Advice on new clubs

[Hooli]

3 years ago I bought a starter set of Callaway Strata as I wasn't sure how much I'd play.

I now get out 30 times over the summer and have a golf sim in my garage which we use a lot over the long Canadian winter. I hit 92-88 outside. I am generally happy with my clubs.

Will new clubs improve my game? I have a budget that would allow me to get a new complete set of M3s.

Thank you for any advice. Cheers!

[andygg1986]

Getting properly fit for a set of clubs is the most likely way to improve your game, although even that isn't guaranteed to make a difference. If your current clubs match up with your swing (length, flex, lie angle, swingweight), then ones a few years newer are unlikely to lower your scores. Here is a cool video showing a 20 year old driver versus a new one (spoiler, the new one goes about 7% farther). My thought is that if it only increased 7% in 20 years, the last few years are unlikely to have more than a couple percent improvement, which probably won't show up on your scorecard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ygG0SG1KNs

It's certainly fun to buy new ones though! If you are shooting around a 90, you would probably see much bigger gains by putting that money towards lessons.

[Hooli]

I feel a bit dumb, I didn't even think about lessons. Seems rather obvious, now that you've mentioned it, that lessons would be a good way to go before making a significant investment in new clubs. Thanks!

[WadeH]

They do only hit 7% father but they are MUCH more forgiving on mishits.

[BGCurtis2nd]

Lessons are good advice, but if you do decide on new clubs getting them properly fitted is the best way to go. I went to Golftec and got a full bag fitting, and it sure was some of the best money I have spent.

[Hooli]

I've found a golftec near me. I'm going to check out club fitting and lessons. Seems like a god balance.

[BGCurtis2nd]

Hooli I know that I would be interested in taking some lessons at Golftec if it wasn't a three hour drive one way from where I am at. I talked my nephew into going up and getting fitted also, not sure it was a good idea he game improved drastically over mine. He wound up with basically the same clubs as me only his are 1/2" longer and the lie is slightly different plus he has 22 years on me. I am very glad I talked him into going, it took almost 6 months after I went to get him to go but his game has improved, and he is playing more and enjoying it more.

[StuartG]

I see a lot of people discuss equipment vs lessons like it must be one or the other. But the decision about lessons and equipment are not really mutually exclusive (well except for maybe budgetary constraints).

But if you are happy with the clubs and they perform well for you, I don't see the need to rush into new equipment. The biggest problem with off the shelf clubs tend to be that the longer clubs (driver, woods, hybrids) tend to be a bit long for most amateurs and can negatively affect consistency. But you dont' need new equipment to fix that problem.

[Hooli]

That's a reallu good point about the driver and woods. I do find my driver and 3 wood feel a little long, I've adapted over the years.

I think I'll explore both options and see hiw mich it would be.

Cheers for the advice.

[mthunt]

New clubs wont likely improve your game. If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. However, if they aren’t fit for you and terrible toss them

[Hooli]

They were $300 from Amazon, including the bag, so they're not stellar. I think I might explore both new clubs and lessons.

[StuartG]

Price and quality don't always go hand-in-hand. Particularly with golf clubs.

And how well they might fit you (which a different issue from quality), will have nothing to do with how much they cost. How well they fit are things like: playing length not too short or too long, shaft flex not too soft or too firm, shaft weight and swing weight work well with your swing, is the grip size correct, etc...

And how well they fit will generally have a much bigger influence on how they perform than the question of quality.

Putting aside the question of how well they fit, newer (more expensive clubs) might gain you a little bit more forgiveness on mishits and maybe a touch more distance - particularly for the longer clubs (assuming they are fit correctly). But there is no guarantee for either of those improvements since they are not that old of a set. Hard to say anything specific about those irons since I'm not familiar with the design.

But it never hurts to go out and demo new(er) clubs (except maybe the bank account).

[StuartG]

Actually, just found the specs on that set. If I found the right set of specs - it's only 9 clubs. Have you filled out that set with any additions? Sand wedge, gap wedge, 4 or 3 hybrid?

Also, how far do you think you hit your 7-iron?

[Hooli]

Actually, the set I bought came with Driver, 3 Wood, 4 and 5 Iron hybrids, 6-9 irons, PW, SW, and putter. I checked my order history and it is the Strata plus 16 piece (bag and club covers included). I've bought no other clubs.

My 7 iron is consistently 140-145 y and straight.

[StuartG]

For that swing speed, nothing seems blatantly a poor fit. The driver is 45" - could be a bit shorter but not as bad as most stock drivers on the shelves. But everyone is different and swing speed is only a small part of the fitting process. If there is a big gap in distance between how far you hit the PW and SW, you might want to consider a gap wedge. Similarly if there is a gap in distance between the 3wd and 4 hybrid you might consider adding a 5wd.

[Hooli]

Thanks for the advice, it's really appreciated.

Funny you should mention a big differnce between the PW and SW as I hit them 110 and 80 yards, respectively. I thought I was the problem! I might look into getting something in between them.