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After getting more addicted to golf, I secretly bought a TaylorMade SIM2 Max driver.

Secretly from my wife.

Well… technically, my golf instructor gave me the idea.

I told him my old TaylorMade R7 driver sounded like something was broken inside.

He took a look at it and said:

“Well yeah, this thing is about 20-something years old. Your son can call it uncle.”

I replied immediately:

“Does that mean I need a new driver? I won’t be able to play with a broken driver.”

He looked at me and said:

“Get a new one.”

I answered nervously:

“Yeah… my wife is definitely not going to like that idea.”

Without hesitation, he replied:

“Buy it discreetly and put it in your bag.”

And honestly… that idea sounded like it could actually work.

I kept telling myself I didn’t need it.

But I wanted it.

Still, my conscience told me not to spend more than $500 CAD. That was already basically the price of my entire Facebook Marketplace golf set.

So I did about a week of YouTube golf driver research before finally deciding on the TaylorMade SIM2 Max.

I ordered it online from Sport Chek and turned on every delivery notification possible.

The day it arrived, I was pulling into the driveway and spotted a long cardboard box sitting at the front door.

It was here.

I immediately went into covert operation mode.

I made sure my wife was distracted and casually pointed in the opposite direction.

“Oh, what’s that?”

She looked over.

“What is what?”

I replied calmly:

“Oh never mind. It’s nothing.”

Mission successful.

I opened the garage door so we could enter through there like we usually do. I let her walk in first, then told her:

“I forgot my phone in the car.”

The moment she disappeared inside, I sprinted to the front door, grabbed the box, ripped it open, and there it was.

My Excalibur-looking driver.

Blue. Black. White. Carbon fiber. A splash of neon green.

I ripped the plastic wrapping off immediately, put the headcover on, slid it into my golf bag—which conveniently happened to already be inside the garage—and zipped everything shut.

Then I tore the cardboard box apart with my bare hands and threw the evidence directly into the blue recycling bin.

Done.

Honestly, she probably wouldn’t have noticed anyway.

She didn’t know what any of my Facebook Marketplace clubs looked like in the first place.

Also… $350 plus tax for a brand-new driver isn’t that expensive.

At least that’s what I told myself.

No regrets.

But the real problem came later.

During one of the golf lessons I took together with my 8-year-old son, he watched me pull the driver out of the bag for the first time.

His eyes immediately locked onto it.

“Whoa Dad… you got a new driver?”

At that exact moment, I knew I had to keep him quiet.

I gave him “the look.”

The same look dads occasionally give their kids without saying a word.

But then I felt bad immediately.

Honestly, he didn’t deserve it.

He was just admiring a beautiful driver.

So I told him a partial truth:

“It was a gift.”

(A gift to me… from me.)

Usually our lessons started with a 7-iron, but this was the first time pulling out the SIM2 Max since secretly hiding it in the bag after delivery.

I had been waiting for this moment.

Probably like King Arthur finally pulling Excalibur from the stone.

My instructor smirked and said:

“Alright, we’ll start with the driver today.”

The sound, forgiveness, and confidence at address immediately felt completely different compared to my old R7.

As a beginner, confidence matters a lot.

And honestly, the SIM2 Max gave me exactly that.

— Dan
FlyingBirdieGolf

I wasn’t even sure if I would fully commit to the game yet.

So instead of walking into a golf store and buying the newest clubs, I searched Facebook Marketplace and found a full beginner setup for $540 CAD.

Honestly, it ended up being one of the best decisions I could have made starting out.

Learning Golf Right-Handed

One thing that makes my golf journey a little different is that I’m naturally left-handed.

But because I fly to Korea often for work as a flight attendant, my wife’s uncle — who first introduced me to golf — recommended I learn right-handed since golf in Korea is much more right-hand dominant when it comes to equipment and availability.

So even though I’m naturally left-handed, I ended up learning golf right-handed from the beginning.

Sometimes I still wonder if I made things harder for myself.

But at this point, it’s part of the journey.

My Beginner Golf Setup

Driver

• TaylorMade R7 Driver
• Stiff shaft

This was the first driver I started learning with. Older club, but still forgiving enough for a beginner trying to build consistency and confidence off the tee.

I eventually upgraded to a TaylorMade SIM2 Max driver… which honestly deserves its own story.

Irons

• TaylorMade R7 Irons (5-SW)
• Stiff shafts

These irons came with the Marketplace deal and honestly have been great for learning the fundamentals.

One thing I realized quickly is that improving your swing matters more than having the newest equipment.

Hybrid

• E21 Scandium 20° Hybrid

This has quietly become one of the most useful clubs in my bag.

As a newer golfer, long irons can feel intimidating, so the hybrid has become a reliable option off the tee, from the fairway, and even from rough lies.

Wedge

• PureSpin Lob Wedge

Surprisingly, this has become my favorite club in the bag.

There’s just something satisfying about hitting high short shots around the green when they actually work.

I’m still inconsistent with it, but when I catch one clean, it’s probably the most fun club I own right now.

As a beginner, it also made me realize how important the short game really is in golf.

Putter

• Callaway I-Trax Putter

Putting is currently one of the biggest areas of my game I’m trying to improve.

The putter may not be flashy, but it’s helping me learn distance control, pace, and consistency on the greens.

What I’ve Learned So Far

As a beginner golfer starting at 38, I’ve realized something important:

You do not need the newest equipment to start golfing.

A solid used set is more than enough to:

• learn fundamentals
• improve your swing
• build confidence
• enjoy the game

The most important thing is simply getting out there and playing.

Golf has already become something much bigger than I expected, and honestly, this setup was the beginning of that journey.

— Dan
FlyingBirdieGolf

I was never a golfer.

Growing up, I played basketball and soccer. I loved sports, competition, training, and working out. Golf was never really on my radar.

That changed last September. Just 8 months ago.

My wife’s aunt and uncle visited us in Toronto from Korea. They were absolute golf fanatics. Out of the three weeks they stayed with us, they wanted to golf almost every single day — except for the five days they flew to Alberta to see the Rockies.

They asked me to help book tee times all over the Greater Toronto Area. Cheap courses. Expensive courses. Public courses. Bougie courses. Everything.

They also invited me to join them, along with my mother-in-law, which made us a group of four.

That was my first real golf experience on a proper golf course.

Technically, it wasn’t my very first exposure to golf ever.

I grew up in Vancouver, so over the years I had casually tried driving ranges and pitch-and-putt courses here and there. I had also done screen golf with friends whenever I visited Korea.

But honestly, I was terrible.

I never took golf seriously, and I definitely didn’t think it was a sport I would ever get into long-term.

In Korea, there is a funny expression people say when they bring someone golfing for the very first time:

“머리 세워줬다”

It literally translates to something like:

“They stood your hair up for you.”

Weird translation, I know.

But culturally, it basically means someone introduced you to the world of golf for the first time.

At that point, I had absolutely no idea how golf bookings worked, so I downloaded the GolfNow app to figure things out.

For our first day, I booked Kirby Links, an 18-hole par-3 course.

Haha…rookie mistake.

My wife’s aunt and uncle thought it was too easy and were already bored by the end of the round, but honestly, I had an amazing time.

By around hole 9, my forearms were already hurting because I was trying to crush the ball with all my strength every swing. I had no understanding of tempo, technique, or how effortless good golfers actually make the game look.

That first round also became my introduction to golf etiquette.

They taught me:

• where to stand
• when to stay quiet
• how to respect pace of play
• how to repair divots and ball marks
• basic golf manners

They also explained how golf culture in Canada is much more relaxed compared to Korea.

In Korea, golf can feel much more formal, strict, and status-oriented. In Canada, the atmosphere felt more casual and welcoming, especially for beginners like me.

Why did I love it so much?

Honestly, it was everything around the game.

It was the perfect fall weather.

Blue skies.

Birds chirping.

Fresh green grass everywhere.

Being outside for hours without looking at my phone.

Coming from years of busy schedules, airports, flights, and city life, the golf course almost felt peaceful in a strange way.

But the thing that really hooked me was the sound.

That clean “pop” sound after a perfectly struck golf ball.

Hearing it echo across the course for the first time felt unbelievably satisfying.

Even as a complete beginner, I immediately understood why people become obsessed with golf—I understood what people meant by “catching the “Golf Bug”.”

Right after finishing all 18 holes, they immediately asked me to find another course. I guess 18 holes at a par 3 course was slightly disappointing to them. Again, I honestly thought it was great! Now that I know a slightly bit more about golf, I’d go there to practice my short game.

Luckily, I found an opening at Uplands Golf & Ski Club about 30 minutes later, which worked out perfectly because it took almost exactly that long to drive there from Kirby Links. Now, Uplands…that place was another level. We had thought we wouldn’t need a cart as we didn’t need one at Kirby Links so we just got one for my wife’s aunt and my mother in law. I was wrong. I should have paid attention to the.. “Ski Resort” part at Upland Golf AND Ski Resort. The place was hilly as hell. Imagine how I had felt for the uncle. Hahaha. “Aura Loss -100” (I think my 9 year old son would approve of using this phrase at this appropriate moment).

That was basically the beginning.

Since then, golf has slowly become more than just a random hobby I picked up later in life.

Now I want to improve. It’s only been 8 months since my first green. But I have to say, I was hooked after I hit that one good fluke ass shot that made the ball go pop.

But now I want to break 100. Consistently.

Play courses around the world during layovers— which I plan to make a YouTube series about “Golfing in (insert city) during my 24hr layover” (I’m a flight attendant— been one for almost 16years).

Experience golf culture in different countries.

And document the entire journey along the way.

I’m still terrible.

But maybe that’s the fun part.