OT-Golf Thu: What's in Your Bag?
What is the weapon of your choice? Did you get something new? Do you have some good luck charm you carry? Your all time favorite club?
When I was playing a lot, I liked to buy a club or two every year since I just like trying out new stuff, but since I don't play as much anymore, my bag has been steady for the past few years. However, I did splurge for my birthday and got the new Ping G425 driver and it definitely is the most forgiving driver I have hit. It is a fantastic club.
Here is my set:
- Driver: Ping G425 Max, 10.5, Tensei AV Orange stiff shaft
- 3 wood: Taylor Made R15, Fujikura Speeder stiff
- 3 hybrid: Taylor Made R15 22', Fujikura Speeder stiff
- 4-PW irons: Mizuno MP-4H, True Temper Dynamic Gold S300
- 52', 56', 60' wedges: Cleveland RTX 2.0 CB Black, Cleveland stiff shaft
- Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2
I carry Sun Mountain Three bag with 14 way dividers. I really like the dividers since I know exactly where my clubs are (or which one I just left in the last hole) at all times.
What I would advise is once you are at a point where your swing is consistent (not necessarily consistent result, but swing form is pretty much set and you are not going to make a radical change any time soon), get yourself fitted, especially your driver and irons. I would much rather spend the money on the fitting rather than the top of the line models. Everyone's swing and body shape is different and for you to get the most out of your swing, you need equipment that is designed for you. Find a good fitter and get the cheapest set of clubs from that person.
This is great advice. I'd add this-- play with a cheaper set until your scores start to stablize, then decide if you want to keep getting better or if that's good enough. If you want to keep getting better, then do the club fitter thing at a good golf store and buy the cheapest set that's fitted. It's really only after you start breaking 90 consistently on an 18 hole course that you really want to start thinking about spending significant cash.
In my opinion, it matters a little, but not much. I played my best golf as a 17 year old in 1996 with wood headed woods and some old clubs my dad got from a friend. I played a ton and that's why I played better. It's fun to get new clubs, but your swing is 98% of your score, so work on that if you want to be better.
I purchased a cheap set from Amazon to see if I even liked playing enough to start spending money on good clubs. The set included everything I needed and came with a bag. As I found that I enjoyed golf, I started buying used clubs and eventually getting better stuff. I did see a noticeable difference between the cheap Wilson set I bought on Amazon and the nicer used TaylorMade irons I bought used on 3balls, which isn't a shock.
I probably should have been fitted, but did not know much about clubs when I was buying stuff so I just spent the money and now I have gear that is plenty good for my skill level. This year I invested in lessons rather than fitting so I can straighten out my driver slice.
My bag is as follows:
- 1 Infinite Slab
- 2 Innova Destroyers
- 1 Innova Mamba
- 3 Infinite Aztecs
- 1 Discmania PD
- 1 Innova Sexton Firebird
- 2 Innova Leopard3's
- 1 Infinite Centurion
- 1 Legacy Phantom Warrior
- 1 Discraft Buzzz OS
- 1 Infinite Ra
- 1 Discraft Buzzz
- 1 Innova Wombat3
- 1 Innova Pig
- 2 Infinite Tombs
- 2 Innova Rhynos
- 3 Innova Colts
BEER
Has anybody picked up the Costco Kirkland Wedges? They’re manufactured by Callaway and I’ve read some positive things about them.
I haven't but I saw their putter in a store recently. I have the scotty newport 2 and I'll say that the kirkland putter looked and felt an awful lot like it.
If I were new to the game and/or price sensitive and/or not a brand whore I'd probably have no reservations about kirkland clubs.
The problem with Kirkland putters is you have to buy a dozen of them.
Good value for people with high tempers
Honma Beres 5-star complete set, irons and woods. Best clubs I have ever played. You won’t find any better.
Callaway Great Big Berthas all around (circa 1998):
Driver, 3, 5, and 7 woods - I hit the 5 and 7 woods really well
3-9, and PW - given my success with the woods, I dropped my 2 iron
SW is a gimmicky thing I bought in the early 90s - can't remember the name but it works really well
Putter is a thick handle Odyssey. I tried it at a store and couldn't miss with it. That ability never translated to the greens though.
Re: Putter
That's because at the store they secretly put a magnetic track underneath the putting surface and only have magnetic balls available to putt with. You can't miss.
I try to do the same thing and buy something new every year. This year it was my new Scotty!
- Driver: Cobra F9 Speedback, Hzrdus Smoke 70 Stiff Shaft
- 3 wood: Callaway Epic Sub-zero 15°, Hzrdus Smoke Stiff Shaft
- 3 hybrid: Taylor Made Original Rescue 19°, True Temper Dynamic Gold S300
- 4-6 irons: Mizuno MP-25, True Temper Dynamic Gold S300
- 7-PW irons: Mizuno MP-5, True Temper Dynamic Gold S300
- 50', 54', 58' wedges: Mizuno S6, Blue Ion Finish
- Putter: Scotty Cameron Del Mar
- Ball - Vice Pro (Red/White/Blue Drip)
Nice set.
Two questions for the board.
1. How much utility do people find with carrying so many wedges? Having a PW, 52, 56, and 60 seems like a lot to me. I feel like I am fine with a PW and maybe a GW and just adjusting my swing based on distance. I can't really bring myself to take a full swing from inside of about 75 yards.
2. Anyone have something they really like that fits in between a 5 wood and 4 iron in your distance? That is my biggest struggle right now. I have a 22 degree wood that I think is supposed to be a 7 wood, but haven't found it to quite fit that gap.
1 - I treat my PW more as a 10-iron than anything. It's part of the same set that my 3-9 irons are, not the same as my wedges. I did recently move from a 52-58 setup to a 50-54-60, and I love it actually. My 50 I use from 110 down to 90 (depending on whether the good miss is long or short), 54 from about 75-100 (again, depending on short/long being the better miss). 60 is for anything inside of 75 since I can control it pretty well, and also of tremendous use on flop shots or whenever I find myself short-sided around the green. 54 is generally my go-to out of the sand, but I'll use the others sometimes on specific shots.
2 - That's what my 3 hybrid is for really. I hit it about 15 yards longer than my 3 iron, launch it much higher, and it's just way easier to hit consistently, so it nestles nicely between my 3 wood and 3 iron.
With the stronger lofts on irons these days you end up needing more wedges for the 80-ish yard shots to be full swings. It used to be your PW was 49/50 degrees. Now they’re 46/47. So instead of maybe just a gap wedge at 54 and sand wedge at 58. Now you need a gap wedge at 50, the additional wedge at 54, and an SW at 58.
As to question 1, I found that carry more wedges takes the guess work out of hitting those feel shots. I just found wedges that I could take a full swing with, and met distances I regularly found myself in (100 - 58°, 115 - 54°, 125 - 50°).
The more practical solution was to spend time at the range honing in the 3/4 or 1/2 swing, but I just like to go out and play. Plus, most driving ranges don't sell beer.
I hit my 60' about 80 yards and 56' about 95 yards, 52' about 110 yards. I really need those yardages for scoring. On the other hand, I don't notice much distance gap between 4, 3 irons or even 3 wood off the deck (on the tee is a different story). So I just carry a 3 hybrid as a club that I can hit as long as I can off the fairway. I hit my 4 iron about 195 yards and it is pretty rare that I need anything with precise yardage for any thing beyond that.
Interesting. I will have to play with the idea of different wedges inside of 110. I grew up playing with just a 3-pw, so I developed a system of 1/2 or 3/4 swings to handle those distances. (1/2 7 = 110, 1/2 8 = 90ish, 1/9 = 75ish). It is tough to get those to land soft and stick though, so maybe the wedge approach would help.
Q1- I have a PW and an AW. I use my PW basically as a 10i for distances between 110 - 75 yds away. Inside 75 yds or in a hazard, I'm using my AW. I can put the ball at my far back foot position and take a full swing with the AW at 75 yds and as long as I don't top it, I can get great loft and accuracy with it. Anything under 75 yds, I'm using the AW and taking percentage full swings.
Q2- I don't have that problem really because for me my iron distances are (max yd): 4i=200, 5i=180, 6i = 165, 7i = 150, 8i = 140, 9i = 120, PW = 110. My fairway wood (Nike 5W) I can put 225 if I crank it, but really I'm more consistent with it around 210-200. So for me, it's a pretty easy decision if I'm just over 200 away (especially if I just relax and don't try and kill it).... 4i if I don't mind being short / can run it up to the green, fairway wood if there's no hazard in back I'm worried about / really wet course.
In both these cases, the thing that has helped me the most is a good shot tracking app with GPS on it. I've been able to download my shot histories from multiple courses onto an Excel spreadsheet and do some simple averaging with std dev to see where I'm *really* hitting the ball with each club, as opposed to what I think my distances are. (and holy crap, altitude is a real thing.. seeing my outliers from my golf trips to Colorado and Utah was pretty shocking)
Driver and 3w: Cobra F9
3/4/5 hybrids: Cobra F9
6-pw: Wilson Staff C300
46/50/56 wedges: Cleveland CBX
Putter: some cheap thing I bought on amazon for $35 that I love.
Ball: Srixon Q Star Tour
After 20+ years, trading out my Mizuno T-Zoids (2-PW) for Callaway Apex (3-PW). Also moving to Vokey wedges (50, 55 [bent 56], 60) from Mizuno (52, 56, 60).
I've been Taylor Made drivers for years but shifted to Titleist, much to my surprise.
Now if I was only as good as I think I am.
Is it weird that I play at least twice a week, carry a pretty low handicap, and I'd have a hard time telling you the complete specs on any one club in my bag? I know it's a Titleist driver and Taylor Made irons, but no chance I could tell you the shaft. Love the golf conversation though.
Not weird at all. I know plenty of guys who are great golfers and are using 15-20 year old gear that looks like they bought it on a whim from an estate sale. If it works for you, it doesn't matter if you play a R flex or a XX flex. I'd actually prefer if fitters didn't tell you what shaft or club head you were using at any given time.
Yes it is.
You are a bit of a special case as most low handicappers I know have very specific set up they prefer and rarely divert from it. Most of them have a very custom set.
I mean I got fitted and all that so it's matched to my swing, but I'm just not a gear head. If I hit a bad shot or putt it's my fault not the clubs. I see many people go through 50 putters trying to make putts when their stroke just sucks. It's the same thing with golf swing, but golf companies have to make their money too. When I played golf in college in the early 2000s I was using a putter from the 60s because I couldn't afford anything else. Guess I just got used to using what I had.
Old stuff-
Driver: Taylor Made R7
4-wood: Adams Tight Lies 17 degree.
Irons: Callaway X-20 with Aldila NV flex shafts that I absolutely should not have because I swing approximately 38 billion MPH.
Approach: Taylor Made Burner
Sand Wedge: 30 year old Northwestern SW. I like it because it weighs a ton.
Putter: Unknown brand (Target Line?). Bought it at a thrift shop for $5 because I needed a quick putter for my Ping Pal that broke. Drained a 50 foot putt the first time I used it and it has stuck in my bag since.
I'd go get new clubs, but I only play about 8-10 times a year and apparently I don't want to be any better than the 90-95 I shoot now.
Just got fitted. Phenomenal experience:
Driver: Callaway Epic Max LS, 9degree, Aldila 65 x-stiff
3W: TM Sim 2 max, tensei raw Blue 75 x-stiff
3H: Titleist TSi 2, 19 degree, PX hazardous smoke black RDX
Irons: 4-PW, AW (50degree) Callaway Apex CF 21, PX 120g 6.0
Wedges: 54 and 58 degree, Vokey SM8 Jet black
Putter: not fitted because I like it: odyssey 2-ball
went with the Golf Pride CP2 wrap grip on all but the putter.
I totally geeked out at the stats during the fitting. It was cool to see why my old clubs didn’t fit me at all.
Irons were 15 yrs old.
When I bought my driver and fairway woods 7 yrs ago I had a 103 mph swing speed. Since then I’ve picked up weight lifting. Now I’m at 112. The fitter didn’t even let me hit my old fairway wood. He says “this is a regular flex shaft. There’s no way you know where these are going. This data would be meaningless.” I said “Thats right, sure don’t.”
Awesome experience all around. New clubs are starting to come in now and I can’t wait to get out there.
Do you think lifting was the only reason? Or did you improve your swing? I'm 100-105 rn and would love to push above 110.
I have not changed my swing. I honestly think it’s almost 100% due to lifting. I’m a very slender build and didn’t have much muscle mass. I still don’t have a huge muscle mass but I am much much stronger than I used to be and have maintained my flexibility/mobility.
I have known that's the answer for a long time but I am too lazy. I'm waiting for someone like you to tell me the secret that doesn't involve lifting lol. 113 is no joke, can put you right around 170 ball speed and 300 carry with right equipment and launch.
I will need to optimize my swing to do that. I currently carry 280 and roll near 300. With a few adjustments I think I can probably squeeze another 10-15 carry or so. But I may not try if I’m consistent at this range. We’ll see.
I can vouch for this as well. I easily added 10% to my distance when I got into core training seriously. Most of us are in such a bad shape that even just a bit of training and you should see significant improvement in distance.
Driver - Cobra King F7, 9*, Mitsubishi Kuro Kage TiNi 60X
3W - TaylorMade RBZ2, 14.5*, Mitsubishi Fubuki K 80X
3H - Titleist 915H2, 21*, Aldila Rogue Black 85H Stiff
3-P - Mizuno MP53, KBS Tour S
50-54-60 - Mizuno S18 Blue, True Temper Dynamic Gold Wedge
Putter - Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball Blade
Luckily for my club count I broke my 7 iron about a year and a half ago, so I'm no longer carrying one too many clubs. I've been too lazy to get it repaired, since I'd rather just invest in new irons since these are about 10 years old now. I hit everything else well enough that I'm in no rush to replace anything. I absolutely love my 8 year old 3 wood, can't see getting rid of that anytime soon. Maybe once I'm too old to use an 80X shaft anymore.
After moving to Oregon, I bought myself a ClicGear 3.5, and have absolutely loved it. I used to carry whenever possible, and it's such a relief to not have the wear and tear on my back that carrying used to do. Basically, don't try to be tough, nobody really cares whether you carry, walk with a push cart, or ride in a cart. I don't understand the old guys with the remote-controlled carts though...
I like to: snap hook my Ping G410, top my Mizuno MP-20 irons, chili dip my Cleveland wedges and 3 wiggle my Odyssey 2 ball putter.
I have Taylor made burners across the board.
Seeing as my golf game the last few years has been moving my clubs around the garage as I am cleaning it up at various points in the spring and fall, they are simply fantastic at allowing me to hit every water hazard, sand trap and tree I can find along a course....almost like they were programmed for it.
Titleist 917 D
Titleist 913 3W
Titleist 818 H1 2H
AP2 irons
Vokey wedges 48/54
Odyssey putter
At a point where I am happy with everything in my set after piecing it together over the last few years but I've got my eye on the new Titleist TSi line.
So you're titleist across the board and skip the scotty for the odyssey?!
I have a set of Ben Hogan irons and Walter Hagen woods. Top of the line when they were purchased, which was by my mother-in-law's ex-husband back in about '49 or '50. The canvas bag they came with gave it up a few years ago, so I had to inherit another one from an uncle. My favorite club is a chipper I bought for a buck at a garage sale. It saves me a few strokes every round, because my short iron game is horrible.
I only play maybe once a year, when I can get my brother to pay for it, and half the time I use his second or third set instead of my own. Figure it doesn't make sense to invest in new ones, or even new-to-me used ones. A good day golfing for me is the company and maybe I make one shot good enough to remember after the 19th hole. Also, I win if I find more balls than I lose.
If I have to pay for my own round, I like to keep my cost-per-stroke down so I can be sure I get my money's worth.
Callaway Rogue 6-PW, 4 hybrid, 5 hybrid (yeah, I'm old!)
Cobra F8 driver & 3w
Callaway wedges 52, 56, 60 / old school Odyssey putter
Wish I had time to play more than my once weekly league....
Glad this topic made a return, as I have pushed hard into golf over the last year. I upgraded my clubs and currently carry:
- Driver: TaylorMade SLDR - 10.5 degrees adjustable (I finally decided that I am not on the Tour and raised the loft to 12 up from 9 where I had it, now I hit 250 yards but it is straight 90% of the time as opposed to 270-80 yards straight 10% of the time.)
- 3-Wood: TaylorMade SLDR (which I cannot hit to save my life);
- 5-Wood: TaylorMade SLDR (hit straight as an arrow);
- 4-Hybrid: Lazrus 4H (fantastic and cheap club, highly recommend for high handicappers);
- 6-AW Irons: TaylorMade Sim2 Max (Got fitted for these, not the longest I hit but were easily the most consistent in terms of the dispersion. Not the OS model. Beware, I had to pick up an A wedge bent to 48 because the loft spacing on new irons is absolutely terrible, my P wedge is only 43.5);
- Wedges: Kirkland Signature 52, 56, 60 (great for the price, I either drop dimes with these or skull them over the green. The 60 is my go-to chipping club);
- Putter: Some old ugly blade that works absolute wonders;
- Bag: Nike Air Hybrid - Black (very spacious, has 14-way full-length dividers, but the umbrella holder does not work with my umbrella and keeps making the leg stick. Kind of disappointing considering the price of the bag, but otherwise a great grab so far);
I also picked up a rangefinder, as I spend a bunch of time figuring out my distances with my clubs. it has actually helped quite a bit, and I expect it to help even more once I stop sending every iron shot left, every wood shot right, and every wedge shot 30 yards over the green.
I am still terrible, but as a new golfer, I can confirm that you can get better with practice. The local ranges are making a fortune off of my buying buckets, but the progress is there.
Instead of a rangefinder, try the Skydroid app. Free GPS ranging app for smartphone with huge course database. Also has a nice shot tracking feature that has helped me SOOO much finding errant shots since I can start figuring out about how far I hit something and I'm not looking 30 yds past where I should be.
What if you are hitting to a uphill green and can't see the green but only the flag? I mean with those GPS you have to tell it where the flag is correct? Range finder you just shoot it and get your yardage. You don't need to download a new course if it's not there and guess where the pin is. I'm guessing at this by the way. If that's not the case I'd be interested.
Thanks for the tip! I'll have to look into one, but I'll need a new phone first. All of my phone money is sitting in my bag in the form of irons and the bag itself right now.
Around these part it's called a cooler. 6 at the clubhouse, then 6 more at the turn.
Driver - TaylorMade Tour Burner (old, but it works alright and new drivers are obscenely expensive these days)
3 Wood- Mizuno ST 180
3 "driving iron" Mizuno MP-H4
4-PW - Mizuno MP25
50-54-58 wedges Cleveland RTX-4
Putter- Odyssey RX 7
Picked up the driving iron second hand over the winter and have loved it as a fairway finder.
Driver: Ping G410 with Evenflow regular shaft
5 Wood: It's an old wood but super reliable. I am looking to upgrade this club
Hybrid: 3H Wilson Staff
6-PW: Callaway Big Bertha B21
58 Degree Wedge: Cleveland CBX 2.0 Wedge I'm looking at add 52 and 54 degree wedge with the same club
Putter: Orlimar F-Series
I've gotten into golf and am in the process of building my bag to replace a couple of clubs. I've gotten better with my swing and ball striking. My goal is to break 80 by the end of the summer and I think it's attainable