Compare:equipment v instruction

[charnockpro]

Question:

For the amount of club ho'ing the guys on here do, i would love to see there improvement if they spent a comparable amount on either golf or mind control lessons? which would improve their games quicker?

[dave.]

Depends

If someone is still using balata and persimmon,then equipment is the quick remedy,but for someone who just swops drivers everyday month then lessons no doubt.

I do a bit of both,I look at new drivers once a year in winter and spend money all year on lessons

[solarbear88]

I have been spending my coin on instruction. If I can't swing the clubs I got to my satisfaction, more are not going to help in any way.

[warbirdlover]

You want to take away all our "fun" don't you? I get lessons when things go haywire. Otherwise, after 40 years of hacking, I pretty much know what to look for. If you're young it makes sense, but at 60 years old you're kind of "set" in your (swing) ways, LOL.

[SiberianDVM]

A third option: more practice time, especially short game practice.

I know my scores are much better during the summer when the days are longer and I can get in some putting, chipping, and pitching in the evenings.

Believe it or not, I really haven't been buying many clubs lately. I've just been swapping the ones I already have in and out of the bag, trying to find the best ones for me. I think I'm set.

[dave.]

"Otherwise, after 40 years of hacking, I pretty much know what to look for"

LOL!!

The word oxymoron springs to mind

[LyleG]

Equipment can make a huge difference if its ill fitted. Once you have gear that fits you properly, the name on the bottom of the club means nothing as all modern gear is very comparable. Switching clubs all the time wont help, it will only hinder imo.
I own a shop and have access to a lot of gear and switch clubs less often than many people here. I have made a lot of changes this off season as I have finally fit myself properly and made some honest assessments of my game and what gear would best suit it.
I hit balls daily at the dome and come summer will hit balls every morning before work. We are allowed 2 full buckets a day at our club and a warm up bucket pre round. So 2 pails starting at 6 am and then play in the evening.
So I guess I beileve the right gear and the right prcatice will help most of all.

[Lemonhead]

I now am down to 11 handicap after starting 1 year and a month ago with a Wal-Mart box set . I took 2 lessons and then practiced at the range. I walk 9 holes 2-3 times per week. I go to the range a couple of evenings and hit a bucket.

I love playing club ho's who couldn't hit the ball straight if their life depended on it. Then they ask "so what type of club are you playing?" and I say "Wal-Mart Knights" and smile as they put their $400 driver in the back with the Mizuno irons. Of course, I do get paired up with guys with real game and real clubs to match. It's still fun to play a 4-5 handicap with expensive clubs and still get within 5-6 of them.

I'm planning on playing in the city tournament this year (my first tournament) and I think I'll get a new set of clubs. The box set at Wal-Mart now has a 460cc driver! Mmmmm.....

It ain't the arrows, it's the Indian.
Lemonhead

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Lemonhead

I'm planning on playing in the city tournament this year (my first tournament) and I think I'll get a new set of clubs. The box set at Wal-Mart now has a 460cc driver! Mmmmm.....

It ain't the arrows, it's the Indian.
Lemonhead

But if one indian is using the traditional bow and arrow, another one who has gotten his hands on a Winchester is going to have a significant advantage.

But I'm a big fan of lessons too. In 30 years of playing more or less regular golf, I've only bought 3 sets of clubs, and one set that I built from components (poorly, as I didn't really know what I was doing, so I didn't use them for very long). I've only had a couple of lessons, and those about 20 years ago, but that is where I'm headed if a few hours on the range doesn't do something to help my game this spring.

I WILL get back to a 10 handicap.... I WILL... I WILL... I WILL!!!!!

[Lemonhead]

The Indian with the Winchester still needs to know how to shoot the thing. I remember reading "Rogue Warrior" by Richard Marchenko. He describes when he became the CO of Seal Team 6. They went to the range and were practicing with handguns and 4x8 sheets of plywood being pulled across the range. They spent every round in the weapon and hit the plywood just a few times. He had them practice until they were 100%. He claims to have spent more on training ammunition for his team than the entire Marine Corps. My point is that having a great weapon doesn't mean anything if you aren't proficient at using it. Having a great club isn't going to make anyone a scratch golfer if they have no idea how to swing it. My Wal-Mart set is by no means a great set of clubs. But the greatest difference isn't in performance, but in durability. I believe in fixing the big problem first, then moving toward the smaller one.

Small club differences make a huge difference for someone like Tiger or Chokelson because the big problems have long ago been fixed. They are looking to extract more performance from a near-perfect swing (let's not argue about the perfection of their swings, but I make the statement for the sake of this argument).

It's like a drag racer who weighs 500lbs worrying about the 4oz difference in weight between 2 switches. He should be working on his weight because he's going to get more return.

Do I want a set of Mizuno Irons, with a Callaway driver? You bet, but it's not going to be because they are going to make me a better player, it's going to be because I simply want them.

Lemonhead
Lemonhead

[LyleG]

Proper equipment is more important for a hacker than it is a tour pro.

I see the positve effect the "right" gear can have on a bad game.

It doesnt need to cost a lot of have a fancy name either.

[JEFF4i]

Originally Posted by charnockpro

Question:

For the amount of club ho'ing the guys on here do, i would love to see there improvement if they spent a comparable amount on either golf or mind control lessons? which would improve their games quicker?

Don't be so quick to assume, anyway.

I am proud of how I golf, not because of talent or some fluff like that, but because I've worked hard to get to this point.

Funny part is, I've had 3 lessons in my life, all within 6 months, around the end of the first year of my golfing.

(I've been playing for 7 years total now, 3 years through high school, then I lost 2 years to senior year and motorcycle accident, so actually total of 5.)

[Lemonhead]

Lyle,

I have to disagree - with one exception. You can take a hacker and give him a bunch of hybrids and his game may improve - that's the exception. However, what I'm talking about is the guys who run home with the new driver and SWEAR it makes them hit straight. It just ain't going to happen if they have an atrocious swing. My buddy is in that boat. Bought a G5 and told me how straight he hits it. I only see big banana balls off the tee from him. When he hits really fat, it's because of the turf. He just won't come to grips with the fact that his swing is fundamentally flawed and he needs to fix that before dropping the Grand on a set of Callaway x20's (yes, he's decided that they will fix the problem with his game). What will be the end result? I'll still beat him with my Wal-Mart set and he'll be cussing through the entire round about some other excuse. Thankfully, we are really good friends otherwise it would suck to play with him.

You simply aren't going to take a really bad swing and make it right simply by getting fit for new clubs. You can take a workable swing and reduce the penalties for the flaws to gain better shots. But, to me, that's like painting over mold in your house. It looks better, but the mold will be back - guaranteed.

Lemonhead

[LyleG]

Originally Posted by Lemonhead

Lyle,

My buddy is in that boat. Bought a G5 and told me how straight he hits it. I only see big banana balls off the tee from him.

I said fitted. A 45.5 inch driver with a square face is not fitted to his game. I could build him a driver that would have him hitting it straighter the first time he used it.

[dave.]

Originally Posted by Lemonhead

Lyle,


You simply aren't going to take a really bad swing and make it right simply by getting fit for new clubs. You can take a workable swing and reduce the penalties for the flaws to gain better shots. But, to me, that's like painting over mold in your house. It looks better, but the mold will be back - guaranteed.

Lemonhead

So what,do nothing then? Have a club that goes 40 yards into the trees versus one that might cling onto the semi-rough? You ppoint isn't technically wrong apart from the fact you are suggesting that you shouldn't get fit until you ahve a swing that can justify it.This is bizarre to me,because it doesn't make sense NOT to optimise your potential at every point in your development.

The fact that someone has swing flaws is irrelevant.What matters is not going in the trees.If that can be achiebed with a new driver thats great.Its preferable to achieve it on the practice ground but not everone has the time to do that