Gerry Heidenreich

I am pretty abysmal at golf. I got my clubs at play it again sports so as to not spend too much money. Want to buy them?

Start with lessons first, then rely on the pro to give you some good advice for your price range. Most pros will let you use clubs owned by the facility.

Consider hybrid clubs for your long irons (3, 4, maybe even 5). These are sometimes called "rescue clubs" or "iron woods". You don't need a 2-iron... instead, get a gap wedge once your game improves.

You don't need to match your woods to your irons.

Gerry, it was great talking to you today. I recently purchased a Dunlop Crazy Loco driver (yep, that's its name) and I've been very happy with it. Besides Play It Again, I'd suggest Second Swing or Golf Galaxy (both in Brookfield) for competitive prices and real golf pros that can size clubs for you and evaluate your golf swing.

Forget about getting clubs right away... talk to a pro after you get references... feel comfortable with the guy/gal... then ask them what club set would work for you. Don't spend the dime until you've done your research...

BTW... I use Cleveland TA-2s, Stiff Shafts, steel, I use a Cleveland 460 Driver and Adams 3 year old 3 and 5 woods. But my favorite club is a Clevelnad TA-2 2 Iron :-)

Yeah, I have a great teacher. He plays on the CA mini tour. "Ball go far" :-)

All good advice no doubt. However, this really falls into the old adage about practice makes perfect. There is nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, that will make you any better than totally crappy at golf than playing. Let's go out and play 9 holes to start - my treat. You'll find out how crappy you truly are - and I don't mean as compared to me, I mean that you'll find the parts of your game (or lack thereof) that frustrate you most. Then, you'll have a reference point. From there, we can talk about hitting a nearby driving range 2-3 times a week. You'll want to work your clubs in rotation - meaning, hit them all while on the range, not just see if you can crush the driver. If you do this for a month or two, you'll start to train your muscles to understand what they need to do for you on the course.

I like to refer to the Michael Jordan example, because it illustrates the point I'm making in a magnificent way. Jordan was asked by a reporter once how he was so awesome. He said that he could notice subconsciously the difference of the most subtle of muscular movements and intuitively know how they affected a given shot in a given situation. Golf is the ultimate variation of this principle and perhaps why Jordan loved/loves golf so much. There is no other sport that requires repetitive muscular programming more than golf.

In short, buy some relatively inexpensive clubs. I'd say you don't want to go too low because you won't get the experience of what's happening. Don't buy from any store. Talk with me and I'll get you a custom set made for you from a friend of mine who does this for a living. They'll fit you perfect and won't cost more than $300 for the set - woods and irons. You can expect to drop another $100-150 for a respectable bag and related accessories. Part of the golf aura is fitting into the club scene. You will feel like a moron if you cheap on this. No need for Taylor Made R7 clubs, etc. Let the pros use those. You'll actually do better with a modest set like I'm discussing as the clubs tend to be "softer" or more forgiving of swing inconsistencies.

Also, subscribe to Golf Digest. It's only about $15 or so a year and offers hundreds of pages of advice each month. Cheap lessons that will pay their reward when you're out on the course. Again, you'll only get better when you're swinging and playing. No fancy lessons can touch experience.

Play for a year or two - hitting the links at least 10 times or more a year, then think about investing in golf lessons. You really won't get your money's worth until you know where you stand. The only way to know where you stand is to play.

So, give me a call and let's setup a tee-time!

Oops, I forgot a couple of other key points...

Once you get out on the course, you'll soon realize (after hitting the range countless times and resolving your woods and irons) that golf is ultimately a short-game. Putting kicks most people's butts for the first few years.

So, knowing you and you knowing me, take my advice and involve your family in your short game learning strategy. Hit the mini-golf courses frequently. I recommend at least once every other week. Your kids will love it and it will do wonders for your short-game. Maybe we can get our families together for this - as my 4 year old daughter has become quite the mini-golfer. We're planning to get her a real set of clubs soon and start her on the driving range soon.

I also recommend an indoor putting setup. There are many available and they're mostly inexpensive. It will allow you to practice putting while having idle time in your office. Nothing like putting 200 times a day to make your short-game work better.

Got my current set at Goodwill -- $30 including the bag. Then $10 for a decent left-handed putter at Second Swing and a few bucks for some used, good condition balls and some tees.

I don't have a driver (I use a wood) or a sand wedge, and am not really fond of my pitching wedge, and I know the clubs aren't great quality, but here's my theory: If I can learn to hit these OK, then I will do even better with good clubs. I'll think about spending more then.

Do you golf left-handed, too. (I know you're generally a lefty.) If so, maybe whenever Brian takes you out golfing I'll come and we can share clubs. ;)

No, I swing stuff right-handed, but I have some clubs now - we should definitely hook up for a round soon!

I picked up a used set of Toski steel-shaft clubs yesterday, with a 1W and 5W, SW, PW, putter, bag, and a bunch of balls for $50. The clubs retailed a few years ago for ~$300 online, and got good reviews.

I'd be up for an afternoon of golf or driving anytime, just give me a call!

Those of you that don't have my contact info can add me to MSN grh@whdlaw.com.

Thanks for all the input!