Gapping / bag makeup

Equipment
#1

I think I already know the answer to this, but just wanted to get some confirmation.
I’m looking to replace my SW and LW with some Sub 70s, and this has me thinking about my bag set up.

At the upper end of the bag, I added a 5-hybrid this year to replace my 4-iron, and it has worked well for me. High ball flight (maybe too high) and goes about 195-200. Also carry a 7-wood, which I carry about 210-215. I realized recently that I hardly ever hit my 5-iron anymore, which carries about 195, but lower flight than the hybrid. So I’m thinking I really don’t need 3 clubs that only span about a 20-yard gap.

At the lower end, I carry a gap wedge (49 degrees, 115 carry), sand wedge (54 degrees, 95 carry), lob wedge (58 degrees, 75 carry). This leaves me too much of a gap right around the 100 yard mark.

So I was think maybe keeping the gap wedge and going 52/54/58. The 52 ought to cover that 100 yard distance.

My only concerns are:

  • how old I am going to feel if my longest iron is a 6-iron (I know I just need to get over myself and accept it)
  • will having wedges at 49/52/54/58 seem like too many, too confusing around the green?

Also anyone know if Sub70 can adjust the loft, bend the 54 to 55 so I have consistent 3 degree gaps?

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#2

Your wedge gaps are pretty good, maybe a little closer to 15 yards between would be better. You can add another wedge but you may just want to look at bending 49 to 50.

2 Likes
#3

I don’t know about the age part—and for now at 48, I personally am hitting my 3 iron better than my 7 wood—but as this Ping fitting chart shows, long irons are going away unless you swing really fast. https://blog.globalgolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Ping-fitting-process-set-make-up.png
(Plus, AIUI my slightly older set is lofted about a club or two more than modern sets are. My 3 iron is still 21 degrees, 4 at 24, and so on.) I shouldn’t be hitting 3 iron, per that chart, but right now it works.

As for point #2, I forget which Euro player does it, but can’t you Sharpie/dry erase your yardages and shot lengths (full, 3/4, etc…) on the back of each club? Or keep a “dope card” for each and stick it on your bag? I do it in rifle-shooting land when I forget, e.g., how much wind drift my 145 grain bullets have by 400 yds. Or drop, required lead, etc…

#4

That’s an interesting chart on the bag fitting. Looking at that, my set up is right about where it should be (other than carrying a 5-hyrbrid instead of a 4-hybrid).

#5

Can you bend a cast club (Callaway steelhead)? I thought it was a lot easier with forged.

#6

It is possible and likely ok when moving only 1*. However it will need to be done by someone who knows what they are doing and there is the potential that over time it will revert back to it previous loft.

#7

I’ll come back and dig in on this later, but the answer to this question is yes, they can.

#8

Please don’t take this in the wrong way…Uh…who gives 2 poops…If you shot -5 every round with “old man” clubs. Would you truly care? Again this is really a game of managing your misses. I’ve never, except for the Masters interview room, ever seen someone ask how. They only ask how many! When ZJ won the Masters, he laid up on every par 5 every round. Do you remember that or just see him at every Champions Dinner. Does that help with your thought process? I’m currently getting fitted for a 9Wood. If that gets me on the green…who cares. BTW sub70 are very, very nice stix. If I was in the market, they would be on the top of my list because PxG is outta my budget! Mysterious Montague used to hustle very good golfers in the 30s with a rake, a shovel and a baseball bat. He’d crush people with those “clubs” in his bag. No BS.

2 Likes
#9

That Euro would be Mr Westwood and he does sharpie the distances on his clubs. I think because the Mrs. totes his bag alot. It is very helpful reminder though especially when one is between clubs.

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#10

Agreed with MJT on not worrying about the appearance. Focus on the functionality.

I think your idea has some merit, the question becomes how often are you hitting certain shots. I got away without a 5 or 6 iron for a few months simply because I hit those clubs around 190-210 and that’s not a distance I find myself in often.

I’d just figure out what clubs feel like they are missing and then build your bag around that. If you feel like you are hitting alot of 100 yard shots and don’t have an option, put that in your bag.

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#11

Oh, I know, that was mostly a tongue in cheek comment. Honestly, even when I was younger I couldn’t hit a 3 or 4 iron very well. And, you’re right, it’s about how many many, not how at the end of the day.

I think I’m old and wise enough now to not waste a spot in my bag just for vanity.

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#12

I fit the ping launch profile for a 3 iron and don’t carry one… I’ve got a 19 degree hybrid and a 22 degree utility iron… I’m contemplating changing out the iron for something that gives me a different launch profile, as my 5 iron has become my new punch club.

#13

:That is a huge :+1:t2:

#14

I’m almost 70 and my longest is a 6 iron and I swallowed my ego/pride and moved up a tee. Golf is fun again because I’m playing within my ability. My older brother is still hitting from the whites at 77 y.o., and still cannot break 90, often in the hi-90’s or low 100’s. And he complains a lot, but won’t move up. He wisely did get fitted, and that took care of the gapping problems. Let go of the macho crap and have fun hitting greens in regulation :).
When in doubt, get a fitting…ORrrrr, keep spending $$ in the hope you’ll score on the clubs you choose based on the advice of others who are not pros. Good luck.

#15

I sort of got away from the numbers stamped on the golf club or the usual set up from the OEM.
What should matter the most for the golfer ( besides the shinning clubs in a bag ) is the purpose of each golf club. Like a tradesman selecting the tools for his tool box for the day; he will first think of which tools would be required for the job and then which spare tools would be a good safety measure to carry along.
Golfers will contemplate the golf shots he would apply to the golf course he would play that day and make up his golf bag accordingly.
Knowing that no golfer in the world could execute golf shots like iron Byron so allow for error.
Besides the putter and maybe the driver which have their own special tasks; most the other golf clubs should be considered as , the distance to cover, the trajectory suited for the golf golf course and the weather.
As for what the variety of the golf clubs or even if they are not from the same set or the same brand, will have little to do with the results they will produce.
I know a guy who love to tinker with his golf clubs. His golf bag looks like mismatched from thrift store bargain barrel. Each iron was bent and grind to his personal preference for distance and trajectory. They look weird, but he knows exactly which one will do what without thinking about it when he pulled that stick out of the bag.
I’m not OCD like that, but I will select golf clubs for use on the golf course of the day, for the shots I will need to produce a lower score. If I seldom use the 3 iron from last round played there, then, it’s out for the selection.
There is no rules for the weekend golfer to carry 14 golf clubs in the bag!
You may not need all 14 golf clubs for one, you may need more than 14 golf clubs for the day. It’s okay if you’re not in a USGA sanctioned tournament, and your partners do not care if you carry more than 14 golf clubs with the $5 Nassau at stake.
I often receive a funny look from friends when they saw only half a bag of golf clubs and they’ll make fun of me for being “too confident”, might as well open my wallet and give them the $5 bill on the first tee box.
Also remember to practice with the same golf club for different distance and trajectory. This way, you won’t feel the anxiety when you face a yardage between the clubs.
Also remember to play with what you have for that day, better explained by what the golfer feels and could do for that day.
Not everyone will hit the golf ball the same way and produce exactly the same result each time they get out. Play more clubs if you happen to hit the golf shots shorter that day. If could be the weather, or what you did the day before or something which throw you out of the routine.
It is one of the reason why this game is fun. Because each day is like a new adventure for the golfer to figure out how to get around the golf course with a lower score.

#17

About the only nice thing spammers here do, is draw attention to older threads that you might’ve missed in the past. Like this one.

Might as well ask it here. I, like most of you I’m sure, got the email today from @jon mentioning the signed books, but more importantly, the impending refresh of his site.

My question is: With the refresh, is the content in the various discussion threads getting removed? Just want to know if I need to start cut and pasteing elsewhere, some of the more interesting posts here.

Thanks!