BostonSal

The Patriots are sucking badly enough on their own without the screwjob the officials are giving them. Those calls are coming from New York. You can tell by the delay. Right now, the NFL is on a level with pro wrestling and roller derby in terms of being on the level. I've seen six Super Bowl wins. They were fun. No need to watch this phony crap anymore..

Thanks, cnosil. I had never noticed that.

I may have chipped in here before but my memory isn't what it was. Following a 42° 9-iron, I play just three wedges. In order to achieve useful gaps, the 46° set-matching PW is not one of those. I don't even order it. I need to go to 48º for the first wedge. If I used the set-matching 46, I might have gone up to 4 wedges, and if I used one of those GI 9-irons of 40° or less, then five would probably be on the table. That would leave me with an overall set configuration short on long clubs-- I'm a multiple fairway wood player who also likes to bag a utility driving iron-- so the 42º 9-iron is a must. Weaker than that eliminates a model from consideration for me, even if I otherwise love it..

I'm not a DIY guy. Every time I need to regrip, I pay through the nose at our pro shop. I only play with GP Tour Wraps or Winn Excels because I don't wear a glove and only a wrap-type grip feels right in my hands. Still, I should have acquired some of your skills when I was younger. I was never burdened, I guess, with excessive Calvinist work ethic. That's why I'm not burdened with excessive money.

Steel shaft issues aside, and I know for a fact that such issues are real, I find hitting vintage clubs very very much like hitting modern clubs. Flight trajectory may (will) be different, but not being as much of a "feel" player as you may be, hitting the ball is more of a bio-mechanical technical process with me-- very quickly remember how to do it and then do it-- so my main reason for not playing my older clubs is that the grips are all dried out! (That's a real thing too.)

Because I play the vast majority of my golf on our own club's course, my bag doesn't fluctuate as much as Stu's, although it probably would if I got around a bit more as I may have in days past. A constant 14 can work if you're on one track. I only coordinate ten clubs as the loft progression of a set, anyway. Four clubs--the driver, driving iron, greenside finesse wedge, and putter-- are shot-specific, add-on utility clubs. They could be dropped into any set other than the one that they're in. They don't have to be synched, loftwise, with anything else. I'm not one who goes with set loft/distance progressions from driver to lob wedge. I don't play that way. I'm ok with special clubs for specific shots.

Two are face balanced mallets, a 1978 Ram Zebra and a current model Cleveland HB14. With my present putting stroke, however, I'be been happy with my Tad Moore Chicopee, a hickory shafted replica of a late-1920s Spalding model.

In our area, the vast majority of public green fee courses are privately owned, not munis. We have very few actual munis. We do have one outstanding muni, however, the George Wright, right within Boston's city limits, that's a Donald Ross creation. I could be wrong, but I think it was a WPA Project as part of thr National Recovery Act. For a while it fell into disrepair but it's back to its old self now...and hard to get on.

Whichever "wood" I leave out of the bag now. My 15 would be 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 driving iron 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 48, 53, 58 or 48, 54, 60 putter. I think. These things can change.

In addition to the Predator and the USA, the Master was a rather popular iron as well, while the original Prowler, based on its head shape, seemed to be targeting the PowerBilt Citation and MacGregor MT85 enthusiasts. If I remember right, and it was a long time ago, the Prowler, while still stainless, had a mirror rather than brushed finished to look like forged clubs. Some country club wives liked the handsome Tigress model, based largely on the Predator. The stainless steel era was hitting its peak; and fewer and fewer average recreational players were play chromed irons-- and most of them who were playing carbon steel, as Shapotomous suggested, could really play a little bit. Since then, soft steel, especially in the multi-piece head era, has made a big comeback among all levels of players.

I had forgottn that the Titleist T300 has a 53° wedge. I'm pretty sure that I want it. One can go.... U-505___driving iron T100___5, 6, 7, 8, 9 irons skip the 46° T100 PW in favor of the T100S___48º wedge. T300___53° wedge SM8 add-on wedge of choice. That's a very nice nine club iron set with matching shafts and grips readily offered. If you're a good fairway wood player, that leaves room for a 1, 3, 5, 7 wood set and a putter. I may have mentioned it before, but I think that in the T-Series, Titleist finally has a worthy successor to the DCI Series from back in their stainless steel era. I couldn't get excited about the AP franchise, although coming from Titleist, I'm sure that they must have been pretty decent clubs. It's easy to forget about published specs and go by how far you hit each club---that's the best way-- IF you have the access and inclination to try various equipment. That's the only way you'd know how far you're going to hit them If you can't do that, published specs are the only thing you've got to work with. Lofts will matter then.

Looks like come April, it will be down to threw-- four, nine (+ the ball), and one.

Just read the forum's Lynx article. Very interesting, but the glamour (albeit briefly so) Lynx era was before Freddie Couples and other tour endorsers. The original Lynx Predator wood was a pre-TaylorMade offset metalwood. Instead of being hollow, it had/has an inlaid wooden crown. Awesome 1978 set was Lynx Predator 1, 3, 4, 5 woods as described above. Spalding Executive 2-PW This wide, flat, and heavy soled iron had "shaft-over-hosel" construction, no longer seen today. Ram Zebra putter. The acclaimed origin of the face-balanced mallet genre, it was, at $75, the most expensive club in the bag. Spalding Top Flite ball. This rock hard missile had perfect synergy with the hyper-spinny GI clubs of the day, especially the Executive irons.. With 14 new grips, I could enjoy playing this set right now.

An 11° hybrid? Well, I suppose if you have a 7° driver, it might work for you.

Thanks, cnosil.

I've only seen them offered with steel shafts, though.

I've never brought my own alcohol onto a golf course, but by the same token, I can't imagine anybody going through my bag to check, either. Neither would fly at our club.

I WILDLY over think the game while typing at a laptop. On the course, I have a worse habit. I often take thinking completely out of the equation when a little might help.

Bending is not a bad option. Bending a 52 will add bounce and bending a 54 will reduce it. I'm a low bounce player. I'd rather have a 53 and get the designers intended sole configuration, but yes, it's not a huge deal. It wouldn't have killed Titleist to make a set matching 53, either, if they're going to go 43 and 48 leading up to it. 58 is fine for an add-on, because so many different shots will be hit with it.

I agree with the flat lie theory. Golf is an easier game with every shot from a perfect lie. Many architects prefer natural contour over expensive bulldozers and thus don't include flat target landing areas in their designs.

After an ill-advised session with a Titleist T200 demo 7-iron, I got interested in the model. Consistent with today's ludicrously strong lofts, and these clubs function very well with them, I fully admit, the T200 offers a 43º "pitching wedge" and a 48° "gap wedge." These offerings pretty much scream for 53 and 58º "add-on" wedges. Fifty-eights all but fall out of the sky. Who doesn't make one? Offered in multiple bounce angles, usually. But fifty-threes? Good luck. Bending a 52 or a 54 is always an option, but I'd rather have a real 53. The irony is that 53 was once a very viable number. Two of the best old wedges in my collection are 53s, both completely worn out. The Cleveland 588 "Diadic" was a classic. Even before that, with its brown-painted steel shaft, was the MacGregor FCW-6--a truly great wedge in many touring pro's bags. But if you're younger than, say, 65, you may be looking at me as if I had two heads. Will odd numbered wedges make a comeback? Fifty-seven was once popular, too (Hogan made a very good one). We can only guess.

Since I wote an earlier post tody, I figured out how to do it. Fit the T200 irons into a set depite their strong lofts. I wish that I hadn't.

To me, it boils down to the fact that they're club fitters--that's what they do. They expect to be paid. When you bought your clubs from your club pro at his own pro shop on your own golf course, the fitting process in those pre-digital times was free. The clubs were sold at ONE price--MSRP--and your professional just took the markup. I miss those days, but they're gone and we live in the present world.

I not that long ago hit a Titleist T200 demo 7-iron at a practice facility-- and you know me-- I was there for the excellent lunch diner next door, not to practice-- but decided to hit a few of the demos while I was there. It was relaxing, not the "p" word. I absolutely loved that club. Even though it was standard lie and not a tiny smidge flat as In prefer, and even though it didn't have the requisite wrap-style grips for my gloveless hands, I choked down about 3/8" at most to compensate for the lie and swung away. Almost couldn't miss. Shots felt like money. Trajectory was great. Titleist hit the jackpot with that one. Great golf club. But the 9-iron is stronger than forty degrees in that set. Almost to super GI level. I would have to completely change the way that I like to configure my set, or else find somebody to make me a cart bag with sixteen full-length dividers plus a putter well. I'm almost glad that they frustrated me that way. I loved that club and may have spent more of my kids' inheritance on a set. Divorce court wouldn't be off the table either. I already bought clubs this year. But people misunderstand when we old grumps talk about strong lofts. The golf clubs are very hittable. The clubmakers know what they're doing. It's just hard to fit them into a set with a familiar, comfortable configuration.