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WITB – 15 years basically unchanged… “If it ain’t broke?”


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As you probably can guess by the pictures, my bag has basically gone unchanged for the last 15+ years.  This isn’t one of those old school WITB posts where someone is just getting back into the game, so their clubs are ancient. I just really (really) like this setup and have struggled to find any reason to replace it.  That being said, I am sure I am well beyond the point of wearing every club in this bag out and am way overdue for a proper full bag fitting.  Enjoy!

Driver – Cleveland HiBore XL Tour 10.5* with Aldila VS Proto 70S, tipped 1”
When I say “if it aint broke”, I mean it… the only reason I ever put this driver in the bag is because the face on my Titleist 983K finally cracked back in 2006 (God I loved that club) and that forced me to get fit into something new.  I know that is ancient in terms of driver technology, but this driver still seems to fit me very well and I trust it to do exactly want I want, so it’s hard to want to change it (this is basically a theme throughout my entire bag and golf career).  It sits slightly open, but I can still comfortably draw it and my launch conditions seem essentially right at what I’d be looking for in a new driver.  

Fairway woods – 15* and 19* Titleist 980f with TT S300s
Other than my putter (from around 2001), I have been playing my fairway woods the longest.  I have had these 980fs with S300s in the bag since 2003.  I have tried countless times over the years to replace them when my buddies tease me about playing steel shafted old school fairway woods, but I have never found fairways woods I can hit as consistently and control as well as these (plus, they go plenty far and I like how they fit in my yardage gapping).  When I have tried to replace them over the years, nearly every modern fairway wood I have tried feels extremely light (and the heads look huge to me) and I struggle to hit them high and to shape them, particularly off the deck.  

Irons – Mizuno MX-23 (3-4) and MP-32 (5-PW) with Rifle 6.0s, bent 1* flat
I have had these in the bag since around 2005.  They feel amazing and do exactly what I want them to do, but they are definitely wearing out after so many years of playing and TONS of practicing off of mats in the MN winters.

Wedges – Mizuno T4 54* and 60*, bent 1* flat
These are the newest clubs in my bag, but they are completely beat up and absolutely need to be replaced.  I put these in the bag around 2014 and the grooves are beyond worn at this point.  Just waiting for the snow to go away so I can do some outdoor testing on grass and find some new wedges. 

Putter – Studio Design 1.5, 34” with Ping blackout
I have played around with other putters over the years, but always come back to my gamer.  It is from 2001 and has been refinished once before (I wipe it with a silicone cloth anytime it gets wet and occasionally otherwise to try and keep it from rusting up).  I have pretty much always used a ping blackout for the grip.  The hosel is bent slightly flatter than stock and I have a small amount of hot melt in it, so the club is a little heavier too – this club basically swings itself and it feels incredible. 
 

Bag Picture.jpg

Woods from Above.jpg

Driver:  :cleveland-small: HiBore XL Tour, Aldila VS Proto 

Fairway:   :titelist-small: 980F 15* and 19* 

Irons:  :mizuno-small: MP-32 5-PW and MX-23 3 -4, Rifle 6.0

Wedges:  :mizuno-small:  MP-T4 54*, 60*, TT Dynamic Gold Wedge Flex

Putter:  :scotty-small:  Studio Design 1.5 

Ball:   :titelist-small: ProV1x

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Cool setup! Love that you play that works.

I played that driver for quite a while and it was fun and the sound was "distinct".  Took a little bit to get used to the 'scooped out' head but I hit some great shots with it.

Good on you for sticking to the 32's. They are a unicorn club and one of the best ever made by Mizzy. I got a set and tried them this year and realized that I wasn't consistent enough to play them regularly. But when you strike the center - my oh my.

Been a while since I've seen a set of steel shafted fwy woods! 

Welcome and glad to have you around.

DriverCobra  Aerojet LS
Woods-
Cobra  LTD 3w 15*, 5W 19*,  F9 24* 
Irons- XXIO X (6-A)

Wedges- Callaway Jaws Raw (54/58)

Putter- Bettinardi BB56
Ball- Maxfli Tour X/Wilson Triad
Buggy- Clicgear 4.0
Bag- Callaway Org 14/Fairway C

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To call the sound of the driver “distinct” is generous – it is so loud I almost feel the need to apologize to other people at the range when I hit it. But if you don’t mind that and the odd look of the top of the club head, the ball flight is pure.  Clearly, I agree with you 100% on the feel of the MP-32s, they are absolute butter. You can make the ball do whatever you want with them, but I would say they are also somewhat more forgiving than they look, but only to an extent - as you experienced, you’ll definitely see it and feel it when you miss the middle.  And yeah - people definitely give me a look the first time they see steel shafted fairway woods... I would be happy to upgrade if I could just find something I hit better, but no luck on that so far

Driver:  :cleveland-small: HiBore XL Tour, Aldila VS Proto 

Fairway:   :titelist-small: 980F 15* and 19* 

Irons:  :mizuno-small: MP-32 5-PW and MX-23 3 -4, Rifle 6.0

Wedges:  :mizuno-small:  MP-T4 54*, 60*, TT Dynamic Gold Wedge Flex

Putter:  :scotty-small:  Studio Design 1.5 

Ball:   :titelist-small: ProV1x

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2 hours ago, MGrand said:

As you probably can guess by the pictures, my bag has basically gone unchanged for the last 15+ years.  This isn’t one of those old school WITB posts where someone is just getting back into the game, so their clubs are ancient. I just really (really) like this setup and have struggled to find any reason to replace it.  That being said, I am sure I am well beyond the point of wearing every club in this bag out and am way overdue for a proper full bag fitting.  Enjoy!

Driver – Cleveland HiBore XL Tour 10.5* with Aldila VS Proto 70S, tipped 1”
When I say “if it aint broke”, I mean it… the only reason I ever put this driver in the bag is because the face on my Titleist 983K finally cracked back in 2006 (God I loved that club) and that forced me to get fit into something new.  I know that is ancient in terms of driver technology, but this driver still seems to fit me very well and I trust it to do exactly want I want, so it’s hard to want to change it (this is basically a theme throughout my entire bag and golf career).  It sits slightly open, but I can still comfortably draw it and my launch conditions seem essentially right at what I’d be looking for in a new driver.  

Fairway woods – 15* and 19* Titleist 980f with TT S300s
Other than my putter (from around 2001), I have been playing my fairway woods the longest.  I have had these 980fs with S300s in the bag since 2003.  I have tried countless times over the years to replace them when my buddies tease me about playing steel shafted old school fairway woods, but I have never found fairways woods I can hit as consistently and control as well as these (plus, they go plenty far and I like how they fit in my yardage gapping).  When I have tried to replace them over the years, nearly every modern fairway wood I have tried feels extremely light (and the heads look huge to me) and I struggle to hit them high and to shape them, particularly off the deck.  

Irons – Mizuno MX-23 (3-4) and MP-32 (5-PW) with Rifle 6.0s, bent 1* flat
I have had these in the bag since around 2005.  They feel amazing and do exactly what I want them to do, but they are definitely wearing out after so many years of playing and TONS of practicing off of mats in the MN winters.

Wedges – Mizuno T4 54* and 60*, bent 1* flat
These are the newest clubs in my bag, but they are completely beat up and absolutely need to be replaced.  I put these in the bag around 2014 and the grooves are beyond worn at this point.  Just waiting for the snow to go away so I can do some outdoor testing on grass and find some new wedges. 

Putter – Studio Design 1.5, 34” with Ping blackout
I have played around with other putters over the years, but always come back to my gamer.  It is from 2001 and has been refinished once before (I wipe it with a silicone cloth anytime it gets wet and occasionally otherwise to try and keep it from rusting up).  I have pretty much always used a ping blackout for the grip.  The hosel is bent slightly flatter than stock and I have a small amount of hot melt in it, so the club is a little heavier too – this club basically swings itself and it feels incredible. 
 

Bag Picture.jpg

Woods from Above.jpg

If I was sporting a 3 index, I wouldn't change a thing 🙂. There is a lot to be said of the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  When one gets past the marketing glitz and hype, more often than not, we're talking subtle increases in performance year over year... maybe even a handful of years.  I suspect you would see some gains from 15 year newer technology - most likely in woods and shafts.  Whether the gains yield something better than a 3 index, hard to say as it seems the journey to 0.0 follows an asymptotic curve.

:ping-small: G410 Plus, 9 Degree Driver 

:ping-small: G400 SFT, 16 Degree 3w

:ping-small: G400 SFT, 19 Degree 5w

:srixon-small:  ZX5 Irons 4-AW 

:ping-small: Glide 2.0 56 Degree SW   (removed from double secret probation 😍)

:EVNROLL: ER5v Putter  (Evnroll ER5v Official Review)

:odyssey-small: AI-One Milled Seven T CH (Currently Under Product Test)

 

 

 

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Very nice bag! And for the age of the clubs they look really damn good.you obviously take care of your clubs and I appreciate that!

Sent from my LM-G900 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Cobra Speedzone 9*

Callaway Mavrik 15*

Sub70 939x hybrid 19*

Sub70 699 Pro 5-pw

Cleveland RTX3 54/58

Ping Sigma2 Tyne darkness

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4 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

If I was sporting a 3 index, I wouldn't change a thing 🙂. There is a lot to be said of the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  When one gets past the marketing glitz and hype, more often than not, we're talking subtle increases in performance year over year... maybe even a handful of years.  I suspect you would see some gains from 15 year newer technology - most likely in woods and shafts.  Whether the gains yield something better than a 3 index, hard to say as it seems the journey to 0.0 follows an asymptotic curve.

+1. And congrats on keeping them in such good condition, I’m the same with my equipment.

  • Titleist TSR2 11° HZRDUS Red CB 50 6.0 w Lamkin UTx Midsize
  • Titleist TSR2 16.5º HZRDUS Red 60 CB 6.0 & TSR2 21º HZRDUS Black 4G 70 6.0 w Lamkin UTx Midsize
  • Mizuno JPX923 HMP 4-GW, T22 54.12WS, T22 58.04DC w Lamkin ST+2 Hybrid Midsize
  • Evnroll EV5.3
  • Maxfli Tour & ProV1
  • Ping Pioneer - MGI Zip Navigator AT
  • Payntr X 002 LE, Ecco Biom C4, FJ DryJoys
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13 hours ago, silver & black said:

I still play Mizzy MP64's. I love them! I will eventually get new irons.... just not sure when...lol.

Nice! Those are some solid irons.  At my pace, you have at least another decade to enjoy them 😂 Just be warned that it is a bit jarring when Mizuno posts a picture of your clubs and calls them "classics"

Driver:  :cleveland-small: HiBore XL Tour, Aldila VS Proto 

Fairway:   :titelist-small: 980F 15* and 19* 

Irons:  :mizuno-small: MP-32 5-PW and MX-23 3 -4, Rifle 6.0

Wedges:  :mizuno-small:  MP-T4 54*, 60*, TT Dynamic Gold Wedge Flex

Putter:  :scotty-small:  Studio Design 1.5 

Ball:   :titelist-small: ProV1x

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Classics!  Those "blades" were played by quite a few folks!  It's nice to see their still getting some swings in.  And those Titleist woods were money!  I remember having them and loving how they felt when you hit them well. 

BNewt51

Golf Addict.... Father of 4.  Pennsylvania Golfer 

Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond - Ventus Red X :callaway-small:

3 Wood:  TS2 14* :titleist-small:

Hybrid:  Titleist TSI 2 18*  (Only used on Soft Rainy days)  image.png.94e8f04243fe8584238d70d382b90525.png

Utility Irons:  4 iron (Steel Fiber FC 110 - Stiff)  image.png.edaa152b6173d27a9529d0f1d7fcc172.png

Irons:  Titleist T-150 4-PW Steel Fiber CW 110 - Stiff  :titleist-small:

Wedges:  Vokey 48-8 Vokey 54-10 Vokey 58-6 all SM9's  :titleist-small:

Putter:  Scotty Cameron Special Select 5 Flowback (custom shop copper finish) or Bettinardi QB8  :titleist-small:  :bettinardi-small:

Ball:  Pro-V1x :titleist-small:

Titleist Tour Carry Bag Black and White  :titleist-small:

Bushnell Range Finder (Patriot Pack)  

*King of taking (borrowing) all my club ***** friends clubs after they've discarded them after a couple months!

 

 

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