Seriously considering dropping a wood......thoughts?

[Lefty19]

Great thing about living here- We can have our opinions and voices -------- wait.... I should be good on that since it isn't Politics nowadays? HAHAHA- I don't know ...

Of course- lessons is the obvious choice but every club manufacturer would go out of business or make 2-3 yr. cycles.... where's the fun on here if that's the case.

Sounds like you have no faith in that driver- get it resolved by fitting, lesson or dump it and go to something that can take care of the slot. Go up on loft whatever- sounds like an issue since you are either dependent on 3wd or really don't need the driver for the courses you play??? The courses you play, is it warranted for the top part of the bag or the bottom to score best? 

Could you dump the 3wd and 5wd for 4wd or turn either one of them into a 4wd with the sleeve. Either way, it doesn't matter unless you use it off the deck? If so, could you use either or and dump the other? 

Looks like the 4H is solid though and everything up to the 43* I assume has no gapping issues etc.

With the gapping from 43*- I consider that a 1* weak 9i in my mind but it's you so.... again- either go see someone about the gapping issues, bounces, swing etc or continue to read my bull.... haha. It sounds like you'd like the 4* gaps would be better and I'm not counting the 43* as a wedge. How about 47*-51*-55*- 59* or 60* then. Have the grinds for each on how you play them from that yardage the most and done. I don't like to get cute with opening or playing delicate shots with the wedges, if I screw up and get in a precarious situation then do my best with a stock shot and take it on the scorecard. I'm not good enough or have the time to be auto from bad spots.

 

 

So- the short answer-

Dump one or the other of the FWs if you want to get the extra wedge

Bend the 48* to 47*,

Buy a wedge to fit the 51* slot 

Bend the 54* to 55*

Either bend the 56* to 59*(dependent on bounce and if you could play it) or get something else.

 

ALL IS DEPENDENT ON YOU....

 

 

David

 

 

 

[UST81]

When I first started golfing and my game was mediocre,I loved wedges due to how easy they are to hit.

Now years later I have progressed greatly with hitting woods.

I am dead accurate and long with all my woods and could never imagine my bag without them.

I think golfers today carry way to many wedges….The greats of yesterday would probably laugh at how many wedges you guys think you need

Edited November 26, 2021 by UST81
Misspelled word

[John Bachman]

For most of the summer I carried a driver, 3 wood and 19 degree hybrid. Then besides my 4-PW I played 50-55-60 degree wedges. For myself I found that the 50 & 55 had too much overlap for me so I switched back to my old set up. Moved my hybrid to 17 degrees and put a 3 iron in the bag. My wedges are now 52 and 58. It seems to set up nice for me and I like to hit 3/4 and knock down shots. Some of it may also be where you play most of your golf and what clubs you really don’t need in the bag. 

[revkev]

On 11/24/2021 at 4:37 PM, puttnfool said:

Drop the 3wd and the 5wd and pick up a 4wd.

That's one "problem" solved.

I was going to suggest this one for consideration although it could be accomplished by keeping one or the otter and adjusting up or down.

 

Good luck 

[fozcycle]

Today I pulled the 3W from my bag, adjusted my 5-6W from 20* to 17* and added my 5 iron.  Only a couple holes missed the 3W…..gonna play this way for awhile and see if 5he 5 iron add makes sense. Used the 5 iron several times today.

[BostonSal]

My 2021 golf season is over, but I plan to be back out there in April as long as all of the requisite parts are still operational.

After a complete bag overhaul in 2009, I once again accomplished the same by the end of 2021.

That happened with miscues, hiccups, and returns along the way, needless to say.

But I think we're good now.

 

And seriously, I have decided to not drop a wood or anything else.

I need fourteen clubs for the formally organized Member-Guest.

I do enter that to reciprocate my own invitation to a similar event. 

Other than that, I play with other geezers on weekday mornings, nobody cares, and I really did buy a Titleist Cart 15 StaDry bag.

Awesome bag, truth be told.  Highly recommended for any other shameless cheaters out there--or young guys with "alignment sticks."

 

Therefore, I won't be dropping any of my new but non-matching woods. Or anything else.

At most, I'll be putting a red, off-limits pouch over one of my three utility long irons.  

I don't need three of those.  With odd metals, however, I opted for a real "set" of irons like the old days. 

 

So it's three "woods,"

a complete set of eight numbered irons so I can go out like I came in,

three wedges with six-degree gaps after a 42º 9-iron,

and a putter.  That, unfortunately, comes to fifteen sticks, and I won't worry about it. 

  

TaylorMade 300___307cc 13.5º driver / Mitsubishi MiDi Proto

Titleist TSi2___16.5º fairway wood  /  Aldila Tour Blue 65

Ping G425 Max___20.5° fairway wood  /  Ping Alta CB 65 Red

Titleist U505___2, 3, 4  /  Mitsubishi Kuro Kage

Titleist T200___5  /  Mitsubishi Kuro Kage

Titleist T100___6, 7, 8, 9  /  Mitsubishi Kuro Kage

Titleist T100S___GW (48°)  /  Mitsubishi Kuro Kage

Titleist SM8___54-10, 60-04  /  Mitsubishi Kuro Kage

Tad Moore Chicopee___putter /  hickory shaft

Titleist Pro V1x___ball

Somewhere between three and four grand.

My club buying days are now officially over unless the senile dementia gets worse,

 

 

 

 

[HAC]

 

[Specneeds]

Seems the 5 wood is expendable based on your data.  As far as wedge gap is concerned I’d bend your 108 yard cub a degree or 2 to tighten that gap unless your 9 iron is too tight to the pitching Wedge then I might add a degree of loft to the wedge. I’m not a great feel player so I’ve tinkered with wedges to meet my needs - I carry 4 including a 58 that is pretty good out of the sand & on flop shots - you might benefit from one of those.

[Shank Aaron]

Tons of responses, and I truly appreciate the feedback. There's a lot to catch up on in this thread with the Holiday weekend, but every opinion given by y'all is appreciated. I think both woods and the 4h will take turns on the bench to test out how things work with the courses and distances I play (typically 6200-6400 by tournament/league  flighting). One of the things I didn't clear up that I meant to was with the wedges. I know the lessons I'm currently taking over the winter will either help, or flat out solve a bunch of my issues, but the main thing I wanted to accomplish with adding a wedge was more versatility/flexibility for my game. The majority of my approach shots are within 120 yards, with the bulk of those being 80 and closer. 

 

At the end of the day, the plan is to grind the lesson plan, and apply everything over the winter and experiment with my set up as much as possible. Again, thanks to all of you for the input. I'll post some updates on my progress as time goes. Cheers, boys.

[puttnfool]

On 11/27/2021 at 8:35 AM, revkev said:

I was going to suggest this one for consideration although it could be accomplished by keeping one or the otter and adjusting up or down.

 

Good luck 

Maybe.  Maybe not.  I'm of the feeling that a 4wd is completely different than a high lofted 3wd or strong lofted 5wd.  Loft is only one variable.

[Shank Aaron]

On 12/6/2021 at 8:04 PM, puttnfool said:

Maybe.  Maybe not.  I'm of the feeling that a 4wd is completely different than a high lofted 3wd or strong lofted 5wd.  Loft is only one variable.

I agree completely. I've tried using a 4w in the past, albeit briefly, and never really saw any benefits of measure. Since I started this thread I've dusted a couple off and have been practicing and comparing them to give the 4w an honest shot for this. Like I said, for the tournament distances I play the larger gap between the driver and the nearest wood is really irrelevant. I don't need the two to be within 30 yards of each other. 

[Lefty19]

2 hours ago, Shank Aaron said:

I agree completely. I've tried using a 4w in the past, albeit briefly, and never really saw any benefits of measure. Since I started this thread I've dusted a couple off and have been practicing and comparing them to give the 4w an honest shot for this. Like I said, for the tournament distances I play the larger gap between the driver and the nearest wood is really irrelevant. I don't need the two to be within 30 yards of each other. 

I think it all is dependent on the club and model itself. It looks like some of the manufacturers are offering a true 4wd etc but the size about the same but don't know what they are changing beyond the loft itself. 

It all matters on how you perceive it, hit it to gain trust in it. 

[wwaldo]

This may have been covered already but you should play whatever enhances your game. Don't worry about what other people play. I realized years ago I was carrying several woods and irons I never used... 5W, 3I, 4I.. I mean never unless it was a punch with one of the irons. I had a PW and SW and that was it. I read numerous articles here and elsewhere and watched dozens of YouTube videos and then went to my favorite Pro and discussed it with him. After much experimentation and purchasing of different wedges (My brother was appreciative of all my hand me downs), I settled on PW-44, UW-49, SW-54, and a LW-60 and they have made my game much better. No more half swings. Good Luck!

[puttnfool]

On 12/9/2021 at 9:58 AM, Lefty19 said:

I think it all is dependent on the club and model itself. It looks like some of the manufacturers are offering a true 4wd etc but the size about the same but don't know what they are changing beyond the loft itself. 

It all matters on how you perceive it, hit it to gain trust in it. 

To be a "true" 4wd, I'd say the length, loft, and head weight should be changed.  Otherwise, it's just a HL3wd or strong 5wd.  That thought process likely stems from the fact that I have been building my own clubs since 2000 and that influences the way I think.

[Lefty19]

44 minutes ago, puttnfool said:

To be a "true" 4wd, I'd say the length, loft, and head weight should be changed.  Otherwise, it's just a HL3wd or strong 5wd.  That thought process likely stems from the fact that I have been building my own clubs since 2000 and that influences the way I think.

I absolutely agree with you on that thought... I intentionally made sure my 3HL was right between in length the 3 and 5 wd. I wanted the control of the loft and length as it fits the yardage I want off the tee and off the deck. I "dabbled" a lot for the longest time and learned a lot from a decent clubmaker. Once I got "ego" out of the way with age, I started to play better and within myself. 

 

David

[mywong23]

The comforting fact is that you always get to change your lineup from round to round...

and if you're just practicing; no harm with carrying 15/16 clubs in bag.

However, assuming you are satisfied with the gapping and delta distances from one wedge to another;

then you can rule out swapping out or bending an existing wedge.

Try out a 60, or 62 or 64 wedge.   see what your full and 3/4 swing yardages are.   

do they fill a distance you desire?   

 

If not, I go along with taking wedge lessons - to promote better

control over the clubs already in your bag. .

Bottom line is more control over half swings with delicate, slopey lies and uneven grass.

If so, I'd pick just two of your wedges (8* gap) to work on the touch shots - these two will be your

go-to wedges.   Alternate shots with these two on various lies, slopes, thickness of light rough.

 

Good luck on mastering these and lowering your index

[funkyjudge]

On 11/24/2021 at 8:48 AM, BostonSal said:

The best way to solve that problem is with a fifteen-slot cart bag.

 

I went the opposite route for my winter golf tour event yesterday because I was tired of carrying a bag with 14 clubs in it (some courses don’t allow carts of any type, even push carts, and other courses permit motorized carts but only on paved cart paths). My solution, which some of the better tour players have been doing a lot, is to have only 12 clubs in my carry bag. I dropped my 4-wood, leaving no fairway woods in the bag, and also took my 6-iron out of the bag.  My rationale for doing this is that I can hit my 17* #2 hybrid almost as far off the deck (but not off the tee) as I hit the 16.5* 4-wood and if I face a shot where I would normally hit the 6-iron, I can just choke-down on my 5-iron to take off about 12 yards.

So, as for whether to reduce the bag by one fairway wood, I have reduced it to zero of them, at least for the winter tour season. Who knows if, or when, the 4-wood or another fairway wood will make it back into the bag. I do, however, see the 6-iron going back in my bag, possibly as soon as next week’s tour event. I had a tee shot on one par-3 and approach shots on a few par-4 holes yesterday where I would normally have hit my 6-iron, and I came up short twice and went long over the back of the green or long left a couple times.

Edited December 10, 2021 by funkyjudge

[karenhar]

I would definitely replace the 5w with a wedge that is in between your PW and AW. The 5w is not as reliable as your hybrid and the best way to lower your scores is to improve your short game so that you have shorter putts

[HDTVMAN]

If I was fitting you I'd replace the 56° with a 58°.  Not much sense having a 2° wedge difference. Min should be 4°.

[funkyjudge]

On 12/10/2021 at 5:59 PM, HDTVMAN said:

If I was fitting you I'd replace the 56° with a 58°.  Not much sense having a 2° wedge difference. Min should be 4°.

I’d also like to see a wedge that is between the 43* PW and the 48* AW (and maybe bend the AW weaker to at least 49* loft if adding a “tweener” there).  And absolutely replace the 56* wedge with a 58* or 59* wedge.  The yardage gap between his PW and AW is way too high, and there is almost no yardage gap between the 54* and 56* wedges (and no logical reason to stay with a 56* wedge).

Edited December 13, 2021 by funkyjudge