My adult son is taking up golf again after years off, and I'd like to ask our golfers for some advice.
Background: ******************

My son's situation:
When he was in Junior High, he and I played. I got him lessons and he used a junior setup from US Golf. He did well and enjoyed it, but lost interest when he entered high school. Now, he's in his late 20s, and getting back into golf for fun/exercise and as a social thing where he works. He's using my clubs, which are much too short for him - he's 6'3".

My situation/experience:
My last foray into actually buying golfing equipment was not quite the hickory shaft, cleek and baffy days, but close. I think mail order Austad's was the state of the art. I started playing with my dad's old set, and about 20 years ago was gifted a very nice (I think) set of S-Yard clubs at the end of a successful set of customer visits by a Japanese colleague, which is what I use (currently on loan to my son) so I have never actually done the test/fit/purchase steps, I just lucked out. So I don't have a clue on modern equipment and the pricing thereof.

The Question: What is a reasonable amount to budget? ******************
For Christmas I am going to give him a 'Bank of Dad' gift certificate for new equipment, which means I'll let him shop and select his own stuff from wherever, and I'll pay the bills, up to the amount of the 'gift certificate.'

Other than gloves, tees, and balls he'll be starting from scratch, so the amount should cover:

- a fitting session
- a putter
- up to 13 other clubs
- a nice bag to hold the above

Object would be to enable him to get set up with modern, high-quality clubs that fit him, and which he will not outgrow soon. Not thinking touring pro level, state of the art, uber tech stuff. (Well, at least I'm not going to fund that. If he wants to kick in his own money over and above the 'gift certificate' amount, that'd be on him.)

I know we're probably talking 4 figures, i.e. $X,Y00. The question is what are reasonable values of "X" and "Y"?
******************
Anyway, thanks in advance for any ideas.

Obviously, it can be just about any number you want it to be. Do you want new Mizuno blades? $1200 for just the irons. Want a new Scotty Cameron putter? $400. Taylor Made Sim Max driver? $500. So need wedges and hybrids or at least a 3W.

I think a safe bet for a mid-handicapper would be:
$600 irons 3-pw (TaylorMade m6 or Callaway apex or similar)
$400 driver (TaylorMade m6)
$300 3W (taylormade m6)
$250 putter
$200 each wedges (Titleist vokey)

All in $1750.

Of course, you can go cheaper clubs or you can grab gently used stuff or maybe find a year or two old, new stock on a closeout.

pinemeadowgolf.com

I'm 6'5" and bought a set from these guys using their fitting guidelines. Very happy with them though my time on the course has dropped a bit in the 15 years since I bought them. I took advantage of the 30 day exchange or money back warranty to fine tune the long irons that didn't quite work for me. Hassle free.

OMG. The timing is perfect. My Son, 6'4" is looking for his first set, after using my old set for a couple of years.

I will be following this thread closely.

Thank you.

A club fitting is a good place to get started, some quality club fitters like Club Champion or Cool Clubs are quality fittings but they charge an insane amount for the clubs and builds, usually with different shafts than what comes with them. You can get the specs from the fitting and go shop around for a substantial price break. A PGA Superstore you can get free fittings but YMMV with whoever does the fitting. You will have a great selection of clubs there and it should be a one stop shopping there.

If you are in a small town you may have to drive to a larger metropolitan area to get a high end fitting.

Golf is an addicting game and can be really expensive, I hope he gets a good fitter and enjoys playing. One of the reasons I live in the town I do is for the golf!

Oh boy. Y'll are about to head down some rabbit holes Once-upon-a-time there were clubs, and they were pretty simple. Now there's teck-nowl-oh-gee.

Here's what I've learned since my foray into golf starting in June. It's an amalgam of my own experiences and what I've found to be the consistent guidance in articles I've read.

Ok, first of all: joel9507

I would not recommend a dynamic fitting right out of the gate. Your son is essentially a beginning golfer at this point. His swing is undeveloped.

I would not recommend spending a crap ton of money on new, pricey clubs at this point for the same reason. Whatever he acquires now he may wish to replace in short order once his swing develops and he acquires proficiency.

In short: If you go to a place like Club Champion, spend $350 on a full bag fitting and another $1,600 on clubs and a bag, there's a good chance all or most of those clubs will be replaced w/in a year or two. (And $1,600 is not a lot for a full bag of current-production clubs. A friend of a friend just bought all new TaylorMade RBZ, from Driver to wedges, and a TaylorMade putter. $3,200.)

Conversely, if he doesn't get fitted at all, clubs badly-fitted to him may hurt his progress and possibly even cause him to develop bad habits.

So: Interim measure: Static fitting. Search on "golf club static fitting." Ping, Callaway, and others have static fitting guides based on height, wrist-to-floor distance, and fingertips-to-floor distance. (More on static vs. dynamic fitting below.) This will at least tell him what shaft lengths are probably best for him. (Some of them will also recommend lie. But that takes a club tech with a bender to adjust, though it's not expensive.)

Then spend time reading reviews and in golf forums (I like The Hacker's Paradise) and read about the playing characteristics of the various clubs.

At 6'3" he might need "plus" clubs for irons, and possibly wedges. Drivers, fairway woods, and hybrids aren't quite as sensitive except at height/arm-length extremes. Putters: Nobody can say. Some tall people like shorter shafts, some shorter people like longer. That's the kind of thing where you have to go to a store and try them.

Btw: You don't need to spend $200 to get a nice putter. Both Odyssey and Cleveland have a variety of very nice blade and mallet putters in the sub-$125 range.

N.B.: There are two broad classifications of clubs: "Player" clubs and "game improvement" clubs. The former are generally for more experienced, low-handicap players (less than, say, 15?), the latter for beginners and high-handicappers (HC over, say, 20?). The reason is "player" clubs give the golfer better control to shape their shots, but they are also unforgiving of mishits. "Game improvement" clubs have the opposite characteristics.

To add to the complexity: Shafts matter. Boy, do they ever. Not just steel vs. graphite, but flex, weight, etc. E.g.: Faster swingers need stiffer shafts, slower swingers more flex.

Static vs. dynamic fitting: A problem with static fitting is it doesn't take into account the individual player's swing. There is a so-called "perfect" golf stance and swing. Hardly anybody swings that way. Everybody's swing is unique to that individual. A static fitting cannot take that into account. A dynamic fitting does. Problem is: Until ones swing is at least somewhat developed, somewhat consistent, a dynamic fitting can't work effectively.

The other problem with static fitting is it cannot tell you what shaft flex best suits your swing. But, then again: With an undeveloped swing a shaft that works today may be all wrong in a year.

P-220

If your son has been playing regularly for two years, I would conditionally recommend a dynamic fitting. I say "conditionally" because I don't know if the clubs he's been using are right for him and whether or not his swing is good. See my comments to the OP, re: Poorly-fitted clubs and bad swing habits.

See also: "Player" vs. "game improvement" clubs. But a fitter will figure that out.

Both of you:

Do not underestimate the value of a proper grips. E.g.: I have very long-fingered hands. I instantly have any club I buy re-gripped with midsize or jumbo grips.

If you go to a quality store they will usually allow you do "demo" clubs for free. That is: The sales folk will set you up with several (maybe) clubs, and a demo bucket of balls, then you go hit each of the clubs to see what works best for you. N.B.: They probably won't have custom lengths for this. That's usually reserved for paid fittings.

That's all I can think of right out of the gate.

I would buy some decent used irons, standard specs
Add 1” grip extensions and regrip, they will likely need new grips anyway

Woods can be standard length, they may be a little short for him, but that will be easier to make contact

35” putter , maybe 36” if you run into one
I’m 6’0” but short legs and long arms
I use a 34 or 33.5” putter

All good advice. Consider taking him to a golf pro for fitting/evaluation. Like at a country club. Nowadays pros at clubs and driving ranges have a fitting cart of irons, usually Ping. These irons have removable heads and lots of shafts. So the pro can switch the lie, the shaft length, the shaft stiffness all while you hit. Then you can deal knowing exactly what you need. I have found pro shops at golf courses sell Ping for the same price as The Golf Warehouse (TGW). The fitting is free with club purchase. Even if the young man is just starting, these clubs will be fine for a decade (assuming his swing doesn't look like Charles Barkley).

quote:

I would not recommend a dynamic fitting right out of the gate.

This is BAD advice, sorry ensigmatic.
I have been playing AND custom building clubs for over 40 years.
I would say if you are of average height and build then you might do OK off the rack.
But at 6'4" he is better advised to get measured, and let a pro figure out a good starter set.
NO it doesn't have to be the best Taylor made everything although they make great stuff.
These fitting sessions are generally geared to selling clubs so some caution here but this process doesn't usually cost much if anything.
SO why not get fitted?
It has taken me a long time to get dialed in but I have mostly done this myself but have had a LOT of experience experimenting.
I still tinker a bit on the details.
SURE things WILL change as he gets experience hitting the ball but it is well advised to get fitted and a few lessons on the fundamentals.
After that nature will take it's course.
Additionally, there is no ONE brand that you have to have over the other ~ the quality today is generally pretty spectacular.
When I started I had a set of Wilson Staff's with the sweet spot the size of a pebble and the drivers were smallish Persimmon heads, the balls surlyn and balata.
Today I personally use Mizuno irons and wedges, Scotty Cameron Putter and Taylormade Driver, fairway and utility clubs, Bridgestone RX or RXS ball.
So it is hard to go wrong except for a bad fitted club and I would caution of going too expensive to start.
Length, lie/loft, flex are all the basics but also important is the ball itself.
It took a long time for me to find the ideal putter that that is more a feel item,

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:

quote:

I would not recommend a dynamic fitting right out of the gate.

This is BAD advice, sorry ensigmatic.
I have been playing AND custom building clubs for over 40 years.

Understood, and I've been playing for only a few months. But my recommendation was based on advice from the majority of opinion I've seen expressed by others who have been playing for up to as long as you have. Having played long enough to have a handle on how this works, that advice makes sense to me.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
I would say if you are of average height and build then you might do OK off the rack.

Except that's not what I recommended. I recommended static fitting to ensure the clubs would fit the player for length (and lie).

I would imagine any decent golf store does static (aka: "basic") fittings at no charge. My LGS does. And you get to "demo" the clubs--try them out, on the store's range.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
These fitting sessions are generally geared to selling clubs so some caution here but this process doesn't usually cost much if anything.

Maybe we're talking different fittings? I just checked my LGS (Local Golf Store in this context), a Golf Galaxy store, and a Champion Golf: $225, $150, and $350, respectively, for full bag dynamic fittings. (The LGS and Champion give you a partial credit if you buy your clubs from them.) I don't know about GG, but the other two are 3+ hour processes.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
SO why not get fitted?

Because, as I noted, the primary difference in a dynamic vs. a static fitting is going to be due to swing. For given physical parameters, shaft length and lie will remain mostly constant.

The new guy doesn't have a swing. Put him on a launch monitor with a club and, unless he's a born natural, he'll be all over the place.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
...it is well advised to get fitted and a few lessons on the fundamentals.

Lessons, certainly.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
It took a long time for me to find the ideal putter that that is more a feel item,

Conversely there is a next door neighbor's son, who destroyed his putter in a fit of pique, so he played with his grandfather's ragged old putter. He putted so well with that 40-50 year old putter that he's talking about getting it restored and using it permanently.

We're probably doing to have to agree to disagree on the dynamic fitting thing, if that is indeed our disagreement. I certainly wouldn't spend money on it until my swing had settled down some.

quote:

We're probably doing to have to agree to disagree on the dynamic fitting thing, if that is indeed our disagreement. I certainly wouldn't spend money on it until my swing had settled down some.

If by "dynamic" you mean where the pro takes all day observing your swing with different clubs making adjustments as you go for a newborn golfer > THEN I AGREE.

However, some swing observations are needed to adjust lie, flex and physical measurement for length ~ these adjustments are the minimum I would encourage.
Along with grip size, cavity -backed irons and a shaft weight that works for your swing.
I agree an intensive swing analysis session makes no sense at this point.
On putters I must have a dozen or two and am happy with what I have now and when you are confident you make more putts ~ no perfect rules for putting contrary to the the other clubs.

Pensacola Country Club doesn't charge for an iron fitting nor for demoing various other clubs. I'm quite sure there are North Carolina public and private clubs that will do the same. A quick iron fitting for a young man will reveal to a class-A golf professional everything needed to customize a bag of clubs. Call for an appointment and ask if they will match TGW prices for a full set of clubs and a logo bag. Calling won't cost a thing. If you want to get these by Christmas better hurry.

Lots of good insight and advice to think on.

Thanks for the help!

I highly recommend a good stand bag made of lightweight nylon. The prices will probably range from $75 to 175. You don’t want a big heavy tour bag when you come across walking courses. I played a few of them more than the others because they were cheap.

Also nice at driving ranges that do not have stands.

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
I highly recommend a good stand bag made of lightweight nylon.

Bags: A rabbit hole of their own.

Yeah, if you're walking, a lightweight stand bag is best, but many lightweight stand bags don't fare well on carts because they compress when you try to secure them, making the clubs difficult to get in and out.

Then there's push/pull cart compatibility

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

Bags: A rabbit hole of their own.

Yeah, if you're walking, a lightweight stand bag is best, but many lightweight stand bags don't fare well on carts because they compress when you try to secure them, making the clubs difficult to get in and out.

Then there's push/pull cart compatibility

I have two bags.

One for practice sessions.
One for on course play (I don't ever walk the course).

I use and love Sun Mountain bags and both are Sun Mountain.

Bag one > lightweight stand bag (model 4.5 w/14 slots) ~ obvious reasons and they have great straps.
Bag two > Larger cart bag (model C130 w/ 14 slots) ~ it has more pockets and storage space.

One thing that is a MUST for me is 14 separate slots for clubs.
It makes it easy to know if a club is missing and easier to group them.