Even men love shopping

As I mentioned in my first post, I am an aspiring tour player. To help kickstart my journey, I'm getting new clubs that I can grow into (as opposed to old clubs I've long grown out of). I'm currently playing a set of Tourstage TS-202's (wonderful clubs for the low-to-higher capper who doesn't come in too steep) with some high launch graphite shafts in jello flex.

Since I'm away from my golfing base of operations, I'm thoroughly enjoying the process of picking clubs. It's basically all I can actually DO golf wise, besides studying instructionals. Luckily, like all men, I enjoy shopping- as long as it's something I want.

So far, I've ordered a PING Redwood Piper S which should be arriving on Monday. The specs are almost exactly the same as the Taylor-Made Spider, which I putted amazingly with but could not bear to look at. Most importantly, both are face balanced with 1/2 shaft offset and similar lie angles at 35". These specifications allow me to set up over the putter with a clear look at my putting line to maximize my natural aiming abilities (did you know that many anthropologists and biologists theorize that the only reason the giant, unwieldy human brain actually helped us succeed is it allowed us to better calculate trajectories? A skill that must have come in very handy when trying to hunt mammoths and other dangerous prey from a distance during the ice age).


Much darker, bluer finish in person.

Before I get to the meat of my set, let me detail the pieces I WON'T be replacing- yet.

My driver- the FT-i tour 9.5*: doesn't fit great, but until I get my swing a bit more settled I'd like to wait on the most expensive club in the bag

3 wood- sonartec ss 2.5- definitely needs a reshaft, but bearable for now.

3 hybrid- srixon ad 18*- great club that no one's ever heard of. So easy to hit I think I'll just hold on to it and get it regripped. If you can hook this thing, you need to take a look at your swing.

Now for the FUN part. On www.golfwrx.com , a site with a forum I frequent, I've heard endless praise for club fitter/maker Joe Kwok, especially his attention to detail and the consequent consistency of the sets he builds. With a bit of his advice, I've settled on an MP52/62 combo set.

MP-52 4-6i


and MP-62 7i-PW


and perhaps an MP-R 54* to cover the gap to my MP-R 60*.

At this point, I'm considering getting the clubs rawed (stripped of all plating) or copper plated. Hopefully Joe Kwok will have someone who he usually sends this kind of work to. At the very least, I figure it'd be better to get the processes done beforehand so that he can take care of any weight changes.

Do you readers have any insight on how raw/copper plated irons will feel and wear? And any advice on where to send my clubs and how much it would cost?

Edit: I've found out at golfwrx.com that "copper chroming" is the best way to go, for anyone who's interested.