2024 What is safe in your bag? What's on the chopping block?

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

3 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

With the new Mizuno wedges I am seriously considering going to swap out my Ping Glides for them. Will need to find them here, but it's that style of wedge that seems to really fit my ideals. 

My swing by the shop on Thursday and see what new they have in and what is available in lefty for testing.

I’m feeling this way about the zip cores right now. Really want to try them.

[ejgaudette]

6 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

I’m feeling this way about the zip cores right now. Really want to try them.

Wedges need replacing for sure. Clubs are a few years old and could really use some fresh grooves, just trying to avoid spending $550 on a set

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

1 hour ago, ejgaudette said:

Wedges need replacing for sure. Clubs are a few years old and could really use some fresh grooves, just trying to avoid spending $550 on a set

That's my thought to, I really don't want to buy current models at $160 a whack granted I would only be buying 2. I can get another year out of mine....ebay is great but even a year removed still looking at $120 a pop

[ejgaudette]

7 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

That's my thought to, I really don't want to buy current models at $160 a whack granted I would only be buying 2. I can get another year out of mine....ebay is great but even a year removed still looking at $120 a pop

Exactly, I would love to spend like 100 a wedge right about now, as I could use 3 really. Been looking places and that will be a tough ask if I want them in good condition

[Placasse61]

My Driver and 3 wood Ping G410 are safe as well as my gifted Irons ping G710. Old bubble shaft 5 wood, taylor made burner 3 hybrid are not safe, and ping glide 2 (54 and 60) are out. I do like the glides (black) but need better grooves

[Jim Shaw]

my driver, putter, 56 degree and 50 degree wedge are safe, the rest need to be replaced..

[vandyland]

Just bought new 5 and 6 irons to go with my 7 iron that I was demoing. I went with New Level Gi22s which are much larger and more forgiving than my Ben Hogan PTxPros. So now I am working on blending the two sets since the lofts are different. There is about a 5-6 yd gap between the two 7 irons so I may just carry two 7 irons for the time being. So right now my bag looks like this:

Driver - Cobra XB 10.5 with OttoPhlex Shaft (very safe...I hope! It has been the best club in my bag since going to the OttoPhlex)
Hybrid - Rogue ST Max 18* with regular HYB shaft (this has been a bit hooky lately so I hope it is not on the chopping block but I have not been great with it)
5/6/7 irons - New Level Gi22
7/8/9/PW - Ben Hogan PTxPros (I guess these could be on the chopping block in case I LOVE the Gi22s, in any event I would keep the Ben Hogans)
GW - Ping Eye 2 BeCu 
SW - Ben Hogan Equalizer II/Cobra Radspeed (depends on weather, Ben Hogan in good conditions and Cobra in wet dormant conditions)
LW - Ping Glide 3.0
Putter - LAB DF 2.1

I need everything to be safe here. I spent too much money on equipment in the last year and not enough on instruction so I am trying to re-allocate funds towards LEARNING to play better rather than BUYING a better game. 

[ole gray]

12 hours ago, Lacassem said:

I’m feeling this way about the zip cores right now. Really want to try them.

They ain't cheap but they are sweet!  Had mine only two rounds and had eye opening success both times.

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

19 minutes ago, ole gray said:

They ain't cheap but they are sweet!  Had mine only two rounds and had eye opening success both times.

No wedge is cheap unfortunstely

[chisag]

8 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

No wedge is cheap unfortunstely

 

... When I had my wedge fitting I was a little surprised how similar all of them were when it came to performance, if they had similar grinds. Spin, trajectory and distance control were just about identical. Where the differed was feel and look at address. For me the MG3's stood out and they have become my favorite all time wedges. I ended up replacing my set wedge with a 46* MG3. I honestly don't think they are any different than the Vokeys I played previously but I just have much more confidence with them. When you find wedges you really love, the price is a little easier to stomach. 

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

43 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... When I had my wedge fitting I was a little surprised how similar all of them were when it came to performance, if they had similar grinds. Spin, trajectory and distance control were just about identical. Where the differed was feel and look at address. For me the MG3's stood out and they have become my favorite all time wedges. I ended up replacing my set wedge with a 46* MG3. I honestly don't think they are any different than the Vokeys I played previously but I just have much more confidence with them. When you find wedges you really love, the price is a little easier to stomach. 

I love the vokeys but also enjoyed my Cleveland’s years ago. My current gamers are performing just fine….but I’m a low key Ho and I want something new

[GolfSpy_APH]

I am going to add Putter to this list for 2023. Although I don't think anything will beat out my StrokeLab 7 and I did try the Ping Fetch at the end of the year it is an area I am going to experiment a bit more with and see if maybe there is something that is outside my comfortzone which may end up working better long term. 

[tsheaffer23]

$$$$ allowing, the following will be replaced this season. Driver, both fairway woods, both hybrids and all irons. The only items that will remain are my two new wedges and putter. My driver is 10 years old, fairway woods are 11-12 years old respectively, my irons are also 10 years old. 

[mellowe4]

Driver G400 is out, G430 will be in.

Ping and Mizuno Hybrids are on the way out, Don't know who gonna show up.

everything else is good.

Love the new Maxfli balls from Dick's !!!!!

[Bstubby11]

After getting a new driver and rangefinder last year, and irons the year before.  I have wedges and carry bag to upgrade.  After those I will be mostly sticking to what I have.  Haven't done a ton of research but would like to try out Cleveland, Callaway and Teitleist wedges.  

As for the bag I hope to find a good carry bag as I enjoy walking 9 holes a few nights a week for a little extra exercise!

[GPS111]

So far the putter and woods are safe.  They've been worked or changed in the last couple seasons. Irons are 6 years old and in jeopardy.  Begging for a tech upgrade.

[Raymaz]

I change clubs too often—I was fitted once but I like trading for used clubs. I am three weeks out from a knee replacement so I don’t know how my golf will evolve. However, I have used Wilson d7 irons (6-per, I have the 5 but it mostly stays home) for 15 months and they are amazing irons. The Ping Scottsdale blade has amazing feel so it stays. I’m love my Ping G425 5 wood and wedges are solid. Other woods and hybrids are up for grabs. See how I play, but obviously it will take some months to get my distance back.

[Shank Aaron]

The Betti Inovai 6 Poison Proto is the only thing safe. Everything else should be very afraid..... 

[CoolBreezeGolf]

My Cameron is "Safe". Pro V1 ball is definitely safe since it listens to commands very well... Sit Dog Sit, Bite Dog Bite, Go Dog Go. . Everything else in the bag is always up for debate, tweaking, and upgrading. They're safe so long as they do what they're told. Clubs shouldn't bite the hand that feeds it. Cheers!!!

[Gregger]

Driver, woods, putter,  wedges all safe. May consider getting new irons with proper fitting. In the running are the new Srixon, Mizuno and cobra irons..

[NoRebound]

My Scotty Cameron Newport 2 is safe for 2023, although I keep weighing the idea of having it cleaned up before the season heats up.

My bag is safe too.  The Ogio blue/yellow tropical bag goes into season three.  A friend of mine spied it in my garage last week and said "I love that you have a bag that doesn't say you think you've on the verge of going pro."

Everything else is in the crosshairs.  My driver is eight years old, my fairway, hybrids, irons and wedges are seven.  I've aged, my game has changed and technology has improved.  It's time for a refresh.

Looking for a good fitter in the Pittsburgh area for this project since mine moved on a while ago.  

 

[Bob T]

My bag has recently been revamped.  New (to me) driver is working well - Mizuno ST-Z 9.5 degree with UST Proforce V2 stiff shaft is dialed in and consistently keeping me in the fairway unless I miss.  It's as long or longer for me than my previous drivers.  I tried a Callaway Epic Max LS and just did not like it at all.  Srixon ZX7 was too inconsistent for me. 

Fairway wood is a 16-degree Cobra F7 with Fujikura Pro 65g R flex shaft.  It's been with me for 4 years.  Never have hit another FW wood better. 

Recent adoption of a Cobra King Tec 22-degree hybrid with Mitsubishi MMT R flex shaft.  Always keeps the right side out of play - very consistent. 

Wilson D9 irons with KBS MAX 85g R flex steel shafts have been with me for almost 2 years.  They are a huge improvement over my Callaway Rogue X irons.  Long and consistent.  That said, I am exploring an iron change.  I'm looking for a little more feel and control.  The D9s are incredibly forgiving and are super long.  I hit Wilson D9 Forged in the store this week and was very impressed.  With D300 S flex steel, the 7 iron was going 160-165 down the middle.  The R flex shafts with the D9 Forged were not as consistent for me.  Also hit XXIO Forged Black (2021 leftovers, graphite S flex) but the counterweighted grips which are very small diameter are not for me.  I did like the feel, but fooling with weighting and grips to get the club balance right is too much work.  

Wedges will stay put - Vokey SM8 50/12 F grind, Ping Glide 3.0 SS 54/12, and Vokey SM8 58/12 D grind.  Love them all. I'll replace them as the grooves wear out probably like-for-like. 

Have three rounds on my favorite putter ever - Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 35 inch, Lamkin Sink Fit Pistol grip.  It will be a long-term relationship.  

[officedog]

My putter is safe. I repace my wedges every year as I do my grips on my irons. Also replacing my driver with a new Callaway Paradym 9⁰ with a stiff shaft. I was fitted for it by someone who actually knew what he was doing. Added 3mph of swing speed, better launch angle and lower spin rate. Had some club credits and a great trade-in which made it very affordable. Also invested in learning the Rotary Swing Tour (RST) method of improving my swing biomechanics. It's the best golf swing philosophy I've ever seen. Recommend you check it out. It's improved my ball striking immensely. 

[officedog]

22 hours ago, vandyland said:

Just bought new 5 and 6 irons to go with my 7 iron that I was demoing. I went with New Level Gi22s which are much larger and more forgiving than my Ben Hogan PTxPros. So now I am working on blending the two sets since the lofts are different. There is about a 5-6 yd gap between the two 7 irons so I may just carry two 7 irons for the time being. So right now my bag looks like this:

Driver - Cobra XB 10.5 with OttoPhlex Shaft (very safe...I hope! It has been the best club in my bag since going to the OttoPhlex)
Hybrid - Rogue ST Max 18* with regular HYB shaft (this has been a bit hooky lately so I hope it is not on the chopping block but I have not been great with it)
5/6/7 irons - New Level Gi22
7/8/9/PW - Ben Hogan PTxPros (I guess these could be on the chopping block in case I LOVE the Gi22s, in any event I would keep the Ben Hogans)
GW - Ping Eye 2 BeCu 
SW - Ben Hogan Equalizer II/Cobra Radspeed (depends on weather, Ben Hogan in good conditions and Cobra in wet dormant conditions)
LW - Ping Glide 3.0
Putter - LAB DF 2.1

I need everything to be safe here. I spent too much money on equipment in the last year and not enough on instruction so I am trying to re-allocate funds towards LEARNING to play better rather than BUYING a better game. 

Check out the Rotary Swing Tour (RST) method. This swing philosophy focuses on the biomechanics of the golf swing and not just subjective tips.

[Andrew75]

I tournament play with 10 or, more often, 11 clubs and rotation starts at the ends, but the clubs in that rotation are fairly safe.  All clubs have been tested and the last year or so stabilized. Out more than in are the Unicorn, Cleveland's 420cc 16 degree 2 wood, and my Mizuno S18 45/5 wedge. Little used is my TR21 Honma 24* hybrid, but given the right track it stands ready. More out than in, my Epon 210kgx 58/11 wedge. But the 50/10 (bent to 49/9) of the same Epon model is a stalwart. In after extensive testing and stiff competition are the 7-AW of Yamaha UD+2 irons. 

[DiscipleofPenick]

For once nothing in my bag is on the block. I am probably going to upgrade my irons in a year or so but I like my Titleist CBs so much I would very likely just get the newest set of those.

[Smackey17]

I thought I was going to change out my driver, but did a driver shootout with my Ping G400 Max (with shortened shaft) vs. the new G430 (full length shaft) and it was at best a push for the G430. Smash factor on the G400 was consistently higher (1.46 - 1.51), which netted better distances over the slightly higher swing speed (about 1 mph) from the G430.

I keep going back and forth on my 4 hybrid and 5 iron, replacing them with a 7 wood and 9 wood, respectively, then going back to the 4h/5i. Right now I have the woods in the bag and will give them a couple of weeks more of trial on course. On the range the 7 & 9 win every time. I'm more of a sweeper so in theory they should outperform the hybrid and iron on course as well.

Ongoing putter shootouts have yet to find a better solution than my Odyssey O-Works Tank.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Smackey17
typos

[Beakbryce]

On 11/28/2022 at 2:37 PM, ballhawk said:

Nothing is safe in my bag and they may not make it passed the 9th hole........Even the bag is not safe anymore.....

I hope there isn't a lake at the ninth hole!

That would be bad.

[ChuckZ]

Have tried the new TSR drivers and am sticking with my TSI for this cycle.  Also my 15* TSI fairway is in the safe zone.  Have been talking with my Titleist certified local fitters at my favorite golf shop about the new TSR hybrids or a combination of adding another fairway and one hybrid vs two hybrids.  Am playing Titleist 818s and maybe time to consider an upgrade, only if I can see improvement.  My current pretty dialed in.  Guess Fujikura Speeder shafts are the key.  T300 irons should be due out in late September and definitely on my GPS, but my SM9s are safe.  No new bag this year, love the personalized Titleist black tour midsize bag.  Putters are safe, am very happy with my two gamers.    

[Team31m]

The only clubs that are safe in my bag are my T200 irons and my rogue heavenwood. Driver is definitely on the chopping block. Fairly comfortable with my wedges although could see myself switching those out as well.