[ulnanVti]

I have a question about the proper order I should be doing things in...

I am (for the first time in many years) in a position to:
1. Play more golf
2. Buy new irons

I want to get better this summer- in the past, playing on my own, I managed to get my index down to ~12. I am not expecting to get back there but I would like to start playing bogey golf again (current index 20-22?).

I have never taken golf lessons before and plan on starting to do so leading me to this question:
Should I go through an iron fitting with my current swing and pick out a new set of irons BEFORE taking lessons, or should I hold off on the irons and take several lessons before I fit myself to a new set of clubs?

About myself:
25 yo, 6'3", 170 lbs
Driver SS ~105 mph (per golf galaxy)
Driver distance ~260 average
150 club- 6 iron

My golf life is broken down into 2 sections:
Pre-knee surgery (2005)- 230 yards off the tee, 5-7 yard draw off of all clubs. Miss was a hook. Very low ball flight. Index 12
Post-knee surgery- as above, 5 yard draw to 15 yard fade. Miss is a pure slice. HIGH (ballooning?) ball flight. My biggest swing flaw is coming over the top. In my attempts to correct this I have started to take too much of an inside take-away (I am working on that). Otherwise- I just tweak my swing using trial and error (change in the way I shift my weight, etc). It isn't very effective....

Current clubs- Off the rack taylormade RAC HT (circa 2003), Adams Insight A3 driver, 2007 burner fairway woods (which are by far the best/most consistent clubs in my bag).

The biggest reason I am looking to change irons is that I have a very high ball flight naturally and I feel like I loose a lot of distance to "ballooning"- but I can't really confirm this other than my Driver/Iron distances don't match up. I also top a lot of balls which I attribute to having clubs that are too short for me.

I am looking at the R9's, G15s (I15's?), Mx-200 (Mx-300?) irons.

Thoughts on the proper order of clubs and lessons? Swing issues? Distance issues? Club's that I am looking at? Your favorite flavor of ice-cream? Why my knee surgery would have such a drastic change in my game? Anything?

Thanks!
Gus

[mp3 free]

I believe in fitting for ANY set of irons that someone is going to purchase. That being said, if it were me, and it is not, but if it were, I would go.

1. Lessons
2. Practice
3. Fitting
4. Clubs

While I believe that properly fitting clubs will help you get better, I also think that lessons are the most important part of getting better at golf. That and practice.

[ulnanVti]

I don't expect to buy set of irons and then become a better golfer... that's just silly!
I guess the root of my question is this:
Will lessons to help control/groove/change my swing be effective with clubs that are not the correct size- esp if I indend to change to "bigger" clubs later in the season?

[mp3 free]

It is really a catch 22 in some areas.

You want new clubs fit to you (as we all should) but plan on going through a swing change.
But during that swing change, your clubs could then again need to be fit for your game.

I still say lessons are first.

[moohassinny]

Maybe you should run through a static fitting to see where your numbers are and compare those to your current clubs. Length of the clubs is probably the thing you want to see if it's right or not. For example if your current clubs are 1.5 inches too short(this is a pretty big exxageration on my part) then your clubs may not be helping you in the least. All you are looking for is to see if your current clubs are in the ballpark.

Ideally you find out your current clubs are pretty close to what you need. Then you improve your swing and get a real fitting when you are ready for new irons.

I found out my clubs were 1 inch too long. Once They were cut down my posture at address got better and my ball flight improved. I'm a 36 index, so your swing is better then mine so I'd expect you get bigger gains if there was something way off with your clubs.

[Zvmwissq]

I questioned this myself at times before and out of first hand knowledge I'd go with:

1. Lessons
2. Practice
3. Fitting
4. Clubs

I know it's like the chicken and the egg theory. What I went through is exactly that only the clubs and fitting are reversed. You figure you buy your standard starting set and on average folks would want to start with a complete set rather than piece them together. Figure out what your swing type is then get comfortable with that swing then go to a fitting know you're a (blank) swinger and get fit for clubs that match your swing type. I wish I knew this previously but being the equipment person that I am I went clubs then fitting.

But to a lot of things that are related to golf, to each his own.