Golf is a brilliant, infuriating, amazing and frustrating sport to get into. It is also an incredibly expensive one, which can be a bit of a nightmare if you don’t know whether you’re actually going to enjoy it or not. Sure, you can head down to the driving range with some friends and hit a few balls, but does that actually tell you much about what it’s like to play the game? If you want to get into it but don’t want the immediate outlay that comes with buying some clubs, one of the best things that you can do is head on down to your local charity shop to see if there are any clubs for sale there.
Clubs Are Hard to Get Rid Of
The problem with golf clubs is that they are an extremely personal thing. Anyone who has ever played the game will know that you come to understand the quirks and eccentricities of the clubs that you play with, which isn’t necessarily the case if you pick up someone else’s clubs and try to use them. Even borrowing someone else’s wedges when you’re around the green and can’t be bothered to walk back to your bag can demonstrate why it is that you have chosen to play with the clubs that you have, so it isn’t all that easy to sell your clubs or give them away to someone else.
As a result, many people find that they have no way of getting their clubs off their hands other than to take them down to a local charity shop and give them away for free. That is great news for people who want to get into golf but don’t know if they’re going to like it enough to make it worthwhile investing a load of money in a new set of golf clubs. You don’t need to buy the first set of clubs that you come across, but you can certainly give yourself some options by looking around all of the charity shops in your area and seeing what, if any, golf clubs they have available.
You Can Still Be Picky
Just because you are turning to a charity shop in order to find your first set of clubs doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be picky in your approach. As mentioned, getting rid of golf clubs isn’t easy, so people will often turn to charity shops as the best place to put the clubs that would otherwise be sitting in their garage or shed. The result of this is that a new set of clubs will doubtless hit the charity shops in the not-too-distant future, so if the ones that you find on your first visit aren’t for you, then you can simply wait a little bit longer and see what else comes along.
You can also literally be quite picky, which is to say that most charity shops will let you buy individual clubs from a set rather than just buying the entire thing en masse. If you already have the makings of a set that you’re happy with but see a nice putter, an expensive-looking driver or a good set of wedges in a charity shop set, you can ask if you can just buy those and leave the rest of the set intact. You could also leave your details with the people in the shop and ask them to get in touch with you if some more golf clubs come in, because they’ll be keen to get rid of them.
Work Out What You Like
Although you’re new to golf, it won’t take long before you work out what you do and don’t like to play with when it comes to the different types of golf clubs. If you find bladed irons hard to hit, for example, then you might want to look out for the different types of irons that you can get and see if any of your preferred type hit the charity shops near you. Bear in mind that companies now often make three different types of iron, depending on whether the player is a professional or needs a lot more forgiveness from the club that they’re hitting with, which is likely to be the case if you’re a beginner.
Even the shaft will have an impact on your golf game. Steel shafts are good for people with a fast club-head speed, but if you tend to be a bit slower, which is entirely possible if you don’t have much experience, then you might well be better suited to a graphite shaft. Do not make the mistake of thinking that just because someone is putting them in a charity shop that it will only be one type of shaft that ends up being given away. Equally, if a set looks quite old then it is entirely possible that the clubs won’t contain much of the modern technology we see in clubs, which is to be avoided by a beginner.
You Can Always Upgrade Later
When you’re first starting out playing golf, the main thing that you want to know is whether or not it is a sport that you’re going to end up enjoying. There is no point in spending hundreds of pounds buying a new set of golf clubs and an expensive bag only to then give up after the first round you play on a course. Getting a set from a charity shop will likely set you back only a fraction of the cost of a new set of clubs, but it will allow you to find out whether you’re going to be bitten by the golf bug or not. If you are, the good news is that you aren’t married to your first set of clubs.
Instead, you can then go through the process of heading along somewhere to have a fitting, getting clubs that are more specifically tailored to your needs as a golfer. You obviously can do that straight away, but it is a huge investment to make for a set of clubs that you probably won’t be able to hit significantly better than some clubs that you bought in a charity shop for a relative pittance. If you have disposal money to burn then obviously it’s entirely up to you what you do with it, but charity shops are a great place to look because of the bargains you’ll often find there.