What to upgrade first

[Fenrir]

With covid still being a factor in going to test anything easily and golf being on hold here in Chicagoland I'm looking to upgrade my bag a bit over the off-season budget being a primary concern isn’t helping but with the help of all you fine people I’m sure I can get some suggestions of things I can find online that should have me dropping my HC from the 18 I ended the season at, after taking a look at where I dropped shots on course it looks like my driver and possibly putter (36 putts per round avg, but also I just suck at putting) are to blame 

 

Driver ping anser 10.5° ahina s flex 44”

 

4 wood tour edge exotic 16.5° Javlin m7 s flex 42"

 

Hybrids Adams A2 20° and 23° stock NV shafts s flex both cut down 1” from standard 

 

Irons ping eye 2 zz-lite shafts black dot

5-PW

 

Wedges ping glide 54° and 58° stock cfs wedge shafts black dot

 

Putter odyssey 2 ball 

 

this is what I’m working with as of right now I like the eye2’s but also I’m sure there is more forgiveness in the same size package, don’t know my swing speed off hand but on course driver is about 255 on avg with a nutted shot being out at 270 I know that newer drivers are gonna be a hell of a lot more forgiving on off center strikes (which is half of the problem, mostly low heel) I am very ok with pulling driver shafts so I’m open to buying a driver that’s not in my flex range and just swapping out for something if the price is good, trying to stay under $250 and have done a bunch of reading and watching of reviews on ping and mizuno drivers anyway if you got this far thanks and hope to get some good suggestions 

[monkeyboy]

IMO, getting properly fit for a putter was the best money I have spent on golf equipment to date.

 

[Trevorr]

25 minutes ago, monkeyboy said:

IMO, getting properly fit for a putter was the best money I have spent on golf equipment to date.

 

I agree - start from the green and work your way back.

[Fenrir]

I would love to get fit for one but I think that’s gonna have to wait until covid numbers are down here and I can find somewhere to go easily I have used my dads odyssey tank and I like the feeling of something a bit heavier then what I’ve got

[Myherobobhope]

You can pick up a decent driver on eBay pretty easily... unfortunately you need to figure out what shaft you want. The best way to do that is to demo stuff and see what works for you... 

 

sub70 golf is great for irons especially... eye2s are great, but nothing wrong with new! Jason can also help fit you over the phone and they will work to make sure you are happy with new clubs... the 699s might be perfect.

 

practice is going to get you further than clubs... lessons will also help you figure out what new equipment to focus on...

 

that said, if you have a shaft you any to try, search for it on eBay and buy whatever head comes with it.

[Fenrir]

25 minutes ago, NotThatGuyorAmI? said:

You want to drop your handicap by buying clubs?

 

Good luck.

I know clubs alone won’t drop anything but having more help then the driver and irons I’m playing would prob help on the non centered hits, I played somewhere between 30-40 rounds in 2020 so I’m not opposed to putting in the work, but I also know that losing 20-30 yards on a off center strike isn’t gonna make the game any easier 

[5baytjd]

The G400 Max is a great driver and very forgiving (still one of the highest MOI available, even though it came out in 2017).  But because it's so popular, finding one cheap is super difficult.

 

Putting makes up ~40% of your score, so concentrate their first -- with practice and perhaps new/newer putter.  I'm a huge proponent of the tech in the L.A.B. Golf products as it has helped me become a better putter.

[Fenrir]

22 minutes ago, 5baytjd said:

The G400 Max is a great driver and very forgiving (still one of the highest MOI available, even though it came out in 2017).  But because it's so popular, finding one cheap is super difficult.

 

Putting makes up ~40% of your score, so concentrate their first -- with practice and perhaps new/newer putter.  I'm a huge proponent of the tech in the L.A.B. Golf products as it has helped me become a better putter.

Ya I’ve been looking online and it seems like they (g400 max) sell for damn near what they went for new lol I’ll check out L.A.B. And see what they’ve got out there

[5baytjd]

2 minutes ago, Fenrir said:

Ya I’ve been looking online and it seems like they (g400 max) sell for damn near what they went for new lol I’ll check out L.A.B. And see what they’ve got out there

If you are going to investigate L.A.B. Golf putters, hit their website and send in the FREE remote fitting video, so you know what specs to look for in a used one.  They ain't cheap, but for the $ will likely have the biggest impact on lowering your score.

[BallerNate]

Agree that having a putter you feel good about and have confidence in makes a huge difference. Personally I have two TaylorMade putters and think the non-Spyder TM putters are very underrated and sell for pretty cheap. I’ve got a TM Redline Monza and recently picked up a TM SOTO Tour Preferred for a great price used which I absolutely love! Tried out a couple of Scotty Cameron’s, Spyder’s, Odyssey’s, and other more expensive putters, but the SOTO felt the best to me and *should* be in the bag for a long time.

 

*Club Ho disclaimer...subject to change, Lol!

Edited January 15, 2021 by BallerNate

[Funkytee75]

3 hours ago, Fenrir said:

losing 20-30 yards on a off center strike

A lesson or 4 in the next 2 months concentrating on grip and swing for that center hit and lower the horizontal spin with a square club head strike will help here. 
I agree with settling on a putter after a proper fitting, then putting in the work. 
All the best!

[morrisminor]

I'll go against the grain and say don't waste your money on a new putter. 

 

Buy two books: Putting Out of Your Mind by Bob Rotella and Every Shot Counts by Mark Broadie.  You'll be down to single figures in no time.

 

If you want a new club get a ping G or G400 driver.  The rest of your bag is solid.

[bluedot]

If you have any way to do so, take a really hard, detailed look at your stats and see where you need the most help, and go beyond just general ideas like hitting it farther or hitting more fairways, etc.  For instance:

 

1. Get some clear idea of what your swing speed really is, and what is a reasonable expectation for driver distance from that speed.  Beyond that, take a look at your ball flight and try to determine if you could benefit from hitting it higher for more carry, or lower for more rollout, etc.  And take a REALLY hard look at your default misses.

 

2. Get good information about how far you are hitting each club in your bag, with an eye toward closing gaps, especially in the scoring clubs.  Include in this taking a look at the consistency of each club; if you can't hit a 3W off the ground, then ditch it. 

 

3.  If you want to do a putter fitting, go for it, but have a clear idea in mind what is going on with your putting before you go.  There isn't a putter out there that is going to result in a ton of makes from 20', but there might be one that matches your stroke better from 5' and in, which is where good putting really happens.

 

Your other alternative is to throw money at your game in a more or less random fashion by trying this driver, or these irons, etc.  That might be fun, and there is nothing wrong with that, but it isn't really very likely to result in improvement.  And if you really take a deep dive into your stats, you might find something that isn't really about the equipment, but need to be addressed another way, whether that's practice, or lessons, or playing away from a weakness. 

[Tree Levino]

11 hours ago, Fenrir said:

I know clubs alone won’t drop anything but having more help then the driver and irons I’m playing would prob help on the non centered hits, I played somewhere between 30-40 rounds in 2020 so I’m not opposed to putting in the work, but I also know that losing 20-30 yards on a off center strike isn’t gonna make the game any easier 

Doesn’t matter if you drop $500+ on the new 425 Max, if you bash it off low heel it’s not going anywhere. You’ll easily lose 30 yards from the spin kicking up and ball speed drop. You actually have a good bag. If you have some coin to slowly upgrade things, by all means go for it. I’d spend way more on lessons though. Those irons you have are incredible. Loft for loft they’re as good as anything modern. If you can find a 2016 Taylormade M2 they’re cheap, forgiving, and super long. It’d be good to get a fitting to determine what loft you need. 
 

Any golfer with even reasonable coordination and good lessons should be able to shoot in the 80s consistently without issue. It’s not your equipment - pros have been shooting under par for how long? 

[acekun]

I've been slowly upgrading my bag this last year after starting playing again last January after a 10 year break. I started the year shooting in the mid 90's and am currently 6 handicap.

 

Personally, I think the most important club to start with is the driver and I don't think it's even close. The technology is so much better now -- these clubheads are extremely forgiving.  I wanted to wait to get a new driver because I wanted to improve my swing, but my buddy who is a fitter convinced me to get a new one in August (I was about 10 handicap by then). He said a new driver would help my swing changes (for example, I had 10.5 degree -- he put me in a 9 degree and it improved the way I came into the ball). He said I was making compensations in my swing due to my equipment.  The new driver made a huge difference in my game. 

 

I picked up a putter after that because I hated my old putter. But if I was on a budget, the putter would be the last thing I would change out. 

 

Last month, I got some RTX 4 wedges because they were on sale. And my buddy also told me it was time to get new irons. I just got my Srixon ZX5s last week. He thinks that alone will be worth a couple strokes. 

 

Just today, I was looking to buy a used 3 wood (didn't want to spend a lot because I only use it for 2nd shots on Par 5s) and asked him if I should get the Mavrik or Sim. But he told me that the Epic Flash is probably better for me (which is the driver he put me in). If you're looking for a cheap driver, I highly recommend that. 

 

Only thing left is my 4 iron/hybrid. Was going to see how I hit my irons before I decide.

 

While people are right that building a good swing is more important than equipment, I am a firm believe that the right equipment can help you make swing changes. I've also watched my buddy's fittings -- it's amazing the improvement people can make just from equipment, particularly players who aren't good. They see more improvement than the highly skilled players because those guys can hit anything. 

 

If budget is an issue, my order would be (1) driver, (2) irons and (3) wedges. 

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2021 by acekun

[Fenrir]

On 1/16/2021 at 12:32 AM, acekun said:

I've been slowly upgrading my bag this last year after starting playing again last January after a 10 year break. I started the year shooting in the mid 90's and am currently 6 handicap.

 

Personally, I think the most important club to start with is the driver and I don't think it's even close. The technology is so much better now -- these clubheads are extremely forgiving.  I wanted to wait to get a new driver because I wanted to improve my swing, but my buddy who is a fitter convinced me to get a new one in August (I was about 10 handicap by then). He said a new driver would help my swing changes (for example, I had 10.5 degree -- he put me in a 9 degree and it improved the way I came into the ball). He said I was making compensations in my swing due to my equipment.  The new driver made a huge difference in my game. 

 

I picked up a putter after that because I hated my old putter. But if I was on a budget, the putter would be the last thing I would change out. 

 

Last month, I got some RTX 4 wedges because they were on sale. And my buddy also told me it was time to get new irons. I just got my Srixon ZX5s last week. He thinks that alone will be worth a couple strokes. 

 

Just today, I was looking to buy a used 3 wood (didn't want to spend a lot because I only use it for 2nd shots on Par 5s) and asked him if I should get the Mavrik or Sim. But he told me that the Epic Flash is probably better for me (which is the driver he put me in). If you're looking for a cheap driver, I highly recommend that. 

 

Only thing left is my 4 iron/hybrid. Was going to see how I hit my irons before I decide.

 

While people are right that building a good swing is more important than equipment, I am a firm believe that the right equipment can help you make swing changes. I've also watched my buddy's fittings -- it's amazing the improvement people can make just from equipment, particularly players who aren't good. They see more improvement than the highly skilled players because those guys can hit anything. 

 

If budget is an issue, my order would be (1) driver, (2) irons and (3) wedges. 

 

 

 

This was my thinking, my driver is from 2012 the sweet spot is so small compared to anything made in the last few years (which doesn’t matter to much if you are sub 5hc, but is huge for someone like me) budget is for sure an issue (isn’t it always) but as much as I want new irons I don’t nearly drop as many shots with them as I prob do with driver, my wedges are actually in fine shape so that would prob be the last thing I’d buy 

[bvanlieu]

I can tell you: 5 HC's miss the center too. A lot more then you think! So a newer driver will give you some added benefit of ball speed retention compared to what you game now...centered hits are not going go go any farther, and the size of that center is really no different. Its just around the club face instead of losing 8MPH ball speed perhaps you only lose 3-4. That is significant. 

 

After that, once you are comfy with your swing you can go club hunting based on look and feel but honestly those Eye 2's set the standard for CB irons in the day. Some newer clubs with engineered faces also will have a bit better ball speed for specific misses but overall, they likely won't prove to be much different then the Eyes. 

 

I personally gamed Eye2's for over 20 years and in 2017 I simply changed to a newer club as it was time and I wanted a more players profile look with less offset. I probably should have looked at the i210s but I had not gotten the WRX club bug yet 🙂

 

No need to go new on the driver, CPO clubs are great. Ping G410 or similar is a darn forgiving driver for example....I still have a Cally Rogue as a backup myself. 

[Fenrir]

17 hours ago, bvanlieu said:

 

No need to go new on the driver, CPO clubs are great. Ping G410 or similar is a darn forgiving driver for example....I still have a Cally Rogue as a backup myself. 

My thoughts exactly, I’m really leaning towards a ping as I’ve had 2 and really like the feel of them, g400 in some manner is prob what I’ll end up with as the g410 is still a bit more then I wanna spend

[Mych]

If you're totaling 36 putts per round, your putter isn't the problem, it's your approach shot proximity, short game, and lag putting that are likely the issues.

 

If you're missing most of your putts inside 6 feet, by all means change putters. But if you're finishing with 36 putts you probably are:

1) outside of 25ft proximity on approach shots, leading to 3 putts

2) not chipping into a makeable range often (<10ft)

3) too aggressive on long 1st putts, leading to missed comebackers and resulting in a 3 putt. 

 

I'd address your short game strategy before changing anything else. This is one of my favorite articles. It has helped me and a few buddies to improve our putting strategy. 

https://www.pgatour.com/instruction/instruction-never-three-putt-again.html

Edited January 20, 2021 by Mych

[Fenrir]

8 hours ago, Mych said:

If you're totaling 36 putts per round, your putter isn't the problem, it's your approach shot proximity, short game, and lag putting that are likely the issues.

 

If you're missing most of your putts inside 6 feet, by all means change putters. But if you're finishing with 36 putts you probably are:

1) outside of 25ft proximity on approach shots, leading to 3 putts

2) not chipping into a makeable range often (<10ft)

3) too aggressive on long 1st putts, leading to missed comebackers and resulting in a 3 putt. 

 

I'd address your short game strategy before changing anything else. This is one of my favorite articles. It has helped me and a few buddies to improve our putting strategy. 

https://www.pgatour.com/instruction/instruction-never-three-putt-again.html

Sadly I’m mostly short on 20ft or longer and yes I’m still missing inside of 6ft so I think it’s a combo of a lot of things, short game could always use more work as well but I’ve 3 putt from inside 10ft so I think at this point it may just be a confidence thing