[TheDude]

Is it the best, I am thinking of buying the M2 set. I like the name and that pros use it, plus at Sarasota it isn't to be the set to own.

What think?

[fred53]

I think your reasons for buying a particular model are incorrect. Never buy clubs just because of who else plays them or they aren't the "in" thing to use. Buy them because they fit your game and enhance your abilities. It they do neither then you don't need them.

[John_W]

What I did was last summer I went to the Arnold Palmer course, and to the golf school. Go down the hallway to the room full of clubs on the left. I picked out about 5 different irons that appealed to me, I took the 7 iron of each set. I had done some reading about the various sets before I went. They gave me a bucket of balls and I walked out the door about 15' away and hit each club.

I liked the Taylormade PSi 1 irons the best. Then I went down to the Sarasota Golf Shop on Morse and Moyer and looked at the sets and priced them. That set in graphite regular flex was about $850. Then I went on eBay and found a dealer in California that had 100% feedback and over 20,000 reviews and he had a brand new set in the box for $399 free shipping.

I like those irons for a couple of reasons. The 8 iron on down have a speed slot on the bottom, which helps increase your swing speed. There is also slots on each side of the face, so the sweet spot is almost the entire face. I've hit those irons and gotten away with hitting them on the toe and still making the green. They almost lose no distance regardless of where you hit them on the face. It's the best thing I've done for my game in a while, I had been using Adams A4 irons which are thin and nice to look down at when addressing the ball, but you have no margin for error in your contact.

[Brownmoose13]

There is not one club that any pro on tour uses that you can purchase. They may look the same, have the same name but all pros are custom fitted to the nth degree by the best in the business. They also are able to change their clubs out after each round if the conditions dictate and their swing is slightly different. Why do you think that the tour vans are lined up each week at every tournament. In my opinion unless you swing the same way at least 95% of the time fitting is way overrated. If you want to get a club custom fitted try the putter...its what you use for roughly 40% of your strokes.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by Brownmoose13

There is not one club that any pro on tour uses that you can purchase. They may look the same, have the same name but all pros are custom fitted to the nth degree by the best in the business. They also are able to change their clubs out after each round if the conditions dictate and their swing is slightly different. Why do you think that the tour vans are lined up each week at every tournament. In my opinion unless you swing the same way at least 95% of the time fitting is way overrated. If you want to get a club custom fitted try the putter...its what you use for roughly 40% of your strokes.

You be surprised at how consistently most people, even beginners, swing a golf club. Just because they don't hit the ball the same way doesn't mean that their swing isn't the same. It only takes a very small difference in the club face position at impact to make a big difference in the ball flight.

Fitting is not over rated and can help pretty much everyone including beginners. That being said, there are several ways to fit clubs. You can fit either to the person's build, their set up or their swing. You can fit so that the club will perform perfectly for a person of that size and weight and set up if it is swung correctly. Or, you can fit a club to compensate for a player's bad shot. In other words, if a player slices, you can fit him with a club that would offset the slice. That club may not technically "fit" the player, but if someone is set in their ways and does not plan to take lessons or practice or work to get better at the game then this is a legitimate way to fit.


As far as average players, I wouldn't want to see a 70 year old man that hits the ball 125 yards off the tee playing with stiff shafts and 1" extra long clubs. I wouldn't want to see a guy with big hands playing with undersized grips.

I agree that there is no need to fit most player to the degree that tour pros are fit, but basic fitting can help everyone.

[kcrazorbackfan]

Originally Posted by fred53

I think your reasons for buying a particular model are incorrect. Never buy clubs just because of who else plays them or they aren't the "in" thing to use. Buy them because they fit your game and enhance your abilities. It they do neither then you don't need them.

I agree partially; I am a big proponent for a person getting fitted with the right flex, length, lie angle and grip size. However, a person has got to like what they're looking down at; they could buy the #1 club on the Golf Digest "Hot List", but if they don't like the looks of it, they'll never be able to hit it.

OP, the M2 irons may be perfect for you, but spend $40 at the Sarasota Golf Center and get fitted.

[Two Bills]

My old pro always said that for the mid handicap player top price clubs wont make that much difference, if any to their game, but spending money on good grips will.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by kcrazorbackfan

I agree partially; I am a big proponent for a person getting fitted with the right flex, length, lie angle and grip size. However, a person has got to like what they're looking down at; they could buy the #1 club on the Golf Digest "Hot List", but if they don't like the looks of it, they'll never be able to hit it.

OP, the M2 irons may be perfect for you, but spend $40 at the Sarasota Golf Center and get fitted.

On the other hand a lot of people can get used to the look of a club if they hit it enough and especially if they hit it well.

I like to have a club that looks good to my eye, but I'd change in a heartbeat if I knew that I'd hit it better with something ugly.

[Brownmoose13]

Prior to my retirement I was in the golf business and was told by management at TM, Mizuno, Srixon, and Bridgestone that between 95%-98% of all amateur golfers never swing the driver the same way twice in a round. Adjustable drivers were and are nothing more than marketing since the OEM's are basically out of what they could change given specs by the USGA. Golfers are keeping their drivers longer and this is what is or has killed TaylorMade as if my information is correct they will announce a sale sometime the 1st quarter of 2017 to an investment group with a certain golfer as the lead name.
As far as shafts there are absolutely no consistent specs between the manufacturers. One company's R flex may spec as Senior with another company and even within the same company a shaft marked "R" may actually have the specs of the same company's stiff or regular. So when you buy off the rack good luck.
How about lofts? Most companies in their fine print will say that the stated loft on a driver may vary +/- 1*. That is why if you google a tour van video you will see that each head is checked and marked such as a head marked 9* may measure as 9.28*. May not make a difference to the everyday player but it does to a tour pro.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Answering the OP, all companies make good golf clubs. There is really not much difference quality wise. Even some of the mid priced clubs such as Tour Edge and Adams are very playable.

I'd be much more concerned about the fit and the set makeup than I would the name of the club.

During my years in the golf business, I was on several staffs which required me to play different clubs. As long as the specs were the same, I had very little trouble changing. The biggest problem I had was when I went back and forth to Ping a few times. Back in those days, all Ping irons had a lot of offset. If I was going to or from a club that had little or no offset, there was a little adjustment period.

[buzzy]

Originally Posted by Brownmoose13

Prior to my retirement I was in the golf business and was told by management at TM, Mizuno, Srixon, and Bridgestone thta between 95%-98% of all amateur golfers never swing the drive the same way twice in a round................

That certainly seems true for me, and applies to fairway shots too. Probably accounts for why I can't get better. Full disclosure: I am a bogie and a half golfer.

[Brownmoose13]

Originally Posted by buzzy

That certainly seems true for me, and applies to fairway shots too. Probably accounts for why I can't get better. Full disclosure: I am a bogie and a half golfer.

Nothing wrong with bogey and a half as most golfers cannot truly break 100 and most golfers are playing the wrong set of tees as is evident here in The Villages.

Jack Nicklaus wrote a paper stating that you should take your average driver and multiply it by 28 to determine the yardage length you should play. Example, if you think that your average(not best, not worst) drive is 200 yards your course length should be 5600 yards.

I play in a golf group where we play different sets of tees depending on the yardage. We use the following:

Par 3's no more than 150
Par 4's no more than 350
Par 5's no more than 450

[ColdNoMore]

My advice is that any golfer who is interested in the game ("interested," not necessarily serious about substantially lowering your index)...should be fitted by a competent professional.

That goes for driver, fairway metals/hybrids, irons AND putter.

It will be a small investment...that will pay big dividends.

[TheDude]

Thanks all for the info. I was fitted for a putter and can be seen at Belle Glade practicing I was under the impression that on Jan 31 they will do a fitting for the TaylorMade at Palmer, so that will give me the info I need on the flex or not.

My only concerns are flex. I don't know if I need a senior flex or not. Also, I was thinking steel shafts because I have some size, however the graphites are better for people with back pain; and shoulder pain (I have both) and more forgiving. Graphites are also expensive but 100$ difference isn't a big deal. Other question is the length as I was a +1/2 inch on the putter. I don't know if that translates to the rest. The golf pro told me that +1/2 doesn't really matter for new golfers.

Now this may be sidetrack, but when I was growing up, Big Bertha was the driver. Is that still true? For short courses I was thinking a 3W would be enough and that would be included in the set.

(*sorry for any typos, hope you all can read through*)

[John_W]

I would suggest waiting until the first week of March and they will have a two day event called Golf Fest at the polo fields. You can hit the newest driver from all the major manufacturers that day. Also, once the holidays are over, check the sports page of the Sun and just about every week two manufacturers will have a demo day at either Sarasota Range or Palmer Golf Course.

The courses here are short if you want or long, we have about 5 sets of tees. We play the blue tees which are most courses is about 6200 yards, which is about what white tees are on most outside courses. Generally most golfers here play the white tees.