lifespan of clubs

i was informed that irons generally last between 3 and 5 years depending on regularity of use as the effectiveness of the iron reduces when the internal structure of the club head starts to change as a result of hitting balls many times, and the shaft (especially graphite) deteriorates even faster.

i wonder if that is true. and if so, my question is would a 10-year old iron be just as effective as when it was new if it was never used during those 10 years?

would be grateful for answers.

cheers!

Think it all depends on how deep your pocket and bank account is to ensure your Irons last.
It can last anywhere from 3 months to 20 years.

But I think, as a recreational golfer, I'd probably get the best bang for buck set now until it bangs out dead before getting another one. I'm not a sponsored tour player~

Haha so deeper the pocket shorter the lifespan of the irons eh...

But seriously, I am asking cuz I'm not sure if there is any point in using a particular club that is 10 years but has never been used.

I don't think there isn't too much a problem.

It probably does not have too much of the technology we have today, hot-face, full cavity back, springy face, etc. But I guess it should do?

Perhaps the only 'disadvantage' you'll get with your peers wielding newer equipment is that you have somewhat much lesser/older technology to leverage on?

mox wrote:

i was informed that irons generally last between 3 and 5 years depending on regularity of use as the effectiveness of the iron reduces when the internal structure of the club head starts to change as a result of hitting balls many times, and the shaft (especially graphite) deteriorates even faster.

i wonder if that is true. and if so, my question is would a 10-year old iron be just as effective as when it was new if it was never used during those 10 years?

would be grateful for answers.

cheers!

I think the number of times you hit the club and the way you store the clubs will have an impact, rather than the number of years.

The groove on the club will wear off with more hits and if you are using forged, the lie and loft may also change depending on the way you play and store the clubs.

Back to your question, I dun know about 10 years in storage but my Ben Hogan Apex is 10 years old. They were in storage from 2003-2007 and since 2008, I still use them now every now and then between switching new clubs. They are still as good as ever and weird enough, I always seem to go back to the Apex everytime I loose confidence in my new irons.., e.g. Apex->TM RAC->Apex-> .... TM Burner -> Apex -> TM CGB -> Apex -> TM R7-> Apex -> CG7 -> Apex -> Anser ??? (There are still many clubs in between which I have forgotten... they are in a locker somewhere or my wife may have thrown them away)

Makes me wonder why on earth do I keep buying new irons when I always go back to the old one. So much for new technology

I think that's your confidence set. That's why you need to get back to it and get your confidence level fixed to play the other iron.
Even within a set there is normally a confidence club one that you are familiar and has higher confidence of hitting well compared to the rest.
Previously both 7i and 5 wood are my confidence club, now since I change them all, I don't really have any as I spent almost the same time on all of them.

IMHO


Your club's lifespan really depends on how long it is in your bag before you find a replacement. This largely depends on:

1. Salesgirl tending to you damn hot, feel compelled to buy a set. Then you start convincing yourself u need a set.

2. After hitting badly, you find fault with your irons

3. You tried your kaki's irons and after a hit or 2, find that it strikes better than you irons

4. You feel so inadequate because you are using a 10 year old callaway while your mates are using $3k forged miuras

5. Your backside is just damn itchy to go get another set of irons. Something sexy caught your eye and you are losing sleep over it.

I am still using a golden ram set which was consider old when i bought it in 1995.

The only setback is pple will ask, why you using such a old set ? my answer : As long can ram you can liao..hehehe

on a serius note, a 10 year set in the storage, you may want to check whether the epoxy is fragile...and maybe change the shaft if it is rusty...grip may need to change too..other then that, dun think any issue with the heads.

Thanks for your answers, guys.

the club in question is an S-Yard u.101 3i which looks really cool and completely unused and I think i will break it out and use it. looks reasonably forgiving too for a long iron, with the large face and old-school cavity back.

Ever since I joined this forum, my club life span has shorten considerably...

yeah, dmateo, my first set lasted 2 months and 1 month into my current set and I am fighting a losing battle against temptation to get the miuras...

dmateo wrote:

Ever since I joined this forum, my club life span has shorten considerably...

Fortunately, my clubs are still going strong~ After 8 months

Perhaps its the lack of depth in my pocket and bank account.

But then again, wouldn't it be better spending the money on a coach to learn more than to just swap out equipment?

4dtoto, how to check the epoxy?

take your club twist twist here twist twist there, shake shake here shake shake there..see and white while stuff come out for the hosel..also shake shake shake and hear any sound in the shaft or not..

Just like shoes..too long never wear, the sole tends to come out easily.

Hey,

Correct me if i am wrong here....

But I believed that forged irons are softer so you can expect their "grooves" to wear down easily like Mizuno forged irons

If you want a long lasting golf clubs, its best you choose irons that are made from 17-4 stainless steel irons

Graphite shaft will wear and soften when you leave your golf set inside the car trunk, where "heat" exist. Like a microwave oven heating your clubs.

So when your golf club heads fly away. Its due to this reasons. The glue just softens.

I think the older clubs are made stronger than the new clubs. In my country. Where golf sets are very expensive. There are a lot of senior golfers who still use their old irons and they still perform well.

Grips and shaft lifespan depends on how you take care of them

Just a correction, if the club have not be used or been played, doubt the groove will wear out by itself.

Bro.. if u say the clubs look literally untouched, then the heads won't be an issue. you could break it down to 3 parts:

Clubheads - worn grooves.

Shafts - rusty? esp around the neck and ferrule. (shafts usually snap around that area)

Grips - hardened

its a good point that bro 4Dtoto pointed out. I dun think the clubhead will fly out when u hit balls, but I would suggest that u check the neck/ferrule of ur club after hitting some balls at the range to see if the clubheads loosens... as in.. has the clubhead twisted off center? or is there a gap between the neck and ferrule. do a b4 and after comparison.

4dtoto wrote:

Just a correction, if the club have not be used or been played, doubt the groove will wear out by itself.

I second the motion.

Golf toys wear out easily when you often used it

Newtogolf wrote:

But then again, wouldn't it be better spending the money on a coach to learn more than to just swap out equipment?

hmm.. This reminds me I still have 4 lesson session credit with my coach
haven't been going to him since he will just tell me to work on it and nothing needs to be changed...

dmateo wrote:

hmm.. This reminds me I still have 4 lesson session credit with my coach
haven't been going to him since he will just tell me to work on it and nothing needs to be changed...

I'm sure there are some tricks out of the bag he hasn't taught you.... Like how to do a high fade-draw in mid-air.

Masters don't teach everything to the student lest the student uses their ultimate stance against them. I think its for you to get him drunk and trick him to teach u....