Golf Equipment exposed – Which golf equipment is worth the money?
Top brand golf equipment can cost an absolute fortune for aspiring golfers wanting the best kit. With a flood of cheaper golf products from China and Taiwan hitting the market over the last few years, we wanted to know how they held up against the big boys like Callaway, Ping, Mizuno and TaylorMade.
It’s easy to get carried away with the latest and greatest new gadgets and get sucked in by the marketing departments of the golf giants. Just for once though, I’d really like to know what the score is where my golf equipment is concerned so we spent some time with PGA Pro, Simon Fowler and stripped him of his knowledge.
Regardless of the conclusion of this report, I’ll no-doubt still want a brand new set of the latest super-duper golf clubs at the end of day and yes, that probably makes me shallow and weak but I can’t help myself. If it’s shiny, it’s mine…which brings me neatly on to our first point.
Shiny Golf Equipment Design
You can’t deny that cutting edge aesthetic design makes a difference to your game. It’s like the placebo effect with drugs. In my opinion, if you perceive you have the longest, most amazing driver money can buy then you’re bound to play better because you believe in yourself. So the question is, if a cheap driver is designed well, is it as good as a top brand club?
The answer it seems is both yes and no and depends entirely on the level of your game. If you’re just starting out in golf, it doesn’t make sense to spend big money on shiny new golf equipment. You’ll probably tee-up your £330 driver too-high at the range and start hitting balls off the top of the golf club knackering it completely. A golf club that looks great and costs you next to nothing will do everything you need.
A more advanced player however, will definitely notice the difference and buying a more expensive club is essential to his/her ultimate progression in the game. That said, it doesn’t need to be a £330 one unless you’re pro level and can use it properly.
Golf Club Shafts and Metals
There are two main differences between cheap golf clubs and expensive golf clubs. They are the shafts and the metals used in construction. Again, as a total beginner it won’t make much difference as you’ll spend most of your time smashing it into the ground anyway but it’s essential to understand for anyone above that level.
A cheap shaft is just that and will cause problems when you start to swing correctly so it’s an area that’s definitely worth looking into when considering your next golf equipment purchase.
A cheap shaft will both twist and flex far more than a sturdier, more expensive shaft. This might not sound so important until you consider the facts. If the shaft is too flexible for your swing speed, it will release it’s stored energy too early and will therefore not be square at impact causing a bad shot. The shaft will also twist heavily, both in your swing and at impact creating the same effect.
The real danger of this is that you could actually be playing much better than you thought, but you wouldn’t know that because your shots will appear off-line. Again, fine for a beginner – not fine for a mid-handicapper or higher.
The metals used in golf club construction very enormously. Every imaginable grade and type is used in today’s golf equipment market but there is a common theme running throughout. Super-cheap clubs tend to use poor quality alloys that aren’t balanced as well as they should be (Surprise, surprise!), where as high-end clubs use good quality steels and carbon fibres and are balanced beautifully with carefully placed inserts and weighting.
Branded Low-End Golf Equipment Vs Branded Top-End Golf Equipment
So, we’ve ascertained that unless you are a complete beginner, it’s better to go for branded golf clubs. The choices don’t stop there though as there are branded golf clubs in every price bracket from £150 – £5,000 so you need to be careful.
Unless you’re a single figure handicapper or rich, leave the super-expensive golf equipment alone. It’s just not necessary. You can get hold of some fantastic golf clubs for great prices that will do the job just lovely so look out for one-off deals and special offers, especially coming into the winter months.
It’s a good idea to visit your local golf shop and get your swing speed analysed. You’ll find out if you need to go for stiffer shafts or not which will guide your choice massively. Try not to stick to one brand either, there’s just no need. For years I only bought Callaway golf equipment just because I liked the brand but I didn’t consider what was best for me.
I recently found out that I needed stiff shafts on my golf clubs and realised that all my clubs weren’t right for me. An expensive mistake as I now really need to replace my entire set to move forward with my game.
With that knowledge in hand, I now look out for golf equipment that suits my needs which narrows the choice. It’s a good idea to search Google for reviews of the golf club you want to buy so you know what you’re getting. Some clubs are prone to breaking and you need to know that stuff before you dive in.
Golf technology moves on at an astounding pace but it’s slowing down now after a long period of change. Particularly where drivers are concerned, they have changed beyond recognition from five years ago and now all have 460cc large heads.
New models will always be £300ish but last year’s models are almost guaranteed to have the same technology inside them meaning you can pick up a brilliant new driver for next to nothing. To prove our worth – we had a quick look around to see what we could see and found some awesome golf equipment deals. The links below take you to the clearance pages of these major retailers. As you can see, these deals are very cheap.
Golfonline.co.uk
Callaway Big Bertha Fusion FT-3 Driver – reduced from £299 to just £94.95!
TaylorMade R7 460 TP Driver – reduced from £449 to £99.95 - unbelievable!
Mizuno MX-950 Irons – reduced from £599 to just £299!
American Golf.co.uk – on the home page
TaylorMade Tour Burner Driver – was £279 now just £129
Nike Slingshot HL Steel Irons – reduced from £385 to £199
118 Golf.co.uk
TaylorMade R7 Draw Graphite Irons – now only £199!!!
So you have to ask yourself, why spend £1,000+ on a super new set of golf clubs when you can pick up last year’s models for next to nothing that do exactly the same job?
As a beginner, there’s no point spending big money so go with what you can afford. If you’re a mid handicapper then it’s time to splash out and start looking for some great golf equipment deals. If you’re a low-handicapper, you’ll already know what you want and why, and you’ll get it cheap if you shop around at the moment.
To compare prices on our full range of golf equipment – please click here.
Hi Jon,
Would you say it is a good idea to get your self custom fitted or just to try out some clubs at your local range?
Hi John,
It totally depends on the level of your game to be honest. If you’re just starting out then I don’t think it’s worth the expense. If you’ve been playing a couple of years and you’re in to the game, I think it can really help.
A lot also depends on your height. If you’re very tall or very short then it’s a good idea to get the clubs fitted as you’ll need it more.
Hope that helps John. Thanks for commenting.
This article comes with the sponsorship of all the major golf club ” manufacturers ” who spend millions of dollars promoting the “dream ” .
The fact that you can get copies exactly like these from the same foundry in China is really a threat to these big US companies , hence this post.
Thanks for the help
I agree with John why go out and buy exspensive equipment if your new to the game you should feel it out first see what works for you best
This descriptions and photos are really nice and which help us for buying the best one.