I bought the full set of PING clubs, and there are a couple of things that I wish I’d have known before I bought clubs.
First, the game gets A LOT harder immediately after you buy clubs.
The PING clubs are vastly less forgiving than the free-bees. When you miss the accuracy line by even a small amount, you're punished by having the ball spray all over the place. And given the extent to which you're punished for hitting even the light rough, you end up doubly punished.
AND the shot meter moves 3-4 times as fast as the freebees. Now, this wouldn't be a big deal, as I could get used to it if it weren't for the fact that the shot meter "pauses," so to speak, in the middle of a shot, thereby making the speed of the shot meter inconsistent. So with the new clubs I don’t have the time that I need to adjust to the pause, and end up being further off of the accuracy line that I expected.
Now, I played well enough with the freebees that I was upgraded from "Hack" to "Amateur," which is cool, but by doing that, they moved the tees back, significantly. When I played a round with the free clubs, I quickly realized that hitting 3-wood as my second shot into a 390 yard hole was problematic, so I was inspired to upgrade. But the distance that was added by the upgrade in clubs is more than offset by the loss of accuracy, such that I regret upgrading and spending the money on the new clubs. It's possible, with additional rounds, that I'll change my mind, but I went from shooting between -1 to -4 on the back 9 at the South Carolina course to battling to make pars. After 3 rounds (two 9-hole; one 18 hole) I have yet to see a score under par, even in practice rounds switched back to the short tees. My last round (18 holes from the standard tees for an amateur at SC) I shot +14; twelve holes into the round I was wonder why I was still playing. (I really can't say why I finished the round...I guess I was hoping I'd get used to the it at some point.)
Which brings me to my final point: ONLY put enough money into your account to give you the credits that you need to buy those clubs. You cannot withdraw money that you used to buy credits; only money that you win in tournaments. Therefore, it looks like I’ve wasted $30, rather than just the $17 that I’ve spent on the clubs – and I leave feeling that I haven’t gotten anywhere near $30 worth of entertainment out of this thing. Don’t make the same mistake. You can always add more money later, if you disagree with me, and like the new clubs, but you can’t take the money out once you’ve put it in. Here’s my advice: If you buy clubs, you’ll want to play practice rounds with the clubs to adjust to the differences (which have been highlighted above).
But if you’re like me, the game could very likely become a source of frustration and stress, instead of a fun outlet for a moment’s break during the day. At this moment, I’m not certain whether or not I’ll play this game again. I know that I’m not looking forward to playing another full round, so playing tournaments seems like a punishment, rather than a treat.