Ice Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I see some golfers out there who have serious potential but they have no idea how to set a bag up... They buy what looks cool and play with it. They play what the pros play. They play what their favorite brand just released... regardless of specs or how it works. Never being fitted. I've started pondering the question of why I chose what I chose and why others choose what they choose... Why is club x in your bag? Here's my philosophy on bag set-up: There are six essential clubs in every golfer's bag. I believe if you truly worked at it you could drop the other 8 clubs and play no worse that you do with 14. They are: You tee club. For 98% of golfers, this is a driver. Some choose a lower lofted 3 wood. The one that gives the best combination of distance AND accuracy is probably the best option. 17 yards farther is meaningless if it's 7 yards farther into the water. 225 Yard club. MUST be based on hitting off the deck! How often do you need to hit a club farther off the ground? Unless it's Bethpage Black, it will only happen with a horrible tee shot. If it's a par 5, you don't need to, you want to go for the green. That's up to the golfer. In my case it's my 7 wood. 150 yard club. Usually in the 6-8 iron range. Not 145 or 155, 150. It's often the only marked distance on a fairway because it's the distance that you SHOULD be hitting the green from, 150 and in. Build the entire iron set around this club. 100 yard club. Needs to be a great utility club to cover the gap down to the next wedge you choose. It it's still a PW or more, pick a versatile one not a super chunky max distance one. This club doubles at the next one for me. Highest lofted wedge. I'm a firm believer you don't need more than 56-58 degrees of loft to shoot your best scores. Higher is very fun (I own multiple high lob wedges to play around with...). a 58 can be opened to do almost anything. Putter. Don't blow $400 on the driver you'll use maybe a dozen times a round. Spend the money on a custom fit putter (even if it's only $140 (like mine) make sure it's the best for you) that you'll use the most times a round and will save you the most strokes. From there, I build the rest of the bag around what I need. I'm more of a feel player inside 100 so I don't need loads of wedges for different full swing gaps. I'm considering dropping the 3 wood and bagging a 58* ATV for one more option... If you take a lot of long shots or need lots of tee options,start at the top. If you miss a lot of greens, wedges would be the better starting point. I don't expect essays like I just wrote... how do you decide how to organize your bag? What's In The Bag: Adams 9064LS Ben Hogan Edge CFT Ti Ben Hogan Apex Edge 4-PW TaylorMade ATV 50* 54* Mizuno Bettinardi BC3 Tour Issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBones Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I have a pretty traditional bag, D, 2 FW/Hy, 3-PW, 52*, 56*, and putter. I do rotate out a couple drivers, I have one that is the every day gamer and I have one for dry conditions or scrambles (46" XS shaft and 7.5* head). I also rotate the 3I and 60*, based on the length of course I'm playing and how I'm hitting the ball; I have been struggling with the woods, so the 3I has been in the bag most of the year, because it's an automatic fairway. Follow @GolfspyBones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie3Jack Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I base it off what my statistical research shows me. For my level of play (sub-scratch), shots from 175-225 yards are the most important part as that is what separates the level of golf in general. This is where golfers of my handicap range are likely to leave themselves with more difficult up-and-downs and 40+ foot birdie putts that they can easily 3-putt. Obviously, driving and putting and short game are important, but for my level of play 175-225 yards has the most amount of importance. My research on Tour shows that the best players from 175-225 yards are typically carrying a bag setup of: Driver 3-wood Hybrid/5-wood/2-iron 3-PW SW LW I don't own a 5-wood or 2-iron, but carry an 18° hybrid. I always keep that in my bag (which I'll get to in a bit). My rule of thumb is that if I'm confident that I will not need my 3-iron on an approach shot, I will leave it at home and carry the gap wedge in its place. But if I am pretty sure I'll need the 3-iron on an approach shot, even if it's one approach shot, I bag it and leave the gap wedge at home. For higher handicappers they could probably stand to use another hybrid in place of the 3-iron or even the 4-iron. For my bag, I believe the hybrid should be the ‘best' club in your bag. That is the club you should be able to hit the best time and time again because you are going to hit it a good ways and be able to hit it out of very difficult lies. You also will need it off the tee from time to time and it is nice if you can manipulate the ball flight to play for certain distances. Difficult to do that with any other club because the 3-wood generally has too big of a head design and the irons tend to struggle out of high rough. I use a 52° GW, 55° SW and a 60° LW. The Gap wedge is designed solely for full swings. Chips and pitches I can always manipulate the SW to get the ball to do what I want. If I'm not bagging the GW, I can generally hit a shot reasonably close to the flag with a soft PW. That's why I leave the GW at home if I may need a 3-iron on an approach shot, I simply cannot hit a soft hybrid with consistency that will find the green if I need a 3-iron. I go with the 55° as that is perfectly yardage gapped between my GW and LW. I also prefer the added loft than a 54° because I have a little more difficult getting loft on short chips and pitches than I do de-lofting them. Same with the LW. 3JACK Author of Pro Golf Synopsis. The Moneyball approach to golf strategy and analysis.Driver: Wishon 919THI, 10° loft, UST Mamiya VTS Red 7x, 44-3/8” long, 2,825 kg/cm^2 MOIGONZO WOOD: confidential2-Hybrid: Mizuno Fli-HiCLK, 17° loft, 40-7/8" KBS Tour Hybrid shaft (stiff)3-Hybrid: Mizuno Fli-HiCLK, 20° loft, 40" KBS Tour Hybrid shaft (stiff)4-6 iron: Wishon 575MMC (CB)7-PW: Wishon 575MMC (MB)SW: Edel Golf driver grind, 52° loft, 16° bounce, Nippon WV 125 shaft.LW: Edel Golf Digger Grind, 60° loft, 27° bounce, Nippon WV 125 ShaftPutter: Edel Golf Columbia Custom Made, 35" long, 72° lie angle, 3° loft. Ball: Titleist Pro V1xGrips: PURE Grips P2 Wrap (red)Shoes: FootJoy Dry-Joy (black, size 14)3Jack's Golf Blog - http://3jack.blogspot.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moecat Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I like Ice's premise, but would only argue that one may still want to carry back-ups for the tee shot/225/150/100/lofted wedge clubs. Simply because no matter how hard you work with those exact clubs, sometimes the best laid plans can and do go awry on the golf course. Also, that 75 yard gap between 150 and 225 is quite a bit to account for. The 175-200 yard distance is what one often faces with a 2nd shot on a par-4 hole. Does choking down on the 225-yard club really do the trick, especially if the approach is narrow, the green is well protected, and/or the ball has to carry over a significant hazard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 I like Ice's premise, but would only argue that one may still want to carry back-ups for the tee shot/225/150/100/lofted wedge clubs. Simply because no matter how hard you work with those exact clubs, sometimes the best laid plans can and do go awry on the golf course. Also, that 75 yard gap between 150 and 225 is quite a bit to account for. The 175-200 yard distance is what one often faces with a 2nd shot on a par-4 hole. Does choking down on the 225-yard club really do the trick, especially if the approach is narrow, the green is well protected, and/or the ball has to carry over a significant hazard? To answer the statement about 175-200, it can totally be mastered- doing it with a 225 club. I'll still totally agree that you need a club for that range too. Often times an iron, as I said build the iron set around 150 club. What's In The Bag: Adams 9064LS Ben Hogan Edge CFT Ti Ben Hogan Apex Edge 4-PW TaylorMade ATV 50* 54* Mizuno Bettinardi BC3 Tour Issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanoito Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 This year's champion at our club won with 5 clubs in his bag: 5W, 7 and 9 iron, SW and putter. He hit his 5W about 270 yards and longer than his driver, so no need for the big stick. The rest of his game is all about choking down and half swings. I also played a 3-club tournament. I chose a 3h, 7i and SW (used my hybrid to putt) and shot a 90, which is actually the same or better than when my bag is full. So yes, I agree with you. But if were golfers were that obedient and rational, we wouldn't have these forums to enjoy SpeedZone 9* w/ Aldila Rogue Silver 60 S X2 Hot 3 Deep 14.5* w/ Aldila Tour Green 75 S JetSpeed 5W 19* w/ Matrix Velox T 69 S OR Super LS 3H 19* w/ Kuro Kage Black 80 S JPX919 Forged 4-PW w/ Modus3 105 S Vokey SM7 50/08F, 54/14F & 58/08M w/ Modus3 115 Wedge ER1 34" w/ SuperStroke Fatso 2.0 Pro / H2NO Lite Cart Bag / 3.0 / NX7 Pro LRF My reviews: MLA Putter // Titleist SM7 // PING i500 // PuttOUT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skihippy Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 OK i can say I completely agree.. My break down goes 10.5 degree driver hit about 270 avg. 17 degree FW around 230 avg. 20 degree hybrid 210 avg. 4-PW standard loft (real standard loft not this jacked up stuff) 4 iron 200 5 iron 185 6 iron 175 7 iron 165 8 iron 155 9 iron 145 46 P Wedge 130 50 A wedge 120 54 S wedge 110 58 L wedge 90 I too am a feel player from 100 yards and in!! Whats in the bag: Titleist 910D2 10.5 Graphite Design Y7-S Adams 1600 proto 14.5 Graphite Design AD DJ Titleist 910F 17 Ust Tour Black Titleist 910H 22 Diamana Kali Adams Idea Pro A12 4-9 KBS C Taper Titleist Vokey SM4 46 degree w/ DG Spinner Mizuno MP R12 50-54-58 DG spinner Ping Redwood ZB Ball Nike 20XI-X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie3Jack Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 My breakdown is: Driver: 285 yards 3-wood: 250 yards Hybrid: 235 yards 3-iron: 220 yards 4-iron: 208 yards 5-iron: 195 yards 6-iron: 182 yards 7-iron: 170 yards 8-iron: 158 yards 9-iron: 147 yards PW: 135 yards AW: 122 yards SW: 108 yards LW: 90 yards 3JACK Author of Pro Golf Synopsis. The Moneyball approach to golf strategy and analysis.Driver: Wishon 919THI, 10° loft, UST Mamiya VTS Red 7x, 44-3/8” long, 2,825 kg/cm^2 MOIGONZO WOOD: confidential2-Hybrid: Mizuno Fli-HiCLK, 17° loft, 40-7/8" KBS Tour Hybrid shaft (stiff)3-Hybrid: Mizuno Fli-HiCLK, 20° loft, 40" KBS Tour Hybrid shaft (stiff)4-6 iron: Wishon 575MMC (CB)7-PW: Wishon 575MMC (MB)SW: Edel Golf driver grind, 52° loft, 16° bounce, Nippon WV 125 shaft.LW: Edel Golf Digger Grind, 60° loft, 27° bounce, Nippon WV 125 ShaftPutter: Edel Golf Columbia Custom Made, 35" long, 72° lie angle, 3° loft. Ball: Titleist Pro V1xGrips: PURE Grips P2 Wrap (red)Shoes: FootJoy Dry-Joy (black, size 14)3Jack's Golf Blog - http://3jack.blogspot.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GolfSpy WD Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I still play the white tees, so 175-200 are usually the important distances for me. If I needed 225, I could probably go with a soft 3W. Driver: 270 yards 3-wood: 240 yards 19* H: 215 yards 24* H: 200 yards 5-iron: 184 yards 6-iron: 172 yards 7-iron: 160 yards 8-iron: 148 yards 9-iron: 135 yards PW: 122 yards 52*: 100 yards 56*: 90 yards 60*: 80 yards --this is why I need to bend my 52* to 50* and my 56* to 55*. @GolfSpy_WD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Tuna Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Interesting topic. I find myself in lots of weird yardages so it wouldn't work quite so well for me. For example I cannot come up with the last time I had a 150 yard shot this year but a lot of 130's and 170's instead, though a lot of that is due to the fact I tee off with a hybrid most of the time. I laught at your claims to fight a zombie apocalypse when most of you can't stand up to a Spider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoverRick Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I love the topic. I disagree with the 225 number. I played for many months with no clubs that were over 200 yards. I believe if you are farther out than that you are better off laying up to your favorite yardage and getting up and down from there. I have made many more birdies following this philosophy than ever hitting the green from 225 and two putting. Today I layed up on two par 5's, one because of a poor drive leaving me 275 out, and one because I did not like the angle to the green. I also went for it from over 200 twice. I made two birdies on par 5's and it was the lay ups. It is very difficult to stop the ball near the hole from outside 200 and inside 70. I believe it is best to plan your holes this way. Now, having said that, since I now do all my pitching from 20 to 80 with one club, the 56, I have added more clubs for the longer distances. I only did this today, and while I shot 74 I can not gripe to much. I will toy with one slot in the bag, I do not know if it will be a hybrid or a 5 wood, but I know I want a higher ball flight than I got with this shaft and head combo. But the way the bag was set up today was. Driver 265 13* Fairway 240 (From Tee) 17* Fairway 225 ( From fairway) 2 Iron 215 4 Iron 195 5 Iron 185 6 Iron 174 7 Iron 162 8 Iron 150 9 Iron 139 PW 127 GW 90-115 SW 20-85 G430LST 10.5° on T P T POWER 18 Hi Driver G430MAX 3w on T P T POWER 18 Hi Fairway G425 3H on T P T POWER 18 Hi Hybrid G425 4H on TGH 80S i525 5-U on TGI 90S SM8 54 & 60 on Wedge DF2.1 on White ProV1 Precision Pro NX7 Pro All Iron grips are BestGrips Micro-Perforated Mid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK in TEXAS Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I love the topic. But I disagree with the 225 number. Me too. My 25Ëš hybrid goes 190-200, but I hit it consistently and trust it. I can get more with my 4-wood, but the Hybrid is the most I'll go off the deck because of the consistency. I love that club, and use it all the freaking time. But, since I'm a short hitter, that means I can't always reach the green. I have worked very hard this summer on chipping & pitching inside 100 yards. So much so I have no problem leaving myself near the green rather than taking a chance with the 4 wood. 2nd/3rd shots are soooo much easier from the fairway and/or a good angle to the flag. So my setup is as follows: Driver & 4 wood - Exclusively off the teebox 25Ëš & 28Ëš hybrids - any shot 180+ yards 5-GW - shots from 100-170 yards 54Ëš & 58Ëš wedges - anything under 100 and I use the "hinge & hold" almost exclusively. MENTOR, L4 COACH & TRAINER FIRST TEE GREATER HOUSTON HDCP: 8.3 (GHIN: 3143312) In my bag, April 2023 TS3 Driver & 4 Wood Hzrdous Smoke Shaft (Stiff Flex) TS2 Hybrids Mitsubishi Tensei Shaft (Stiff Flex) MP-59 5-PW; KBS Tour (Regular Flex) SM8 Wedges EVNROLL ER2 Putter SRIXON Z-STAR DIAMOND BALL Sun Mountain Cart Bag 4.0 Push Cart (I'm walking 9 outta 10 rounds!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 I love the topic as well in fact I came here to start it because I obviously missed it when Ice started it. I guess that's why he won forum member of the month! Here's what I'm thinking. I totally disagree with the 225 number even for 3-jack - GIR's is the key seperating stat for touring pros not greens hit or proximity from the hole from 200-225 - But that's not all that important for 99.8 percent of the players here - Pros play their game and the rest of us play ours and it's as different in some cases as slow pitch softball from the MLB playoffs. And so not as to get lost on a bunny trail the primary reason I disagree with the 225 number is that the average player drives the ball 210 - pretty hard to have a 225 club off the deck when you can only hit it 210 off the tee. I see other numbers and yardages listed here which tell me that although we have a number of average type handicappers we have extremely above average players in regards to the distance that they hit the ball. That's fine - anyone who falls into that category has to work hard on consistency, accuracy and their short game - get to it and forget about how far you hit the ball because you have distance in spades. That however would not be me - I'm marginally above average distance wise, certainly below average for my handicap level and clearly not long enough that I have any club that I can hit reliably from 225 off the deck - No matter - I rarely face a shot that long into the green on a par 4 - 440 - 230 = 210 - I have a club I can hit 210 off the deck - the 3 wood - when I go up North to play I get 10 to 12 extra yards of roll and so its 440-240 = 200 which is my 3 hybrid again because the ball goes a bit farther - I hit that same hybrid 190 to 195 here in the summer and 200 in the late winter/spring. At any rate I do agree that the bag starts with the putter and the driver or driving club. Since that's the primary tee ball I'll start there - Choose the one that you can hit acceptably at least 90 percent of the time - not rocket science - if you're hitting the ball in unplayable spots off the tee you can't score - 90 percent is the key number even if it has to be a 4 hybrid - Ideally you'll find a driver head/shaft combo that you hit acceptably (in an unobstructed position for your next shot 90 percent of the time.) I hit the driver 230 to 240 in play 90 percent plus of the time - In the fairway close to 80 percent of the time - that's how I get away with my lack of relative distance. Totally agree on the putter - you're going to use it more than any other club. My eyes were opened to the benefits of a putter fitting this last spring - we ended up lopping 2 inches off of my putter and although I was a good putter before I've become that much better since - my putter is yesterday's news - I'm sure it was in the $125 range when it was new but I bought it from the bargain basket because it was 2 years old already - I think I paid $75 - It's been regripped and cut down so I have about $125 in it - As most of you know I have a $400 Bettinardi but I'm not replacing what works and since I purchased my current putter I've never thought of replacing it. That was five years ago. The Bettinardi is beautiful and I will continue to contemplate what I'm going to do with it but for now the Never Comprimise stays in the line up. From the driver it's a matter of filling in the gaps down to the putter by knowing one's game. Glad to hear that there are people who believe that they can play as well with 5 clubs as 14 - I doubt it but could be - I will grant that it's fun to play with fewer clubs from time to time because it forces you to be more of a shot maker but I'm not going into a regular competition without 14 clubs and wish I had 15 or 16. With all due respect I don't understand how Ice gets his 150 is where we should play from idea - I remember when 150 markers started to appear on courses - they were put in as a courtesy to speed up play not to suggest where we should play from - the design of the hole determines the best place(s) to play from and the hole needs to be approached accordingly. However since I have a simple mind I do believe in having a base shot from 150 (a stock 7 iron for me) and 100 (a stock gap wedge.) I may be a better player but don't have lots of clubhead speed and so I prefer hybrids to long irons. Regardless I think almost everyone should carry at least one hybrid because it is also useful around the greens. All of my clubs are selected for even 12 yard gaps from 205 down to 70 with some reserve at the top end of each of those clubs. This means that I carry 4 things that are called wedges although honestly what passes for a PW is really a 9 iron or was a 9 iron in regards to loft and shaft length as I was growing up. I used to be very concerned about the bounce on my 3 wedges so that I had one high bounce wedge (SW) and two lower bounces - GW and LW (59) to cover any eventuality around the green. The SCOR wedges appear to make that point mute so now I have 51 - 55 - 60. I do disagree with Ice a bit here in his absolute declaration that a player has to have a 60 - there are lots of players who struggle with a 60 and others still who are skilled enough to lay a 56 or 57 open and accomplish what they need to around the green and use that extra club in another spot in their bag. Bottom line is the important thing is to know your game (through honest assesment not hopes and dreams), know the types of shots you're going to need at the course you're playing and do what Richard says - pick the 14 clubs that give you the best chance to shoot the lowest score. Who cares what others think about the clubs you're carrying - its your game and their wallet to take out at the end of the round. Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60 Aldila R flex - 42.25 inches SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft Ping G410 7, 9 wood Alta 65 R flex Srixon ZX5 MK II 5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex India 52,56 (60 pending) UST recoil 75's R flex Evon roll ER 5 32 inches It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoverRick Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 And so not as to get lost on a bunny trail the primary reason I disagree with the 225 number is that the average player drives the ball 210 - pretty hard to have a 225 club off the deck when you can only hit it 210 off the tee. I see other numbers and yardages listed here which tell me that although we have a number of average type handicappers we have extremely above average players in regards to the distance that they hit the ball. That's fine - anyone who falls into that category has to work hard on consistency, accuracy and their short game - get to it and forget about how far you hit the ball because you have distance in spades. I could not agree more with this. I have spent the last few weeks experimenting with what to carry at the top of the bag. I have been averaging about 265 with the driver. I have recently replaced the 13 and 17 FM with a TMag R11 14 with a suped up shaft. I have been hitting this 240-250 off the tee. However, while I did hit one today off the deck that went 238 according to the SkyCaddie that is the exception. I usually 220 at best off the turf and often closer to 200. Of course, that depends on the lie and terrain and weather etc... Not to mention that tee boxes are almost always elevated just a bit and the fairway lies are almost always below the green. I have been trading out the different hybrids and fairway woods and honestly, when the ranges get over 200 yards it is just much better to hit a mid iron and wedge than a long club. These long clubs are great off the tee but it is so, so, so hard to make a controlled swing when you are looking at the green that far away. The tendency is because you are so far away you have to really swing hard, and then you lose control and not make good contact and at best, you dribble up to where you would have been if you had used the mid iron and at worse you hit it 250 yards. 200 yards forward and 50 yards off line. I have been focusing on this swing thought, "The farther I am from the target the easier I have to swing." all week and have never hit as many good long shots as this week. I found that while the 13* FM, 17* FM, 19*H, and 18* iron have very different distances off the tee, they do not give the same results off the deck. I am working on putting two bags together. One for travel and one for staying at home. The main difference in these two, other than the newer, nicer clubs will stay at home, is that while I may carry clubs to go for the green from great distances at home, I do not expect to do this on courses that I am not familiar with. I am headed to Florida this week and playing with RevKev next Tuesday. That will be the travel irons, more forgiving, the TMag Driver and FM. A hybrid, and a bunch of wedges. G430LST 10.5° on T P T POWER 18 Hi Driver G430MAX 3w on T P T POWER 18 Hi Fairway G425 3H on T P T POWER 18 Hi Hybrid G425 4H on TGH 80S i525 5-U on TGI 90S SM8 54 & 60 on Wedge DF2.1 on White ProV1 Precision Pro NX7 Pro All Iron grips are BestGrips Micro-Perforated Mid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GolfSpy WD Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Sort of going back to what Richard said, but doesn't it depend on the course you're playing? If you have a 225 par 3, then you might want to grab a club you can reliably hit the green. Of course you're most likely playing the blue or championship tees at this point, so you should be good enough to at least get close reliably. For me, par 3s typically aren't further than 200 yards, which I can reach with a smooth 4 iron. Key part here is smooth, not forced. and noticed, I said reach, not hit? . Beyond that it's all course management, what clubs you plan to hit, what clubs you think you'll need when you screw it up. That was my thinking with getting a 24* FLI HI and 19* hybrid. I can play the Fli Hi out of the rough if necessary, but I still want a hybrid for around the greens and some par 4s to get a better layup. @GolfSpy_WD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Richard its so nice to have you here or more accurately since you were here first to have found a home here. Who cares Moecat? I'm a 2,3 something like that - I occasionally get down to a 1 and slide up to a 4 - Richard is a bit south of me - I can't speak for him but I can tell you I don't have a club that I can confidently hit over a hazzard to a tight green from 225 - I suppose I might in Denver - When I visit friends in Wisconsin I can occasionaly consider trying to hit the ball on the green from 225 - if there's a nice runway into the green and the ground is hard. A good drive for me there goes 250 - here it goes 240 or even less than that during the raining season. How far do you carry your 3 wood? Even if you hit it 225 with run out you're only carrying it 200 which means nix, nada, lay up from 225 and wedge on. If that's not a good option work on your wedges because you are going to hit a lot more of them than you are balls on the green from 225. So we don't get lead down bunny trails there are some rare exceptions to this - they make up about 1 percent of all golfers. Some of them do reside here. Even if you are long enough as a mid to high handicapper to carry the ball 225 (a possibility there are athletically people who pound the ball but don't play much golf) you're even crazier to try and hit that shot because you don't have the consistency to pull it off - if you have the length and the consistency you aren't a 15. To answer your question in theory yes - if you hit a certain club 235 and you are consistently flushing it you will take about 10 yards off the shot by gripping down an inch. You'll actually be more accurate with it because the chances of hitting it solidly with a square face is increased by shortening the shaft - I do this all the time - my 3 wood generaly goes 215, grip down an inch and I have my 200 yard club. I'm as comfortable as I can be with 200 to the green because I'm aiming for a part of the green that has no trouble associated with it. Looking forward to playing with RR in a week and a half - World Woods is an unusual Florida course in that it has some real elevation change to it - I miss that - There's actually a hole on that course that I can hit it 300 on from time to time - big down hill slope, get it down wind and firm and it's like a run way - unfortunately that also leaves the most God aweful down hill lie to an uphill green over a ridiculous waste area - but hey it's nice to hit one out there with the big boys once in a while. Yes WD course conditions make a huge difference - there are holes that are par 3's all over the place that are 225 that I might reach with a 3 hybrid (my 190-200 club), they play downhill, down wind - we had one of those in Sheboygan - it was 210 down hill and I could hit 4 iron on it - that felt great until one time my son hit an 8 iron just to tic me off. Normal conditions he hits his 8 170, I would hit a 5 from there but he decided to step on this one. That's a very important thing to learn - how far does this shot play. Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60 Aldila R flex - 42.25 inches SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft Ping G410 7, 9 wood Alta 65 R flex Srixon ZX5 MK II 5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex India 52,56 (60 pending) UST recoil 75's R flex Evon roll ER 5 32 inches It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenGolfer Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 My bag is more set up for 100 yards and in. I have 4 wedges (PW, GW, SW, LW) instead of having a 5-wood or 2-hybrid. IMO, the putter and wedges are the most important clubs in the bag, with the driver/FW being less important. Getting off the tee is important but you are going to miss greens or will have to lay up to a reasonable wedge distance sometimes and you need clubs that will help you get up and down in a reasonable number of strokes. For irons, I prefer SGI short irons that allow me to still put a good strike on the ball even when you swing isnt perfect and help me to hit the ball higher. In the longer irons, I choose to replace them with hybrids simply because hybrids are easier for me to get up in the air. I love the looks of long irons but I play better with hybrids and have more confidence with them. "I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag? Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02 Ball: Maxfli Tour X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmh3 Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I have a few different set ups depending on the course that I am playing so I will give the specs for each club even though they are not all in the bag at the same time. I have bent the 6 iron through PW one degree weaker to keep a consistent gap on the shorter clubs. Driver: 9.5* 270 yds 3 Wood: 15* 245 yds 2 Hybrid: 18* 225 yds 3 Hybrid: 21* 215 yds 3 Iron: 21* 212 yds 4 Iron: 24* 200 yds 5 Iron: 27* 187 yds 6 Iron: 32* 172 yds 7 Iron: 36* 160 yds 8 Iron: 40* 148 yds 9 Iron: 44* 133 yds PW: 48* 122 yds 52* 111 yds 54* 104 yds 56* 100 yds 60* 88 yds Ping G410 Plus Oban Kiyoshi Tour Limited Ping G410 LST 3 Wood Oban Tour Prototype V430 Titleist U500 3 & 4 Oban Kiyoshi Purple Tour Reserve Titleist 620 MB 5-9 Oban CT 125 Titleist Vokey 47* Oban CT 125, 51*, 55*, and 59* Shimada Tour Wedge Black Bettinardi Studio Stock SS28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red golfer Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Driver 230 yards 3 wood 200 3 hybrid 180 4 hybrid 170 5 hybrid 160 6 Iron 150 7 iron 140 8 iron 130 9 iron 125 PW 110 AW 51 deg. 95 SW 54 deg. 75 Lw 58 deg. 55 12 handicap and hit driver farther than others I play with they think they hit there's 250 or more HA HA HA Adams F11 driver voodoo shaft Adams F11 3 wood voodoo Cleveland 3 and 4 hybrids dst,s Ben Hogan Apex Edge Forgedvarious putters Adams 62, Voit tornado like a bulls eye , nevercompramise sub 30 - 50 Precept Balls or titleist or any good ball I find Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 Driver 230 yards 3 wood 200 3 hybrid 180 4 hybrid 170 5 hybrid 160 6 Iron 150 7 iron 140 8 iron 130 9 iron 125 PW 110 AW 51 deg. 95 SW 54 deg. 75 Lw 58 deg. 55 12 handicap and hit driver farther than others I play with they think they hit there's 250 or more HA HA HA I'd bet if I went to the course some day next summer and asked 100 golfers how far they hit their driver, less than 20% would be within 5 yards guess if they hit 10 LM shots averaged What's In The Bag: Adams 9064LS Ben Hogan Edge CFT Ti Ben Hogan Apex Edge 4-PW TaylorMade ATV 50* 54* Mizuno Bettinardi BC3 Tour Issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayhawker Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I'd bet if I went to the course some day next summer and asked 100 golfers how far they hit their driver, less than 20% would be within 5 yards guess if they hit 10 LM shots averaged 10 LM? What does LM mean? Part of that may also have to do with the supposed distances of courses. For example, today I played a hole that was marked as 405 yards. It most definetely is not, I hit my driver to an easy lob wedge on to the green(easy lob wedge was about 50 yards) it was about as good a drive as I've ever hit, but there was no way it was 340 yards. It was closer to about 300 or so. In my Adams Hercules cart bag...DriverPing I15 9.5* TFC stiffHook MachineTaylormade Burner Superfast Rescue 18*3 HybridAdams ProA12 20* stiff matrix Ozik Altus IronsCleveland CG16 Tour Black Pearl 4-PW True Temper Dynamic Gold S300Birdie-MakerMizuno JPX 50*-10*Piece of CrapOrlimar 56*On the wayCleveland 588 forged 62*-10*Mid-Round FuelSnickers bars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayhawker Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I guess I will also list my bag setup Driver-280 yards 18 degree "3 hybrid" I think it's more like 16 degrees, so it's like my 3w-240 yards 20 degree 3 hybrid- 215 yards 4 iron 24 degrees-185 yards 5 iron 27 degrees-175 6 iron 30 degrees-165 7 iron 34 degrees-155 8 iron 38 degrees-145 9 iron 42 degrees-132 Pw 46 degrees- 120 Gw 50 degrees-110 Sw 56 degrees-95 yards Lw 60 degrees-80 yards In my Adams Hercules cart bag...DriverPing I15 9.5* TFC stiffHook MachineTaylormade Burner Superfast Rescue 18*3 HybridAdams ProA12 20* stiff matrix Ozik Altus IronsCleveland CG16 Tour Black Pearl 4-PW True Temper Dynamic Gold S300Birdie-MakerMizuno JPX 50*-10*Piece of CrapOrlimar 56*On the wayCleveland 588 forged 62*-10*Mid-Round FuelSnickers bars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red golfer Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I'd bet if I went to the course some day next summer and asked 100 golfers how far they hit their driver, less than 20% would be within 5 yards guess if they hit 10 LM shots averaged What dose 10LM mean? Thanks Red Adams F11 driver voodoo shaft Adams F11 3 wood voodoo Cleveland 3 and 4 hybrids dst,s Ben Hogan Apex Edge Forgedvarious putters Adams 62, Voit tornado like a bulls eye , nevercompramise sub 30 - 50 Precept Balls or titleist or any good ball I find Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blade Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 What dose 10LM mean? Thanks Red He's referring to 10 shots on a launch monitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blade Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I'm seriously considering pulling the 3 wood out entirely and replacing it with that Callaway X Utility iron coming out. I would be so much more confident with that. It sounds like it will be pricey. Not sure I would drop that much on it. It's going to be tempting though. I think I would use it off the tee more than my driver. I hope to see a review here on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fozcycle Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Driver 230 yards 3 wood 200 3 hybrid 180 4 hybrid 170 5 hybrid 160 6 Iron 150 7 iron 140 8 iron 130 9 iron 125 PW 110 AW 51 deg. 95 SW 54 deg. 75 Lw 58 deg. 55 Mine is very similar: Driver 210 yards 3 wood 190 5 wood 175 3 hybrid 180 4 hybrid 170 5 Iron 155 6 Iron 145 7 iron 135 8 iron 125 9 iron 115 PW 105 AW 50 deg. 85 SW 55 deg. 70 And my Hcap is slipping....Currently 16.5 I have several setups...like replacing the 5 wood with a 17* 2 Hybrid...for courses that I need to punch under the trees. Driver: 0311 XF 10.5* w/Project X Cypher 40 gram Senior shaft or 0811 XF 12* w/Evenflo Riptide CB Senior shaft Fairways: 0211 5W & 7W w/ Evenflo Riptide CB regular shaft and Tour Edge E521 9W w/Fubuki HD50 regular shaft Hybrid: None in bag at the moment Irons: Titleist T300 5-PW w/Fubuki MV Senior graphite shafts w/Golf Pride Tour Wedges: Edison forged 49*, 53* and 57* wedges with KB PGI Senior shafts(80 grm). Putter: 33” Evnroll ER6R or ER2 or Bellum Winmore Model 707, or Nike Method Core Drone w/Evnroll Gravity Grip Bag: Vice cart bag(Black/Lime). Ball: Snell MTB Prime X, Maxfli Tour/S/X CG, Titleist Pro V1x or Titleist TruFeel Using Shot Scope X5 and Pinned Rangefinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayhawker Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I'm seriously considering pulling the 3 wood out entirely and replacing it with that Callaway X Utility iron coming out. I would be so much more confident with that. It sounds like it will be pricey. Not sure I would drop that much on it. It's going to be tempting though. I think I would use it off the tee more than my driver. I hope to see a review here on it. I would have to second that. Of all the new clubs coming out, I'm interested in this almost more than anything else. If it wasn't so pricey I would replace my long irons with them most likely. In my Adams Hercules cart bag...DriverPing I15 9.5* TFC stiffHook MachineTaylormade Burner Superfast Rescue 18*3 HybridAdams ProA12 20* stiff matrix Ozik Altus IronsCleveland CG16 Tour Black Pearl 4-PW True Temper Dynamic Gold S300Birdie-MakerMizuno JPX 50*-10*Piece of CrapOrlimar 56*On the wayCleveland 588 forged 62*-10*Mid-Round FuelSnickers bars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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