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I got into golf about 4 months ago, I don't have any clubmaking experience. When I started, I got a $200 set of RAMs from Sports Authority and have gotten down to a handicap in the upper 90's.

I would like to upgrade my clubs. Heck, the RAMs are only 4 months old and the company doesn't even sell that set anymore, they've moved onto the Accubar series. Since they were $200 for 3 wood, 1 hybrid, 8 irons, 1 putter, and a bag, I'm thinking they must've been made with the cheapest materials around. If the bag is worth $30, and assembly and overhead is worth $40, then each club is worth $10 on average. The woods maybe $15, and the irons $7.

I've been looking at an upgrade and cannot afford a name brand yet, plus I don't think I would be a good enough player yet to get all I can out of a set of top-line Callaways or Cobras.

But I have seen many good reviews about the components from Acer. Their XP 905 series is based on Callaways, but they are not knock-offs. Heck there is only so much you can do to an iron head and they are just using the simplist, most efficient design. But these are not clubs that are copies like "King Snake" or "Z5".

I can get an entire set, with the baseline Adila graphite shafts, Apollo iron shafts, and Karma grips for a little under $200. These would be components that I would have to assemble. I could also get the same set pre-assembled for $260.

Is it worth it to assemble it myself? Not just for the $60, but also for the experience of putting them together when I'll need to change grips every few months. Or when a shaft needs replacing.

Also, anybody have any experience with Acer clubs?

Don't take this wrong. Acer may make quality components now. I don't know.
I do know that you'll be likely to get good quality iron heads from Bang Golf, Integra, Wishon, Golfsmith, or Golfworks. There are others, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

Acer componets are good quality, but you are not going to be happy unless you do it yourself, so , do it.

If you want to get a quality set of irons and not spend alot, check out rockbottomgolf.com. You can the set of Adams irons right now for $100 or so. If you check their ebay auctions, you can get the irons plus the matching driver, 3 & 5 wood for a little over $160. That is a great deal.

I say go for it, weizard. You are obviously curious about trying this clubmaking thing out, so I say jump!

I have heard good things about the 905 irons, too. You might also want to look at the Tech Power (www.techpowergolf.com) Black Shark MX7 (a 431 steel head) or MX7 Pro (a 304 soft steel head) if you like the Acer 905 designs. The company that makes Acer just absorbed Dynacraft recently and now you can look at both brands at the Hireko golf website. These will give you some more options to look at that are the more inexpensive components but not, as you say, King Snake brands. Also, I made my brother the 3 and 5 wood 905 (I didn't get to hit them yet), and he likes them.

Apollo is a good shaft, too, but look at the FST shafts as well if you are watching cost (or even if you're not watching it... they're good shafts at a great price). Not a lot of distributors for them, though, so you will have to look hard for someone who carries everything you want, or have multiple shipping costs.

At any rate, I once again say Go for it! Good Luck!

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Because of the cost (and explaining another set to the wife) and with Xmas coming around, I'll need to hold onto my RAM's for a few more months. I still haven't made up my mind, but I have run the options and weight different factors to see what would be best. Based upon price, company, model, custom fitting, industry ratings, ease of acquisition, etc. Here is where I stand right now:

1) Full set of Tour Edge Bazooka Jmax QL clubs: $682 at drivingiron.com. Comes with full fittings (lie angle, length, flex), no shipping. Plus, everything except the driver is on the Golf Digest Hot List (the only reason I think the driver isn't on there is because they already had the Exotics on there, & didn't want a 2nd Tour Edge Club). This is the best option if cost is not much of an important factor.

2) If cost is a little bit of a factor: Adams Redline woods & Idea A1 (last years) irons, & Tom Watson wedge set. The Idea Irons havent changed much from A1 to A2, and the A2 is on the Hot List. The Redline woods are also highly ranked and I have demo'd them with good results. ($400-450) However, these won't be fitted to me, as I'll have to hope that I can find clubs from ebay or rockbottom that are close to the specs I need.

3) If cost is a big factor: Then components are the way to go. For about $250, I can get a set of Acers, or Distance Masters (from Golfworks). I can get all the components, shafts, tools needed to get most of the fitting done. I can even go to the local Golf Galaxy for free clubmaking classes for a couple of months and be really ready. I don't think I could get the tool for adjusting the lie angle (2 degrees upright), as they are ~$250. But maybe I can bring them into Golf Galaxy for this.


I've spent way too much time researching this stuff (as opposed to working) and have learned about every possible way to go. I am really impressed with Tour Edge for their combination of high value & high performance, Adams for their good value & good performance, and Acer components for the majority of favorable unbiased reviews and different clubfitting possibilities (at about 25% of the cost of off-the-rack clubs).

The BEST way to get fitted is to go down to a golf pro shop and get personally fitted for a few bucks. That way, they will get it right and you won't be guesstimating your own measurements by using some criteria on somebody's web site. It may cost $25 to $50, but it will be the best money you ever spent when it comes time to get a new set of clubs. You don't have to buy the clubs from the pro that does the fitting. He can write down your personal measurements for you and you can then order a set, knowing they will be built to your precise measurements whenever you want to. The fitting pro will not only measure you for club length and lie, he can also precisely clock your swing speed and that way you will be assured of ordering the proper shaft flex. You can't do that over the internet. Acer components are top quality, by the way. I did buy some clubs from a major manufacturer, but I got properly fitted before I spent any money on clubs. It was the best money I think I have ever invested in my golf game. What I have just said applies even if you build your own clubs...this way you will get it right the first time.

You will not suffer any loss of performance using Acer components. Just beware once you start down the road of building your own clubs, it is a very addictive and potentially expensive hobby! Best thing I've ever done is start this business.

I've learned so much from building my own clubs and have been doing it for the past 12 years. You will find that you are the hardest person to fit. When fitting someone else, you can see every intricate detail of their swing, tempo, posture. etc. When fitting yourself you are guessing a lot.

The biggest problem with building your own clubs is that you want to try out everything and that gets very expensive.

I built a set of TA5 clones about 6 years ago and am still playing them. I build a new set of irons every year, play them for a few rounds, and make a decision on whether to keep them. For the past 5 years the new sets lost the battle and were sold.

I have no ideal what your swing/tempo is but I have a personal favorite iron shaft and in my opinion it is the absolute best steel shaft on the market. If your tempo is quick and/or strong, this shaft won't work for you. It's the True Temper Release. I discovered this shaft when I bought a set of Cleveland TA5 irons in regular flex about 7 years ago.

Pep

UPDATE:

I've chosen to buy a set of Adams clubs off Ebay. I was checking out the club-making avenue, and I believe that I could do it, but I feel I would always be hesitant using them because I wouldn't know if they were put together right.

I decided to see if I could finds some deals on Ebay auctions and ended up finding things that were as inexpensive as buying components. I got a Redline RPM Driver, RPM wood, Idea A1 Pro irons, Tom Watson Wedges, a Tour Edge putter, and an Adams bag for $350 with shipping. This is as good of a deal you can find. Only 3 clubs are used (less than 1 year old), the rest is all new.

One thing I will say though, the evaluation and education of club-building has really helped though. Now I better understand the role of club-fitting and component selection. Things like shaft flex, torque, spining, grip size, etc. Has really helped. I hope to take my new set and get it fitted soon.

The main lesson here? Well, considering I'm about as much of a cheapskate as there is, there is no excuse to not look into OEM clubs. I don't have a problem with components (or even some clones) if you are the 'do-it-youself' type. But you can spend an hour or so each day looking through ebay and find a great set for the lowest reasonable price.

UPDATE:

I've chosen to buy a set of Adams clubs off Ebay. I was checking out the club-making avenue, and I believe that I could do it, but I feel I would always be hesitant using them because I wouldn't know if they were put together right.

I decided to see if I could finds some deals on Ebay auctions and ended up finding things that were as inexpensive as buying components. I got a Redline RPM Driver, RPM wood, Idea A1 Pro irons, Tom Watson Wedges, a Tour Edge putter, and an Adams bag for $350 with shipping. This is as good of a deal you can find. Only 3 clubs are used (less than 1 year old), the rest is all new.

One thing I will say though, the evaluation and education of club-building has really helped though. Now I better understand the role of club-fitting and component selection. Things like shaft flex, torque, spining, grip size, etc. Has really helped. I hope to take my new set and get it fitted soon.

The main lesson here? Well, considering I'm about as much of a cheapskate as there is, there is no excuse to not look into OEM clubs. I don't have a problem with components (or even some clones) if you are the 'do-it-youself' type. But you can spend an hour or so each day looking through ebay and find a great set for the lowest reasonable price.

Make friends with a local club builder, and spend some time hanging around his shop. You can pick his brain and learn a lot about the art of building clubs. That way, you can do it for fun and have some idea of what's what. But BEWARE!!! It's not actually "cheaper"...I got started building flyrods about 30 years ago to "save money" ....horse p**p!....I just ended up with several dozen flyrods of my own...I spent a LOT more money than I would have if I had bought rods factory made....but I have learned a lot and had a ball building rods. Fortunately, I built a lot for other people and that paid for most of my own sins.