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Building the Top of Your Bag

SuperStroke
I like this thread as I am trying to figure out a new set to play this year. I really wish we could carry 16 clubs sometimes. There isn't a ton of room in the top of my bag as I need to carry 4 wedges - 48* (160 yards), 52* (140 yards), 56*(120 yards) and a 60* (100 yards). Currently the top of my bag is a driver, 17* hybrid, 21* hybrid and then a 4 iron. I am really thinking of adding a 3W to the bag to help when the driver is misbehaving. I am also thinking about replacing the hybrids with either Callaway prototype utility's or the 913 Hd's and losing the 4 iron. I might need to start putting with a utility club to make room for everything to fit. I might just get 16 clubs and pull the best 14 for the course I am playing.

So many decisions. I can see myself becoming a club ho this year. :)
 
I say yardage gaps first. Don't worry about the degrees of loft.

If you've got distance off the tee to go for par 5's in two, you'll really want to make sure they are clubs you can hit off deck.
 
Golf Ghost said:
I see a lot of 3w, but shocked over the lack of 4w's. Any reason for that?
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Ghost and OP,
I do carry a 4 wood as it is the next yardage progression for me. My driving accuracy is not a problem for me so I concentrated on distance progression, and it was the next to fill that gap for me.
my set up is:
4 wood - 18* hybrid - 4thru pw - gap - sand -lob
carry distances for me are the gaps I am trying to fill .
I am not a long hitter so my carry gap fill is most important to me, 4 iron 175/180 - 2 hybrid 190/200 - 4 wood 215/225
 
arydolphin said:
I'm a little bit weird in that I want pretty tight gaps at the bottom end of my bag. Determining what wedges and short irons I will have in my bag will then determine how many clubs I have to work with at the top of my bag. The way I see it is that I'm going to have many more shots from 50-125 yards as opposed to 200+ yards, so I want to focus on the shorter distances. It also helps that I can hit the ball a decent distance off of the tee, so I don't have very many hybrid or fairway wood approach shots.

Once all that is done, I'm usually looking to add a fairway wood that will be used more off of the tee than the fairway, but I have to be able to hit it off of the deck as well. I don't care about the loft or the number on the bottom of the club; I've played a 3 wood and 4 wood in that slot at times, whereas my dad has gone to a 5 wood as his fairway wood, it's whatever works off of the deck. After that, there will usually be 2 hybrids before getting into my irons.
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It's not weird at all IMO. I am the same way in that I like to work backwards from the bottom of the bag.

Personally, when I am 200 plus out I am not expecting to hit a green. I am ecstatic to hit it but expecting to be around it. With that said, I am not looking to build at the top to have exact clubs for 200, 210, 220, etc. I will gladly choke down on a 3 wood to cover a gap to my 3 hybrid. I would much rather make an alteration to grip on a shot I may have once a round rather than a shot from within 100 that I have 3x per round.
 
I am building a bag from scratch, or rather started in November with the irons (4-AW). I have never had a choice of wedges before, but now I have PW,SW,AW and 60degree. Add the putter to that and that is 11 clubs. That has made me think about the top of the bag a lot more. I replaced my driver recently so have the new on in the bag, which leaves me two clubs. Luckily for me the new irons go further than the old set so there is not such a gap between the 3w that I used to carry and the 4i. However I decided to get a 3H for those longer fairways shots. I am hitting that further than the old 3w so I can take that out of the bag now. But, there is now a gap between my 4i and the 3H, I would say it is about 25 - 30 yards or so. I am now stuck between deciding whether to bridge that gap, or two get a new long 3w. I guess what I am saying is that I am distance driven not loft.
The more I think about it I may get the 3w and look at a gap filler, then I can decide on the day/course what I need.
 
I am actually pretty versatile with the 3W as I use it off the tee and off the deck with a good degree of success. From there I looked at what my longest Iron could produce and what the distance gap is between that and my 3W. I am now loking for a hybrid to split that distance gap that provides ease of use off the tee as well for longer Par 3's. Having 3 clubs at the top of my bag gives me room for more choices in the scoring clubs (150yds and in).
 
I've been lately pondering about having a 5-wood in my MC setup...A driver is a simple thing, then 3-wood, but a 5-wood would put me in a difficult situation...hybrid + irons from 5i. No hybrid and irons from 4i. I love my current 4-iron, but distance wise I'd need a hybrid. So, pondering is mainly about 5-wood vs. hybrid.
 
like a few others here, i tend to focus on the bottom part of my bag more than the top for a few reasons...
with my game, my distance gaps shorten up a lot at the top of my bag and i tend to hit everything at the top a very similar distance.
so for me, it's not about having clubs that will get me to every distance...i don't need a 240 club, and a 230 club, and a 225 club, and a 220 club, and a 215 club and a 210 club, and a 205 club, and a 200 club, etc.....
i just need a club that's going to put me in a safe spot to hit my next shot. and more often then not, that next shot will be a wedge shot, and that's the shot that needs to be the most accurate, so that's why i will focus more on the bottom of my bag.

having a 3 wood is important for me, but i would side with one that i could easily hit off the deck. if i can do that, then i can hit it off the tee. i can think of one club right now that currently resides in Sarasota....we rekindled our love affair in Ohio and it was magical.
 
tnolan said:
like a few others here, i tend to focus on the bottom part of my bag more than the top for a few reasons...
with my game, my distance gaps shorten up a lot at the top of my bag and i tend to hit everything at the top a very similar distance.
so for me, it's not about having clubs that will get me to every distance...i don't need a 240 club, and a 230 club, and a 225 club, and a 220 club, and a 215 club and a 210 club, and a 205 club, and a 200 club, etc.....
i just need a club that's going to put me in a safe spot to hit my next shot. and more often then not, that next shot will be a wedge shot, and that's the shot that needs to be the most accurate, so that's why i will focus more on the bottom of my bag.

having a 3 wood is important for me, but i would side with one that i could easily hit off the deck. if i can do that, then i can hit it off the tee. i can think of one club right now that currently resides in Sarasota....we rekindled our love affair in Ohio and it was magical.
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Man, almost like you took the words from my mouth. I'm just looking for something that isn't a hit and hope club. I make my scores closer to the green and if I'm hitting a 3 wood from the fairway I probably did something wrong.
 
Hawk said:
Man, almost like you took the words from my mouth. I'm just looking for something that isn't a hit and hope club. I make my scores closer to the green and if I'm hitting a 3 wood from the fairway I probably did something wrong.
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lol. great minds.

sometimes you just have to have some faith and rip one from the short grass...
used to be, i'd need to tee off with my 3 wood at least 2 or 3 holes on my home course, due to distance and doglegs...but 3 woods are so damn long nowadays, that i've dialed back to a hybrid from the tee. i've got big time driver confidence as well, so i don't normally pull a 3 wood from the tee.
 
tnolan said:
like a few others here, i tend to focus on the bottom part of my bag more than the top for a few reasons...
with my game, my distance gaps shorten up a lot at the top of my bag and i tend to hit everything at the top a very similar distance.
so for me, it's not about having clubs that will get me to every distance...i don't need a 240 club, and a 230 club, and a 225 club, and a 220 club, and a 215 club and a 210 club, and a 205 club, and a 200 club, etc.....
i just need a club that's going to put me in a safe spot to hit my next shot. and more often then not, that next shot will be a wedge shot, and that's the shot that needs to be the most accurate, so that's why i will focus more on the bottom of my bag.

having a 3 wood is important for me, but i would side with one that i could easily hit off the deck. if i can do that, then i can hit it off the tee. i can think of one club right now that currently resides in Sarasota....we rekindled our love affair in Ohio and it was magical.
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Hawk said:
Man, almost like you took the words from my mouth. I'm just looking for something that isn't a hit and hope club. I make my scores closer to the green and if I'm hitting a 3 wood from the fairway I probably did something wrong.
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For me, I've always been so used to using one wedge in my set-up that I don't know how the bottom will shake out when it comes time for that. I'm used to taking half shots from 70 yards away. I guess it depends on your style with your wedges as well, if you like to take full shots from as close as possible, that changes a few things. I guess I am saying I'm a bit in both boats, it's not like I am going for 5 ft away from 225, but at the same time, I'd like to be able to slot a club at the top that can put an eagle opportunity in front of me on a par 5 if the shot is good enough (big IF!)
 
dcbrad said:
For me, I've always been so used to using one wedge in my set-up that I don't know how the bottom will shake out when it comes time for that. I'm used to taking half shots from 70 yards away. I guess it depends on your style with your wedges as well, if you like to take full shots from as close as possible, that changes a few things. I guess I am saying I'm a bit in both boats, it's not like I am going for 5 ft away from 225, but at the same time, I'd like to be able to slot a club at the top that can put an eagle opportunity in front of me on a par 5 if the shot is good enough (big IF!)
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It's definitely two very different approaches. For me, I look at the percentages and what will get me out of or into trouble. Planning my bag based on a club I need to hit a par 5 in two isn't really worth it to me, because I very rarely am going to be in that situation. I do like having three wedges and having them dialed in really ended up dropping my scores last year. When I got in trouble or hit a bad drive, I just picked a club to get me inside 100 yards because it's almost a surefire way of giving myself a par putt.

However, everybody's different. Have to play to your strengths.
 
I totally reconfigured my bag this year, and from my experiences, I would suggest figuring out first what sort of wedge setup you want to have; whether you want to go with 3 or 4 wedges and then try to fill your gaps at the top end from there.

As far as the top of the bag goes, after the driver I look for versatility from my 3 wood--being able to hit it off the tee and deck. I want a 3 wood I feel comfortable with to go for par 5s in two when the opportunity presents itself. From there, I look for something whether it is an iron or hybrid that I can hit on long par 3s, from the fairway, and off the tee with accuracy on short par 4s.

I have a fairly large gap between my 3 iron and 3 wood, but that is less of a concern to me than having too large of a gap at the bottom end of my bag as I don't come across that gap very often.
 
I agree with Hawk. The bottom of my bag is more important but when setting up the top of my bag I look for clubs to bail me out and be a good driver replacement seeing how I play some tight courses. I want a 3w and hybrid I can control. If the yardage means I can reach a par 5 in two then great but to me control is the bigger issue.
 
dcbrad said:
For me, I've always been so used to using one wedge in my set-up that I don't know how the bottom will shake out when it comes time for that. I'm used to taking half shots from 70 yards away. I guess it depends on your style with your wedges as well, if you like to take full shots from as close as possible, that changes a few things. I guess I am saying I'm a bit in both boats, it's not like I am going for 5 ft away from 225, but at the same time, I'd like to be able to slot a club at the top that can put an eagle opportunity in front of me on a par 5 if the shot is good enough (big IF!)
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this has already been beneficial to you, whether you know it or not. many golfers can only take full swings with clubs, so having the ability to work in different percentages with your wedges pays off tremendously...especially if you have 2 or 3 to choose from. the problems that i see are too many amateur golfers chipping with 1 club...and it's either a PW or an LW. "this is my chipping club." is what they'll say, but they can never chip it within 5 feet.
PW - that's a 44*-46* club. you use it from 100 yards on average...i don't see how golfers can chip short shots accurately with it.
LW - 58*-60* club. if you're above a 10 hdcp, there's no reason for you to own this club.

sorry, this has become more of a rant on my qualms with golfers who just have clubs to have clubs and don't fully utilize or optimize their bags to their games. it's frustrating to me.
 
tnolan said:
this has already been beneficial to you, whether you know it or not. many golfers can only take full swings with clubs, so having the ability to work in different percentages with your wedges pays off tremendously...especially if you have 2 or 3 to choose from. the problems that i see are too many amateur golfers chipping with 1 club...and it's either a PW or an LW. "this is my chipping club." is what they'll say, but they can never chip it within 5 feet.
PW - that's a 44*-46* club. you use it from 100 yards on average...i don't see how golfers can chip short shots accurately with it.
LW - 58*-60* club. if you're above a 10 hdcp, there's no reason for you to own this club.

sorry, this has become more of a rant on my qualms with golfers who just have clubs to have clubs and don't fully utilize or optimize their bags to their games. it's frustrating to me.
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tnolan said:
this has already been beneficial to you, whether you know it or not. many golfers can only take full swings with clubs, so having the ability to work in different percentages with your wedges pays off tremendously...especially if you have 2 or 3 to choose from. the problems that i see are too many amateur golfers chipping with 1 club...and it's either a PW or an LW. "this is my chipping club." is what they'll say, but they can never chip it within 5 feet.
PW - that's a 44*-46* club. you use it from 100 yards on average...i don't see how golfers can chip short shots accurately with it.
LW - 58*-60* club. if you're above a 10 hdcp, there's no reason for you to own this club.

sorry, this has become more of a rant on my qualms with golfers who just have clubs to have clubs and don't fully utilize or optimize their bags to their games. it's frustrating to me.
Click to expand...

I will agree with the 58-60 degree club. i've never had good success with one and thats why I'm sure my wedges will top out at 56.
In the 5 scenarios I have listed out I've got 4 wedges in all but one, so I'm fairly certain that I'll end up with 4 wedges in the bottom of my bag.
The question there becomes the set AW which is 49* or go with the 588 48*.

I'm not long off the tee and have more long approach shots than I'd like. With the practice and lessons I'm taking maybe that will change before the Morgan Cup but at this point I'm trying to be realistic and build a bag that suits my game right now. That's why I'm looking at the 2W & 2H vs 1W & 2H vs 2W & 1H possibilities.


Here are the possibilities I'm considering again.
dhill37 said:
Great Thread. I have been going into overdrive as well. I've got a lot of ponders going on and there is a chance for great info here.

I'm looking at top vs. bottom of the bag and here are some thoughts I've had so far. I'm not sure what distances I'll hit the clubs and I know that'll play in as well.

MC Ponders-L.png
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tnolan said:
this has already been beneficial to you, whether you know it or not. many golfers can only take full swings with clubs, so having the ability to work in different percentages with your wedges pays off tremendously...especially if you have 2 or 3 to choose from. the problems that i see are too many amateur golfers chipping with 1 club...and it's either a PW or an LW. "this is my chipping club." is what they'll say, but they can never chip it within 5 feet.
PW - that's a 44*-46* club. you use it from 100 yards on average...i don't see how golfers can chip short shots accurately with it.
LW - 58*-60* club. if you're above a 10 hdcp, there's no reason for you to own this club.

sorry, this has become more of a rant on my qualms with golfers who just have clubs to have clubs and don't fully utilize or optimize their bags to their games. it's frustrating to me.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more about the lob wedge. I dropped mine from the bag and couldn't be happier. I use a 56 for all the short stuff and a 50 for some of the longer chips, though since the wedge testing I've been using the 56 for just about everything. I'm also a fan of taking partial swings inside of 110 or so. 120ish to 130is I'll use my PW, then move to the 50. I won't pull my 56 out of the bag unless I'm 80 or in. My layup yardage is about 100 and I try to play to that as often as possible on holes where that is required and I can make it happen. The nice side effect of this is having an extra slot at the top of my bag. I still have days where my driver is terrible. I need a fallback on those days, and when I do it's either my 3 or 5W depending. After the 5W, I'm just looking for a bridge to my 4I. Could be a 7W or a 20/21˚ hybrid. Just depends on what works for me distance wise. I will say that I'm considering adding a 4H to my bag as well just because they're easy to hit. If I get to a point where I feel the need to add another wedge, I would drop the 3W without hesitation though. Possibly move into a 4W/7W or 4W/3H setup, but the F5 is plenty long to play by it's lonesome. Some of the new gear coming out is long enough that a 4W should be able to cover that part of the bag easily.
 
tnolan said:
like a few others here, i tend to focus on the bottom part of my bag more than the top for a few reasons...
with my game, my distance gaps shorten up a lot at the top of my bag and i tend to hit everything at the top a very similar distance.
so for me, it's not about having clubs that will get me to every distance...i don't need a 240 club, and a 230 club, and a 225 club, and a 220 club, and a 215 club and a 210 club, and a 205 club, and a 200 club, etc.....
i just need a club that's going to put me in a safe spot to hit my next shot. and more often then not, that next shot will be a wedge shot, and that's the shot that needs to be the most accurate, so that's why i will focus more on the bottom of my bag.

having a 3 wood is important for me, but i would side with one that i could easily hit off the deck. if i can do that, then i can hit it off the tee. i can think of one club right now that currently resides in Sarasota....we rekindled our love affair in Ohio and it was magical.
Click to expand...

Exactly my strategy. It's about the Driver first, then the irons, then the wedges. Then, I simply filled in the top of my bag with the two club slots that I had remaining.

My thinking was I want a 3 wood that I could hit off the deck (and off the tee) and then a club in between my 3 wood and 4 iron. I opted for a 3H over a 5 wood just to get a bit more flexibility (and I wanted to close the yardage gap closer to the 4 iron than the 3 wood.
 
dhill37 said:
I will agree with the 58-60 degree club. i've never had good success with one and thats why I'm sure my wedges will top out at 56.
In the 5 scenarios I have listed out I've got 4 wedges in all but one, so I'm fairly certain that I'll end up with 4 wedges in the bottom of my bag.
The question there becomes the set AW which is 49* or go with the 588 48*.

I'm not long off the tee and have more long approach shots than I'd like. With the practice and lessons I'm taking maybe that will change before the Morgan Cup but at this point I'm trying to be realistic and build a bag that suits my game right now. That's why I'm looking at the 2W & 2H vs 1W & 2H vs 2W & 1H possibilities.


Here are the possibilities I'm considering again.
Click to expand...

Dude I love the prep you've been doing! That is a killer looking spread sheet. I love reading through everyone's thought processes. I think it's good info for everyone to see how each person goes about this process.
 
The LW thing...gave me an idea.

Maybe I could manage with PW/52/56 and leave the 60. Enter 5 wood. Awesome. :D
 
Castor Hades said:
The LW thing...gave me an idea.

Maybe I could manage with PW/52/56 and leave the 60. Enter 5 wood. Awesome. :D
Click to expand...

You can definitely get away with it if you're comfortable opening the face a little bit. I've found the J40 wedge to be really easy to work with in this regard.
 
I would say it all depends on your game. I carry driver, 2 hybrid that I hit as far as I need for the top of my bag, then start irons from there at 3-pw, 52* that I play for 125 and in none of which are full swings then 56* for 100 in and a 60* I only only use in rare occasions.
I can tee off with my 2H and out drive most people I play with and am more likely to hit my target with it on bad diver days.
It's all about demoing clubs and see where they would fit or if they do. Golf courses around here usually have woods you can take out for your round, is that a possibility where you are?
 
blugold said:
Top of my bag is about two things for me. Driver alternatives and then ease of use from the course.
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That's well put, my wood(s) need to be driver replacements and off the deck and the others are all about versatility and ease.
 
Just found this thread. Found it really useful, as I am completely rethinking my bag and overhauling the contents.

1. Saw the testing thread here and bought rocketbladez. With these, I discovered that I could hit a 5 iron. So I thought I would get a 4 as well. (Still in its box as the snows came to England...)
2. Got to perusing the wedge threads....now got 5 SCOR wedges...
Anybody seeing a pattern yet?
So, suddenly I'm having to make all sorts of decisions about what's in and what's out.
I think that I need to build one of those spread sheets!




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For me I have my driver and 3 wood Then I go 3 and 4 hybrid 5-pw in my 1 20s then 3 wedges 50 56 60 degrees I find that my hybrids and wedges are well gapped out and between my 3 wood and Hybrid is about 20 yards which works for me.
 
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