Beginner Drivers?

Hi All

I wonder if anyone has any suggestions with this one:

I've just started playing golf; played a few rounds and had a few lessons. I have a set of Trilogy T4 irons and putter but tend to borrow woods which I'm now looking to buy.

At this point, my budget is about £40 but there seems to be little in the used market ANy ideas (the Benross V6 is £40 at onlinegolf).

Thanks for your help.

Phil.

I have a Taylor Made 580 Driver and matching three wood, £60 the pair if you are interested. Both in very nice condition.

I also have a Callaway steelhead 111 Driver and a matching five wood for the same price, both in very good condition.

You forgot to mention, Kevin that neither will be as long as your three iron.

hi philip,

maybe a little late on this post but a good choice would be the hippo itx2 driver, i have been using this club for the past two years and love it, i have had in the past big bertha, mcgregor and mizuno all nice clubs but i seem to hit the hippo longer and straighter than anything i have used before.

Jon T, I agree that as far a sbrand is concerned there is no such thing a "Beginner Driver", but I would suggest that the spec of the driver could err it towards being more for a beginner.

I am guessing that with your 10.9 handicap you are not using a regular flex 12 or 14 degree driver with an offset.

I am no expert but to my mind a beginner needs all the help they can get, which will if nothing else inspire confidence and keep them interested in the game.  Giving a stiff flexed 8.5 degree driver to a beginner will only lead them to spending a lot of time in the bushes and a lot of money in buying balls.

I would suggest to Philip that you looks for a 12 degree, regular flex, with offset (I assume that you slice), from the best manuafactuer you can for the money.  As a 28 handicapper 3 or 4 year old technology is not going to make a huge amount of difference, however, a 3 year old Taylor Made is going to be a hight technological and material spec than a Slazenger from JJB.

The Benross V6 is an excellent Driver (its predecessor the V6 Compressor was my first driver) and from memory they did a 12 degree (the Max I believe is 14 degree) and I doubt you could go wrong. 

Don't ge me wrong, what suits is always the way to go, however I feel that a beginner with a budget of £40 should err on the side of caution.  If possible you should always see a pro, hit different clubs and shop around.

What I was trying to get across is that the make and model is not as important as the spec of the club.  Ping, Taylor Made, Callaway, Mizuno, MD, Benross, Ram, Slazenger does it really matter as a beginner ?  The correct flex, a bit of offset, loft ; these are the improtant issues.  This thread was throwing brand names at a beginner, without stressing the importance of the clubs specification.

Personally I don't believe in 'offset' as this is a backward step IMO.

It is no good introducing a fault to correct a fault, far better to learn the correct way in the first place. The shaft is the most important of the components that go to make up a golf club, get that right and everything else will become that much easier.

Having read many of your past comments on offset I will propose to agree to differ with you John as our view obviously are diametrically opposed.

However, I am sure you will agree spec is the key not brand.

Prior to my post no one had mentioned spec only brand.  To my mind a beginner needs guidance toward a clubs specification not who put it together.  Loft, flex and (dare I say it) possibly offset can help.

I 100% agree that the shaft is the engine behind any club head and requires experimentation and careful selection, but with a £40 budget you have to deal in generics. 

My post was intended to offer some simple start points in finding a club that will offer a beginner the biggest bang for his buck.

With a £40 budget I would be looking no further than a good secondhand driver off ebay.

Specification will be well outside the understanding of a beginner, so it is obvious that he will be looking for recognised brands.