Bag setup Optimization?

[Super Tuna]

Greetings!

 

How many of you have gone through your whole bag and set it up as you actually need it or get meaningful distance gaps?

 

For example, I cannot tell you how many times I see guys get on a system and hit their 3/4 irons about 3 to 7 yards apart. For the average amatuer, the lower the loft, the less consistent their gapping gets and the more room actually needs to be between clubs. In general anyways.

 

Really, after the driver and putter, the rest of the bag is an audition. Yet I constantly see 2 hybrids, 3 woods, 5 woods, 3 irons (that might as well be a 1 iron due to the loft on them) that players can't hit consistently yet reside in their bag. When asked why, I usually get a shrug or a "because they're suppose to be..."

 

So. Have you really looked at what each club in the bag can do for you instead of just making logical 4 degree gaps for example?

[Tyk]

Yes, I do. This is an ongoing process for me. Just today I got a 24* FliHi to take the place of my 4 iron to hopefully get the 5 extra yards I should get from my 4i but rarely do!

 

I also have a SCOR bag tag that I have recorded all my full, 3/4 and 1/2 swing distances for my clubs 58*-PW, this helps alot in those partial shot situations.

[fozcycle]

Where do you get the SCOR bagtag?

 

 

Found it....I googled SCOR bagtag and got a printout of the entire SCOR system....looks pretty cool...think i will review it thoroughly.

[Matt Saternus]

ST, your verbage is right on: it's a constant audition. Everything in my bag is there for a reason, it's all quite good...until I find something better. I'm very interested to try out the Callaway driving iron type clubs at the end of this month - I had a world of problems with my stupid hybrid late in the season and I wouldn't mind dumping my 4I, too.

 

I think I may look at opening up the gaps between my wedges a bit more, too. The problem with pulling the trigger on that move is that I need to stay with one swing change for more than one round of golf to feel good about it. Maybe I should just have wedges in 2 degree gaps and bag what I feel on any given day.

[Tyk]

 

I think I may look at opening up the gaps between my wedges a bit more, too. The problem with pulling the trigger on that move is that I need to stay with one swing change for more than one round of golf to feel good about it. Maybe I should just have wedges in 2 degree gaps and bag what I feel on any given day.

 

 

That's kind of what I've ended up with, though not intentionally. For a time I was gapping my wedges around a 56* sand wedge, which left me with problems going into my 46* pitching wedge, and I never really liked a 60* wedge anyhow, tinkered around with a 53*, and a 57*. . . So I got smart and gapped around my PW, going with 50*, 54* and 58* which works out very well for me. But I still have good wedges in almost all lofts 60*-50*, so at least if I change irons I'll be covered.

[ms1195]

I have actually been thinking about this very recently. As an amateur I have always just gone by the number on the club like Tuna mentioned, but I recently found the low irons/hybrids in my bag at the moment don't quite fit. I did some online research and found that my 5 and 4 S2 forged irons are 25 and 22 respectively, and I am carrying a Nickent 3 hybrid and Cobra 2 Hybrid which are 20 and 18, respectively.

 

I can hit each of these clubs fine, but I have been looking for a 22 or 21 hybrid to basically take the place of both the 4 and 3 spot. This is typically my 200-210 zone so anything I can get close is great for me. This also would allow space for one more club, although I'm not sure what that would be. I am pretty comfortable with my 52 and 58 wedge setup, never have liked ≥60* wedges. Maybe I could throw a 48" 5 degree driver in the bag for when I'm feeling strong....

[Super Tuna]

MS: No reason to add clubs you don't need. Just because there's 14 slots, doesn't mean you need them.

[RoverRick]

I have decided that in addition to driver and putter, there are some other clubs that are a must, For Me. The 64* wedge and the 56* wedge and a gap wedge and the 3 wood. Although, any fairway metal will work, I happen to have a 3 metal that is working for me know. Since a pitching wedge thru 5 iron are pretty much standard, that leaves two holes in the bag.

 

I used a Mizzy MP Fli Hi 18 and 24 this summer but with colder weather and all I am putting the cavity backs in the bag tomorrow. It is much more difficult to stay loose in the colder weather for me so I am hoping more forgiveness is the ticket. I installed my Hogan CFT irons on KBS Tour XS shafts. I have two sets of these.

 

To fill the to hole near the top of the bag I have a 21* hybrid on a KBS Tour 4 iron shaft. And a 19* hybrid on a KBS Hybrid shaft that is an inch longer. That gives me the equivilant of three clubs, because choking down on the 19* fills the gap I have between it and the 21* . At least that is my theory. I will know tomorrow how that works out. It looks like it will be 65* and sunny all weekend with not much wind. No wind is not normal here.

 

But to answer your question, I have not carried a standard length long club for several years. If I find a head I can hit and like the looks at address, I then have to find the right shaft and length to get it where I want it to be. I even made a spreadsheet that I can put in different lofts and lengths and get an approximate gap.

 

I do not have wedges that are have even gaps for a reason. Inside 100 yards if I have a regular amount of green to work with I hit a 56* wedge any distance. If I want the ball to hit and roll I hit a 51* any distance, and if I have no green to work with I use the 64*. Of course, I also have slightly different set up to make the ball run or run a lot or hop and stop or stop and backup even. Then just think about how far i want the ball to fly and let the set up take care of the rest.

[ZenGolfer]

I have. Thats why I dont carry a 3-hybrid anymore. I cant hit the darn thing anyways, so why carry it? I replaced it with a chipper.

This winter I intend to replace my 3-wood with a 5-wood. Same reason as the lack of a 3H: cant get it up in the air all that well, so what good is it?

[BK in TEXAS]

For example, I cannot tell you how many times I see guys get on a system and hit their 3/4 irons about 3 to 7 yards apart. For the average amatuer, the lower the loft, the less consistent their gapping gets and the more room actually needs to be between clubs. In general anyways.

That's me....and I didn't realize it until last spring.

 

The lower the loft, the less gap I get. 4 & 5 irons go nearly the same distance so no need for the 4i. I dropped the 3i in favor of a hybrid for consistency.....like many people do. BUT.....I chose the loft of the hybrid NOT based on being a 3H,4H,5H but chose the loft solely so it would be 10-15 yards longer than the 5i.

 

Any club I carry stronger than those are only for layups off the tee box and never get used off the turf. Those clubs were chosen the same way.....based on actual distance rather than the number stamped on the sole.

[hckymeyer]

I'm a combination of choosing clubs for distance gapping, and also for certain shots/holes on my home course. I switched from 4w to 3w last in the season because I wanted a shot at a couple par 5's in two. Also for a tee shot on #15.

 

I like to think that everything in my bag is there for a reason, but I also love to tinker. The bottom half of my bag is pretty set and I don't plan on changing it. But the top half is still up for grabs. I may consider a lower lofted hybrid to increase the gap between hybrid and 4i.

[Tyk]

Where do you get the SCOR bagtag?

 

 

Found it....I googled SCOR bagtag and got a printout of the entire SCOR system....looks pretty cool...think i will review it thoroughly.

 

I've got an extra one if you want it Foz, message me your address and I'll send it to you!

[The Dansome]

I've carried 13 clubs for the last 5 years cause I couldn't find a need for anything else. Been carrying 14 all summer since I reintroduced my Ping eye2 SW. I now carry a 58 degree LW and a 57 degree eye2 because I find the different soles effective for a multitude of situations.

[RoverRick]

I've carried 13 clubs for the last 5 years cause I couldn't find a need for anything else. Been carrying 14 all summer since I reintroduced my Ping eye2 SW. I now carry a 58 degree LW and a 57 degree eye2 because I find the different soles effective for a multitude of situations.

 

Different soles is as important as different lofts. This is a valid reason to bag two different clubs. The Ping Eye 2 Sand wedge with 18* bounce is stupid easy to hit out of the sand. If you can not get out of the sand with this then you are in trouble.

[revkev]

Great thread Super T!!!! I have been on this one for years and years and years - I was the first among my friends to copy Tom Kite and go to three wedges, the first to listen to Dave Pelz and carry 4, the first the jettison the classice 3 wood/5 wood in favor of the easier to hit and more functional 4 wood/7 wood (getting rid of the 3 iron), the first to bag a hybrid, the first to recognize that my wedges needed to have a variety of soles/bounces and now the first to carry a varied sole wedge in my bag.

 

I'm always concerned about the yardage gaps and functionality of the clubs in my bag. Each must have at least one and in many cases multiple purposes to stay in the bag as is. I test my yardage gaps at least twice a year - right now it's every time I go to the range as I get used to my new clubs.

 

I really think that this very type of thing has huge potential for mid to higher handicappers in regards to saving some strokes. I see guys/gals with clubs that they hit the same distance in their bag all the time - sometimes its actually driver/3 wood most times it's the two longest irons or the longest iron and a hybrib/lofted wood. The other area to watch is the gap between the longest iron and the hybrid/fairway wood being overly long and the gaps between the wedges being way to large.

 

Of course a better player like RR has made the conscious decision to go with a wedge that he's comfortable with to hit a multitude of shots - that's way different than having unintential issues before one even gets to the first tee.

[lmh3]

I can't say that I have a consistent gap between all of my clubs. The longer portion of my bag has larger gaps and they get a little tighter as I get to the scoring clubs. For example, I have a 3 wood then 18* hybrid then a 24* 4 iron, the gaps are 15-18 yards between those clubs and go down to a 10-12 yard gap between my 8 iron through 60* wedge. I have weakened the lofts on my six iron through PW to play off of a 48* rather than a 47* PW to space the gaps better.

 

My rationale is that the longer clubs have a larger target, the fairway or a side of the green so I don't have to be as precise as I want to be with the shorter clubs where my target is a spot on the green.

[revkev]

I would agree PGA - I follow that same theory - I have a larger gap at the top end of my bag and it tightens to 10-12 yard from 5 iron down to my 51 and then go 15 yards between the last two wedges but I have very good control on those clubs between three quarter swings and grip downs I have all the yardage gaps covered down to 40 yards.