Should I upgrade my Edge set?

[nc23nick]

Hey everyone, wanted some advice. I have been playing golf now for the last two years. I have been using the Calloway Edge set from Cosco. 

I am currently a 21 HC per 18 Birdies. I play once a week usually, at minimum once every two weeks. For the last 6 months, I consistently score between a 93-97. Got a new PR of 90 the other day! 

My question -- is it worth upgrading my Edge set? I got fitted for a AI Smoke Driver and AI Smoke Irons/G430 Irons (toss up between the two per my fitter).

Thank you in advance for the guidance!

[elight]

What are your goals, and what do you hope the new clubs will achieve toward them? Did the club fitter demonstrate that compared to your current clubs? 

[nc23nick]

5 hours ago, elight said:

What are your goals, and what do you hope the new clubs will achieve toward them? Did the club fitter demonstrate that compared to your current clubs? 

I am wanting to hit more consistent shots. If I could hit my shots straight 9/10 times, that would be the ultimate goal. 

During my fitting, per my fitter, my Driver and the New Driver were going about the same distance (275) but the new driver was more forgiving. For the 7-iron we were using, my Edge goes 175 pretty constantly teed up, while the AI Smoke and G430 was going 200 

[elight]

Interesting. Did you leave the fitting believing that the new driver was more forgiving, or did he just tell that to you? Did he show you the difference in shot dispersion between the two clubs?

The gap between your 7 iron and driver seems way too small. I would expect your driver to be longer or your 7 iron to be shorter. Either way, distance is not your problem as a 21 handicap. In fact, adding distance may hurt you because it leads to greater dispersion. You need to look at where you're losing strokes compared to a 15 handicap. Is it off the tee or on approach? Much more likely, it's short game and putting.

[nc23nick]

9 minutes ago, elight said:

Interesting. Did you leave the fitting believing that the new driver was more forgiving, or did he just tell that to you? Did he show you the difference in shot dispersion between the two clubs?

The gap between your 7 iron and driver seems way too small. I would expect your driver to be longer or your 7 iron to be shorter. Either way, distance is not your problem as a 21 handicap. In fact, adding distance may hurt you because it leads to greater dispersion. You need to look at where you're losing strokes compared to a 15 handicap. Is it off the tee or on approach? Much more likely, it's short game and putting.

I honestly didn't feel much of a difference between a new driver and my current one, which was disappointing. We had the screen on the side showing where my shots were going, and when I "missed" with my the new one, he kept saying how far they were still going and not too far from centerline. 

Totally agree on distance not being an issue -- I feel like 175 with my 7 works great with me. And you are right, my biggest cost of strokes is my putting and I would say my "mid game". 

Between 80-130 yards I am super comfortable -I use my 56 degree or my P-Wedge. I have a huge issue when I get around 50 yards out, as I have to use my 56-degree and adjust power, which I am not great at.  I feel like a new wedge in the bag would help a ton. 

I, for the life of me, cannot use my 6-iron. It never leaves the bag. I have a 5-hyrbid that I can hit pretty constantly that gives me 200 yards. Anything above 200 yards I am pretty much exclusively using that, since I cannot reliably use my 3-wood either. 

[elight]

Before I spent money on new clubs, I would spend money on a good short game instructor who can help you with your short game issues. Finding a club that you like (typically PW, GW or SW) from that 40-80 range is super important. Many prefer a GW for this, although I use my 54 degree. And then lots of practice from the different distances. You really need to get the ball consistently in the hole in three strokes or less from that distance to get the handicap down.

I also have a love-hate with my 6-iron. If you love your 5-hybrid (I play a 4h and a 5h), you could consider also adding a 6h. If you don't like your 3-wood, consider a 5-wood or 7-wood, which will be dramatically easier to hit off the deck (I don't play a 3w). Or just accept that, as a 21 hcp, having a gap between 175 and 200 yards isn't really a huge deal, since you're not hitting a ton of greens from this distance anyway.

[cnosil]

52 minutes ago, nc23nick said:

I am wanting to hit more consistent shots. If I could hit my shots straight 9/10 times, that would be the ultimate goal. 

 

That is an interesting statement and makes me wonder if you understand normal dispersion patterns.   I am a 7 and probably don't hit my shots "straight" 9/10 times.   With a driver PGA pros have a dispersion of about 70 yards wide.   

 

As for the clubs,  there really isn't anything wrong with the edge clubs unless they don't fit your swing.  Since you went to a fitter ideally a comparison between what you currently play and what they recommend with reasoning behind the recommendation would be presented.   I am sure with enough practice you could potentially get to single digits with the clubs you have.   You could also stay at the same play with the fitted clubs.    All that said,  you are on a golf forum and we all love golf and trying new clubs so of course getting a new set is always a good idea   

 

24 minutes ago, nc23nick said:

I have a huge issue when I get around 50 yards out, as I have to use my 56-degree and adjust power, which I am not great at.  I feel like a new wedge in the bag would help a ton. 

a new clubs probably won't fix this,  this is skill development and learning how to hit partial shots different distances.   

My concern with saying get new clubs is that it appears; based on my interpretation of your comments,  that you think new clubs will improve your game and scores.  Maybe they will,  but most often they don't unless the clubs were a really poor fit.    If it were me, I'd probably focus more on skill development as a way to improve scoring and maybe do some research on expectation management for various handicap levels.   Lou Stagner on twitter/X is a great follow for this kind of information.   

[elight]

Agree with cnosil. I also get Lou Stagner's free e-mail newsletter and listen to the Hack It Out podcast, and it has helped me be much more realistic on the course. I also got a Shotscope X5 watch, which gives amazing insights into where you are losing strokes.

For example, I played a round yesterday where I felt like I really didn't strike my driver or irons well for about 2/3 of the round. Yet here is how I compared in that round to a 15 handicap (I'm a 20):

Oops, turns out that my actual issue was terrible putting. I went out today and did 20 minutes of putting work instead of hitting drivers and irons in the simulator.

I also had a revelation recently when watching Golf Sidekick on YouTube, who said that those of us trying to break 90 are probably losing a ton of strokes to penalties, double chips and three-putts. Couldn't have been more spot on. New clubs will not fix any of those problems - only better practice and course management.

[nc23nick]

Thank you so much everyone for all of your input. Sounds like if I want new clubs, just get them, but they probably won't make me much better. Need to take more lessons and maybe expand my bag a little bit. 

 

@elight, totally agree and think I should replace my 6 and wood with hybrids. What additional wedge would you reccomend? My P-Wedge goes 120-130, whole my 56-degree goes from 85-100. I was thinking 60 degree ...? 

[elight]

8 minutes ago, nc23nick said:

Thank you so much everyone for all of your input. Sounds like if I want new clubs, just get them, but they probably won't make me much better. Need to take more lessons and maybe expand my bag a little bit. 

 

@elight, totally agree and think I should replace my 6 and wood with hybrids. What additional wedge would you reccomend? My P-Wedge goes 120-130, whole my 56-degree goes from 85-100. I was thinking 60 degree ...? 

Stay far away from a lob wedge. Listen to the aforementioned Lou Stagner. Arccos data (nearing 1 billion shots) shows pretty conclusively that almost every golfer worse than a 5 or so handicap does better in every situation with a SW than a LW.

It sounds like you're most in need of a gap wedge. At the end of the day, you'll need to pick a utility club that you can adapt to the various short distances - and the SW or GW will get you in a lot less trouble than the LW.

[cnosil]

2 hours ago, elight said:

It sounds like you're most in need of a gap wedge. At the end of the day, you'll need to pick a utility club that you can adapt to the various short distances - and the SW or GW will get you in a lot less trouble than the LW.

I'd agree.  Needs something between PW and SW.    @nc23nick LW would be the next club to get,  but you could also work on just hitting partial distance shots with the your wedges which you would have to do even if you got a LW.