JWK1969

I'm not sure there's any such animal in my bag. I'd like to think I was pretty thoughtful and thorough when I selected the clubs in my bag. And I recognize 100% that it's almost always the archer and not the arrow. That said, if there's a club that I find that will help me hit the ball longer, straighter, with more control, and/or with greater feel in an appreciable manner and is worth the cost of the club, I'd be willing to trade up to the new club. I have no "Billy Baroo" (or however you spell that) in my bag. Swings change the more or less you play, the more good or bad habits set in, and whether you regularly take lessons or instruction. The clubs I play now would not have been good for me as recently as a few years ago, because I've taken lessons and fixed a few flaws that these current clubs really would have exposed (and my game would have suffered as a result). Now, of course, I've found new flaws that I have to work on improving. The OP has that 3 wood that he can smoke on command, and that's great...I have no club from which I get repeatable, excellent results. So I'm open to changing clubs and upgrading if the target club demonstrates an improvement to my game (that justifies the cost).

Like the topic and some of the responses I've read so far. Of course, we all have our biases and it's impossible to escape from them. Mine: Positive I'm on my second set of Mizuno irons and definitely am biased towards the brand. Until very recently, my only non-Mizuno clubs in the bag were wedges. Now I've added a Titleist 7 wood and soon a Scotty putter will replace my Mizuno M-Craft II. I recently went through a club fitting and discovered the Mizuno putter not at all fit for my putting stroke (try as I might, I can't get it to be face-balanced by changing weights). Titleist is another brand favorite. Partly because one of my first sets of clubs were hand-me-down DCI-Golds from my dad. And now their irons were a very close second to the Mizunos I ended up buying. Great feel, looks, everything. One Mizuno v. Titleist question that tracks in favor of Mizuno though is that most everything is included in the cost of a Mizuno (shaft, grip), whereas it's all an extra expense for Titleist. Negative DTC clubs. I know there are some great offerings out there from the likes of Sub70, Takomo, and others. But I just side eye any brand I can't put in my hand, look at, swing, get interactively fit for. Add to that I had a bad experience with a mail order brand in the early days of them (which turned into a nice surprise for the First Tee), and I don't know if I'll ever be able to go the DTC route again. Cobra. This is completely irrational, but I just can't help but see them as "old people clubs" (and, yes, I know I'm rapidly approaching that category). I know they make some great forged clubs (a friend plays them and loves 'em) and Rickie is hitting them well again. Just can't shake that view of them, for whatever reason. PXG. Some of it is reaction to their marketing campaign. Some is the fact that their first few iterations of clubs were obscenely expensive. Some is I flat out don't like the look of their irons with all the screws, etc. Just have never looked at them favorably. With prices of some of their clubs matching more mainstream brands, I might be more willing to at least swing them to see what they're about. But the bias probably would linger in the back of my head... Cavity back wedges. I was pressed to game them because I had cavity back irons. My wedges at the time were Clevelands (not the CBXs) and I liked them. But I bowed to the influence from the club fitter and bout a pair of wedges. I found my consistency with them actually went down pretty significantly, both on full swing shots and around the green. I'll be returning to more tour-style wedges and not looking back...

So, as promised, here I am to report on my putter fitting. I went to Club Champion near me (as noted by some, they are giving free putter fittings if you end up buying a club...otherwise, it's their normal fee). Here was the process for me: 1. Putter specs. They measured my current butter knife for lie, weighting, etc. Turns out my Mizuno has a loft of almost 6 degrees (too much, really) and a 45 degree toe hang. It's a blade M Craft-II. 2. Stroke telematics. They attached some instrumentation to the putter shaft and then had me hit 7 putts with it, to get to average specs for my putter stroke. My stroke generally was pretty consistent in terms of opening the putter face on the backswing and closing it as I swing through, though the blade was almost 2 degrees open on contact. They then present the swing path on the screen with all of the various telematics (6 degree loft, hitting up on the ball by a certain degrees, forward shaft lean at impact, canceling out a little hitting up on the ball, and so on). 3. Recommendations. The specs from #1 and the averages from #2 are fed into their algorithm and it spits out various recommendations. The first was that I should be playing a mallet putter. This was to get a little more mass and reduce the deflection of the face on backswing and through swing. The second was, given my swing path, I should have a face-balanced putter face. The third was that the loft should be 3.5 degrees. The fourth was that I was fine with a "normal" grip size. More on this last later. 4. Putter testing round 1. The fitter then went around to their various models (a large number of brands/heads arranged around the putting green) and picked out about 5-6 that met the requirements. He made sure to bend them to the right loft as recommended. I hit probably 5-8 putts with each, noting feel, ease of set up on line, speed, etc. After that round, I picked out the top 3 for a second round. Included in round 1 was a Bettinardi Inovai 6, Scotty Cameron Phantom 5S (center shafted), Scotty Cameron Phantom 12 (I picked this one out), Taylormade Spider, Edel mallet (had a round back, don't know the model), and one other. The 3 moving on were the Bettinardi, the Scotty Cameron 5S, and the Edel. The Taylormade, while it promoted getting set up on line very easily, seemed to have a harder insert and thus less feel to it. I probably could have adjusted, but coming from a Mizuno, I was looking for similar feel. The Scotty 12 was just a little light, and didn't have the same feel to me that the 5S did. 5. Putter testing round 2. I took the three that made it to the second round. Hit a bunch of putts with each. Instead of the hole, this time, they had me hit at a coin (like a poker chip sized ball marker). The other fitter there, while walking by, commented that I would find it much easier to hit the coin with 1 of the 3 (turned out to be true). 6. Winner declared. That one happened to be the Scotty 5S. In rolling that one, I find the line much better and more easily. The other two were close, but just a little more variation in line (and pace, actually). I probably would have scored the Bettinardi and Edel an equal second. The variation in direction and pace was very close. While the algorithm recommended a "normal" grip, the fitter did notice a few times during all of the putting that my backswing sometimes had a bit of a bobble in it, which I would stop my swing, reset, and try again. He recommended moving to a midsize or large grip to account for the size of my hands (I've played jumbo iron and fairway wood grips before) as well as having a stronger/more dominant right hand. I elected to go with 3 wraps under the standard Scotty grip to build it up to a midsize. I found the whole thing fascinating. I had wondered if playing a mallet would be better, and it seems that, for my stroke, it will be. Of course, real world results will truly be the judge. But I did like that it seemed far easier to get aimed properly with the mallet, without any loss of feel from my current Mizuno. One additional note: my fitter did recommend a 34" shaft (my Mizuno is 35") because it would help me get a little closer to the ball. I noticed the difference with that, too. All in all, a good experience, and very educational. I look forward to my new Scotty being built and delivered.

Wow...thanks to all who have shared their various experiences! I have been looking at getting a putter fitting for a time, since that is clearly the weakest part of my game. A friend of my parents is an excellent golfer and had a fitting done for his putter, which told him he was aiming 1 deg. left or something like that. After the fitting, he used his new putter to shave an entire stroke off his index pretty quickly, which is saying something for a 3. And I'd read about the Edel system, so thought I'd go for that. Reading about other fittings that can put a player into any brand based on the numbers, though, is attractive. While I've used a blade-style putter for a number of years, I'm open to a clean sheet fitting, with mallets and blades in consideration. Am curious to know whether a different shape (and, as described by OP, different locations/styles of aiming lines) will help me find better lines. When I go through the fitting, I'll come back and share the results. Again, thanks!

Sorry that I can't attach a pic at the moment, but my wedge setup is probably like many others'. My pitching and gap wedges match the iron set I have (Mizuno MP223s), and I have higher lofted wedges that are probably just a bit unusual in that they have odd-numbered lofts. And their sole grind is identical, so neither is a high bounce "sand" wedge. I have Edison original version 55 and 59 degree wedges with stiff shafts (though my iron set has x-stiff). Edison's design has the center of gravity a bit higher in the wedge face, so they claim, so I didn't have them bend either wedge to more "traditional" lofts of 54 and 58 (though they would have, had I asked). As a result, I didn't lose any distance moving from 54/58 CBX2 wedges. I like them on a full swing, but I've struggled a bit with my touch around the greens at times. That said, I definitely prefer them over the CBX2s I gamed previously. Mostly, I would say I use the 55 around the green unless particular circumstances dictate. Really fast greens mean the 59 will be used far more often. Next time I replace my wedges, I'll probably hold a bit of a competition between the Titleist/Vokeys, the Mizunos, and whatever Cleveland has to offer. Maybe the Edisons will get another shot, too.

Great topic, and one my buddies group regularly visits (including those that were prestigious/expensive and probably not worth the hype). But here are my favorites: 1. Old Course. 2. Pebble Beach 3. Kingsbarns 4. Erin Hills 5. Carnoustie 6. Whistling Straits - Straits 7. Turnberry Ailsa (it's too bad association with Trump mars this course's rep, because it really is a great track and beautiful...somewhat Pebble Beach-esque) 8. Giants Ridge - Quarry 9. Whistling Straits - Irish 10. Prestwick

Mizuno irons (MP223, 4-G) and Edison wedges (55 and 59). I had played TaylorMade irons for a long time, but my game improved to the point where I could move into a different classification of iron (super game improvement to game improvement or player's irons). The Mizuno JPX 919s were lovely clubs and I decided to try them during a club demo day. I hit those, Calloway Apex, and Titleist AP2. The Mizunos just felt the best and gave me the most repeatable result. Fast forward to most recently, and it was pretty much the same result. I compared the Titleist T100S against the MP223, and the 223 just gave the best results in terms of dispersion, descent angle, and feel. I will say the T100Ss were REALLY close, though. I look at the numbers on the launch monitor, how consistently I can hit them, and how they feel. Add those all up and...voila, Mizuno won the day. As far as the wedges, I read about the Edisons multiple places. I was just coming off Cleveland CBX2 wedges, and I struggled with consistency as opposed to a blade-style wedge (I know, that's the opposite of what's supposed to happen, but I don't think all golf laws apply to me, as I often slice from a hook lie! ). I guess you could say I bought into some of the press about their consistency, but I have found there to be some basis for it over the last year plus of gaming them. I seem to get consistent strikes and feel from the wedges from all lies. As far as what would it take to get me to change? If some equipment maker wants to sponsor me as a struggling 10 handicapper, I'd be all ears! In all seriousness, since no one's going to pay me to play their clubs, it will take better results than what I'm getting now to get me to change. Tighter dispersion, better feel, comparable distance, more on-center strikes. Of course, at this point, more than likely the smarter investment would be golf lessons...not new clubs.

I have what I'll call the "standard" number of wedges - 4. However, not all of them are "standard" lofts. Two of my wedges, P and G, match my iron set (Mizuno MP223s). And I have two more that are a little non-standard in terms of their lofts: 55 and 59. Those are Edison wedges. They don't have a numeric bounce like most mainstream wedges, instead having what Edison calls the "versatile sole" or the "Koehler sole." I used to have 54 and 58, but didn't have the Edison wedges bent a degree stronger and haven't really needed to. I didn't lose distance when I put them in the bag. I think the important consideration for the number of wedges you choose to put in the bag is how many you'll use when in the scoring area. If you, like some golfers (even tour players), prefer to use your sand wedge (likely 54 or 56) for a variety of shots, then you might not need the lob wedge and can put another club in the bag that you might use more. I just like the versatility of having 4 wedges as it lets me choose the shot trajectory without manipulating ball position and/or face angle too much.

I tended towards plastic tees for a while, because that's what my club gave out (the best things in life are free, after all). And I would pick up tees I found on the tee boxes. But it was getting that I'd end up with about 20 extra tees by the end of the round, so I tried to limit myself to 1 tee a tee box. Nice that they last the way they do but, as others have pointed out, not the most ecologically friendly alternative. My current club gives out wood. So I'll probably transition over to those. I don't think one helps me hit it farther or better than another so, until I see data that proves one is better than the other, I'll just play whatever is at hand. And I can break plastic and wood tees without too much problem. Plastic usually takes a little longer, but I still snap 'em off.

One further caveat to my earlier post. If folks in your group are okay with music, for God's sake turn off the ringer of the phone connected to the speaker. While music isn't, of course, a steady droning noise, it is still possible to block it out when swinging the club. That changes when you get a text or a phone call in the middle of a song, and that alert supersedes the music and belts out loudly during a swing. You might as well just blow an airhorn at that point. And, in response to an earlier post asking whether it's really true or just made up for effect, I have personally witnessed guys with speakers attached to their golf bags blaring away from the cart and have heard music from 2 holes away. I know the course where this occurred well, and so I know pretty well where they were in comparison to where I was. And it wasn't like I had to strain to hear it, either. Just be respectful out there and everyone will enjoy the game.

I'm sure this topic has people with strong opinions on both sides of the debate, but here's my $0.02 worth. I think music on the course is acceptable with a few caveats. First, you should ask all of your cart partner if he/she are okay with it. If your cart partner says no, then you don't play music. Golf is meant to be enjoyed and if it will negatively affect your cart partner's enjoyment of the course and game, that's the ultimate trump card in my view. If your cart partner is alright with it, then you can play music at a limited volume. And, for me, that's the key. While I would prefer no music, if it's confined to the cart I don't care too much. I should not, however, be able to hear it when I'm standing over my ball about to hit a shot. And I certainly shouldn't be able to hear it from the other cart in the foursome or, even worse, from a group that's on another hole. On multiple occasions I have seen/heard guys crank their music so loud I can hear it 2 holes away. Regardless of whether I like the music itself, that's disrespectful. I've seen guys with Bluetooth speakers attached to their golf bags on the back of the cart, aimed away from the cart. Not to go all Smails/Czervik, but that's just ridiculous. It's rude and self-absorbed to assume everyone else wants to listen to your music. Sometimes peace and quiet is part of the experience. Don't be the a**hole and ruin someone else's day.

I haven't read through all of the thread responses, but I'm probably in the minority here. I have only 2 grip types on my clubs (putter excluded). My driver/3w are both Golf Pride Tour Velvet jumbo, which my 7w and irons are Tour Velvet midsize. My wedges are Lamkin midsize. Probably it would make sense to try out some other grips to see if I get greater feel or comfort, but I just haven't bothered. The Tour Velvet grips are familiar to me. The Lamkins are only because the wedge company from which I bought the wedges only used Lamkin. Though, I have to say, I do like those grips, too, having gotten used to them.

I would say the most recent iterations of the Mizuno RB Tour and RB Tour X. Those would be at the top of the list for me. Also probably DTC offerings like Vice and Snell.

Like many on this thread, I follow the 4 wedge philosophy. My pitching wedge and my gap wedge match my irons. I added 55 degree and 59 degree Edison wedges to replace previous 54 and 58 CBX2 wedges. Just didn't get the consistency from the CBX2s that I had with prior Cleveland RTX wedges. Perhaps I should have gone back, but I do like the Edison wedges.

I try for an hour in advance. Not always happening, but I do try. Shoes on...head out to short rage for 10-15 minutes of wedge warmup. To the range for 20-30 of cycling through the bag, then roll 'em for 10-15 on the putting green. All of which gets me ready to shank the first one off the tee and hope we're playing a breakfast ball!