Used Golf Clubs

If you are just starting out to play golf, you should never buy a new golf club set immediately as you may discover that this game is not for you later on. Furthermore, you are yet to find the type of golf clubs that fits you during the learning stage. The good choice is to start with cheap used golf clubs. And here are some guidelines to help you to hunt down your first used golf club set:

Golf Rental Clubs

First, you may want to play with the rental clubs at a driving range. During this time, don't be afraid to ask your friends or other golfers to try their clubs on the range. This is a good opportunity for you to judge which type of clubs is right for you. After hitting for a period of time at the driving range and you think it is time to buy your own clubs, then ....

Rely on golf expert

When you go out to buy used golf clubs, you should always rely on people who know golf equipment well. You can look for your local pro at your local municipal course as a source of information and advice. Or you can consult the experts at the golf shop or even your friend who plays well or who knows anything about golf clubs. Alternatively, you can search the Internet for used golf club reviews. You can always ask people for advice but keep in mind that what suits them may not necessary prove good in your hands. Therefore, it is more important to identify the golf club set that suitable to your ability yourself.

Golf beginner's half set

As a novice golfer, you are advised to learn with a half set of clubs with all matching iron of the same model. The half-set could be made up from a few combinations of clubs. In general, the half set combination consists of five iron clubs, including 4, 6, 8, pitching wedge and sand iron, in addition to 3 and 5 woods plus a putter. The driver is not recommended in the beginner's half set because it is the hardest club to control. Majority of beginners would achieve better results using a 3 wood on the tee box. Likewise, 1, 2 or 3 irons should be avoided at the early stages of the game, as each of these long irons requires an accurate strike from the middle of the clubface with plenty of club heads speed in order to achieve good results. In contrast, a 5 wood with distance almost equivalent of the 2 iron - the ball can still travel a fair distance despite being hit off-center. Besides, a lofted wood is more forgiving than the thin blade of an iron club heads.

The half set combination not only sufficient for most novice golfers on the golf course for every situation but also makes club selection much easier. It is a good combination of clubs to help the novice to improve their swing technique until they are good enough before they advance to the full set golf clubs. Therefore, you have to make sure to select a golf model for your half set from a reputable manufacturer that can be added to at a later stage.

Golf Feels

The best way to purchase a used golf clubs is to actually hold them in your hand and swing them to get a feel for what you want. The feel of a golf club clearly seems to be all-important. But, what is 'feel'? There is no scientific formula that defines it. In general, feel can be described as the way a golfer feels a club when he or she swings it depends on its swing weight and the flexibility of its shaft.

Iron Club head

Look for club head that made of stainless steel and avoid inexpensive alloy heads. For beginner, you should select the 'heel-and-toe' (or, perimeter-weighted) club head design, cavity backed (hollowed out in the back) and over-sized golf club. You should get bigger club heads because they are more forgiving with enlarges 'sweet spot' that can produce maximum distance even with off-center contacts.

Golf Shafts

Graphite shafts is ideal for beginner even though it is more expensive that steel shafts. Its lighter overall weight allows beginner to swing the club faster even with enlarged clubhead.

Golf Grips

If you have purchased used golf clubs where the condition of the grips could be less than perfect or the grips don't fit properly for you, then make sure you replace them. Grips are fairly easy and inexpensive to change by a pro or club repairman. Ensure all the grips are replaced with same size and design.

Finally, if you are just starting out with golf, chances are your swing is more likely to let you down rather than the golf clubs itself. Having said that, it is still important to try out the golf clubs before buying them in order to find a golf club set that suits your swing, body and game. Most importantly, makes you feel confident when you use it.

Andrew is the owner of Used Golf Clubs Guide, a website that provides complete guide to used golf clubs - where to buy/sell/trade in used golf clubs, what to check before buying a used golf clubs, how to choose a used golf clubs set... and more. You can visit his website at:http://www.used-golf-clubs-guide.com/ Article #2 on buying used golf clubs:

Many people asked me... should I buy used golf clubs? Well, the answer is absolutely! Why not? Golf can be an expensive game. For example, a top quality drivers can cost you from $300 to $600. A good set of irons can cost up to $1,200. There is no reason, especially for the new golfers, why you should not buy used golf clubs.

I mean why spend too much money buying expensive golf clubs when you are still not sure how well you will play or whether you will continue playing or not. Right? The reason why people hesitate to buy used golf clubs is because they are afraid of major defects that are undetected, low quality or poor care by its owner.

But not to worry, here are some useful tips I want to share with you when you are buying used golf clubs. Just follow these guidelines and you can be sure that you will get good quality golf clubs on a budget.

Check the Grips.

Look out for obvious problems such as cracks, splits and worn areas in the rubber or leather of the grips. Grips can be replaced or re-grip, but it will cost you between $10 to $15 to re-greip a club. I will not buy it if the club need immediate re-gripping because that shows it has not been taken good care of. Also check if there is any rush spot, a club left out in the rain may have developed rust spots but these usually can be cleaned off.

Examine the Clubface.

Most used golf clubs will have some wear, that's reasonable. But you should check and examine carefully that the clubface doesn't have a shiny worn spot right in the center. A clubface like that won't hold the ball as well and will cause your shots to be less accurate. Also make sure that the grooves have well defined edges. Don't buy it if there are dents in the clubface as this will cause the ball flight angle to be off.

Check the Shafts.

Graphite shafts have lighter weight than steel shaft, but they are slightly less durable and get dented easier. So make sure graphite shafts don't have indentations or worn areas. Such defects will throw off your swing because they affect flexibility and torque. Test the shaft by gently twisting the head and grip in opposite directions. It should have strong resistance otherwise there is weakness in the shaft.

For steel shafts, examine carefully to make sure it hasn't been bent back into shape. Without a special equipment, it is almost impossible to straighten the club back to its original shape. Even if it does, it will still weaken the club. Make sure all shafts in a set are the same so the clubs feel similar from shot to shot.

Try out the clubs before you buy. Take them out in a front yard for a few swings. This is the only way you can find out how well the clubs will perform. If the owner doesn't allow you to try, then give it a pass and move on.

Last but not least, when buying used golf clubs I always stick to better known brand names like Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade, and Ping. This will minimize the risk of getting low quality clubs.

Buying used golf clubs is very cost effective especially if you are a new golfer. In fact, many experienced golfers I know also use less expensive golf clubs. It won't affect your swing if the clubs are still in good condition. Hope you find these tips or guidelines useful.

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Here's Ezinearticles.com article #3 on used golf clubs info that I dug up:

If you are a beginner or have played for many years there will be a time when you will need to get clubs or change your clubs and buy used golf equipment to both start without spending a lot of money or upgrade and save a lot of money. Before you buy used golf clubs it is best to first determine what type of used golf equipment will serve your needs and abilities. This means determining your height, swing speed and playing level. This will help you determine your club length, shaft flex and the type of club head that will work best for you. For example if you are average height, say 5 ft 10 in to 6 ft tall you would need a standard length club and if you swing hard and fast over 100 mph (you can get this measured at most larger golf retailers) you may need stiff shafts for your clubs.

The most important part is the type of club head design that will work best for you. Most beginners would benefit the most from Super Game Improvement clubs which are designed to be the most forgiving with poor swings and mishits. This means that you can still get the ball in the air and it will not slice or hook as much. These clubs are designed with larger club faces, more offset (leading edge of club set back from the base of the shaft) and weight distribution for getting the ball in the air and going straighter when it does. At the other end of used golf club selection is the advanced player, who if are reading this already know that you don't need game improvement clubs and the type of shafts and club heads that work best for you, all you need now is to find the best used golf clubs for you. Find the right clubs for your game is very important to give you the best results when you play golf and the most satisfaction from your shots. Here is a short guide to give you an idea of what you should be looking for.

Some important considerations before buying used golf clubs: 1. The shaft is the engine of the club, the better the shaft, the better the club. 2. Shaft flex has a major effect on the feel of a golf club and an effect on distance, an important determination in choosing clubs. If you do not know your speed swing, a local golf shop can measure it for you. Otherwise the following may be helpful. LADIES FLEX Driver speed swing less than 60 mph (100 km/h). Driver carry distance less than 180 yds. Club used from 150 yds. a 3 iron or wood. SENIOR or A FLEX Driver speed swing 60-75 mph (100-120 km/h). Driver carry distance 180-210 yds. Club used from 150yds. a 4 iron. REGULAR FLEX Driver speed swing 75-84 mph (120-135 km/h). Driver carry distance 210-240 yds. Club used from 150 yds. a 5 or 6 iron. STIFF FLEX Driver speed swing 84-93 mph (130-150 km/h). Driver carry distance 240-260 yds. Club used from 150 yds. a 6 or 7 iron. X-STIFF FLEX Driver speed swing over 93 mph (150 km/h). Driver carry distance 260 yds. Club used from 150 yds. an 8 or 9 iron. 3. Shallow face metalwoods and hybrids are the biggest game improvement clubs on the market today.

These clubs are easy to hit and extremely accurate due to their low center of gravity. 4. Beginners and novice players choosing a set make-up, should consider eliminating the 2 and 3 irons from their set, replacing those hard to hit irons with a 5, 7 or 9 wood, preferably shallow face models, or hybrids. 5. All golfers should use standard length clubs unless he or she is short or tall. Standard length clubs allow players to hit the ball on center a higher percentage of the time, thus increasing distance and accuracy. In recent years, light weight titanium driver heads and ultra light graphite shafts have extended driver playing lengths from a standard 43-431/2 to 44-46. This is good news and bad news. The good news is, when you increase length, you will increase distance. The longer the club, the more club head speed generated, thus more distance. The bad news is, the longer the club the more difficult it is to control, thus less accuracy.

The following information will be helpful. A driver hit on center at 43 250 yds. 43 1/2 262 yds. 44 270 yds. 44 1/2 275 yds. 45 275-280 yds. As you can see a significant increase in distance is achieved up to 44. After 44, distance increases only a minimal amount. CONCLUSION - It is not worth sacrificing accuracy for the minimal amount of distance gained past 44. Keep driver playing lengths to 44 or less. Now that you have some information about what you should be looking for you need to know where to find the best deals on used golf equipment. To save you time I have done the research to direct you to locate used Callaway golf clubs, used Cleveland golf clubs, used Titleist golf clubs and used ladies golf clubs. The resource box below will direct you to the sites that will take you to get your used golf equipment or new at the best prices.

Now that you know what used golf equipment will be best for you game you need to go to where you will find what you need. http://www.squidoo.com/usedcallawayclubs