Golf: Do you really need the latest clubs?

Technology is a funny thing. It seems the more we advance as a society, the more we increase our need for instant satisfaction. As technology grows, the last big thing becomes obsolete. In the golf world, this is becoming more and more true.

Golf equipment is becoming like computers and cell phones. Just as the latest, greatest model enters the markets, a newer, better product is being worked on, waiting to be unveiled – sometimes only months later.

Companies like Taylor Made, Nike, Mizuno and Titleist are all in the race to showcase their latest models as soon as they are developed, making the club you just bought a few months ago useless, or so they want you to believe.

I have members and guests alike who are constantly buying the most recent model of their favorite manufacturer only to toss that club aside in a few months to buy the next one. Clever marketing, tour pro spokespeople and golf media outlets would lead the average consumer to believe that their equipment is somehow not quite up to par, pardon the pun. I am here to tell you that is simply not the case.

Golf is as much about feel and confidence as it is about anything else. Just because you purchased the latest, biggest, farthest, most forgiving driver doesn’t mean you are going to hit the ball far or straight. Unfortunately, you still have to make the swing and repeat, over and over. As my grandfather would say, “It ain’t the arrow, it’s the Indian.”

Tour pro winners of late have been noted for bucking this trend by winning at the PGA Tour level with clubs from several years ago. Just a few months ago, Brandt Snedeker won the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a five-year-old Taylor Made Burner Super Fast driver and a three-yearold Odyssey White Hot XG Rossie. As recently as late May 2015, Steven Bowditch used a set of 2013 Mizuno MP-4 irons to win the AT&T Byron Nelson tournament at TPC Four Seasons in Texas.

Total retail value? $225 used.

So you see, it really isn’t the arrow. It’s whatever feels good in your hands. Golf is so much between your ears that using what feels comfortable to you is the right club for you at that time. If you start to slump and lessons can’t fix your problem, then that might be the right time to consider new clubs. I always suggest getting fitted professionally as equipment is not “One Size Fits All.”

I will say that if you are still swinging your Dad’s clubs from the ’80s, then it is definitely time to break out the wallet and get a new set, as technology would be in your favor.

Remember, technology is great – but only if you know how to use it. Consistent practice and professional lessons will go along way to helping you know whether or not it’s the Indian or the Arrow.

Brian Curtin has been an avid golfer for 32 years. He’s been the club manager at Great Rock Golf Club since 2008 and is the current president of the Riverhead Chamber of Commerce. He lives in Manorville with his wife Kerrilyn and their daughter Raegan.

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