mens golf club sets

So you are looking at mens golf club sets (a complete prepackaged set of metal woods, irons, wedges, putter, and bag) and wondering what to buy and perhaps for some, more importantly, if you should buy.

When it comes to golf, there is always the “newest latest greatest” as technology continues to expand. And, avid golfers are always looking for anyway to improve so, if they can afford it, they are always willing to plunk down the money in hopes of finding this months “holy grail of golf.” So they go out regularly and spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars on expensive golf sets, new drivers, putters – you name it.

And I can tell you right now, that for 99% of them it’s not going to make any difference. Why?

Because they never learned (or practiced) the correct and essential fundamentals of a golf swing so alas, it is sad to say that for this 99% it is like “tinkling in the wind” (I kept it very clean so as to not offend anyone :).

And how does that relate to you in your quest to decide if you should 1) buy (at all) a selection from the various choices of mens golf club sets, and, 2) make the correct choice amongst the many choices of mens golf club sets?

Well, I thought you would never ask, so here’s the answer……

It is huge!!!!!

Until you learn the correct and essential fundamentals – and practice them for a while - of a golf swing, the equipment you use is going to have very little effect on what happens to the ball or the score you get. And this applies to almost all beginning and intermediate golfers (approximately 90+ in their scores).

Why?

It is because until you incorporate and execute the fundamentals – and I mean to the smallest detail – of a proper golf swing, you can never hit the ball really well or consistently and that is going to effect what happens to the ball and score you are capable of shooting. In other words, what difference is it going to make if, once in a while, you can hit the ball 20 yards farther, if you hit the next shot in the woods, and take another 5 shots to reach the green; and that kind of golf has nothing to do with the clubs you use.

Additionally, putting is going to represent approximately 30-40% of your score. Now you could buy an expensive putter also. But until you practice putting substantially (and I am talking about hours and hours), your putting total is not going to get any better in any significant way because you buy another putter.

The point here is that many avid golfers will spend a ton of money making up their own mens golf club sets from various brands of irons, woods, and putters, but they don’t practice their putting enough which can effect up to 40% of their total score and is the quickest and easiest way to lower your score (that and practice your short game – chipping and pitching – but that is another story). What do they do instead?

Well, if you have ever been to a driving range you might have seen it for yourself: they hit bucket after bucket of balls smashing them in all directions and ingrain their bad habits even worse. And then they may go out and buy the latest driver for $400 because it’s promised to make them hit it not only straighter, but farther.

So they go back to the driving range with a bit of renewed confidence, hit the first few balls a little better, than go back to smashing golf ball after golf ball and pretty soon they are back to spraying it all over the place again.

So what is the bottom line on all of this for someone who is contemplating going the route of buying from the various choices of mens golf club sets?

If you are a beginner or intermediate player, it is the smart thing to do as you will save a ton of money, and it won’t affect your golf game in any way that is significant to your score.

And how do you choose a set?

Well my favorite places to look are Amazon or Overstock because they usually have the best prices and you can read real reviews of people who have purchased the golf club set and not some hyped up sales page that has you wanting to purchase the Brooklyn Bridge by the time you are done. One caveat though: I would look for mens golf club sets that have at least 5 reviews so you can get a good picture of how people have liked or disliked them. Usually 4 stars or more let you know that overall it has been very well received. And, I would put more stock in the reviews then the brand name. As we all know, we often pay a premium for a brand name; that is we are paying more, quite often, for the status associated with the name and not anything else.

And one last thing. Besides learning and practicing the essential fundamentals of a good golf swing and working on becoming a good putter and a decent chipper, there is one more thing that will affect the golf ball more than the type of clubs you use: how the golf clubs “fit” you.

What does that mean exactly? Well to begin with, the grips should be the right size relative to the size of your hands. Below is a chart to determine your grip size. If the grips of the mens golf club set you buy is not the correct size (which is also often the case when you buy off of the rack expensive clubs), it is an easy and inexpensive fix at your local golf store or pro shop.

The other important aspects of fit are things called “lie angle” and “offset.” Now when you start reaching the intermediate levels of golf, these can affect the flight of the ball and the distance (i.e. “launch angle – another term you might have been hearing lately) and so start to become important. However, in the beginning, since your swing is either highly erratic, changing or evolving (let’s hope :), then the “lie angle” will also be changing relative to your swing so setting it in a certain way might help (slightly) at first, but won’t remain consistent and will ultimately be an instance of just “spinning” your wheels.

So, yes….for the beginning and intermediate golfer, buying clubs in the form of the many available complete mens golf club sets is both a wise financial choice and the right golf choice for your level of play.

However, if status and buying expensive golf clubs for the sake of buying expensive golf clubs is your thing, don’t let me stop you; just make sure that the other members of your golf playing group aren’t snickering and laughing behind your back as you pull a club from your $1500 Titleist Set, take a mighty swing, and proceed to hit the ball sideways into a lake that is actually so far right that it is also out of bounds.

And the friendly sounding croaking of the bull frog you hear coming from that lake? Well, that bull frog is not as stupid as it may look; the bull frog at least knows that the loud resonance of its own voice is ultimately due to how it creates the sound and not the effect of the golf ball that it now conveniently perches on - and that you will never ever see again - that allows it to rear its bumpy head out of the water and be heard.

1. Measure the overall length of the player's glove hand, palm side, from the wrist crease to the end of the longest finger. (A)
2. Measure from the end of the longest finger to the crease where the finger joins the palm. (B)
3. Intersection of (A) and (B) is suggested grip size.