I have been reviewing my clubs to see if I need any changes. It's pretty much my dream set now. I had a Taylormade Superfast 2.0 10.5* driver but my friend gave me his old 360 Ti. I tried it out and was amazed at how easy it was to hit straight high trajectory shots. I went back and forth because even though I hit it better, it seemed I should be using the Superfast. In the end, I had to take what I played best even though the 360 is 5 years older. It pretty much eliminated slices and cranked up my fairway percentages and lowered my scores.
My home course is an executive 18 hole without a lot of long holes. I chose to have just a 4 wood instead of the traditional 3 an 5 woods so I could carry an extra wedge. I have the 16* Rescue Mid, but don't carry it since the distance is about the same as the 4 Wood.
I put the 22* Rescue Mid in the bag for a rescue club. It's great off the tee or the rough. They are pretty old clubs, but, again, I hit it so well, it had to go in the bag. I had a pair of Adam's A3s but couldn't hit them well at all, so I went ahead and kept the old Rescue Mids for now. I kept a 3 iron so I would have that option for longer shots in wind or plugged lies where I need to really dig the ball on a steep angle of attack.
The R7s placed my old Adams Assault VMI set from the late 90s. When I took the game back up, I didn't think the equipment could really make much of a difference. Now I know sometimes it's the arrow, not the archer. Switching from cavity back blades to a game improvement club was awesome. I shoot straighter and longer with the R7s. I have read a lot of reviews and no one seemed to get much change from the R11s, so I am sticking with my R7s. I am keeping an eye on the new RocketBalls though.
Wedges are a personal choice and, in my opinion, they are the most critical clubs in the bag. There are so many options in how many, what lofts, what grinds, and what bounces fit an individual golfer. I started with my pitching wedge at a loft of 45* and selected lofts that keep even distance gaps. I knew I wanted Vokeys or Cleveland 588s and went with Cleveland to keep my set well matched. I play a Srixon ball which is also made by Cleveland.
I currently have three different editions of the 588 so I can play the different grinds and see what fits my swing and my course. The lob wedge is a Tour Action with 4* of bounce and is wicked within 20 yards of the pin. I find I can lob the ball close to the pin better than chipping. There isn't much rollout so it stays close. I should really practice my chipping but when I try dropping a second ball and chipping in practice rounds, I leave a longer putt than with my lob wedge. The lob is also best for me from green side bunkers. Conventional wisdom says to go with a high bounce club in the sand, but that's really only true for fluffy sand. It keeps the club from digging in as the bounce glides through the sand. On my course the sand is pretty well packed and the low bounce lob works better for me.
The sand wedge is a Dynamic Sole Grind (DSG) with 12* bounce. The grind is very curved with relief on the toe, heel, and trailing edge. I though this would be better in the sand, but the Tour Action wins hands down. I sometimes blade the ball in bunkers with the DSG. I find the DSG excels when hitting out of rough and use it exclusively 20-60 yards out.
The gap wedge is the latest 588 forged from Cleveland with average 8* bounce. It shoots well and I like the heavy swing weight. I use it 60-85 yards out with no complaints. I still have not been able to choose between it and the DSG. Since these are longer shots, I might replace it with an R7 gap or one of the new ATVs. Taylormade's ATV are much like the Cleveland DSG which isn't made any more. I need to just log more hours practicing with the wedges to decide what's best. Currently I am liking the options I get from playing a mix of grinds, so I may just keep it all as is.
When I took the game back up, I was using my old generic putter with a balata face insert. It is really forgiving but softened the impact so much I was constantly leaving it short. I picked up I Never Compromise NCX-Ray because I thought I would like the insert. It was really hot off the face and too much the opposite direction for me. Finally I picked up my Scotty Cameron Red X and never looked back. The feel is like butter even though it's a steel face. My distance is tuned and I always leave the ball within 2 feet, even on ridiculously long lag putts. Directionally I was doing well but have been off lately with pushes and pulls. My golf buddy and I think the grip is worn out and also on a little crooked. I will be replacing it with a Dancing Scotty Cameron cord grip. I like cord and will be re-gripping all my clubs with Golf Pride New Decade Multicompounds so the cord will keep a continuous feel between all the set.
Driver 12*, TaylorMade 360 Ti, TaylorMade Ultralite R-80 .405" tip, Taylormade grip
4 Wood 17* D-9, TaylorMade Superfast Burner 2.0, Matrix Ozik X-Con 4.8 Stiff 45g, B11 Winn Lite 25 grams
3 Iron 20* D-1, TaylorMade R7, TaylorMade T Step 90 Reg .355 taper, Taylormade grip
4 Hybrid 22*, TaylorMade Rescue Mid, Taylormade UG65 Reg Soft Tip .335, Taylormade grip
5-PW 25*, 28*, 32*, 36*, 40*, 45* D-2, TaylorMade R7, TaylorMade T Step 90 Reg .355 taper, Golf Pride New Decade Multi-compound grip
Gap 50.08* D-5, Cleveland 588 Forged Chrome semi-C grind, TT DG Spinner Wedge Flex 124 gram .355 tip, .60 grip, Golf Pride Tour Velvet grip
Sand 54.12* D-6, Cleveland 588 DSG (Dynamic Sole Grind) 2006 square grooves, True Temper Dynalite Gold 103 gram .355 tip, .60 grip, Golf Pride Tour Velvet grip
Lob 60.04* D-6, Cleveland Tour Action 588 RTG 2005 U grooves, Dynamic Gold Stiff 130? gram .370 tip, .60 grip, Golf Pride Tour Velvet grip
Scotty Cameron Red X5 340g, Titleist Baby T 70g grip
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