$3,000 bag versus lessons ?

[MattM97]

It depends on the player, some people don't want lessons because they think they can do it themselves with some practice which is true. Some say lessons are a waste of money and that's also true depending on the coach and person as well. Some just want to enjoy a weekend away from life and don't care what they shoot but want nice things. 

 

Enjoyment depends on the person and their goals. 

[tsecor]

1 hour ago, Fairway14 said:

Will a 15 handicap player shoot lower scores and, or, enjoy the game more if he spends $1,500 on his bag of clubs plus another $1,500 on a dozen lessons and lots of practice range balls? Or, will he get more enjoyment by spending $3,000 on his gear and nothing in the way of technique instruction or practice ?

* both of the above options assume that the clubs fit the player reasonably well.

since this is golf wrx.

 

Get fitted at PGA superstore.....spend the 3000......talk about how your spin rates are too high and your launch angle is too high and how you know everything about every PGA player on the planet while you shoot a score of 110 but claim you shoot 75. you will fit right in

 

 

[jj9000]

1 minute ago, TiScape said:

Uh, you literally told him he was “doing it wrong.” 😂 

 

Ugh...have another cup of coffee.

 

Topic of the thread "$3,000 bag versus lessons"

 

$800 for a Driver.

 

If trying to stay under a certain amount...which I proclaimed is relatively easy to do...as I can build an entire bag for $1,000...$800 for a Driver is way out of line relative to my position.

 

We back on track?

[PNW]

49 minutes ago, turles20 said:

50/50

If he gets $3000 clubs, he will need to get iron covers as to protect their resale value. The irons covers will ruin any chance that he has with the cart girl. The more expensive clubs just aren't worth it.

 

This is correct. You don't want to push yourself into iron cover territory. 

[sittingbull]

1500 on bag

500 lessons 

1000 coke and hookers

 

[TiScape]

2 minutes ago, jj9000 said:

 

Ugh...have another cup of coffee.

 

Topic of the thread "$3,000 bag versus lessons"

 

$800 for a Driver.

 

If trying to stay under a certain amount...which I proclaimed is relatively easy to do...as I can build an entire bag for $1,000...$800 for a Driver is way out of line relative to my position.

 

We back on track?

Don’t tell me what to do! I’m having another cup because I want to! Not because you told me to!! 😂 

 

All I read was bulldog said he was spending $800 on a driver, you said he was doing it wrong. My point was we all know M1 is close to SIM (newer drivers) distance wise. But the newer stuff does have higher MOI. Rose hits the sweet spot 95+% of the time so he (any pro) is perhaps a bad example  for a double digit capper in regards to driver choice. If ones only goal is to spend less money, sure, play the older stuff. 

I’m going back to my coffee now! 😂 ☕️☕️☕️

[Bentron]

2 minutes ago, sittingbull said:

1500 on bag

500 lessons 

1000 coke and hookers

 

This solution should end all the arguing on this thread. 

[sadclevelandsports]

Honestly have done just fine without lessons, just lots of practice in the garage. A membership at PGASS using their launch monitors was also a great purchase (though chasing big numbers is always a risk).

[Bad9]

2 hours ago, Fairway14 said:

Will a 15 handicap player shoot lower scores and, or, enjoy the game more if he spends $1,500 on his bag of clubs plus another $1,500 on a dozen lessons and lots of practice range balls? Or, will he get more enjoyment by spending $3,000 on his gear and nothing in the way of technique instruction or practice ?

* both of the above options assume that the clubs fit the player reasonably well.

After spending $3k on the clubs he'll still be a 15hc

[TiScape]

16 minutes ago, jj9000 said:

 

Ugh...have another cup of coffee.

 

Topic of the thread "$3,000 bag versus lessons"

 

$800 for a Driver.

 

If trying to stay under a certain amount...which I proclaimed is relatively easy to do...as I can build an entire bag for $1,000...$800 for a Driver is way out of line relative to my position.

 

Makes sense. It is easy to do if that’s your goal. But is bulldog’s goal to build a bag for only $1000? Doesn’t sound like it if he’s spending $800 on a driver. So I don’t think he’s doing it wrong for him. Definitely wrong for you. 

[B_of_H]

my lessons cost $120/ hour.  I'm not sure why anyone at a 15 handicap needs an instructor that cost any more than that.  the guy I take lessons from is about as accomplished as you'll find outside of Butch Harmon types as well.  (granted I don't like in a super expensive part of the country to live though). At a 15 hcp i'd think an assistant pro is probably good enough as far as teaching the basics of fundamentals etc...  If you can't do basic things correct or don't know what they feel or look like then a high end pro seems like a waste of time to me.  

[NJBigFish22]

Personally, I would say increase your budget, if you are starting with nothing, you could get a nice setup for $2K, including being fitted.  I am just getting back and I bought an $80 set (3-PW) to get me back into it.  I know this isn’t my ideal set, but needed to get started on learning new swing.  Once I have the swing at a solid point, I can then be in a better spot to get right bag setup.  Then with correct setup, I would find an instructor that relates to the way you learn, then see if he has a week long golf school if not local and use the other $2K for that.  

[lefthack]

41 minutes ago, sittingbull said:

1500 on bag

500 lessons 

1000 coke and hookers

 

Winner.

 

/thread

[nlinneman20]

1 hour ago, jj9000 said:

I'm not understanding the need for a $3,000 bag of equipment?

 

I can build a kick-a** bag from top to bottom for around $1,000 or less...with equally as good of performance as a $3,000 bag.

 

So...I would suggest spending 1/3 on equipment...and 2/3 on lessons and range balls.

 

 

 

I was going to say the same thing lol

 

Given the extensive used market where you can pick up basically brand new clubs for half if not more of the retail price.  $1500 bag would still be pretty damn nice.

 

Visit callaway pre-owned, classifieds on here , ebay, and any other used golf club exchange and you can have a bag of clubs that are 2 years old or less for probably less than 1500

[GLF4EVR]

Send your money to me...Al Franken.

 

Seriously...do not spend anything on clubs.  First, find an instructor that you trust.  This might take a few lessons to even find if you trust the instructor.  My thinking on this is that over the time spent with the instructor, they will be able to give you much better input of purchasing clubs to actually improve your game.

 

Now having said that.....this comes from someone who is coming up on 63.....never had a lesson....the entire bag used to be under $350 until I purchased new wedges & upgraded to an M5 driver last year.

[tsecor]

did someone mention coke and hookers?

 

was this DJ's boat? 

[TiScape]

58 minutes ago, nlinneman20 said:

 

I was going to say the same thing lol

 

Given the extensive used market where you can pick up basically brand new clubs for half if not more of the retail price.  $1500 bag would still be pretty damn nice.

 

Visit callaway pre-owned, classifieds on here , ebay, and any other used golf club exchange and you can have a bag of clubs that are 2 years old or less for probably less than 1500

Good points. Unless you need all your irons at say 1” over standard length like with upright lies like I do. If I want to try an older iron that’s no longer available I’ll search through all the different ‘for sale’ stuff and second hand online places. Very slim pickings when trying to find longer sets with my choice of shaft. I did buy one set of standard length irons that were no longer available retail, purchased some steel extensions and added the inch myself. Thankfully I already had a chop saw and metal cutting blade. (Not sure what a shop would charge.) I just never had the same confidence in them as a set initially built to my specs. I’m sure most of it was in my head, but golf is a very mental game. I’m fortunate that I’m able to purchase new custom gear. So it’s a non-issue for heads that are available now. But if one needs longer irons/different lie angles and they’re not in a place to spend ~$1000 on a custom set, it’s kind of a pain. I suppose a component company like sub 70 might be a good option if you don’t have the $ to spend on golf gear. 

Edited May 12, 2021 by TiScape

[North Butte]

Neither buying more expensive golf clubs or paying for lessons is going to make any meaningful difference to a golfer's scores.

 

On the one hand yeah, a better set of clubs might help keep your mishits in the same zip code or gain you 15 yards of driver distance. All that's gotta be worth a couple strokes here and there. But it shooting 91 really a lot more enjoyable than shooting 93?

 

On the other hand OK maybe a series of lessons will tighten up your alignment and get you keeping the club on plane a bit better, things like that. And it's probably going to knock a few strokes off your average scores. 

 

But without a lot of practice (and I mean a serious amount over a prolonged period) just taking the lessons will probably move you down from one scoring plateau to the next. Maybe your 90's and 93's become 86's and 88's. 

 

My point is, you can't buy a game. If you decided to commit to becoming seriously better, better as in a 15-20hcp learning to shoot in the 70's most of the time, then you're going to end up probably changing clubs and probably paying for a lot of lessons. But mostly you're going to devote several hours a week or more over a few years to focused practice, as well as possibly physical conditioning.

[jomatty]

Just lessons will no doubt result in lower scores provided he is playing with something somewhat reasonable.

what will bring them more enjoyment is 100% player dependent.  
im a 6 hcp and there is no doubt that lessons would benefit me greatly.  New gear does very little to effect my scoring.  I’ll spend a lot on gear and probably won’t take a lesson this year.  I enjoy it and am ok with this, as I just play for fun, even though I do practice a fair amount and try to improve.

There is no wrong answer as long as the player is honest about what they want to accomplish and what brings them enjoyment.

[nostatic]

1 hour ago, sittingbull said:

 

1000 coke and hookers

 

 

well, that's a starting point, but you'll need to get the hookers on a launch monitor to see if you need to make any shaft changes.

 

I'll see myself out...

[Tiptx1122]

Get fitted for sure then find what you wanted in club selection then practice practice as we have to remember we or most of us on here are not professionals so get out there and take the good with the bad and just enjoy the game. You can spend hundreds of dollars on lessons only to shoot boogie golf as it's the good shots that keep you coming back. Plus you can watch videos and get some great tips on the internet. Lessons are good but that too can become very expensive as you will find out that PGA players can afford lessons when they go thru swing changes. If money is not holding you back go for it as this game is all that cheap it can become very expensive

Edited May 12, 2021 by Tiptx1122
Added more

[RogerinNewZealand]

Bag.

Since April,i have spent hours watching swing videos...

Shawn Clements

Effort vs Velocity

The slow swing

David Leadbetters

A Swing..get that well understood.

So once you click too what was wrong...balance..grip..stance..posture...no turn..no wrist c0ck...you will know when your Ball is on the right path....draw your own conclusion and Invest the $3000 in the Bag👍

[bladehunter]

I’d reward myself only for better play.  You can build a bag of reasonably decent stuff for $500 .   I’d spend $600 tops on instruction to start with , and then examine progress at that point and decide on more or less.  
 

at the end of the day , you can’t buy ability. If you can’t see progress in a couple to 5 lessons , you won’t in 100.  If no progress At that point I’d spend the rest on clubs and call it a day .  But I’m giving an opinion with no  basis to form my opinion really.  I saw constant and quick progress down.  So I don’t know how it is on the other side.  

[bladehunter]

1 hour ago, North Butte said:

Neither buying more expensive golf clubs or paying for lessons is going to make any meaningful difference to a golfer's scores.

 

On the one hand yeah, a better set of clubs might help keep your mishits in the same zip code or gain you 15 yards of driver distance. All that's gotta be worth a couple strokes here and there. But it shooting 91 really a lot more enjoyable than shooting 93?

 

On the other hand OK maybe a series of lessons will tighten up your alignment and get you keeping the club on plane a bit better, things like that. And it's probably going to knock a few strokes off your average scores. 

 

But without a lot of practice (and I mean a serious amount over a prolonged period) just taking the lessons will probably move you down from one scoring plateau to the next. Maybe your 90's and 93's become 86's and 88's. 

 

My point is, you can't buy a game. If you decided to commit to becoming seriously better, better as in a 15-20hcp learning to shoot in the 70's most of the time, then you're going to end up probably changing clubs and probably paying for a lot of lessons. But mostly you're going to devote several hours a week or more over a few years to focused practice, as well as possibly physical conditioning.

This ^ is the truth.  Instruction is great. But if it’s not coupled with 3-5 days a week practice ( not all day ) then it’s really a losing proposition. 

[PJE]

It depends on the golfer:

The golfer who invests in lessons must find a teacher who is compatible and who can work on refining or enhancing the golfer's natural swing. Some teachers are ineffective communicators or are too dogmatic.

The golfer who invests in the bag has to have sufficient body awareness and swing knowledge to self diagnosis faults.

In either case the golfer must be persistent and put forth sufficient effort to improve.

Finally, this opinion is based upon the assumption the 15 handicap is at that level because of chronic swing flaws. Some people are 15 handicaps for other reasons: putting yips, chipping yips, chronic poor course management, or psychological problems.

I have a friend who varies from 16-18. He should be around an 8 or 9. He usually starts with about 6 par or better holes and then just loses it with consecutive doubles, triples, etc. The wheels absolutely fall off after an initial measure of success.  It's a psychological thing with him. 

[Texas Golfer]

Neither.  For a 15 HC, lessons are only good if you put in the practice time and if you play more than a weekend golfer, but who wants to do that much work?  Clubs, might give you a better game, especially if you’re still using hickory shafts and gutta percha balls.

 

If you want to score better than a 15 HC with the cart girl, best to use the cash to procure some fine threads...

[Shanker84]

Here's one thing you could do that probably isn't the worst idea ever. 

 

If you have a decent set now that is reasonably close to what you need, stick with it. If it's your wife's dead grandpa's clubs from the 50's then by all means, spend a grand and get some decent stuff. 

 

Then spend $50 on some Monte videos (1,950 remaining). 

 

Sign up for a year of Monte's improvement plan (1,350 remaining)

 

Do 6 online video lessons with him (600 remaining)

 

Buy $600 worth of beer. 

 

OR 

 

Spend $600 on a launch monitor or something like arcoss to help you dial in your distances. 

Edited May 12, 2021 by Shanker84

[North Butte]

2 hours ago, bladehunter said:

This ^ is the truth.  Instruction is great. But if it’s not coupled with 3-5 days a week practice ( not all day ) then it’s really a losing proposition. 

I'm sure I've said this on the forum before. I did a couple years of the "get better" thing, more than a decade ago. Started out around a 22 or 23 HCP and it took a little while to kick in but then there was an 18-month period where it dropped to 14 and was continuing to trend down. My teaching pro said in a couple more years it was reasonable to hope to be in the mid-upper single digits, shooting in the 70's pretty often.

 

I did some self examination and decided it wasn't worth it. I was out in the backyard doing swing drills every single day, even on days I played golf I'd spend time on the range before and after. Working on strength and flexibility at the gym three mornings a week, lessons a couple times a month. It was kind of an adventure the first few months but really I hate workouts and I hate practicing.

 

So I bailed on the whole thing. Now I go see him for an hour a couple times a year when some part of my game goes completely haywire and I do a little stretching and such. But basically I show up and play golf, take my 16 strokes or whatever and have a good time with my usual group. 

 

When I compare shooting 87 and maybe winning, maybe losing a few bucks to the idea of shooting 77 and maybe winning, maybe losing a few bucks I just can't see that being enough more fun to give up a ten hours a week "working on my game" instead of just showing up and playing. But I do buy a new set of irons every year or two, a new driver too. Buying stuff is fun and easy but it's not about game improvement. Game improvement is hard!

[MrParr1Noid]

Some guys don't know bling about Bling.  🙂  Bling's the way of the world..

[herkyjerk]

Aside from the coke and hookers which I entirely endorse, nothing is more fulfilling than having that long box on your porch as you pull up.  New equipment is the best.  Makes me a kid at Christmas again.  And it’s OK if it’s used too, it’s new to you.  Lessons = BORING