purchasing new golf clubs
 

I am in the process of relocating to The Villages this winter and am looking for recommendations of a business/s to purchase new sets of clubs. will consider driving to Orlando.Thanks

My only advice is to get a proper club fitting, based on your swing speed, height, stance, etc...

Most of the larger shops (Edwin Watts, for example) will do a fitting...

I don't think driving to Orlando would do any good. Golf clubs seem to have a relatively fixed price. You can buy them at stores in and around The Villages. Or, if you know what you want, you can probably buy them on Amazon. But, spending a lot of money on clubs will not make you a good golfer.

It's nice to get the clubs fitted, but it will also not make you a good golfer. I don't play much anymore, but, when I have been asked to play, I dusted off my $75 set of Walmart clubs and was able to beat players who play every day with very expensive clubs.

A bit of information would be helpful.
Are you a beginner?
Golf clubs come in an almost limitless variety of skill level and price points. Sharing those with us would be useful.

There is certainly some truth to what you said...

When asked my handicap, I typically respond, "My swing"...

But... Not to take advantage of the new technology in clubs which make them easier to hit is just silly...

Steel shaft irons give me tendonitis in my left forearm. Graphite shafts fix that...

Golf Central in Brownwood is a good place to go. Their prices are competitive, and their service is outstanding. They will give you a free fitting, and put you on their swing analyzer to custom tailor the fitting. Friendly folks with a true customer service attitude.

Good call. I forgot about them... I finally stopped in this Summer and was impressed by the staff...

club champion
 

club champion will be opening at Colony Plaza very soon.

I got a fantastic set at Play It Again Sports in Leesburg. A full, nearly-new women’s set of Adams clubs with all new grips for $300.

Don’t go to Sarasota Golf Shop. They’ll sell you the clubs and forget your name when you walk out the door

None of the local places do a very good job doing a fitting. Golf Digest had an article about the ten best fitting places in the country. Moon Golf in Melbourne was one of them. I made the under 2 hour drive and it was worth the trip. Make an appointment. And you also save about 20% on the price. I found the local places wanted to sell you what they sold or had in stock. Moon had every club head, every shaft and could mix and match any combination. I ended up with Taylor Made club heads, a shaft flex between regular and senior and a kick point and lie slightly off from standard and a slightly oversized grip. Had to order them and go back 2 weeks later to get them. They charge you for the fitting which was excellent but give you that back against the club purchase.

Just so you are aware The Villages golf shops sell clubs. The Sarasota Driving range location has several Pros that will do a fitting for you and you can order the clubs right there. They have demo sets that you can test at the range. If you are just going to wing it and buy clubs make sure the shafts are suited to your swing speed

My ONLY recommendation is to be custom fitted at the Sarasota Center. They analyze everything from your height, swing speed, swing plane and years of experience. You will not regret it. Edwin Watts is best for auxiliary clubs like lob wedges. They also do a great job putting on new grips. I would also use EW for balls, shoes, bags and other accessories.

I would recommend taking a golf lesson first. Have them solidify your golf swing so a fitting will be helpful. If anything in your swing changes, so does the fitting. Then what you buy will last longer..........you don't buy a car before you learn to drive, same with golf, if you just don't care, then just buy anything.......lesson first, fitting 2nd........better spent money.....

Sarasota has always been friendly and treat me great..

If you are an experienced golfer, and know what you want - go to Sarasota when the manufacturer reps are there. You get an hour with one of the reps who does club fittings for a living. They do a great job.

The other option is a fitting with the staff at Sarasota, where you can hit clubs from different manufacturers.

Get the senior flex, the ball goes farther. I bought Adam's clubs which are alright but the six iron is the lowest iron in the set. I never did learn to use the hybrids. My next set will be 2-SW.
The Arnold Palmer shop has a wide range and knowledgable staff.

I was fit at the golf festival it was ok at best. If I got a do-over I would go to true spec golf in Orlando. They are true fitters and carry every brand of clubhead and shaft.

I agree with Central Golf in Brownwood for the reasons mentioned

Have you considered simply going online and purchasing a set of slightly used Taylor Made clubs? Can't go wrong.

Take a few lessons to find a pro that you feel good about and work with him to get a good set for you.

I just bought a used set of golf clubs including bag for $100.00. A new set starts at $300+

Set of WHAT???. Kiddie clubs????

Just regular Taylor made or Callaway"s, not PXG or custom made Hogan"s are a bout as follows (I'll use my Taylor Made's as an example, 2 years ago):

Driver Sim Max: $550
3 wood Sim Max $325
Hybrid $275

All 3 with upgraded shafts that were $250 additional each, pro shafts can go for over $1000 each.

Taylor P790 4-PW $1400
3 wedges Taylor $ 450
putter $300

Total $4050------kind of the + in the $300+:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Go into very high end clubs and you are looking at $10,000+

Yesss. Friend of mine went there to get clubs. They showed him a set of Adams. Said these should do fine. NO FITTING. He didn't know much about golf equipment so they kind of stuck it to him. Grrrrrr...
:ohdear::ohdear::ohdear:

Couldn't agree more---the staff and pros at Sarasota are the best, know what they are doing, can fit you for the right clubs, and have a pipeline to the manufacturer's reps if needed.

To those who trash talked Sarasota, I have just 2 words, but if I wrote them I would be put on vacation:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

I have a custom set of Titleist that I had a friend who owns a driving range in Virginia order for me. After a fitting he ordered them with upgraded FiberSteel shafts, 5-9, PW, GW, SW, LW irons, Titleist driver, 3 wood, 5 wood and 7 wood Winn drigrips.. Worth over $3500. I added a Scotty Cameron Studio putter. UMMM lets see, I think that's a little more than a $300 starter set from Walmart...
:bigbow::bigbow:

Just a bit:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Probably the difference between a golfer and someone who plays golf:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

You say, the buyer "didn't know much about golf equipment", which means he practically knows nothing about golf. Adams clubs are cheap in price clubs and probably better suited for him until he learns to swing and take care of clubs.

New golf clubs
 

I recently paid $25 to demo Calloway full bag and $25 to demo Tour Edge full bag. They both offer a special price during the demo day through Sarasota. It has been a good experience.

y'all are talking about fittings, shaft flex, kick points... "fitting his golf swing"...

the OP hasn't even told us if he HAS a golf swing.

For all we know, a $100 set out of garage sale might be perfect for his/her needs.

Has the Golf Expo (usually on the POLO Grounds) been scheduled yet?

I'd think that would be a great place to check out multiple manufacturers...

For a beginner? Probably not a terrible idea. To spent well north of $1000 on a set of clubs before you know if you're gonna' stick with the game is foolish...

Hit up the folks at Golf Central. You can get into a very nice full set of Tour Edge clubs...Driver, 3 & 5 Wood, 4 & 5 Hybrid, 6 - SW Irons, Putter and bag for right at $1,000. Your fitting/swing analysis will put you into the proper flex, as well as set you up with the proper size grips. A setup like that would at least get you going in the right direction. Play those for a couple years, then trade up if you like. No one buys one set of clubs for life!

Birdie golf on 466, Johnny is a golf pro and all in the store are very helpful. The will measure you, have you hit a few balls out back and suggest what is best for you. Have new and used clubs.

There are a lot of unknown variables including your budget, skill level, experiece,height, arm length, senior vs non senior length swing speed etc.

Agree with most posters about getting fitted. A set of name brand clubs will cost you about 3K. If this is your budget, by all means get fitted. Good luck.

TOO many choices on everything.

Agree, but if you go with last years models cost will be 3K. You can go to Walmart and get a set for $300 +/-

I just bought a used set of Apex irons from a friend. He wanted to charge me extra because the sweet spots had never been used.

No, I couldn't. Well, I suppose I could, but I'd be vomiting for a week or two, maybe more. Besides, they're too big to use as a swizzle stick, and I can't think of any other purpose for them except maybe to fight off coyotes.:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

OK, Big Dog, I'm going to make a few bold predictions.
1. You got me on index
2. I got you on holes-in-one.
3. My current players (clubs) cost less than 1/2 of yours.

Want to play?