Playing more = Ho'ing less?

ZWExton

Those of you who play multiple times per week year round, or those that have that privilege even temporarily throughout the year, do you ho less when you play more?

I'm blessed to have a desk job that provides for my life and isn't very difficult for me. I find that when my mind drifts to golf, and I can't make my game better by actually playing (since I'm in the office) I am far more interested in shopping. Winter has the same effect.

So in a world where I could practice and play more, would I be less interested in replacing the driver I can hit 320?

PA-PLAYA

I think the more one plays, the more one is resigned to the fact that the only way they can play better is via buying a new (or "new" used) golf club.

Might be a first for me in a long, long while... but last year - I didn't purchase a single piece of golf equipment, outside of golf balls and a few new golf shirts.

edit - I did purchase a new golf carry bag. Apparently the 8 golf bags I already have downstairs in the basement weren't good enough.

limpalong

Close to 200 rounds last year. Ho'd less than ever before since I took up golf in the early 80's. Played most of the year with a set of Callaway irons. Had a set of G20's that I brought out a few times. Traded the Callaway's for a set of GMax Pings. Those are in my bag. I did trade the G20's for a pristine set of Eye 2's, but those are more for memorabilia than the daily gamers. During 2019, I will play the Eye 2's and the Eye 2+ BeCu's I've had since 1999 just to get both some daylight. Driver, fairways, hybrids, and wedges have stayed fairly stable throughout the year.

Was in my local golf shop just yesterday. Nothing even looked like it needed to come home with me. Just don't have that burning desire to change things. My Cameron putter has been balky so I've been playing one of my Ansers. No need to look for something different when you've got a few excellent putters in the basement bags.

So, in my case, I'm playing quite a bit and ho'ing less. Have become somewhat comfortable with what I've got. The only thing I'm even considering for 2019 might be some wedge changes. I am also considering putting a 1" to 2" extension in my Cameron putter. Other than that... it is too costly to be switching clubs. Not from the cost of the clubs, but the cost in losses from the "geezer group" as I get used to different clubs. We play for quarters and if you can't score you might lose anywhere between 75 cents to $!.50 on a given day. The agony of handing over quarters to those greedy old geezers is reason enough to stay with clubs you can trust!!! :>)

Sarnella

limpalong
no plans for 2018?

Spuzz

Played more golf last year than I ever have and ho"d less.
Treated myself to some new technology (Adams hybrids) and some lightweight shafts and grips.
No need for anything else in the near future.

sdandrea1

Spuzz Played more golf last year than I ever have and ho"d less.
Treated myself to some new technology (Adams hybrids) and some lightweight shafts and grips.
No need for anything else in the near future.

What does NEED have to do with anything? 😈

limpalong

Sarnella Heck! Retired and can't tell which day it is... or which year it is! Just floating along......... :>)

letthebigdogshunt

When I played the most is when I bought the most clubs. The better I got the more I wanted to get better, thus equipment can be a short cut to better play.

DGreen

I semi-retired last year - played more golf this summer than I played total the past two years and Ho-ed far less that I had in the past ten years!

puttnfool

I know that since the temps have dropped I have bought a metric crap ton of stuff. I need some warmer temps so I can play and not buy stuff.

sdandrea1

Hoping to play the same amount of golf (4 times/week) and Ho less in 2018. Tough duty, right? I know I get no sympathy, just sayin......................😎

Eguller

sdandrea1
Yeah....played about 200 total times last year also and HO-ed about the same as usual. No
real need to - just like to try new toys. No sympathy for you > one year.

ode

LOL

NEVVVVVVVVVA!

garyt1957

Seems like equipment has gotten so good in the last 5-10 years there's not much reason to change unless you just like shiny new things. I believe there's some improvement in newer stuff, just not enough to really get excited about, and not enough to make me run out and buy something.
Seriously, what has come out in the last 10 years or so that has been pretty much unanimously panned? A driver might not work for you, but it's someone else's Holy Grail. I remember Callaway's C4 (?) driver being pretty much unanimously panned, but that's what, at least 10 years ago?
I have 4 or 5 driver heads of various ages with the newest being from about 2013. I hit them all the same for the most part.

sdandrea1

garyt1957 unless you just like shiny new things.

Bingo..........

Weirfan

Ive never really correlated the two.
In the good old days when there were dozens of component companies and FGI had numerous sponsors along with Multiple new GS and GW offering hoing was easy and fun. Everybody wanted to try new stuff. The swap shops were full of Items in all categories at fair prices and these were circulated around from ho to ho......I had 5-6 gear whores on speed dial 🙂

We all knew that unless we happend to stumble on a head or shaft or combo that just suited us better that it wasnt going to make us better players but it was always fun to try new stuff and it was affordable. Being a clubmaker,wanted to try as much product as possible to see it forst hand and evaluate it. Would rarely if ever flog something to a customer that i couldnt endorse.

Now days, components are dead, outside GW and Wishon and a few others that have stood thebtest of time its a ghost industry. innovation is essentially non existent and while we still get the bs marketing schtickk from OEM's again there isnt anything that exciting or really game changing. At 500/600 per wood and 750-1000 for irons,its not really a cheap habbit now to be a ho . Oem gear that's 2-3 years old is reasonable. Im pretty much 100% OEM now . Much of it is several versions ago ( Ping i5) nothing in the bag younger than a 2016 M2 fw ( In Phooenix bag) and a Ping G driver up here....two of the better clubs in that category that ive owned. My G25 driver in Phoenix is just as good though.

Now if i want to test gear i go to all the demo days at my club and takes out demos for rounds at my buddies club, go try the putters at Golftown.

Hoing never made my game better because every round i had new clubs or new combos in it. Hoing also never restricted or decreased my playing or practicing, in fact i probably played and practiced more then because i always had something i wanted to try out.

I Still have bags and drawer fulls of old heads and shaft pulls and demo clubs etc. Dozens of shipping boxes, I suppose I should just purge them .

I Still play on average what i have played past 15 years 25-40 rounds a year. With other hobbies i enjoy more ( gardening , fishing , my summer sports car) and spending quality time with my kids ........thats more than enough for me right now.

sdandrea1

Weirfan In the good old days when there were dozens of component companies and FGI had numerous sponsors along with Multiple new GS and GW offering hoing was easy and fun. Everybody wanted to try new stuff. The swap shops were full of Items in all categories at fair prices and these were circulated around from ho to ho......I had 5-6 gear whores on speed dial 🙂

We all knew that unless we happend to stumble on a head or shaft or combo that just suited us better that it wasnt going to make us better players but it was always fun to try new stuff and it was affordable. Being a clubmaker,wanted to try as much product as possible to see it forst hand and evaluate it. Would rarely if ever flog something to a customer that i couldnt endorse.

😞 Those were fun days. I remember getting each year's new Golfsmith catalog was like Christmas.

raggmann54

sdandrea1 Used to be a Golfsmith store in Pittsburgh area. After I received the catalog headed out to that store and got to see the new offerings first hand. Those were the days...

bigshank

Haven’t played this year just dropped 2 grand into the bag. So I plan on not buying anything else this year but would like to get more rounds in. I’ve been doing maybe 30 a year

mikeintopeka

bigshank Haven’t played this year just dropped 2 grand into the bag.

You need to get out soon and play! A lot of guys have been clammoring for someone to write a review of their PXG irons 😆

MidwayJ

Hoing less is due to most of the reasons Weirfan mentioned rather than the amount I play. Because of some recent struggles with my game, I am more interested in lessons and training aids than new clubs. They are fun now and then, but I don't have the motivation to churn through a lot of them any more.