Only buying used clubs from now on. Redwood putter pic.

[Shardak]

"Tech" in golf clubs is a joke. Its all marketing, with no actual benefit. Center of mass can be moved around to alter spin, and lofts can be changed to alter spin and distance. But stuff like "twist face", "jail break", "cup face", "Speed Foam" and all the rest is just marketing nonsense. I especially love how this new tech will show up one year, then disappear the next. Like when TaylorMade promoted fluted-hosels in its drivers a couple years ago. Guess we dont need that, cause its no longer in their newer clubs!

Given this absolute truth, I have stopped buying anything new.

Last year I replaced my Apex CF16 irons, with a used set of Mizuno MP5 bladed irons. I am an 18 handicap, I remained 18 after 1 year of play. The blades just feel better. They spin higher and are better at distance control than the low-spinning, low-lofted Apex irons. Mishits feel harsher with the MP5s, but distance is no worse than a mishit with a cavity back iron. Going back to game-improvement irons, they just feel dull and muted compared to the blades. I see no reason to play anything other than blades from now on.


Last week, I picked up a Ping Redwood Anser putter on ebay. Its in pretty decent shape. I put the Ping Blackout PP58 grip on it, and also put heat-shrink tubing on the shaft to really black it out. I love how it feels. Its very black....sith lord black!


I also picked up a used set of wedges. Cleveland Tour Action 900, gunmetal finish. I purchased the SW brand new about 15 years ago. And have gone through several sets of wedges since then, but always liked the TA900 feel. So I dusted off the SW from storage, and picked up a matching 52 and 60 from 2nd swing golf for $35. They are just dead-simple wedges. No crazy grooves, mack-daddy paint-holes etc.

[Jtangm04]

I frequent golfwrx classifieds in the past. Had to stop since I have poor self restraint.

[Dan McWhirter]

I went through something very similar...I had bought Adam's AOS set (hybrids then irons 6 thru pitch, but all sorta hybrid form and all graphite...5 star reviews three years ago)...these replaced Nike which had replaced Ben Hogan Apex Edge (from the 90s era, two piece forged cavity back, steel shafts). Then I got my SkyTrak sim. So I put all these clubs to the test. Dammit, I wasn't just getting older, I was playing crap! Resurrect the Hogans! Then a buddy comes up with used Hogan Apex Plus from the late 90s, like new, muscle back forged steel shafts. They just looked so good! And even better on the sim and dirt cheap. Playing my best golf ever! Good enough to work on a sub-80 game while shooting low 80s. The sim also has a lot to do with that of course. Meanwhile three Bombtech wedges, all for $99, with differing bounces that just seem to fit my game. Throw in a Knuth Golf driver and three wood (those were expensive) designed for old man slow swing speed. I would not change a thing, except my grips.

[wbond]

Agree, buying used can save you a ton of money and on golfwrx, there are so many "flippers" there you can get really good equipment at great prices. And most people would probably find the same thing you did, you'll probably shoot very similar scores regardless of blade v cavity back or vokey vs no name wedge. Buying used though is all about self control, you may find yourself with multiple sets of irons wedges woods etc. Especially with the ability to try things out on your own sim. I'm currently in the process of offloading all the extras from my sim room.

[GolfAficionado]

Hey guys, I know this topic is a little old now but you got me interested in used golf clubs. Just not sure what's the best place to get them from between golf town, 2nd swing, golf avenue, etc. Any tip?

[StuartG]

Callaway Preowned is another great site to get used clubs from - and no, it's not limited to just Callaway clubs. They have plenty of used clubs from other OEM's as well.

[Trickle007]

Callaway preowned very good service one guy in my group all he buys is Callaway preowned and these clubs always look brand new

[Gamecock82]

I have also done away with purchasing anything brand-new, unless it’s a discounted older model on one of these listed sites. I’ve used discountgolf, golf avenue, rock bottom golf, and Callaway preowned. All had tremendous deals and the products exceeded expectations/descriptions.

I just recently purchased a ‘16 Taylormade M1 430cc Driver, with a ProjectX Hzrdus Black Xstiff shaft, for $220 new on golf avenue. Then I added gently used mizuno wedges (gap 50’ and lob 58’) to the bag. The gap came from rock bottom golf, it was described as excellent condition and for only $40. It arrived as expected - in excellent condition. The lob I got off Callawaypreowned for under $30. The bad thing about their site is the fact that they don’t show photos, but it was described as in “good” condition so I figured I could take a little risk. To my surprise, it arrived in excellent condition.

For a mid-high handicapper, I really don’t think the clubs impact your game as much as they do in a low handicap golfer, so why pay face value for over-marketed “technology” when you will most certainly still be a mid-high handicapper.