What’s the golf equivalent of new car smell?
Buying Golf Clubs After 20 Years
My first golf clubs were old Ben Hogan blades. They were my grandmother’s. After one year of getting blisters from those butter knives, my dad bought me new clubs of my own. This time, the old man found some Wilson Gooseneck blades. Five years later, for my 18th birthday, he agreed to upgrade my set one more time. He said he wanted to send me out into the world with a set I could have for a while.
21 years later, I still have those Maxfli Revolutions in my bag. In 8–10 weeks (don’t fuck with me here supply chain), I’ll finally have a new set of golf clubs. I played hooky for an hour at work today and snuck over to Golf Galaxy.
Having done my research, and after twenty-plus years of stock irons, I didn’t feel like I needed nor wanted to be fully fitted. MAYBE we’d check shaft length and/or lie, but overall, I just wanted something that felt good. Walking in, the plan was to ask for the Titleist T200, Callaway Apex Pro, and Mizuno JPX. I’d spend five minutes with each, and pull the trigger.
The Mizuno JPX catfished me, and I was immediately turned off before I even took it off the wall.
For past illogical biases, Taylor Made wasn’t on the brain, but all that went away when I saw the P790s there. They’d take the JPX spot.
T200
They had a thicker looking head in person that I couldn’t get over mentally. They felt okay. I wasn’t disappointed with the forgiveness, but standing over them, I couldn’t get past the initial sight that looked almost bulky.
Apex Pro
The Callaway was heavier than the other two. They were forgiving and the weight wasn’t uncomfortable. However, the weight was just a whisker more than what I’m used to, and I’m not getting younger.
P790s
The last second, dark horse candidate was love at first sight and swing. Their weight was light, and they felt solid at impact. There was a forgiveness about them without a jarring mishit feeling. In the end, I ended up spending more time hitting this one. I don’t know how to explain it other than kismet.
Oh, and it turns out one-degree flat is perfect for me. We placed an order: 4-iron through approach wedge.
That was lunch today, and I washed them down with a couple of Titleist Vokey SM8 wedges; a 56-degree and a 60-degree to update the decade-old Vokeys currently in my bag.
It’s gonna be a long 10 weeks, but after 20 years, it’ll feel like nothing.
