Should I concern on my set?

Hi guys,

I just started into golf since last month. And I've signed up with a pro for a lesson. I'm 29 y.o., around 5 ft 10"

I've managed to buy a second hand Maruman golf club, that consist of:
Maruman Exim EI Iron set (5-9, P, A, S), graphite shaft
Maruman Exim EI Driver, Aldila shaft NS flex S
Maruman Shuttle M-Sole 3 & 5
Maruman Putter 7100

Well, once you start into something, I think its normal to start browsing around to read news & reviews on the latest golf club. And it makes me wondering about my current set.

Maruman its not a well known brand in my country, and from surfing the internet, its hard to find a comparison of these with a more well known major brand. I don't even know whether Maruman Exim lineup was intended as a golf improvement iron, or what group.

So a few questions comes into mind, and I hope I can find some enlightenment from bros here:
1. Under what category does Exim EI iron falls into?

2. Should I think about buying another iron? How does it compare with the iron set from major brand (Titleist, Mizuno, Taylormade, etc)? I've found a website that sell my Maruman Exim iron set for more than US$ 1,300 which is more expensive than other mainstream iron (JPX800, G20, AP1, R11)

3. From what I understand, the Aldila shaft on my driver is not the default shaft. Is it a good shaft for a newbie like me?


Please kindly help & thanks in advance

Since there is so little info to glean from the internet on ur Maruman Exim EI irons maybe u can post some pics of them here for GRians to ascertain if its game improvement irons or otherwise... Hard to draw comparisons bt Maruman and the other brands u mentioned ie Titleist, Mizuno, Taylormade, etc as all got top end and mass produced lines for different target grps... macham comparing chickens to ducks LOL btw Maruman is a very reputable Jap brand and makes some v v expensive lines like Majesty... re shaft also difficult for ppl to comment without more info other than its Adila... generally speaking most ppl will say after market shafts are better than the OEM ones that comes original w the set but then again suitablilty and fit are factors to consider as the OEM shafts might just fit u to a tee.. Re buying another set LOL thats a function of money, need and ego! my 2 cents worth! cheers

Hi Jeff, thanks a bunch for your reply.

For what its worth, here's a link to the official Exim Iron website
marumanglobal.com/site/golf/exim/exim_nano/iron.html

Yes I understand that Maruman made a fancy golf set, which are priced in the Honma league....but from what I've heard, they are made for the more senior people ya?

=)

Hi,

Welcome to the world of poison!

Back into the topic, since you just started golf, signed up for lessons, just bought a used set of golf clubs, i think the best will be to learn with the set you just bought.

Take the time to get the basics right and it will go a long way. A new set will probably make little or no difference since you just started learning so save that money for the near future

As for the shafts i think it will be most suitable to start with regular flex.
Just my opinion, I am quite a newbie too!

from website it looks like a cavity-back golf club so thats basically a game improvement model ... characteristics of GI irons incl a larger head shape, a deeper cavity on the back of the head, a wider sole n a more rounded sole shape...

so looks u oredi hv a headstart as u hv a full set of clubs one month into golf... most beginners in s'pore dont even own a set of clubs when they first start their lessons n they usually borrow their coach's #7 irons for the first few lessons

Hi Jeff, thanks for the heads up.

So now since we already know that its a CB iron, how do you think it will compare to CB iron from major brand?

Will there be any significant improvement for doing the change? If i remember correctly the GI iron from PING (G20) has a much wider sole n bigger head. Can't remember the GI irons from Titleist or Mizuno or Taylormade.

Anyway, my logical brain tells me that I should be grateful with what I have....but well....as you described,

buying another set LOL thats a function of money, need and ego!

hehehe.....

Dion

Dun think there will be any significant improvement if u change to another GI set of irons albeit another brand..(like switching from a toyota to nissan, ford) .. better concentrate on ur swing and getting the basics right and go on course and lower ur hcp, better short game etc yups i remember seeing the pings (v wide soles!) think u shd just use these GI CB irons for a bit and when u hv developed a consistent "correct" swing, maybe go see a fitter and see what offerings they hv in store for u to improve ur score for ur second set upgrade from forged iron heads to aftermarket shafts and various grips to complement ur next set...

noted Jeff, really2 appreciate your suggestion

Thankssss

I started with second hand set called 'paradiso', until I am more confident did I move on to other clubs ...

I'm using maruman too haha

pippin wrote:

I started with second hand set called 'paradiso', until I am more confident did I move on to other clubs ...

I'm using maruman too haha

Paradiso is a good jap brand....

Exactly ... Just like maruman is respectable too

Dont let the brand intimidate you. Like what @zhanhong and @jeffman88 have mentioned, get the basic swing right and consistent flight. What will different clubs give is the flight and execution of shots. Newer clubs of course gives better efficiency and reflexivity. However, if merely for practising shots at the range, it doesn't contribute much. Unless you are playing in the tournament, newer clubs certainly give you a lot more confidence =)

who says maruman is a not-so-popular brand in indo? the people here love the wood, esp shuttle i4000x. i used to game maruman shuttle also, but now i've changed to r11s coz i cant handle the maruman shaft, its too soft for me.

there's no need to change your current set now bro. use it, get the feel of it. if you are based in jakarta, try to go to raja sports in pasar baru. they are the distributor for maruman in indonesia. you can find a lot of models there, from lower ends to extreme high ends.

@dion, nothing wrong with your current set as long as you are comfortable with it. You should spend time (and money) to build up your swing and then worry about equipment at a later stage. Once you have a more repeatable swing and tempo, you should go for club fittings.

Hi Audi, thanks for your reply.

Yes, I've visited Raja and now they only sell the Prestige lineup, but yes I agree with you, after demoing various type of driver, iron, or wood from my friends, I think my current set were not inferior at all....well, at least at my current level of play, it doesn't have too much effect to my play.

So now, I still keep my Maruman iron & wood.

I only add Epon AF101 driver, Tourstage XUT hybrid & Method 003 putter.

Will focus to improve my swing first.

Thanks guys

nutty88 wrote:

@dion, nothing wrong with your current set as long as you are comfortable with it. You should spend time (and money) to build up your swing and then worry about equipment at a later stage. Once you have a more repeatable swing and tempo, you should go for club fittings.

Hi Nutty,

Agreed with your input, now I practice a lot to improve my swing....maybe like 4-5 times driving per week...golf is not good for your wallet....hahaha....

Anyway, when do you think is the right time to go for club fittings? After you reach HCP of 90? 100? or just wait until your bank account is ready?
=D

bank account must be ready at all time. 19th hole sucks a lot of your money ahahahahah

@dion, my personal take is that as long as your swing has "outgrown" the current set, it is then the right time to change. For example, your swing speed has increased and feel that the shaft flex is too whippy or your swing is more consistent and wanna move away from GI clubs or your bank account has spare money to change the set or your backside gets so itchy that you have to change. Lots of us change our equipment due to the itchiness.

At this juncture, you should also spend some time to research on the characteristics of golf clubs so that you know what will suit your liking. Finally, there is no right or wrong as to when you should go get fitted but if you don't have a relatively good swing, my take is not to waste money and time.

dionpratama wrote:

Maruman its not a well known brand in my country

Which country is that?

dionpratama wrote:

Anyway, when do you think is the right time to go for club fittings?

The door is always open and the club fitter is always ready to fit for you.


The only difference is...

A good club fitter will have the ability to turn you away when you are not ready.

A good club fitter with good marketing skills will put you down gently and at the same time entice you to keep coming in to 'monitor your progress' and at the same time get you to buy the little trinkets lying around out of your own free will.



tried to add in one more club fitter but unable to word it politically correct... so i will leave it as it is.

@MC, +1

There are also club fitters who will "fit you" regardless of whether you are ready or not. Taking this route is like walking in a dark tunnel waiting to see light but beware, the light you finally see may be an oncoming train. tootoo........

speaking of a good club fitter. last night i went to a club fitter asking him to shorten my hybrid, it is too long for me. it is a 3H and i want to make the length of a 4H. he refused and told me that the swing weight will drop by 2 weights. they ran out of stock for the additional weights. and then, he gave me an alternative. get an steelfiber and he can make it like 4H.

question is: what type of a club fitter is he? he has good marketing skills or he's just too lazy to fix my hybrid?

@ muarchee... dionpratama is from indonesia
@dionpratama.. apa khabar? long time no see since last posting.. glad u stuck to ur marumans and finding they are ok and decent to swing... like i mentioned before, important things always is get the swing right... and all swings and clubs r different; irons, wedges, driver, woods etc... me still figuring that out too ..haha! re when to be fitted..? Guess thats when despite going for proper swing lessons (maybe even change a couple of coaches), lots of practice at range and playing plenty on course, your scores and swings are not improving or you feel that you are stagnating and want to find an alternative solution! haha! So yeah basically its a GUT FEEL that u think u r ready but like bro muarchee says the fitter also will reserves the right to determine if u r ready too! the positive thing about fitters is that they hv trackmans/ flightscopes and other machinery to measure data off your swings n existing clubs and u learn more things about yourself and your bio-mechanics... of course all this is a deeper level of poisoning and once addicted there is little chance of returning to buying off the shelves OEM stuff so BEWARE!

btw u said u go to the range 4-5 times a week.. note of caution: dont overexert yourself.. body muscles oso needs rest and recovery.. one of my frens hit too many balls at range, maybe also hit too hard (perhaps wrongly too) and now is on 4-6 weeks forced rest for his shoulder to recover...remember once injured, there is always the tendency for reoccurence at the worst possible time of ur golfing life....

I'd say that as long as your hybrid shots are straight, carries that intended distance, lands on fairways and green; you got one solid club fitter.





reducing shaft length is much much much easier than swopping shaft. So I do not think he is lazy.

if his marketing skills are anything good, you will not be posting what you posted and be creating a new thread telling everyone how solid your clubfitter is.

nutty88 wrote:

At this juncture, you should also spend some time to research on the characteristics of golf clubs so that you know what will suit your liking. Finally, there is no right or wrong as to when you should go get fitted but if you don't have a relatively good swing, my take is not to waste money and time.

Hi Nutty, thats the problem with researching bro, the more I read a review on a stick, the more I have the itchiness to buy....hahaha...
So yes, I think at this moment, I think I will stay away from the idea of getting fitted. Will improve my swing first