Category: Product Reviews

Saving Money By Buying Second Hand Golf Clubs

On October 25, 2022

Are you looking to upgrade what’s in your golf bag? If so, you should definitely consider the second hand golf club market. Pre-loved golf clubs come with many advantages over buying new. Firstly, you will save a lot of money! However there are many other reasons to buy used. In this article we’ll not only explore the benefits of buying second hand, but provide tips on how to save money and what to look out for when dipping into the second hand market.

Benefits of using second hand golf clubs

1) Saving You Money

Golf can be an expensive game and although this is an obvious advantage, buying second hand golf clubs can save you a significant amount of money. When buying the ‘latest and greatest’ gear, you will not find it hard to spend £2000 to kit out your entire bag for the season, however the second hand market has a price point for everyone, you can pick up a perfectly good set for £500 and then maybe you can put that extra money towards some lessons…

2) Try Before You Buy

One of the key benefits of buying used over new from a reputable retailer is that you can try your clubs out on the course before making your final decision. Nearly New Golf Clubs offer a 30 day money back guarantee on all used gear, no matter what your reason for return is, allowing you to give your clubs a trial run, commitment free.

3) A Variety of Choice

As the top manufacturers continue to innovate and release new models every year, that opens up the second hand market to an array of choice. This may give you more opportunity to find the club that is perfect for you. Whether that be an Odyssey 2 Ball putter that you fell in love with many years ago, or a Taylormade Spider putter that always caught your eye.

How to save money with second hand golf clubs

If you’re looking to purchase a new set of clubs, you may want to consider trading in and part exchanging your old clubs. Nearly New Golf Clubs has made this super simple to do: Simply fill out a brief form on their website and they’ll send you a quotation for those clubs the same day. If you’re happy with the quote, they’ll arrange to have your clubs picked up and the money will be in your account as soon as they arrive at HQ. This means that you can save money on your next purchase anytime you’re looking to upgrade, allowing you to game the latest Taylormade driver or the Scotty Cameron putter that you’ve always wanted.

Be careful of fakes when buying online. You might not realise it but these counterfeits are manufactured in China and are sold online at lower prices. As a general rule of thumb, if you think it’s too good to be true, then it probably is. However some fakes can be really hard to pick up, this is why shopping from a reputable retailer such as Nearly New Golf Clubs is a great way to ensure you’re buying genuine golf clubs as each club is individually inspected before being listed by one of their used golf experts on their website.

Don’t be afraid to explore the technological developments within golf clubs. Each year manufacturers will claim to have built a driver that will find you an extra few yards, however are they using more or less the same technology that was in the previous model? If so, why not try second hand? You could reap the majority of the benefits of the latest and greatest, at a fraction of the price.

Building your dream bag

Buying second hand could give you more budget to get the clubs you really want. For example, you may be able to buy a full bag of 14 clubs second hand, rather than the 12 you were going to buy new – giving you a club for every shot you need to make out on the course.

Over the last few years the used golf club market has grown rapidly, this means the range of clubs available to people is huge. You’ll be sure to find something that matches your budget and requirements. And you won’t lose out on quality. Justin Thomas recently won the PGA Championship with a trusty 915 FD in his bag (released in 2015!). You don’t need to buy second hand if you want the latest and greatest and it may not be for everyone, but it can still be a good idea to take advantage of the reduced prices that buying second hand can offer.

In conclusion, when buying used golf clubs it’s extremely important to ensure you’re purchasing from a reputable retailer. Nearly New Golf Clubs makes finding the club you’re after extremely simple with their unique product filtering system. You can filter through any specification to narrow down your search. If you’re looking for a left-handed Callaway driver with a stiff shaft and 9-degree head then you can filter down the results to show only the clubs that match your search. This makes searching for your perfect club easier and quicker than ever before.

Jumbo Grip Putters: How Switching Can Help You Score Around the Green

By Sully

On March 30, 2019

In Golf Discussions, Product Reviews

We’ve all seen them, putter grips so big they can barely fit in the holes in your golf bag. While it might be a newer phenomenon around the game of golf, jumbo gripped putters have taken off in popularity over the past five years.

So what are these jumbo grip putters and why are they so popular around the green?

What are Jumbo Grip Putters?

This might not come as a surprise, but jumbo grip putters are simply that; putters with much wider diameter grips that a traditional “pistol” gripped putter.

Specifically, jumbo gripped putters typically have grips widths between 1.4 – 1.75 inches in diameter.

In comparison, a traditional putter has a grip width between 1.0 – 1.2 inches. This makes jumbo grips almost 40-75% thicker than your average putter grip.

Additionally, many traditional putter grips have a taper which is designed to make the grip skinnier as you get further away from the top of the club. Jumbo grips often do not have a dramatic taper and stay roughly the same width throughout the entire grip.

Above is a standard putter grip. Notice how thin the grip is and how it tapers off towards the width of the putter shaft.

Why Use a Jumbo Grip?

It’s great to know all of the differences between a traditional putter grip and a jumbo one, but you might be wondering; why do people use these monstrous things?

This answer, again, is also quite simple; jumbo gripped putters help golfers score better. And here’s why.

Use of Large Muscle Groups

Many golfers that struggle with putting have problems with the mechanics of their swing, not reading the green.

This problem can be seen in the rotation of a golfer’s hands at impact; something that traditional putter grips do not help correct.

Twitchy or inconsistent wrists can result in a misalignment of your clubhead as it hits the ball. This puts the ball on a different path than the one you had wanted, and ultimately, results in missed putts.

In comparison, jumbo putter grips can help a golfer’s accuracy by increasing the diameter of the putter grip.

This increase in size forces a golfer to use the larger muscle groups in their shoulders and arms when they hit the ball. These muscle groups move less dramatically than a golfer’s wrists do, which results in higher levels of accuracy around the green.

Re-Alignment of Shoulders

Another common problem golfer’s face with their putting technique is shoulder alignment.

In an ideal world, your shoulders would be completely square at setup and impact of the ball. This promotes consistent ball striking and results in good distance control.

In reality, many golfers have a dominant right hand which results in a misaligned shoulder angle. This makes solid ball striking more difficult and results in poor putting.

While this problem can be solved by switching to a left-hand-low or cross grip putting style, increasing the size of your grip is also helpful for many golfers.

With a wider grip, it is possible to putt with your thumbs next to each other during the stroke. This alignment readjusts your shoulder tilt and encourages sound putting technique.

Wrap-Up

Although they have increased in popularity, jumbo putter grips might not be for everyone. A majority of golfers still do not use them, but that margin is shrinking every day.

I, myself, actually switched over to a jumbo grip this offseason and I have really enjoyed the change so far. Only time will tell if it pays off in lower scores during the year.

If you’re interested in checking out a jumbo putter grip as well, I would recommend the Winn Golf Jumbo Excel putter grip; it’s the one I am using right now.

Another great idea is to head over to your local sporting store and try out a few of the different jumbo grips they have for sale. Many of them will vary in size and weight but trying out a variety of different grips might help you find the one that’s best for you.

With that said, thank you for joining me on another 6 Minutes With Sully. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s topic and learned something about golf’s hottest new grip.

What Exactly is a Golf Swing Analyzer?

By Sully

On December 20, 2017

In Product Reviews

Today’s article comes from the web’s #1 equipment reviewer, Golf Assessor. The Golf Assessor team has reviewed hundreds of pieces of golf equipment and they were kind enough to look at swing analyzers for us today. Please enjoy and let me know what you think down below:

Twenty years ago the only ‘golf swing analyzer’ would have been watching video tutorials by David Leadbetter and trying to establish what you are doing wrong with your swing in comparison.

Swing Analyzers now come in a vast array of shapes and sizes and are either a phone based application or an actual golf swing device. When working out what you are looking for or needing from a swing analyzer you should keep the following in mind:

Build Quality

When it comes to build quality, you’re looking at two completely different things – software or hardware. How does the golf swing analyzer perform? Is it durable? Does it have a long battery life? Does it need upgrades or add-ons?

You also have to consider where you put it and whether it’s actually practical to use or not?

From our experience, most people will want a lightweight device that is attached onto the top of their grip. There are plenty of other methods, but this is the best in our opinion.

As for a software application, there are also certain minimum requirements. It needs to be compatible with iOS and Android. There also needs to be a strong connectivity with a decent range. A 360-degree view option for analysis is ideal, and an easy interface along with accurate data helps tremendously as well. Then it simply comes down to the extra specific features of each swing analyzer and how those features separate certain devices from the rest of the pack which can be the most difficult part of purchasing a swing analyzer.

Ease of Use

When you’re considering which swing analyzer to buy you want a device that is not only designed well but is also easy to use. How easy is it to set up the sensor? Does the data read easily? After that, if you can get the sensor and the app to connect at the same time that will make your life a whole lot easier.

Club calibration is one issue that not many have found the answer to dealing with. Let’s face it – that’s the boring part, so it needs to be over and done with as quickly as possible.

Once you’re ready to go, the dashboard is the most important thing. You need to be able to find your way around the menus, features, and statistics quickly and easily. Storing your swings and finding them shouldn’t be a chore, and any split screens, comparisons, and other imagery needs to be clean and uncluttered.

And of course, there is the data. It’s so hard to find that balance between supplying too little and too much data. In our opinion, the data just needs to be informative and provide the necessary information for you to improve. It’s hard to explain in words, but you’ll know when a device has succeeded in this department because you won’t have to think about it, everything will be presented seamlessly.

Value for Money

Cheap definitely does not equal good value so please keep that mind! It is, however, good to have certain price points in your mind. For $100 or less, you have to set realistic expectations. Once you start heading above $150, you’re then getting into the crutch numbers where you should be confident in the quality of what you’re purchasing.

And if you’re being asked to cough up north of 200 bucks, well, you should demand cutting-edge quality in return.

Based on all three of the points above, let’s pick out two Golf Swing Analyzers for you:

Epson M-Tracer Swing Analyzers

From the moment you open the box you know you have a quality product, not to mention how well it performs on the range.

In terms of features, the M-Tracer is faster, easier to use and more accurate than most of its competitors and that is something we’re certain of.

The M-Tracer is able to record data at a rate of 1,000 samples per second, which is a whole lot faster than most analyzers on the market and is the main reason why it is accurate to one-tenth of a degree.

The 3D view is a very cool feature and is one I found myself using a lot in conjunction with the V-Zone to analyze the finer details of my back-swing, down-swing and follow through. The Epson device also comes with a library of professional golf swing references to compare your swing with, which is incredibly addictive. The best part of this device though is just how simple it is to use.

If you are looking for the best middle-of-the range swing analyzer then we highly recommend the M-Tracer.

Zepp Golf 3D Swing Analyzer

The first time we used the Zepp Golf 3D Swing Analyzer, it didn’t feel right having the device clipped to my glove which made using the device a little awkward. It took a number of shots to trust the device wasn’t going to fly off my hand and also the device also recorded some strange data.

After the initial process was over, however, the Zepp was magnificent. To be fair, the Zepp 3D doesn’t have the full suite of features as some of the bigger guns, but it’s clear focus on the core elements of swing analysis and user-friendliness are as good as the best in the business.

Setting up and calibrating the device is incredibly easy, and the dashboard reflects this simplicity. There is some product-specific jargon to learn, but it’s not very complex.

In summary, Zepp has produced a user-friendly swing analyzer at a super affordable price, and because of that, we have given it our Best Value vote.

So there you have it, the three most important things to consider if you’re in the market for a swing analyzer and two products to check out if you’re still trying to do some last minute holiday shopping.

I hope you enjoyed today’s piece and have a great holiday season from The Golf Assessor team and us here at The Golf Academy.