golf match look in the bags of all the players and I am sure you will see more so called shovels than muscle back blades.

So by that logic, are all of them hitting drivers smaller than 460cc with steel shafts?

Just practice more and kick their arsess!

That is complete BS. It matters not one bit what you are playing. Obviously you were good enough to make a team of what sounds to be composed of all good golfers...albeit some a holes. So let that be a good reason to go out and work hard, earn a starting spot, and kick that dudes @rse.

Good luck and we are all rootin for ya! Let us know how your first season goes in High School golf.

WOW! You guys have made me feel much better! I am supposed to go back tomorrow, and I think Im going to go and just ignore the bad comments. I was just so dissapointed with everything that was said. My main concern was that they were right and I wouldnt get my ballstriking to "that next level". After what they said I thought that if I didnt get better with Blades than I would never reach my goals. Im going to practice hard and hopefully shoot better than the captain tomorrow! Thanks to everyones comments, you have really helped the situation!!

Just quit reading now before the blade zealots show up and post... :lol:

although it is bs, and unfortunate that your captain is the kind of guy who would make those comments, i'm not surprised. Hell, i was one of those believers that i needed blades if i was going to play better, got myself a set of mp 32s, and now would love to go back to some pings or other more forgiving club, so don't take it too personally. Don't forget that golf is about getting the ball in the hole, use the clubs that work best for you and have fun. If you decide that you want something with a little more feedback go to a combo set, they seem to be the logical choice for every golfer now days. Good luck, and i'm sorry you find yourself on a team with such a negative atmosphere, the fact that the coach questioned your ambition because of your golf clubs is rather disturbing...

mike

So Mark Calcavecchia plays "shovels"... Wow

Well, I contacted my coach to tell him that I would return tomorrow for practice. He must have known I was upset from my tone of voice, and told me to not delve to deeply into what some of the other kids were saying as he said he was impressed with my game. I asked him why he would question my ambition in golf because of my equipment and his response was that he shouldnt have said that and that it also didnt come out right. He said what he meant was that he was curious as to whether or not I felt I needed a more forgiving club because I thought I didnt want to spend the time with a harder to hit iron.( Which to me is still not right for him to say.)

I told him that I chose those irons as I hit them the most consistent and I scored well, and to me that is all that matters. He came back with he respects that answer and apoligized for the mis-understanding. He also said that after what he seen, he thinks I will get a starting spot on the team! Now if I can just get those kids off my back!! Thanks again everyone!

Haha. Your coach was trying to backpeddle. Good for you for standing up to the peer pressure.

Do you thing tommorow and let us know how it goes. Best of luck!

so many of us have been conditioned to believe that our equipment will change/help/inhibit/etc. our scores... once fitted properly, you can shoot 78 with multiple different iron heads. you have to go with what feels/looks best to you.

let's relate this to shooting a firearm at a target - you can hit the bullseye with any number of different weapons, but then why are there so many different choices in guns (cost/caliber/aesthetics/etc.)?

it is human nature to blame others. in many cases on this forum, let's just blame the golf equipment... i'm yanking putts - time for a new putter. my driver is only 3500 MOI - must be why i missed the fairway.

it's takes the onus (of YOU/ME actually hitting the shot) off the individual.

Another member calling BS. I have fitted hundreds of top level High School and College golfers. Most that I have come across usually are playing clubs, especially drivers that do not "fit" thier game. Either too stiff shafts that they cannot control, or buying whatever 8.5* xstiff shaft that is sexy that week.

Best thing to do is stick to your game. Every golfer and swing varies so know what fits you and that will inturn allow you to hit your best scores.

Get fitted/evaluated when you can afford it by a certifited club fitter for your clubs and a PGA professional for your swing.

Thats total rubbish. Its not how it's how many. If your best results are with your i5's then stick with them, leave your team mates to use their blades and remind them of how easy they are to hit on the cold winter mornings when theyre hitting 3 irons praying they don't catch a thin one. Basically, i use blades, im comfortable with them and am confident with how i hit them but that doesnt mean to say that i would interfere with someone else's choice of equipment, use what you score best with. Tell your coach to ask the current open champion and pga champion if his cavities are a sign of a lack of ambition.

Foz

Good that your coach apologized and said what he said didnt come out right. I understand that in HS you want to fit in, as do most. But PING I5's are nice clubs and absolutely nothing wrong with using them. The best player I've ever played with used PING Eye 2's and hes better than a "D1 scholarship" golfer.

Hey if they were good enough for Jeff Quinney then I think they will manage for you.

just kick there asses and laugh all the way to the bank

So Mark Calcavecchia plays "shovels"... Wow

Hey if they were good enough for Jeff Quinney then I think they will manage for you.

 

 

 

Many pro's play i5's and Lee Westwood plays i10's which are the new model of the i5. They are forgiving but they are more of a players club than a game improvement club. Play what works for you and don't worry what some punk brats tell you.

wow, those guys sound like a bunch of jerks who probably think they are a lot better than they actually are. pga tour players play with Pings! dont listen to them

Nice clubs, your i5s.

The bottom line is, play whatever works best for you. What the other lads have got in their bags is immaterial since you're the one hitting your ball and you should be playing whatever works.

No-one laughs at the bloke who can knock it round in a low score, whatever he's using.

Best of luck with your golf.

it also sounds to me like the other guys on your team are playing what everybody else thinks is cool. i hope you kick their butts

I prefer blades because of their unrelenting nature. I know my handicap wouldn't be as low and my ballstriking abilities wouldn't be as good as they are today if I hadn't been playing them for a while now. If you want to be the best and give it all that you can, then yes, I would get some blades. You can find irons for super cheap these days though. You can get them and then get them completely fitted for you for under $400, easily.

apart from the fact that your captain is full of it, the i5s aren't even a ridiculously forgiving iron

I'm going to take a little different approach here, although I do agree with almost every post above mentioning that both your captain, other players, and coach were out of line to make the comments they made about your clubs. As you can see in my signature, I don't play blades or even player's cavities for that matter. I play with what I could afford and what I hit the most consistent at the time I bought them. When I started playing with my current group 1-2 times a week, I caught a TON of grief for what irons I use. Fast forward a year - I've dropped my handicap to a 4 or so and haven't lost a match to any of them in 6 months. I don't hear a word from them now about what I play.

Good luck this season - work hard and the critics will stop talking and realize you have real game and your equipment works for YOU, and that's all that matters.

i agree with what everyone else is saying play what you feel comfortable with and what puts the lowest number on the scorecard weither it be dunlop clubs or titleist a good golfer period can play with anything an pull a nice score .. i play in a 4 some every now and then with some guys that use so called wal-mart clubs and they always say to me if i had a $500 driver i could hit the ball that far too .. and my response to that is give me your Knight driver .. tee it up and hit it just as good as my titleist, its not the clubs like someone said the old saying its the indian not the arrow ...remember that .. only time i see the need to want to change what works is in the case of overplaying your clubs , meaning i know alot of us started out using regular flex shafts when we first started the golf thing , and over time our swing progressed and started to realize that the club wasnt in line with our abilities once you feel the clubs dont meet the level of your game then i suggest moving up , but there again i play with some guys that shoot mid to high 60's on a daily basis and there still using "shovels " and when asked when you gonna get a real set of clubs (jokingly) they always respond with when i stop kicking your a** ..

so work hard and play hard and let your score speak for itself ..

What a bunch of CRAP. Just keep swinging and love your Pings. It doesn't matter what your clubs look like or who makes them, all that matters is if you can use them.

I played Golfsmith Tour Model IIs that my father built me when I was a kid, back when Golfsmith was a catalog that was delivered in the mail. Everyone laughed until I out drove them with my 2 iron off the first tee. I hear a lot of talk about blades and how it improves your game. Now if you use blades, good on you, but from what I see they aren't carrying 3 irons or even 4 irons. They have hybrid replacements. Heck, I learned on blades when my age was single digits and never heard of a razor. (Yes I started shaving at the age of 10.) When I turned 10 I received my grown up set which was cavity back.

Anyway, I take my hat off to folks that hit long iron blades and hit them well, but if your highest iron is a 5 or 6 iron and the rest are hybrids, don't preach to me about blades. I don't care. If that set up works for you, it works for you. My set up works for me. The score card doesn't give a rat's butt what clubs you used. It cares if the pencil is sharp enough to write down your score.

I was playing with a friend of mine a couple weeks ago who is a pro at a small course in Pampanga. He can play blades or cavity backs like I can, but like me, prefers cavity backs. He was a D1 college player in Hawaii and played King Cobras. I think he was a bit better than anyone on your team with the trophies to prove it. As far as your coach talking crap about practicing and blades, what tour is he on again? The proof is in the pudding my friend.

If you can control the ball with your set and do what you want with it, keep swinging big guy. Practice practice practice. Know your clubs better than anyone else. Know what you can and can't do with them. Your team captain doesn't sound too swift. If he knew anything he would know not to talk crap about someone else's clubs. Don't make your Dad go out and buy you new clubs when your Pings are golden. When a parent says, "I'll try to get (insert item here)," usually means it isn't a prudent financial choice at the moment.

I have a set of blades and a set of "shovels" and I play the "shovels." Whatever you shoot better with use. Have some self-confidence to brush off the other kids. Know that your better.

I play college golf now and I had the same thing happen to me when I was a freshman in HS. You can have the newest stuff out and still shoot high numbers. And if you really want you can make your team look like idiots you can just let them know that ping made the I5 for players who want to work the ball. And just to give you an idea on how things can play out, I am the only one from my golf team that is playing college golf. In order to be the best you have to work the hardest. Have fun and work hard.

Wow thats not right. Ive seen K.J. Choi use Ignite irons, so i guess he lacks the will to practice and isn't a good ball striker? Keep the Pings!.

Well, I wanted to give an update on what happened today. I was paired up with the team captain and the coach played along with us. Our coach is pretty bad! He shot a 48 for the nine holes we played and came in with the worst score of everyone LOL. I wanted so bad to say something but I didnt as I like to be respectful. Anyways I got off to a great start with a birdie on the first hole, and stayed 1 under till the ninth hole, where I hit a bad chip shot and a bad missread on my putt to score a bogey for a round of even par 36! Mr. Captain D1 player, was tied with me the whole way and holed a shot from about 20 yards to birdie the last hole to best me by 1.

Oh well, I wanted to get him but I was so happy with my round. The coach was impressed and said I will play as the number 2 player next week!! The captain even came up and said I played well for a freshman, then ignored me the rest of practice. Doesnt bother me though! I told my dad to check this thread and told him I dont want him to have to buy me new irons, and he said thats GREAT as he couldnt afford them right now anyways since we just moved. LOL Im definetely keeping the PINGS! Anyways thank you for all the kind words, and Ill try to update how my season goes. Thanks!!!!