From Fiat To Ferrari--Part 3

     Will somebody please answer me this question? Does TaylorMade have to come out with a new $400 driver that's really not that much different from the one before every six months?  Do they have to do the same thing with new sets of irons with price tags in the thousands of dollars? The fact of the matter is that you don't have to have the newest and or the best to truly enjoy the game. As far as equipment is concerned is as expensive as you want it to be.
     I play with a Nike Sumo square driver, which I got as a tee gift when I played in a tournament. I was playing an Orlimar that I think I paid $100 for at golf pro shop and to me that driver was the greatest thing since sliced bread. But you never want to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially when that horse had a Nike driver in that mouth.  There is a back story to why I chose the Nike driver, but I won't get into that here but I did think that if I didn't like the driver I could always sell it on Ebay. I still am still after seven years playing that Nike driver. It works and I still hit it a long way. Free is good by the way.
     About twenty years ago I found that I was not playing as much golf as I used to. I decided that my MacGregor stiff shaft blade irons were becoming harder to hit. At that point, I made the decision to go to a mid-size headed iron which were more forgiving. They still had stiff shafts however as my swing speed didn't change that much. I had those irons for a very long time until my bad case of sciatica flared up. The time had arrived to look into graphite shafted irons which were supposedly easier on your back. Seven years ago I bought a new graphite shafted set of irons from a club maker I know. Guess what, those irons are still in my bag, except for the original seven iron that I lost. They are serving me well, so why change. The irons cost me $200 not the $800 Nike wanted or the $950 that TaylorMade wanted.
     By the way, if you do want to spend that kind of cash on TaylorMade or Nike check out the golf shops or sporting goods stores. You can find some great bargains on new clubs that were last month's model. Its kind of like going to a car lot and buying that BMW you always wanted but couldn't afford the newer model. You can get a great deal on last year's model at a fantastic discount. Oh, and don't forget Ebay or Craig's List.  There are some great bargains on clubs out there if you know where to find them.
      As I have said in Parts 1 and 2, its your option as to how expensive this game is to play.  Its totally up to you and you can stay within a reasonable budget. There is much more that can be said about the game and how expensive it can be but doesn't have to be. The choice is your's my friend. I will have more about this in my next post.

Yep, that's the old Orlimar. I gave it to my son-in-law. Hmmm...I was a bit heavier there.