Golf clubs are expensive - or at least they can be. A decent iron will set you back around £150, fairway woods £300+, a shiny new driver £500, putter, anything between £200 and £600.
For many of us, changing our clubs is dictated by cost and whether and when we can afford to change them. So when is the right time?
I normally play at least twice a week, together with many sessions at the driving range. Throw in holiday and golf breaks with friends and over the course of a year I would be playing the equivalent of 150 rounds of golf a year. That is 300 rounds over two years - and that is my timeline.
After two years I feel that my clubs are starting to feel tired and that’s when I look to change the entire set - 300 rounds equates to around 24,000 shots. And I change everything other than my putter and my wedges.
I make no secret of the fact that I would never buy a set off the shelf.
I am utterly convinced that custom-fitting is the only way to go when it comes to buying my clubs. It is all very well knowing the specs of the clubs I have been using (and I do), but as you get older things change. Your swing speed slows for sure so the chances are that you will be looking for a more forgiving shaft throughout your entire set.
So when do you know that it’s time for change?
Shiny Grips
Listen boys and girls, it is possible to have your clubs fitted with new grips. You can ask your club pro to do it for you or you can even do it yourself. But you would never know it when you look around your golf club. Smooth and shiny grips are bad news - it means you have to grab your club more tightly to stop it slipping from your grasp, and tension is a killer when it comes to golf. So shiny grips might be a sign that your clubs need to go!
Novelty Value
When somebody looks at your clubs and informs you that they haven’t seen such a set for 15 years then it may be time. And when a know-it-all informs you that what you are playing with are collector’s items then you know it is definitely time!
Grooves
There is a reason our irons have grooves. They help us to control the ball and they help us to impart backspin - if the faces on your irons are smooth and shiny you need to know that you are most definitely not going to get the best from them. And I would wager that you get no proper feel from such clubs.
Shafts
If your driver has a steel shaft it is definitely time for change. Or if you are still using a club fitted with a bubble shaft then you are costing yourself distance. The shaft is the engine for every club and nobody, but nobody, still plays with a steel shaft on their driver.
Head Size
If your "woods" are actually woods it is time to retire them and hand them over to your nearest golf museum. You should be looking for a driver with a head that is 360 cubic centimetres.
Putter
I have never been able to understand why so many club golfers are prepared to pay £500 for a driver but will happily pick up a putter from the bargain bin. You use a driver a maximum of 14 times in a round of golf, you use a putter on every green. If you are carrying a cheap putter it will have no feel, no balance. If you take more than 36 putts in 18 holes then it is time to spend some money and get yourself custom-fitted. There is no easier way of reducing your scores.
Budget
If the time has come for you to change your clubs don’t feel that you need to buy the latest models - you can save yourself a small fortune by buying last year’s clubs - and I guarantee that you will lose no performance.
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