Golf Club Advice

Get fitted. As others have said, most places are free fittings if you buy clubs. I have always bought Tour Edge irons, and they made them to my fitting at no extra cost. Just have to wait the 1-2 weeks for them to be made and shipped (same for the other big companies). If your fitting includes shaft length adjustment, that would be the way to go. If it is just a lie angle adjustment, you may get lucky and the fitter will bend them for free. Most places probably would not take new clubs and do a shaft length adjustment for free (you would end up paying for new grips).

EDIT: Seeing Eagle Grove, I would echo Golf USA Ames to save a few dollars. Another possibility for you would be Golf Central/Hanson's Custom Golf in Fort Dodge. I will be trying Ted's services for the first time Friday; I will try to remember to give a report on Friday (Driver and wood fitting - have a feeling a shaft change will be in order).

Yes, please give a report. I heard he is a good guy. Let me know how it works. Either is close for me as I work in Ames and Fort Dodge. I will be in Ames two days next week so will stop in Golf USA.
 
I will do that. I am leaning towards Ping, but am also going to look at Taylormades and Mizunos at Hanson Custom golf. I don't want to spend a fortune but I don't mind spending a decent amount as I am the type of person to buy something nice and use it for years. Thanks everyone for your advice and I will definitely get fitted clubs.

At least hit some AP1s. My AP2s are the best iron I have have ever hit, even relative to tech advances. Maybe they won't work for you but I would tell you to hit everything you possibly can.
 
I will do that. I am leaning towards Ping, but am also going to look at Taylormades and Mizunos at Hanson Custom golf. I don't want to spend a fortune but I don't mind spending a decent amount as I am the type of person to buy something nice and use it for years. Thanks everyone for your advice and I will definitely get fitted clubs.
Hey, and make sure they are fitted. tell us what they said.
 
At least hit some AP1s. My AP2s are the best iron I have have ever hit, even relative to tech advances. Maybe they won't work for you but I would tell you to hit everything you possibly can.

Titleist irons are about as good as irons get, IMO (though I currently hit some older Callaway Project X Forged that have been great for me).

I would echo the comment about hitting everything. Don't cost nothin'.
 
Titleist irons are about as good as irons get, IMO (though I currently hit some older Callaway Project X Forged that have been great for me).

I would echo the comment about hitting everything. Don't cost nothin'.

If he is just starting up again, he probably doesn't need to spend the money on Titleist. I am pricing out a set of the 714's and it's going to be $1200+ depending on the shafts i get.
 
My situation is very similar to the OPs. I had a set of Pingi3s from around 00-kids took me out of golf but are now to the point where I can start playing again. I received a gift card and decided to splurge. Get fitted! (I went to Golf USA Coralville) They had me start out hitting 5-6 different 7 irons after asking me about my game (mid handicapper when I'm golfing regularly). I researched and went into my fitting thinking I was getting Ping G30s. They just didn't feel right. He had me hit the new Pingi series. They felt great. But the computer analysis was showing that I was hitting them less consistently and shorter than I was hitting Mizunos. Once I locked in on the Mizunos we custom fit the shaft length, stiffness, and club loft. I still ended up going with the Ping G30 woods-should be getting them any day now. The whole process took just shy of 2 hours and I was dripping with sweat when I was done-it's a workout.
 
Ted and I spent just short of 2 hours today, and did not get through the minimum I was hoping for. But that is because that was the best fitting I have been through.

I brought 2 drivers with me (2013 X-Hot and Covert 2.0). Hit those first for my baseline, hit about 8 other driver/shaft combinations, and came to the conclusion that the Covert head was the best, and a shaft change was the way to go. The only reason I didn't walk out with it today was due to Nike's adjustable adapter (he didn't have one on hand).

We spent a few minutes hitting fairway woods; I don't think I am done with that yet, but we did identify what is wrong with my current one (most likely will be buying a new one). I go back next Saturday to finish woods/hybrids/irons (I do not expect much change in irons, but am looking at trying to get a more even difference in gaps).

By the end of that two hours, I was OK physically, but wiped out mentally from trying to concentrate on taking good swings. The other thing he did was we used real golf balls (he asked me what I currently played, and picked one that would react similarly).

I was fitted for the X-Hot at Second Swing in the Twin Cities, and thought it was OK. The past two years of online research (including occasional visits to GolfWRX.com) and hacking out of right-side trees has shown me two things about that experience: They didn't listen to me when I said here is what has worked for me in the past, and that I was not forceful enough in voicing what worked for me. Ted listened, and I did not need to be forceful. He will have my business.
 
If you want different/newer equipment, my recommendation is to buy used and take the extra money to get fitted and have the clubs you buy adjusted. You'll have plenty of money leftover. A good, used set of irons can be had at a 1/3 the price of retail, and I'm not talking 10 year old clubs. I'm talking 2-5 years old.

Be careful on eBay (if it's too good to be true blah blah blah). There are a number of golf forums with oodles of clubs for sale. GolfWRX is the biggest I know of, and there are a few others out there as well.

Go pound the hell out of sticks at a retail store and then buy the older model elsewhere. Despite what the big golf manufacturers say in every commercial, golf technology has changed very little the last five years.

If each new club really did go 17 yards further, we'd all be hitting it 450 yards by now.
 
Last edited:
If he is just starting up again, he probably doesn't need to spend the money on Titleist. I am pricing out a set of the 714's and it's going to be $1200+ depending on the shafts i get.

Can get the 710's for $400-$500. Heck, a buddy of mine still hits the old school DCIs...just gets them regripped every few years. Good irons.
 
Last edited:
After 11 new clubs from Ted Hanson (and 1 reshafted driver), and despite having an inconsistent golf schedule this spring (two different weeks where I didn't play at all), broke 80 for the first time (79) on Thursday.
 
Getting fit correctly will improve your game more than spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on lessons. Lessons only help if you are going to spend countless hours on the range working on the swing changes. Don't get me wrong, improving your swing will obviously help but having your clubs fit your current swing will give you instant results.

You'll get instant results, but it's not the way I would go, unless I was planning to not work on my swing. If you do plan on improving your swing, it's better to do that before getting fitted, because the fitting is going to be what works best with your current swing. Sort of like getting LASIK surgery before your eyes have stopped changing; your vision will be perfect for awhile, but then you're just going to have to get the surgery again or go back to corrective lenses when your eyes change again.

I've never been fitted and probably won't be for some time, though. I just don't have the time or money right now to play enough to justify it.
 
Congrats! That is awesome. I was going to schedule a fitting with Ted as he has good references, but did some research and found that Ping Karstens would be a really good choice for me as I need max game improvement clubs. I got a really good deal on a set of new ones and got fitted for them this spring and love them. I am planning on seeing Ted for my daughter's clubs and a driver/woods for me, however.
 
After 11 new clubs from Ted Hanson (and 1 reshafted driver), and despite having an inconsistent golf schedule this spring (two different weeks where I didn't play at all), broke 80 for the first time (79) on Thursday.

Nice work. Glad to hear it paid off.
 
You'll get instant results, but it's not the way I would go, unless I was planning to not work on my swing. If you do plan on improving your swing, it's better to do that before getting fitted, because the fitting is going to be what works best with your current swing. Sort of like getting LASIK surgery before your eyes have stopped changing; your vision will be perfect for awhile, but then you're just going to have to get the surgery again or go back to corrective lenses when your eyes change again.

I've never been fitted and probably won't be for some time, though. I just don't have the time or money right now to play enough to justify it.

I disagree. Getting fitted for clubs is not a one-time thing, and it does not determine the clubs you purchase. As your swing improves, have the clubs adjusted again. With a bounce board and some tape, you can even determine the changes yourself (though better to have a pro do it for you). Your arms aren't going to get any longer or shorter and it probably won't be necessary to have clubs shortened or extended (unless you're a teenager). Changing the lie angle is pretty inexpensive.

Not getting fitted first leaves you behind the 8 ball to begin with.