Badchihuahua

I have the 816 heads in 14 and 18 degree lofts. I have found that anything below 17 degrees was just diminishing returns. Maybe a little more roll out, but carry distance was the same and the higher loft had a little better launch and consistency.

16.5 degrees is my power fairway wood. I can't hit a 15 or 14 degree any farther.

For what it's worth, I did not notice a major drop off in spin with AP3. I was still mid to high 6,000's with the 7 iron. I wasn't much different with that for the AP2. I have not noticed a drop off in terms of green holding performance. Not like I pull back 8 irons with the AP2 due to spin. The steeper descent probably helps stop it more than spin did for me. And what was wild was that the TMB was almost identical flight as the AP2 for me. I thought that would get me some extra distance but it didn't.

I switched from AP2 to AP3 and it has helped. I'm a little older, and the distance gaps work better for me with the AP3 than the AP2. I play a 48 degree vokey, and the AP3 PW is 43/44 degrees. This allows me to get my 5 iron to the 24/25 degree range, and space it properly. Specifically, I am getting better launch for the distance. My 165 club is going higher with the AP3 than it did with the AP2, I don't have to work as hard to make it happen. I find that it sits softer and the control is good. With the AP2 I could just say that the clubs were one off due to loft, but that's really not the case, as the trajectory and launch are not the same. The AP3 comes off better for me. It doesn't have the buttery soft feel of the AP2, but the feel is still very good. My last 3 rounds from the member tees (6k yards) have been 72, 73, 71. My last round from the blue tees (6400 yards) was a 77. This is slightly better than my average was with the AP2. In reality, I only use the iron from the set 10-14 times a round (other shots will be vokey wedges or fairway woods/utility irons), so the change isn't going to be massive. But the confidence and the way the set blends and flows is better now than it was.

I agree. I don't think an extra club would really help all that much for a particular round in isolation. But trying different clubs will help a player develop their skills a bit and long term would be beneficial.

I agree, but for amateurs this would help. Pros get to change their bags a lot without much thought to cost, or needing to adjust on the fly. They know what course they are playing in advance, while an am might decide when he gets to the first tee if he's playing 6k yards or 6800 yards (which might influence if he wants that 230 yard club with higher trajectory or more of a piercing rollout club. Pros have more than 15 clubs in their bag, and they adjust. Rory took the 5 wood out today for a long iron for one specific tee shot. Amateurs don't really have that type of luxury or foresight to be able to do that. I mean, they could, but logistically are you just keeping your spare clubs in the trunk or at home? Ams often play courses new to them and only get one look at them, they don't have the benefit of the practice rounds to form a course strategy. I enjoy the strategy of 14 clubs, but with clubs going farther today than years past the need for more top end of the bag clubs, or at least the option available, make me think that allowing players to add something there isn't a bad thing and would help the industry.

I have caddies plenty of rounds. Clubs don't weight that much. It's the people who bring two dozen golf balls and junk like that who weight down their bags and are frustrating.

I'm shocked it hasn't changed. Would be a big boost to the industry. I like the strategy of trying to configure my bag, but I have so many nice clubs sitting around not being used. And for me to put them in I would probably have to drop a wedge or bend a wedge to fill the gap or buy a new wedge, so it just gets more and more expensive. And really adding a clubs wouldn't change all that much in terms of the way the game is played. But in terms of enjoying different clubs and trying new equipment it would make the game better.