Golf - what's in your bag and why? - Page 9

I've enjoyed this thread immensely over the years -- bags made up with thought and also an eye for cost.  Thought my bag 'evolution' over the years might be of interest to some.  I'm a senior (almost 70) and took up golf five years ago or so.  I list the first two sets for completeness' sake only -- they were the result of following others' advice.

 

First I should say that from the start my driver has been a TM r580. First 10.5*, currently 12*.  I also have an r7, 10.5* but the tip is too soft and I haven't had it reshafted as I'm happy with the r580XD and 12*.  Fairway woods TM r580 5w and 7w.  Putter a Ping Anser.

 

(1) Adams A3OS (a mixture of hybrids and irons); the less said about these the better.

 

(2) TM r7Draw irons (an improvement on the Adams set but not much of an improvement)

 

(3) Ping Eye2s 3-PW; I added a BeCu SW and a new LW.  Lovely clubs which I will never sell.  I later found in used bins a 2-iron and a 1-iron at $10-20 each.  Surprisingly they are not that hard to hit although I can't hit them consistently enough to use them.

 

(4) Ping Eye2+s: 2-SW; later added a used LW;  the 2-iron is also easy to hit and I used it for a couple of seasons when I wanted a long, low flight.  These are very good when fairways are dry and hard; the eye2s are much better when the fairways are soggy.  I won't ever sell these either.

 

(5) Ping Zings: 3-SW.  This is what I currently play.  I've replaced the 3i and 4i with TM Rescue Mids 4 (22*) and 5 (25*).  Someday when the prices come down I'd like to replace the hybrids with the TM Burner ones -- their shape is a bit more wood-like and they don't look so strange underfoot.  The Zings are reputedly the ugliest golf club ever made, but they are also the straightest-hitting club ever made (and can also be worked somewhat although I usually only do that when forced to).  The SW has a low loft (52*), so it is like a gap wedge and wonderful for shorter distance pitching, but it is also very good out of the sand.  When the greens get dry, I also carry my eye2 SW (57.7*).

 

Also have a set of Zing2's, 3-SW, but haven't felt the need to use these yet as there is nothing wrong with the Zings.

 

None of these Ping sets cost over $200, and they are so much better than the Adams and TM irons that the difference is like night and day.

 

I like to think I'm set for the rest of my playing days, but ... last year hit a Mizuno MP-14 2-iron a few times and then a number of MX-200s that someone was hitting next to me at the driving range.  They were lovely, lovely clubs.  I'll never be good enough to play 

the beautiful clubs Luke Donald used to play (MP-60s I think) or the MP-33s, but perhaps someday the MX-200s or something similar.

Welcome to Epic "eye"!

 

For only playing golf for 5 years, you've averaged acquiring a set per season. That qualifies you as a gear addict and make the likelihood of being set for the rest of your playing days pretty slim. May I suggest RockBottomGolf.com? (oh I'm going to burn in hell for that one). I hope your addiction to golf has not taken anything from your ski budget!

Recently, I decided it was time to upgrade so I left my old set abroad and my bag now includes:

 

 

 MP-52 5-PW- I think Mizuno makes a solid iron and I got a good deal at Roger Dunn while visiting my dad in LA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

King Snake 4 i- left over from a set I bought a long time ago

 R11 Driver & 3 W- got a good price on demo clubs from my dad`s course.  The driver isn`t necessarily longer than what I had, but it does seem straighter.

 

 

975F 5 W- another left over I am using to fill out my set, but this or the 4 I could end up getting replaced with a hybrid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vokey 52, 56 & 60 wedges- had these in my last set and think they are good wedges even if my short game has not been great in recent years.

 

All the clubs, except the wedges have stiff shafts.  The wedges have the standard Vokey wedge shaft (DG S200, I think).

I'm playing in the qualifier for the NH Amateur in two days, May 24, 2012, and had to reconfigure my bag for this event.  Here's what I will be playing with:

 

Irons: 5,6,7,8,9,PW  Cleveland CG7, 1 inch long, two degrees upright

 

Wedges: 52, 56, 60 Cleveland CG 15

 

Driver: Nike STR8 Fit 11.5 degree standard flex (my swing speed is just about 95mph and I am 60 yrs old, the flex and loft give me a lot of carry and medium roll, average drive about 240-250)

 

4 Wood, 17 degree, RocketBallz, which I put in the bag two weeks ago when I retired my old Cleveland 15-deg 3-wood.  I hit the new one ten yards longer (230 off the deck) and a bit higher.  A great trade.

 

Rescue clubs: 19 and 22 degrees.  The 19 goes 210 and the 22 180 - 200 (if I push it)

 

Putter: Odyssey White Ice Dart; fantastic feel and alignment aid

 

Ball: Callaway Tour iS although often I play a Pro V1x (but, in big tournaments where Titleist is the dominant ball, it is easier to keep it straight with the Callaway.

 

I have gone back and forth about the 52 and sometimes leave it out in favor of a 4-iron.  On shorter courses, the 52 is really useful.  On longer courses I like the 4-iron because without it I am choking up on the 22 deg hybrid.

 

Wish me luck.

 

Bob

Luck!

 

That 4 iron was pretty tough for me to get rid of too, but once I got comfortable choking down on the 21 degree hybrid, the extra wedge was worth a lot more in the bag.  My golf buddy says the weather in NH has just become decent over the last 2 weeks. Now all you have to do is put it "in da hole!"

I don't change gear often.  In the mid 1990s I played Tommy Armour 845 irons until my daughter used them for the New England High School championships and never returned them. I then went with 855 oversize and didn't like them. About 12 years ago I bought the latest 845s and still use them today.  Any deficiencies in my game can be attributed to technique not tools.

 

As a concession to age, I no longer carry a 1, 2, 3, or even a 4 iron.  The bag contains a Cleveland LauncherDriver, a very old Tight Lies 16 degree fairway metal, an equally old Tight Lies 7+ fairway metal and a Taylor Made 21 degree rescue club, 5 - PW + gap wedge, sand wedge, and 60 degree wedge (latter two Cleveland Classic).

 

Biggest change has been the putter.  I'd been plagued with having my left wrist break down at impact all last season.  At the end of the season I bought a cheap putter with a Super Stroke Slim oversize grip.  The fat grip has worked miracles.  Last Sunday I finished the round with six consecutive one putt pars getting up an down with the 60 degree wedge and the fat grip putter.

Just switched irons 2 years ago, after playing BeCu Eye2 + for years.

 

Cleveland Launcher with Fujikura Fit-on shaft, 10.5 degrees

Cleveland Launcher 15 degree 3 wood, Fuji Fit on.

 

Cobra Baffler 20 degree hybrid, Aldila NX shaft

 

Hogan Apex Edge pocket cavity irons,  4-PW (PW is 45 degrees)

 

Gap wedge is my old Ping W (50 degree)

 

Low Bounce Sonartec wedge (54/8)

 

Sand wedge is my old Ping (58 degree)

 

Bag is Ogio Ozone XX

 

Ball is Bridgestone E6 or Titleist NXT

Okey Dokey then >>>

 

Driver -- '08 TM Tour Burner 9.5 w/Graphite Design YS-6+ stiff shaft soft-tipped 1/2"

3-wood -- Bridgestone J33 15 w/Graphite Design Pershing 65R tipped +1/2"

5-wood -- Bridgestone J33 18 w/Graphite Design Pershing 75R std. tipping

3 utility -- old (maybe the first) TM rescue mid w/stock stiff steel

4-PW -- '05? Titleist 735CM forged chrome w/DG S300 shafts

52&56 -- TM TP black (not the black black, more like dark nickel)

Putter -- Rife 2-bar hybrid mallet 34 1/2"

 

All but putter w/ Golf Pride Velvet Cord .58 ribbed grips

 

I tinker w/ this stuff.  . My ski bench becomes a golf bench in the summer. Have never found an out-of-factory graphite-shafted wood or an iron set that couldn't 'use?' some work, be it for straight-line oscillation in graphite woods, or for consistent progression in loft, lie, dead weight, swing weight, & flex in iron sets. 

 

All my woods are reshafted. I like the Graphite Design shafts.  They seem to have tighter tolerances in consistency of flex from shaft to shaft than many other brands, and the smooth but lively feel suits me.  The Pershing's are similar to YS series, with a little tighter feel but still smooth & lively.  Can't deal w/ boardy-feeling shafts. A flex board hanging on the wall checks for consistent progression of flexes thru the set -- everything is a weak stiff.  All graphite shafts rotated as needed for straight-line oscillation and fine-tuned in tipping for flex prior to final assembly.

 

735's are progressive minor cavity back down thru #7, w/ muscle-back 8,9,P.  All look like conventional players clubs @ address and, dare I say, have a Mizuno-like softness to them.  3-9 irons have been soft-tipped 1".  i.e., 2-iron shaft in 4-iron, then butt-trimmed to length, and so forth down thru the set.  That puts them 1/2-way between R&S in flex. Little better clubhead feel but still keeps trajectory down.  Irons are progressively swing-weighted, starting @ D-3 in 4-iron, getting progressively heavier with each club until reaching D-5 in PW.

 

 

Would any of this make a difference to the mid-handicapper?  No .  Except maybe for getting graphite shafts to oscillate right.  

 

Does any of this make any kind of difference to a single-digit handicapper?  Most likely not.

Unless you're a total head case like me.

R11 S driver stock stiff shaft 9 degrees
R11 irons steel stiff shaft 4 through Approach
2.0 15 degree 3 wood
2.0 18 degree hybrid
Oddesey white hot putter

Best collection of clubs I ever had. Can only confirm its the Indian and not the Arrow in golf. Can still hit it lousy! The R11 S driver is the best driver I ever owned . It is an absolute beast when you can catch one.

 

Don't be silly.  That's simply not true.  I, for instance, know that all of my 23 putters are defective ! ! !

I'm still using my standard lie Hogan forged blades from the mid 80's. They look a bit weathered but have aged gracefully. I think they like my swing and I don't see a divorce coming after all these years. I have a few Cleveland wedges of varying angles and sole types that I select from depending on the course / conditions. My Scotty Cameron putter must be 14 years old by now. It's my go-to club without a doubt and has bailed me out so many times. But once every couple of years it treats me poorly forcing me to cheat on her with the old Ping from high school. The Ping however can't remember the good ole days and can't tolerate me for more than a few dates,... I mean rounds. My 3 and 5 woods are Titleist from several years ago and the current Driver is a Titleist 910D2.

^^ I don't know how much you play, but you should really replace your irons after a few hundred rounds, because the grooves wear down and you're not going to get a proper spin / grip on the ball after a while.  I had 2001 Ping irons and replaced them around 2008 with Titleist AP2's.  I absolutely love them but have come to terms with the idea that within the next few years I should probably replace them as well.

I've had the grooves serviced a few times over the years so that hasn't been an issue. I probably should consider new irons at some point. I like to keep things for a years as long as they're made in America. Cars, electronics, tools, wife.

I have way 2 many golf clubs, play way 2 much golf

Drivers--Callaway FT tour 9.5, Diamana Red Board 73 gram stiff   D4

            Bridgestone J33P 8.5 285CC head, Diamana Red Board 73 gram stiff   D4

3 Wood-Callaway FT Tour Neutral Fujikura stiff  D2

            Bridgestone J33 Diamana Blue Board Stiff  D2

Hybrids-Callaway RAZR Tour 2-3-4  D2

Irons-----Bridgestone J33P Blades, Project X 6.5 2-pw  D4

            Bridgestone J33P Blades Rifle 6.0 FM shafts 3-pw  D2

            Bridgestone Japanese tour issue forged cavity backs 2-pw  D2

Wedges-Fourteen (Japan)  48-52-56

Putters--Never Compromise GM2 mallet

             Bridgestone Tourstage

Bags-----Bridgestone Carry Bag Black/Red/Yellow

             Bridgestone Lite Carry Bag White Grey

Shoes----Puma Fusion 2 Black/Silver/White

             Puma Tipster Black/White

             Adidas Tour 360 White/Black

             Footjoy SYNR G White/Black

  Yes I know I'm Crazy