In Praise of “Old” Golf Clubs

If you look in my bag, I don’t think you’d find any clubs that are less than 5 years old. In fact, my driver (Taylormade r580xd) and irons (TM 200’s) would be an embarrassment to some golfers.

It’s not that I don’t like the newer clubs, it’s just that I really like mine. Many newer golfers (and those who should know better) spend more money than I could justify on the latest clubs being used by the hottest, new stars. What many don’t understand is that those athletes endorsing those clubs are not using the same clubs we are able to buy from mass market production. Those clubs being used by Day and Rory are custom-made. They have custom grinds, shafts adjusted and selected for the individual player, and the club head lofts and lies are very specific. In short, some golfers may feel that they are playing with the same clubs as their idols, but that’s far from true.

There are instances in which I feel that the newer models of certain clubs are far inferior to their predecessors. I’ve seen heads fall off drivers or adjustable ones become loose during play. I’ve seen pictures of irons with puncture holes the exact size of a golf ball.

Now, I know this can happen to any club in the bag, but it seems that it happens less with the older versions.

How many times have you watched a professional golfer on Tour get a bad case of the yips, only to return the next day with an older set of clubs, hoping this will change his or her course of play? Just recently, I can recall this happening with Furyk and Tiger. This may have more of a mental effect on the athlete, but I’d like to think that it’s also the equipment being used.

I’ve got friends I play with who have clubs which are a lot newer than mine with all of the technological advances, speed grooves, adjustable lofts, etc. Not surprisingly, they still play as they did before acquiring the new clubs. In some cases, they have gone back to their old, familiar clubs. I also have friends that play much older irons than me — one who still uses persimmon woods. They can still crush me on the course.

Now, I know that certain advances have been made in the golf course industry that have improved the game in great ways. Unlike my aforementioned friend, I would not want to have to rely on old woods. I really like having my GPS app to gauge distances to the pin. The over-sized driver heads have greatly improved my distance, and today’s clubs have much more forgiveness than those available decades ago.

There are those who swear that clubs over ten years old can’t stand up to the most modern ones, but this is not true in the majority of cases. We’ve all heard that, “It’s not the clubs — it the golfer.”

A simple Google search on “Building a Good Set of Golf Clubs” yields many articles touting what many golfers would consider obsolete clubs. Message boards are full of comments like, “I wish I still had that driver,” or “That was my favorite putter.”

I don’t think investing hundreds (or thousands) of dollars will make such a marked difference in my game. I think I’ll just stick with the clubs I have and keep re-gripping when needed. What I really need is to keep practicing on the areas in which I need improvement and to fine-tune certain aspects of my play. There’s no need to spend my hard-earned money on new clubs — at least that’s what my wife tells me…

Cover Image via Flickr