Budget Beater: Breaking 90 Doesn’t Have To Break The Bank

I’ve seen it far too often, that person that rolls up to the first tee with a $500 driver, a few $250 fairway woods, a couple of $200 hybrids, that $2000 set of irons and a $500 custom putter. I step back to play the blue tee boxes and they walk back from the whites to join me. I pull my 1 iron out and hit a semi-decent shot about 240 yards down the middle of the fairway. They pull out their magical driver, take about 3 seconds to get the tee in the ground and hit a low pull left about 100 yards off the tee. They follow that with a topped 3 wood, then a slicing hybrid. A chip from that $150 wedge finally gets them on the green where that $500 putter 3 putts just like a $10 Goodwill find. I replay that hole over and over again and wonder, why did they have to spend so much money in the wrong places for this game. Even in the age of the “free online lesson” nobody should have a bag that has that much money tied up in it, unless they are putting just as much into their practice and lessons.

To put this in perspective, I will build you a bag using the clearance section at Golfsmith.com. Keep in mind that buying used is an even better way to go, but here’s what I found online today. The driver, a Callaway X N415 for $105. For the fairway woods, you can pick up the Adams Tight Lies or Tight Lies Tour models for just $40 each. Total in the woods department, $185. For the irons and hybrids, it just comes down to personal preference, but for the non-hybrid user, the Wilson Di11 irons are just $249 while the Callaway X series hybrid/iron combo set is just $100 more. Since I’m not a lover of all things hybrid, I’ll take the $250 game improvement irons and toss those in the bag. For the wedges and putter, I am looking at the Snake Eyes SL4 wedges for $25 each and the Lynx Black Cat putter for $40. That puts the total bag right around $500. To compare, I have a $70 driver, $200 irons, $60 in wedges and a $25 putter, or about $350 in my bag right now, and that’s with a very special set of blades, not my ‘cheaper’ Fluid Feels or the old Pings.

Now, keeping in mind that I’m not slamming the equipment makers for convincing golfers that they will play better than they can with certain gear in their bags, but it’s scary to think that you can outfit an entire bag for the cost of one driver. In all honesty, the struggling shooter will probably do better with the game improvement clubs anyway. With more money spent on lessons and practice, a player will get better than their equipment. When that happens, and they decide it is time to try out for the senior tour, they can spend all they want and get the performance clubs they need. Until then, blow through the cash playing and practicing instead of trying to buy a game that will break 90. In fact, don’t blow any money at all and just practice what you can at home for free. You’ll get there soon enough.