Ask These Questions Before You Buy Golf Clubs

Important Golf Clubs Questions Before Expanding Don't Buy New Golf Clubs Without Taking These Steps

There are a number of good guides out there for new golfers looking to pick up their first set of golf clubs. They address important considerations including practical issues such as budget, how likely someone is to put in the time to improve and make it worth investing, as well as how to discern absolute junk from a decent beginner's set. But for the biggest group of golfers, those who battle it out once a month, want to improve and look cool but not spend too much to have fun with their friends, the following set of strategies and questions to ask when buying golf clubs can be very helpful. Players with years of experience and a subscription to Golf Digest have just about all the resources anyone could ask for to help them make choices about which golf clubs to buy, so they may tend to over-complicate or over-simplify the process for these middling amateur players. But because this group represents one of the biggest demographics that spend money on golf, companies have spent a lot of time developing products that will appeal to them in terms of helping these players improve and appealing to their more superficial desires. It's just a matter of taking the right steps and asking the right questions to find the tools that are actually designed to meet an individual golfer's needs.

The first thing you should do is look at your clubs, your past six months of rounds, and how you've felt about this. Did you play a lot more than you expected? What types of shots were you having trouble with and what mistakes were you making? Do you think those are a symptom of a gap in your clubs, your inexperience, or your technique? Based on your answers to these questions consider how much you can you afford to spend on new tech, if that money would be better invested in lessons or green fees, and if you will outgrow other current clubs that may be a more pressing replacement very soon.

Next, assuming you decided that it makes sense to make an investment, think about your strengths and weaknesses as a golfer. This would also be a good time to take at least one lesson if you haven't already, as it will both provide you with a few basic drills or changes that you can make to shore up your fundamentals before you really ingrain some bad habits, and allow you to get a great deal of information about yourself as a golfer. Be sure to ask some questions explaining that you want to understand more about your swing because you are thinking about getting some new clubs - and then be ready if the instructor suggests the money would be better spent with him or her. While it may be true from a purely objective standpoint, if you've already made an informed decision that you want to buy some new golf clubs, don't be afraid to stand by your priorities.

Take this info about things like how often you miss hit, your club head speed, the ball you should play, how far you hit staple clubs - driver, seven iron, pitching wedge - and have a few conversations with the employees at the pro shop who know about clubs. Here you will need to ask yourself another set of questions.

Think about your goals and where you see your game going in the near future. How much are you going to play, at what types of courses? Will you be spending a lot of time to improve your fundamentals, are you on the verge of a breakthrough, or is your slice still killing you in the tee box? When you start gathering suggestions for clubs that fit your player profile, knowing where you think you will be and hope to be in a year or two as a golfer can help you get the most longevity out of your investment. Also, obviously watch out for salesmen that seem to be telling you everything you've learned through hard work and research isn't quite right, especially if their actual truth means a more expensive purchase.

Lastly, before you capitalize on all this effort and turn money into shiny new toys in your bag, double check with yourself that you are doing this because you want to and you will get some joy out of it, whether it's from the purchase itself, the chance to learn how to play better, or the possibility that the next round with your friends will be slightly less frustrating because of your new golf clubs. As long as you can say "yes" somewhere in there, you're probably making the right decision.


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