Selecting your 14 clubs

[Wedgie]

I hope this hasn't been covered but I'm curious how others choose what 14 clubs to bag. Do you start with a wedge and work your way up by distance or driver down?

 

For example if I hit my highest lofted wedge 70 yards with a full swing do I work my way up to a wedge that hits it 85, then PW at 100? Or if I hit my driver 250 do I look for a 220 club, then 200, etc...

 

Any input is appreciated.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

[Liberty Ball Markers]

I start close and work my way out.

 

Wedges are wider gaps (15 yards on stock shots) than my irons, but I do a lot of partial shots, open/closed face, etc.

 

Irons are about 10 yards apart up to the 4 iron. I also carry a 3 iron, but use it for a low flight under trees and such - not a specific distance.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[hckymeyer]

Personally I base it off my irons.  Gap your irons properly and then figure out what else you want to be able to hit.  Say your PW goes 120 and a 4i goes 180.    That's 7 clubs, then add in putter and driver and you have 9.  That leaves 5 clubs to play around with gaps and specific yardages.  Generally speaking I prefer to have my larger yardage gaps at the top then of the bag.  So maybe you start looking for a 220-230 yd club and 200 yd club.  You can always choke down a little bit to cover a wider yardage gap.  That leaves 3 wedges to cover the bottom end of the bag.  I'd probably try to find a 105-110 club.  95-100 and then 85ish club.  

 

Then here's what I do with wedges.  I have a full swing normal grip with each wedge.  Then I have a full swing choke to the steel grip. That's 6 stock yardages with your wedges.  Then do those same 2 grips with a half swing and now you have 12 stock yardages with your wedges.  That should cover most gaps you are going to find.

[PlaidJacket]

Wedgie,  that's a good question you've asked. To be honest I've had to give it some thought. I'm not sure if when I was fit for my clubs your question came up. Gapping yes. But in which order; top down or bottom up... I can't say. If I had to guess I'm going to say bottom-up. The reason I'm saying that is after I hit my drive I'm always thinking from the green back. Or bottom-up. For example, I'm in the fairway surveying my approach; I'm thinking where I'm wanting my shot to land (distance). Will I use a PW, or an 8i or my 52*, etc., etc. I never think will I need a 4i..nope, 5i nope. My thought is will I pull a 8i... nope not enough; better take a 7i. I'm always working my numbers back.

My wedges are all gapped 4* apart. 48*, 52*, 56*, 60*. Pretty basic.

 

Besides my driver I only carry a 4w. My longest iron is a TM Burner 2.0 4i. (it's a much more game improving design - easier to hit) All my other irons are all Wishon.

[Undershooter]

There is no right answer here other than "do what works best for you." 

For me there is only one club in the bag I want max distance out of(driver). Everything this else is just a yardage club that I want to hit a precise distance.

Just try and make sure that there is consistent gapping between clubs so things don't overlap. I would generally make sure you have more clubs for inside 150-175 than outside of it as well since that is where most of your scoring is done. If you want to set it up off of the longest non driver in your bag your can do it that way or you can do it by the shortest wedge. I would probably vote for doing it off the shortest wedge because that is where your gapping needs to be more precise. I would also go off of carry distance and not just total distance

For me: Reliable stock carry distances (Can + or - yards depending on the shot I'm trying to play).

Driver- As long and straight as possible (not always straight  <_>

3W- 265

3i- 230-235

4i- 215-220

5i- 200-205

6i- 185- 190

7i- 175

8i- 160

9i- 145

pw- 135

gw- 120

sw- 105

lw- 95 

putter

Hope this was somewhat helpful. 

[djahubes]

Great question. I work from the wedges up to the driver. If you think about it, everyone has a ceiling with distance at the top end. If you can hit 50, 75, 100, 125, etc. consistently you will be able to score. That's why lots of guys carry 3-4 wedges.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[Wedgie]

Thanks guys for all of the input. Since I'm not a long hitter reading responses I think starting with wedges that gap into my irons is the best for me. Then see what room is left on the long end. Once I figure that out I'll hit you all up for course management tips.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

[Jmikecpa]

I start with the top of the bag and move down trying to keep a constant 12 yard gap in my irons.  The hybrid and fairway wood are more to fit gaps at my club than anything else.  I have played a 52* and 58* wedge setup for the last 20 years and it was not until a year or so ago I added the 62* for bunker shots and shots around the green.  Works for me as I have always been comfortable with partial wedge shots.

[Undershooter]

Thanks guys for all of the input. Since I'm not a long hitter reading responses I think starting with wedges that gap into my irons is the best for me. Then see what room is left on the long end. Once I figure that out I'll hit you all up for course management tips.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

 

It doesn't matter how long you are if you have consistent gapping between clubs and can hit those yardages regularly. One of the shortest guys on the tour is the only one with a 58. 

[Kenny B]

I had an issue that I hope you don't end up with.  In 2012 I was fitted for Ping i20 irons 5-U wedge and I used my Ping Eye 2+ SW and LW.  Gapping was good.  Then a few years ago while reading some of these forum posts, I decided to buy the SCOR wedges.  My golf club had a demo set with various shafts, so I got to pick which shaft felt the best;  UST Genius9 graphite.  They felt so good, and I loved the way they worked out of various lies.  I bought the 54 and 58.  Then I decided to get the 46 and 50 to replace my i20 wedge and gap wedge.  When SCOR was going out of business and Terry Koehler moved to take over Ben Hogan, I then bought the 42 to replace my 9i.  The gapping was great between the SCORs and the ball flight was perfect... and long, which then led to a problem.  My 42 was nearly as long as my i20 8i.  I played that way for awhile, but started looking for other options.  I had an old set of MacGregor VIP V-Foil Tourneys that I loved but the S300 steel shafts were too much for this old body.  I reshafted the 4-8i with UST Proforce 95 graphite and strengthened the lofts.  I now have correct gapping from my SCOR 42 to my 8i.  Now I have a forged  MacGregor/SCOR set and the Ping i20 with the Eye 2+ wedges as my backup set.

 

I guess what I am saying is that if you have different wedges than your iron set, your focus should be on getting the correct gapping between them.  

[revkev]

I don't recall tackling this one before- nice thread.

 

The first that I thought about this was 30 years ago. Prior to that I carried 1,3,4 woods (yes woods), 2-PW, SW and putter. At that time woods came that way, iron sets came that way and you bought a SW and putter to round out the set.

 

So the first bag decision for me was to pull 2 iron and add 5 wood because my primary course was hilly, short, tight and required several 225 yard tee shots. I quickly dropped the 4 wood and added a more lofted wedge that was helpful for the elevated greens.

 

I played with that arrangement for 5 or 6 years until I joined a club in Indiana that required a different array of shots.

 

The five wood came out, I used a tight lies, which was basically a 4 wood and 2 drivers one of which could be hit off the deck.

 

Once I left there 5 wood and 3 wood went back in until about 11 years ago. At that point hacked lofts caused a move to 4 wedges, the dropping of any iron over a 5 and the addition of a couple of hybrids.

 

As I've gotten older and shorter the longest iron has dropped to a 6 and I've added a 5 wood back in to bridge from 4 and 5 hybrid to 3 wood. I have a very large gap between my bottom three wedges but I'm comfortable with it. I've tried to drop a wood and add a wedge but I'm fine with the current tapping of my set.

 

Bottom line then is for me it's a combo of gapping, personal abilities and course management needs that have shaped my set.

 

Sent from my VS986 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[Sschaffer24]

I'm currently gaming 13 clubs...

 

Basically, a swing issue is causing a bunching of distances at the top end of my bag. I go right from 5w to 5 iron and basically have to deal with that gap for now.

 

There will be a point where I have to look into slotting a club in for that gap, but for now I'm not sure what that will be/don't have much to fight with my current set.

[MattF]

Like Shawn, I too carry 13 clubs, but I'm on the hunt for a Mizuno JPX-EX 5 wood for the gap between my 3wd and 3H.

 

I base my set around my irons...weird I know, but I love these irons, hit them well and am able to get wedges (SCORS at the moment, but RTX V soles will find their way in there) that gap right.

[Sschaffer24]

Anyone here go for a yearly or more frequent gap analysis on a launch monitor? Or is it less formal for most of us?

[Jmikecpa]

Anyone here go for a yearly or more frequent gap analysis on a launch monitor? Or is it less formal for most of us?

I try and do it every range session now thanks to my kids getting me a launch monitor for Christmas. Gives some valuable data that is enough to confirm what I am seeing with the eye test.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

[MDGolfHacker]

Anyone here go for a yearly or more frequent gap analysis on a launch monitor? Or is it less formal for most of us?

I don't, but probably should. Going off of what I use to hit distance wise. Probably causing me strokes.

 

MDGolfHacker

[Kenny B]

Like Shawn, I too carry 13 clubs, but I'm on the hunt for a Mizuno JPX-EX 5 wood for the gap between my 3wd and 3H.

 

There is no gap between my 3W and 3H; well maybe a little... the 3H is longer.  That's why the 3W isn't in the bag anymore.  

[Sschaffer24]

I try and do it every range session now thanks to my kids getting me a launch monitor for Christmas. Gives some valuable data that is enough to confirm what I am seeing with the eye test.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

 

That's seriously fantastic. Have you noticed any effect to your scoring from that? I can't imagine how it DOESN'T make a difference.

[Jmikecpa]

That's seriously fantastic. Have you noticed any effect to your scoring from that? I can't imagine how it DOESN'T make a difference.

It is winter for me so I have not played a ton but what I can say is with 14 new clubs in the bag the data will be invaluable once I do start playing. There is a function on the app that allows me to see averages of every club as well as session logs for each range session. The hard part is remembering to keep my iPad charged so I can get the most out of the range session. Will let you know how it works as the season progresses and I can gather more data.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[Mr_Theoo]

Anyone here go for a yearly or more frequent gap analysis on a launch monitor? Or is it less formal for most of us?

During my lessons since they're all done with foresight.

[Sschaffer24]

You guys are seriously lucky... Wow!

[Wedgie]

I got a homemade Christmas card from my kids and they got the Lego Deathstar. Either way I don't check my gapping on a regular basis but I'm curious if you guys have found that the ball you play plays a role in distance control?

 

My driver swing speed is around 90 and I have found low compression balls are shorter off the tee but I make it up on the irons. Works well if I play from the tees I should be playing from but man I get some fliers with the Duo, Supersoft, etc.

 

When I played the super game improvement Wilson di11 Irons I could play any ball but with the less forgiving Mizonos I have found the low compression balls to be a game improvement ball in that I can now play a 4 iron if I want.

 

The question is do you find higher compression balls more accurate with both distance and accuracy?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

[MattF]

There is no gap between my 3W and 3H; well maybe a little... the 3H is longer.  That's why the 3W isn't in the bag anymore.  

 

 

If the past few rounds are any indication, I've got a gap of around 60 yards between mine.