Why that club?

[revkev]

We had a nice thread about the most under rated club in your bag. I'm curious about why you have the clubs that you have in your bag.

 

Was it price? Was it because if your favorite pro? Were you fit for it? Did your read a review? Word of mouth?

 

I'll start:

 

Driver Ping G30 - The SLDR that I was fit for was misbehaving and the Ping had performed well in the Most Wanted Driver test a year earlier. I found a demo for $190 and actually hit it with the stock shaft for a while. It's better for me with the Kinetex at 45". That's the shaft length that always comes up for me at my fittings. I've gamed four Ping Drivers in my life.

 

4 Wood - Tour Exotics E9 White Tie shaft 42.5 inches. It's in my bag because of the MGS community. By getting last year's model I paid $125 new rather than $249

 

4 and 5 hybrids - SLDR S. - 5 iron and I haven't gotten along well for years and while I hit my old 4 hybrid well I wasn't getting the distance that I wanted. A friend of mine had the 4. He lent it to me while he was away last summer. I loved it and ordered two really cheap through global golf.

 

PW-6 iron. Wilson C200 - my teacher recommended and fit me for the C100 about four years ago. When I went to him my complaint was consistency and distance loss. I recaptured a bit of both with those ugly a.. irons. I was fortunate enough to win a set of C200's through a MGS contest last spring. I simply used the specs from my C200's. The Adila Rogue shaft is 10 grams heavier than the matrix studios that I had in the C100. A round with the old irons a couple of months ago convinced me that these are the right irons for me. Like many I always have a wandering eye with irons but honestly these are just right for a guy like me - good player, a bit older, trying to hang on to a lower single digit cap. Don't overlook Wilson!

 

Wedges - SCORs. I would have never heard of these if it weren't for MGS. I won two of them in a contest that we had about five years ago. Frankly I will be buried with my Greek Bible in one hand and 60 degree SCOR in the other. I also got to test another one verses my C100 GW for MGS. I recently picked up a used 56 online to fill in the gap. They are all 2 flat. Three of them have similar shafts to my irons and the 60 has a heavier KBS wedge shaft in it.

 

Putter - EVNRoll E5 another MGS test from this past winter. It knocked my Vodoo Daddy out after ten years in the bag. (Bettinardi couldn't do that) Mr. Rife took the specs from my prior putter (which was fit) and adjusted them to this putter along with a tweak to the loft. It has felt like it belonged in my hands since it came out of the box. My son loves the sound of it. To me it sounds a lot like the old Ping putters. It's very nostalgic.

 

So there you have it. A complete explanation through my bag. I'd love to read about your bag. Not the what so much as the why. I will add a picture to this text when I play later today. My clubs are at the Club.

 

 

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[GolfSpy_APH]

For me it's been a lot of trial and error. I have had an assortment of clubs rotate in and out of the bag and driver is still one of those. Everything else is a club that over time I have fallen in love with.

My 3 wood: Cobra f7 is the most outstanding club in my bag this year. It is amazingly reliable and goes a mile. That and I can swing it with such confidence it's really a homerun club for me.

Hybrid is a Adams dhy pro. It's gone in and out in place of a 5 wood but lately the courses I've been playing it's a perfect club for some of the in between tee shots. That and its one of the few clubs I can get to move both ways for me.

The irons are Ping i irons which I got a steal off of eBay. Took them to a shop and got fit for them and haven't looked back. They replaced my cobra amp cell pro irons which I still miss, but these are much more suited to my game and give me everything I wand and need in a set of irons.

Putter was a experiment with different types and brands and finding what works and looks best for me. That ended up being the Nike Method S1-12 counterbalance. It has a great feel and I always wanted a Nike club to put in my bag for a long time now that they don't make any. So that did play a factor as well.

Finally wedges. I love my cobra trust rusty but want a 54,58 combo over one 56. So that is bound to change. However I keep coming back to that cobra wedge!

 

 

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[yungkory]

There are only two clubs in my bag that are so great I would consider writing about them: my driver and my putter.

 

My Epic was the first club I ever got fit for. All I can say is, no matter how many times you might think you're not good enough to get fit into your clubs, just get fit. I have never hit my driver as consistently as I do now, and I owe it all to my fitter and Trackman. If you can manage it, get fit on a range as well. I'd never touched or even come close to 300 prior to my fitting, and I drove a green from 330 out. Granted it was an elevated tee box, it wasn't 30 yards elevated.

 

My ER7 was a nice surprise. I didn't think anyone in Hawaii carried the line, and I saw one sitting in the case with the more pricey putters at my local golf store. I love how the putter looks behind the ball, and I had to have it. It was a little long for me, so I ordered a shorter one, put in some practice, and I'm holing way more putts. It might be the evnroll technology, or it might just be the confidence in the club, but either way I'm happy with the results.

[Jmikecpa]

I just went back to some of my older stuff for a few reasons.

 

Driver - 816 DBD with a Rogue Silver IO 60x. This one is easy as I can flight it well in the wind and well my club is not windy when it blows 10-15 mph. I went to a lighter shaft when I saw I could get my SS over 120mph and not lose control. In the bag my last four rounds and have not driven it this well in months.

 

3 Wood - 816 Alpha Rogue Silver IO 70x. Works as well as any fairway wood I have owned. Performs a bit better off the tee than some others but not my favorite club in my bag. Then again no fairway wood is.

 

Hybrid - X2Hot Pro 18* UST ProForce V2 90x. Works well in windy days and flies as high or low as I need it to. An older club that has always worked for me.

 

4 Iron - Apex UT 24* with a Recoil shaft. I hit this club a lot at my club as my approach on two of the par 5's, one par 3 and depending on wind off the tee on two par 4's. Just really easy to hit and has great feel.

 

Irons 5 -PW Apex Pro Aerotech Steelfiber 110x. Can't play steel anymore and these fit the bill. I played my best golf the last few years with the Apex Pros so why change? I did and now have a very expensive set of TMBs in my golf room collecting dust.

 

GW - Mack Daddy Forged. Always been a Roger Cleveland fan and when I needed a new wedge this was the choice. No opinion on it yet since i just got it yesterday but the first shot I hit with it today was a chip in for par (the first three shots were awful)

 

58* and 64* - Mack Daddy PM grind. I had the 64* in the bag for about a year and never used the 58 at all. Had some chipping and pitching issues so I put the 58 in and love it. Changing the look of the wedge had a good effect on my game and much more confident 100 yards and in. Missed an ace with the 58 by a foot yesterday on #10 at my club.

 

Putter - Spider Tour DJ version. Seems to work for now but always subject to change.

 

I have decided that I just need to stop getting shiny new toys and play what works. Graphite allows me to play as much as I want with no pain in my elbow. Just played 4 of the last 5 days and the day I didn't play I hit about 300 balls on the range. I have also come to the realization that I don't hit enough balls or practice enough to be play blades anymore. For now anyway I am playing what is in my bag and hoping to keep the bag static for the rest of the season.

 

 

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[Shankster]

Driver: Taylormade R1, the racing stripes got me. Good job TM! Now I can't stand them. But for $75 and mint condition how could you go wrong?

 

Edit: R1 is busted!! No driver in the bag!!

 

SLDR TS Wood: Bought this on a whim, probably one of my favorite clubs ever... from the tee and fluffy lies in the fairway/rough. Missile launcher. I like it because the club head is tiny. Might be my Henrik club.

 

Irons: Taylormade RBZ Tour. I wanted a compact set of irons that I could play forever. That has came to an end. They are great clubs, and they fit my game perfectly, but it's time for an upgrade. And for a 2 round played set for $250... can't beat it. Want to graduate to MB's or a thin soled CB.

 

Wedges: I am in the market. My cobras are not performing up to snuff for me, looking heavily at the glide 2.0.

 

Putter: bought a cobra Blade 002 off of aliens8mycow and haven't looked back. My putting has improved immensely wit this no frills putter.

 

I need to go get fit, and do a proper loft gapping. My game is getting good enough where I think I should get spec'd out. Mostly for the driver, I'm usually good with the standard loft/lie for my irons from the OEM's.

 

 

 

 

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[GeekingGolf]

Driver- Nike Ignite 460 with stock stiff shaft I got this club in a trade with a friend while stationed in Hawaii many years ago. A close friend had it and couldn't hit it consistently so I tried it on the course and it's been in the bag ever since. I open my stance a bit and usually hit a push draw getting distance of 240-270.

Hybrids- had a TM rescue Mid 2 iron that was my money club for a long long time added the 3 and 4 this year

Irons- Ping I200 5-UW well this year I got fitted for them immediately gained 15 yards distance with each club over my long running Titleist 704CB set. My scores have gone down ever since.

Wedges- Ping Glide 54 and 58 picked up off eBay for 50 each got them to go with the I200s keeping the 4* gapping and they are money. Never hit wedges better.

Putter- Ping Scottsdale TR Anser 2B got it for 45 bucks I just love the weight off it and the black finish. This year I had an Odyssey 2 ball that I got 4 years ago for Father's Day moved to an Odyssey Versa 1 W briefly then found out I had a slight arc stroke. Purchased an ER2 just didn't suit me. I got the Ping and I am sticking with it. Just had it adjusted to 2* flat on Sunday interested to see if that helps my putting.

 

Most of my selections were made due to cost except the irons.

 

 

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[revkev]

I'm really enjoying the whys, the good deals and loved the driver fitting story.

 

Thanks - lets hear some more!

 

 

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[Golfspy_CG2]

Great Topic:

Well my Bag changes quite a bit during the season, but here are the answers as of July 5, 2107 at 9:50 AM 

 

Driver: Srixon Z 565-Definitely the number one factor was being named the MGS Most Wanted Driver.  From there it was reading reviews of it from MGS users and watching review vdeos   It is one of the very few drivers in my life, I have ordered site unseen and with no demo experience at all.    And it has lived up to every bit of the hype I read.

 

FW: Titleist 917 F2 Mainly bought after trying at demo day and hitting it very solid.  At the time it was also to compliment the 917D3 driver in my bag.

 

Hybrids: Bought early last year while I was intentionally converting my bag from predominantly Callaway to 100% Titleist.   They began last year in the bag and have stayed there, and i don't see that changing anytime soon.   The best hybrids I have ever hit. 

 

Irons:  Srixon 565/765 combo.  (Currently but will be removed shortly for the JPX Review) Was playing the AP1 up until this year.   First really caught my attention at the #FitLikeAPro event Srixon sponsored for a two MGS members.   Then I began reading every review I could on them, and finally tried a friends on the range early this spring.  Immediately put an order in. 

 

Wedges: Same as the Srixon irons.  Tried the same friends SM6 last year on the range, and I  ordered all three of them (also part of the 100% Titleist Conversion)

 

Putter:  Scotty Cameron X7M Again part of the all Titleist movement, but has performed so well it has stayed there. 

 

So summarizing.  Most were put in the bag as a result of trying a friends club, or a result off hearing ab out on MGS.   

[Rusty1885]

I tried several driver in the past 6 months because my brother is on the quest to find his new driver. M1, M2, xr16 and a few other ones. Off all the driver he kept the xr16 13.5*.

 

My go to driver is an SLDR 14* driver. Good combination of trajectory and roll. Extra loft serves different purpose for me. I can hit it off the deck in the fairway for a low straight or a low 25 yard right to left banana. I also love to hit a Laura Davies off the tee every chance I get.

 

My second driver is Cleveland custom classic driver, 10.5* it's by far the most underrated driver, ever. I also have the regular classic same loft. I love the look, deep face and feel. It sounds great as well. I can crank this baby about 245-255 carry. Don't like the propriety square head wrench but the rest is cool. It's cheap to boot. I picked one NOS for $60.

 

Rocketballz rbz stage 2, 5wood. It's the club that work for me. I like the sound and feel as I snap at impact. Nice and high ball flight with good carry 225-240 if I need it. It's easy to give extra boost to the club without the fear of going left. That little "ting" sound is perfect for my trigger.

 

I have several sets of irons but I love the Callaway razr x forged. Compact head double lines groove and feel pretty awesome. It almost look like a blade at address. I like compact and tall at address not short and long so it's perfect for me. Mid ball flights and very easy to work the trajectory. I've been thinking about putting $500 for shaft change from project x 5.5 to ust recoil series. I love the performance of the shaft as I have them on 2 of the other sets.

 

Wedges. I go thru them pretty fast as I hit a lot of them at the range. The face get worn out and soon it's time for a new one, which I'm not complaining.

 

MD3 54* great feel, very consistent well design and looks good. It's one of the 2 100 yards club, another being the 51*Aw.

 

MD2 u grind 60* wedge, loves the compact head and laser or CNC face. It's a great bunker wedge but for full spin, full shot from 80ish yard it's my go to club.

 

MD3 PM grind 64* I just love this wedge, it's a fun, fun club to hit. It looks like a spatula. It takes a while to go through the list of shots it can do and add to you bag but it's worth it. It's now my bunker club as I don't have to open the club at address. I use it from 70 yard in.

 

Putter

 

Flip face #9 like the flip face option though I just put it on metal x all the time. One of the main reason I like this putter more than the other 2 is I can pick up the ball with it. The others I have to bend over and pick it up.

 

Odyssey rossie 2(I think). The classic blade putter with black insert. I like classic look of this putter. Almost as pure as it come.

 

Finally my favorite the Callaway Tuttle putter. I have 2 of these. Love the classic mallet look and the ping sound at impact. It has a shallow v shape sole so if you address is too flat there's more flat gliding along the green. Ping sound is just awesome, when I roll it smoothly it resonates with a small sustain but if I try to pop my putting stroke it would be short high ping.

 

Wow, that's a long post.

[cnosil]

Here is the scoop on my current bag setup:

 

Srixon Z355 Driver:  Won the driver in a contest and figured I would give it a try.  Performed as well as my R1 so I decided to keep it in the bag.  

 

Tour Edge Exotics XCG7:  Was looking for a new 3 wood and a buddy of mine had a couple of these.  Tried one of his extras and hit it well.  Got it cheap and it fit the bill.  

 

Titleist 816 H1 Hybrid/Titleist 915 H Hybrid - Decided to replace my 5 wood with a hybrid since I wasn't hitting my 5 wood so well and I was hitting my old Titleist 585h 21* hybrid really well.  Decided to try hybrids for a while to see what I liked in the 18* loft and fit well into my distance needs.   Picked up the 2 hybrids to have something a little newer in the bag.   Might have picked the wrong shafts since I don't hit the new 21* nearly as well as the 585h.   Thinking that the shaft might be too light since I went with a more lightweight option.

 

Callaway X-Hot Pro -  After about 10 years with my old irons I decided it was time to upgrade to something newer.  Spent about a year looking at various irons and kept coming back to these.  Was fit into the Project X shafts and went with that when I purchased.  

 

Cleveland 54 and 58 Rotex wedges - Always been a Cleveland fan so these ended up in the bag

 

Taylormade TM-180 - Went through some instruction with a putting instructor and based on everything we did,  the configuration of this putter was really close to what I needed.   Have tried a few other putters,  but nothing seems to perform as well as this putter does for me.   Would prefer to find something similar to the putter without an insert.  

[Reesedw]

Let's see, 

 

Driver: Ping G30 LS tec 10.5 stock stiff shaft.. Cracked my TM R9 super Tri and needed a new driver. Went looking at local golf shop, hit a bunch and kept hitting the Ping g30 well on simulator. Get home and wife had just gotten an email about Ping Rep at a differnt store a little further away.. So i set up a "fitting" with the Ping rep on a driving range. he fit me into a Ls Tec with the stock stiff over the tour stiff due to ball flight..When driving well I'm longer and straighter then ever..

 

3 wood- R9 was given it by the friend who sold me the R9 super tri cause he couldn't hit it, after 2 rounds.. love it, 

 

Hybrids- one is 19* and the other 22* I built both. one is a snake eyes, the other and iDrive.. hit them both well..

 

Irons- 5- LW Ping G25 stiff shaft. Blk dot.. had I3 o-size and decided i wanted new irons. again hit several with the pings being most consistent.. Nave played the best golf with these clubs, I just know what they will do, no surprises.. 

 

Putter- Snake Eyes Viper SSI- I built it 17 years ago, and have re-gripped and shortened it but nothing else.. I figure it's more me than the club.. The last couple of years been putting fairly good... 

 

 And that's why they are in the bag.. 

[deejaid]

I've enjoyed reading all of these "why's" about people's bags as well. Really fun. I'll preface mine by saying I took a break from playing and sold a lot of my equipment in 2007 and didn't really start playing again until 2014.

 

Driver: Cleveland Classic Custom XL 9* Stiff. I tried a few of the newest from TM and Titleist 915 but couldn't justify the price. I heard great things about the Cleveland Classic series from a few years earlier. I like deep face drivers as the give you the illusion of a smaller head. Plus, there were tons available online New for under $100. Great driver and I'm really happy with it.

 

3 wood: Nicklaus Air Max. I don't even recall where I got this but it has been in my bag for at least 15 years. Before buying it I do remember having trouble hitting woods off the deck but I have no problem with this club at all. It actually is my most trusted club in my bag and it flies nearly as far as my driver. I then bought a matching 5 wood but it has a different shaft and just doesn't have the magic the 3 wood has.

 

Hybrid: Adams DHY Pro 20*. Only have bagged this for about a year and while I usually hit it well I'm not as confident with it as my other clubs. I bought it for its relatively straight leading edge which I really prefer. Very nice club but just need more time with it.

 

Irons: Macgregor CB92 3-PW. I was playing a beautiful set of forged KZG irons and was playing well with them. I just happened to see a set of Macgregor CB92's on WRX and bought the heads for a winter project. I'd always wanted a set of these so I put some KBS C-Taper Lite shafts in them and took the 4 and 7 irons to the range with my KZG's. Well the Macs were incredible. I was aiming at pins and just kept knocking them stiff. I had a good laugh about it and thought it was just luck but the next time to the range I took the 4,7, PW of my KZG's and the 4,7,PW of my Mac CB92's. Once again I was way more accurate with the Macgregors. I realized I was keeping the KZG's in the bag due to vanity. Sweet, Japanese forged clubs that I hit well, but I undoubtedly hit the Mac's better.

 

Wedges: Macgregor CB92 Sand Wedge. When I switched to the Macs I no longer needed a Gap Wedge as the lofts were so weak. I happened to find a like new CB92 sand wedge on eBay for $15 and bought it just to have as a backup to go with my irons as I still really liked my KZG SW and LW. Well once again the Mac just took over. The grind is just perfect for me and I'm opening it up and hitting flop shots I never hit before. I completely dropped the LW from my bag as I just don't need it.

 

Putter: Ping Zing 5. I had been playing 1950's and 60's era blade putters for years, including a 1950's H&B putter I picked up while living in LA in 2004. I had great success with the blade style putters before but had a run of bad putting days with them, including a round with 38 putts! I began practicing my putting stroke more and realized a faced-balanced putter would probably work better for my nearly straight back- straight through stroke. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money so I bought a Ping Pal 4 and Ping Zing 5 (faced balanced long plumbers neck) together on the Bay. The Zing is just incredible. I have been making way more putts lately and am super excited with the Zing.

 

 

My entire bag is about $400 worth of clubs and I've never been happier with my game. I'm no longer chasing after the latest and greatest clubs or getting thoughts like "maybe if I just bought xyz, my game will improve", like I did when I was younger.

 

Instead of new equipment I want to use the money saved to play more higher end courses and concentrate on golf experiences instead of golf equipment.

[revkev]

Love it Deejaid - I played AirMax progressive irons for a long time. They were my first graphite shafted iron. I reshafted them with a lighter graphite at some point. They came out of the bag when I won a set of Mizuno irons from MGS about five years ago and never made it back in.

 

Deceptively good clubs.

 

 

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[EthanSterlingPrice]

First off great thread, really like the behind the scenes of what and why. A lot of the gear in my bag is at least a year or two old. I don't switch stuff out very frequently and when I do it's either because something broke or the newbie really outperformed the old equipment.

 

Driver- Nike Vapor Speed with a fubuki zt 60 stiff shaft and stock grip. Love at first sight for me on this one. Probably the best driver I've ever hit (for me) and I just haven't found anything I like better so it'll stay in the bag till I do.

 

3-wood- Nike VRs 15 degree with a daimana blue board s73 x-flex and golfpride MCC midsize grip. I got this one from my instructor I few years back when my previous 3-wood broke. Another case of won't leave the bag but when it does I'm seriously looking into how much hassle it'd be to get this shaft pulled and put into the new head if that's even possible.

 

Irons- Ben Hogan PTx 22-46 degrees with KBS tour-V 115 stiff shafts and golfpride MCC midsize grips. I got these from the golfspy forum test this last summer and never looked back love everything about them and doubt these will leave for a few years. Not gonna lie Ben Hogan is my golf icon having grown up a central Texas boy and that has a bit of influence.

 

Wedges- Ben Hogan TK15 54, 58 degree with KBS tour-V 120 x-flex shafts and golfpride MCC midsize grips. Researched these for a while and talked with some fellas who liked them so I ordered these right before the company shutdown the most recent time. I like my wedges to have the same shaft type as my irons but one flex stiffer to get the feel and flight I like.

 

Putter- Nike Method Converge b1|01 35" with superstroke Flatso 2.0 counterweighted grip. Another golfspy test product that won't stay away. As long as putts keep falling I'll keep playing it. (Side note here, I was skeptical about counterweighting but it actually worked for me so to those thinking about it I say go for it).

 

That's the story for my gear in a nutshell, a lot of (slightly?) older gear that I'm too stuck on to part with and a few newer(ish) bits mixed in.

 

 

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[Golfspy_CG2]

Love reading these. Great thread Rev.

 

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[stage1350]

I have two.  They are the oldest tenured clubs in my collection.  

 

1) Tour Issue Titleist 585.H 17° hybrid with Diamana Thump X.  I am currently trying a 915Hd/DI-105X and a 815 alpha/Thump X trying to unseat it, but currently, nothing can dethrone it.  It is a predictable, boring club with excellent flight and great launch off the deck and the tee.  It creates a perfect bridge between my 3 iron and my 3Deep.  If I could find a place that could apply the black ion finish to the face and sole and have it refinished, I'd probably keep it forever.  

 

2) 1998 Tad Moore Tour Classic.  Of all the 8802 putters I have, this one checks almost all the boxes.  Bettinardi milled, a perfect half shaft offset, dark finish, and a buttery soft copper insert.  Tad did a hot bend on the necks to set the loft/lie/offset perfectly on these.  I have sexier 8802s in my collection, but this one has been a great performer for many years.  Of course, the ho/idiot in me can't keep me from rotating putters.