Beginner set of Clubs

Dont Be at It

Have been playing a good bit of pitch and putt the last while and am thinking of taking the plunge and buying a set of golf clubs.

My question is am I better buying a brand new set of clubs or buying a good second hand set. I play left handed (even though I'm right handed 😅) if that makes any difference.

blue note

Better off with second hand. Just make sure that you buy clubs aimed at higher handicaps. If in a shop just ask, if on adverts check here if you like. For irons you're looking for game improvement, not players. They actually won't make a huge difference, but you might as well get ones most suitable for you.

And as regards being right handed and playing left handed - Phil Mickelson does that. And he never got higher than number 2 in the world. So you're setting yourself a ceiling with how good you can get playing that way.

Dont Be at It

Thanks a mill for the reply!

Do the shops also sell second hand clubs or is the second hand gear all on adverts, etc?

I'm assuming standard length clubs would be the correct size for me.. 5 foot 9, arms are a bit longer than norm for my height.

A couple sets/partial sets on adverts. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts..

https://www.adverts.ie/irons/titleist-ap2-forged-712-irons-left-handed/29606140

https://www.adverts.ie/sets/golf-clubs-left-handed/29615426

Cheers!

Dont Be at It

Another one on donedeal..

https://www.donedeal.ie/golf-for-sale/left-handed-golf-clubs/33726748

blue note

Some shops sell second hand stuff too. I know there's a very good one in Waterford for second hand - deise golf world if you're near there. They'd probably be good to advise you as well. Actually, they deliver too, so you might be able to get sorted with a phone call to them. I'm sure there are plenty of places like it in the country.

The irons you've looked at are geared a little more towards lower handicaps I think. So you might find them slightly harder to hit. And I'm not sure you need all those woods / hybrids. I wonder would you be best off picking up a putter, 5-9 iron, pitching and sand wedges, driver and five wood / 4 hybrid. Rather than spending money on 14 clubs, spend a little more on about 10, or better still spend less money.

Dont Be at It

I'll check them out - not sure if they have much of an online presence.

On the idea of picking up 10 or 11 clubs rather than full 14..would that likely entail picking up the irons as a set and then more often than not trying to pick up the other ones individually? I'm guessing there wouldn't be too many people offering that limited amount of 10 or 11 as a set.

blue note

They're active on Facebook anyway.

I'd say you'll get the irons and wedges as a set easily enough. Driver, putter and hybrid / wood you'll probably need to pick up individually. Don't spend too much on the putter by the way. I just can't see it making a huge difference especially for a beginner.

I would talk to the likes of a golf shop or a golf pro about this though. If you're going to go for a few lessons I can't imagine a pro would mind giving you a bit of advice on what to look out for. And if you're not planning on a few lessons rethink that! You need clubs so they won't be a waste of money, but I'd be trying to keep the cost of them down. If you can spend the leftover money on a couple of lessons it'll be worth infinitely more to you than an extra club.

spacecoyote

There's a guy on Adverts "The Golf Studio" who has a lot of great quality second hand gear.

The bonus of him is that he has a shop based at Celbridge Driving Range. So you could head out to the range and I'd imagine he'd be willing to let you demo some gear there before you buy

dan_ep82

Golf studio would be a good idea if your close , he’ll advise and usually do a deal if your buying a few things together. The range is attached to the building aswell and he would let you demo them white a few hits. Prices are very decent if your buying stuff that’s older than a year or two.

Having said that you might come across a package set from the likes of Wilson or Ram etc, cheaper brands, that will have the bag and all the clubs you’ll need to start. See them going for 100 or so second hand

Jimmy Bottlehead

Bit left field, but you could also check out local charity shops as they often have random golf sets donated and some are shockingly good (especially left handed sets/clubs which won't appeal to most buyers). Could find a lovely set and have the extra money for lessons.

Walter Alright

I spotted these on Adverts earlier

i have no connected to the seller but they might suit

https://touch.adverts.ie/irons/taylormade-irons/29716387

swededmonkey

+1 for the golf studio. Really good to deal with and keenly priced

finglashoop

Golf studio is my first port of call for any clubs

Heard deise world is same just too far away from me

Dont Be at It

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120468468#Comment_120468468

Nice one. Good spot - it's annoying when there's no mention of 'left hand' in the ad title.

Bit of a open ended question but, generally speaking, if there's nothing obvious wrong/damaged with clubs are they good to go? There's no hidden damage/defect that could be on a club that a beginner might miss?

dan_ep82

Whats your budget?

Can throw out a few recommendations then.

Irons. Make sure the shafts are all the same, no damage around where the shaft connects to the club head. Check the grips aren't over worn, these can be 10-20 to replace.

Driver, same but also check for dents on the driver head, rare but i've seen a few that were shocking and will effect the club.

Any damage should be obvious with a good once over.

Dont Be at It

Is sub 500 euro too optimistic for an 11 club set?

Say 7 irons (4-PW), sand wedge, hybrid, driver, putter.

Or would you go 3 wood instead of driver to begin with?

dan_ep82

Unfortunately second hand golf clubs have went up in price since the pandemic so that would limit you to either very old clubs or maybe irons,putter and driver. Derek in Celbridge would probably be the best bet to get something decent for the money as he doesn't stock any old crap but doesn't charge the world for good older clubs.

https://www.halpennygolf.com/en/Wilson-X31-Package-Set-Left-Hand/m-32075.aspx

While this is the higher end entry level if you took it seriously you would probably upgrade all of them over time. It comes with everything to play golf and the bag will always be used even if you change all the clubs. I started with a similar set and upgraded everything over time. Getting a set like this second hand would be the best way to spend your money but they are hard to find left handed.

https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/package-sets/wilson-x31-golf-club-set-review

Dont Be at It

Thanks for the advice, Dan. By pretty much all accounts I need to check in with Golf Studio in Celbridge anyway😃.

One last thing, have folks on here bought from any of the UK websites like golfbidder? Looks like decent value and got some good feedback from a couple users on here a while back.

dan_ep82

Quality is almost better than described but I don't think they cover the import fees.

Dont Be at It

Some comments on here from a few months back saying that they did cover import fees but I'd look to clarify before any purchase anyway. Would probably still be difficult to keep a set under 500 euro.

Is there much of a difference between senior flex and regular flex shafts? They seem to have more of the senior ones on the stuff they do.

dan_ep82

Depends on the shaft usually, you can get a heavy senior and a light regular.

If your fit enough regular will probably be the safer option, again derek would tell you what would suit, or any pro if you took a few lessons.

Dont Be at It

Cheers, Dan.

Would the Pros doing the lessons generally have spare sets of clubs that you can try out before buying elsewhere? Or would you buy the set of clubs before going to get lessons?

dan_ep82

They'd provide a club for the lesson if you need and then advise you on something to buy if you wanted to go that route aswell.

Lessons will give you a jump start a cut a lot of frustration out of it,not all but a fair amount.

recyclops

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120465263#Comment_120465263

I used amazon warehouse when buying my set of clubs to start, got a set of macgregor2000 for around 180 delivered which I thought was good value, its always handy for picking up gear on the cheap, If you but the like new or very good your almost guaranteed a new set with a box and a few scuffs.

Not sure on Strata sets but this is up there at the mo

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Callaway-Strata-Complete-Piece-Package/dp/B07H29Z4Y2/ref%3Dsr_1_74?crid=2OF2ZAXVI7K3H&keywords=golf&m=A2OAJ7377F756P&qid=1681466902&s=warehouse-deals&sprefix=golf%2Cwarehouse-deals%2C135&sr=8-74

Dont Be at It

Interesting one. Gets a pretty decent review as well, bar the putter.