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I'm an Idiot - Help me fill my Club Gaps

SuperStroke
Splendorlex

Splendorlex

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Jul 13, 2013
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Location
Northern Illinois
Handicap
40+
You've probably seen my thread about difficulties with long Par 3s and whether I might need a hybrid or two. Well, I finally looked closer at what I actually have in my bag and it turns out I was totally mistaken about my Adams Tight Lies. I thought what I had was a "Strong 3" (it is one of the early Fairway Woods I think), and I was playing it like it was a 3 wood. Well, it turns out it has NO number on it, just says "Tight Lies" and is actually 16 degrees! No WONDER there was such a gap between what I THOUGHT was my 3w and my driver! So anyhow, I thought maybe a good exercise would be to layout everything I have in my bag right now, and ask the community to help me find and fill the biggest gaps (especially in the longer yardage area!)

TM R9 Supertri 10.5 (I already LOVE this driver)
Adams Tight Lies 16* (I LOVE the way I can hit this in the fairway or light rough. Flies very nice and always seems to come through for me.)
Wilson Staff Fybrid 5W 18*
Wilson Di7 Irons 4I-GW
Dynacraft SW 55* (Made for me by my Grandpa, don't know much about it other than that it's rusty.)
Tour Edge Blade Putter

That's what I'm carrying right now. And I think now that I realized my ignorance, I can plainly see a big honking gap between my driver and everything else. I'd also like to try a hybrid or two to possibly replace my 4I at least. With any recommendations, keep in mind I'm learning, and I don't want to spend $200 on any one club. If I can get something a couple years old off Ebay or CL that will work (or here for that matter) that's what I'd prefer to do.

I'm also deliberately leaving my mistaken "WITB" sig for this post.
 
Your gap between driver and the 3w is normal and fine.

If you're a high handicap you may find use in a 4 or even 5 and 6 hybrid.
 
I got the 3,4,5 Wilson Staff Fybrid iron replacement for 28.99 each on-sale at Rockbottomgolf.com a few weeks ago and am VERY happy. I am not totally screwed if I'm in that 175-200 range now.
 
Splendorlex said:
...and ask the community to help me find and fill the biggest gaps (especially in the longer yardage area!)

TM R9 Supertri 10.5 (I already LOVE this driver)
Adams Tight Lies 16* (I LOVE the way I can hit this in the fairway or light rough. Flies very nice and always seems to come through for me.)
Wilson Staff Fybrid 5W 18*
Wilson Di7 Irons 4I-GW
Dynacraft SW 55* (Made for me by my Grandpa, don't know much about it other than that it's rusty.)
Tour Edge Blade Putter...
Click to expand...

Splendor, is the handicap index in your profile current? That might make some difference in what others recommend. Also, there will be some assumptions made when providing you with recommendations (flight tendencies, carry distances, etc). Having said that, and looking at your current bag, I don't see too many "glaring" gaps. It seems you really like your driver and Tight Lies, so stick with them. If your index is current, then you are probably better served with the 16 than a strong 3-wood, anyway. You could make some changes between those clubs and your irons. You could keep the Fybrid and add a couple of hybrids, say a 20/21 and 23/24, and drop your 4 iron, anyway.
 
It's tough to talk about gaps not knowing how far you hit your different clubs. Some people hit a 5w 40 yds further than a 4i while others it may be only a 20 yd gap. But, even not knowing your yardages it looks like that is probably the biggest gap you will have. Everything else is pretty standard.
 
That is just the default handicap, I believe, but it probably is close to the truth. I break 100 on a good day, and my goal is to score the mid to low 90s consistently. I do also want to find an alternative for that 4I. I can't really tell you the yardage difference accurately because I have a very hard time hitting the 4I well.
 
You may want to drop your 4 and 5 iron and replace them with a couple of Fybrids. Your gaps look normal to me.
 
I'm glad to hear I don't actually have any glaring gaps. :) I think I also have a 14* Tour Edge 3W that's about 6 or 7 years old I could put back in my bag. I also plan to go to the range today and look at the hybrids in the pro shop. If I wanted to replace my 4 and 5 iron, what kind of lofts do I want in a hybrid?
 
I didn't really see a huge gap either. For my setup, I go from a 9.5* driver to a 17* 2H. There's a bit of a gap, but I think with longer clubs you're going to see a bigger gap. It's the shorter clubs that you want closer together.

As for hybrids replacing 4-5 irons, my 4h is 22* and my 5h is 25*. With your 18* 5w, I'd think somewhere along those lines would fit your bag.
 
My last two sets have gone D, 3w, 18h, 22h and I've loved the gaps.
 
Hawk said:
Your gap between driver and the 3w is normal and fine.

If you're a high handicap you may find use in a 4 or even 5 and 6 hybrid.
Click to expand...
QFT!

First off your're not an idiot, second, don't be afraid to build your bag the way you want it to benefit YOUR game, and woods and hybrids can be your friends, especially depending on how many wedges you carry.
 
I honestly feel really good about my 6I on down, and I have no qualms about putting a hybrid or two in there. :) I'll check some out today, see if I can hit them.
 
I agree with the above. I play a 9 1/2* driver, and I'm about to swap my 15* 3w for a 16 1/2* 4w to have a better fairway finder and "go for it in 2" club. Gap from there is to a 20.5* 3H, 23* 4H, then irons on down.

Build the set that makes sense to you. There are no rules on what clubs you HAVE to use. Play better with hybrids? Drop your fairway woods. Don't hit drivers well? A 3w or 1h may make sense. Play what makes sense to you and your distance gaps - don't mind what's marked on the club!
 
My question would be what do you think you are missing out on?

If its that you have too much of a gap between your driver and 16deg wood? Then go look at new lower lofted 3w's.

If its that you need something to fill the gap between the 5w and the 4i, then go look into some hybrids. (5w to a 4i) is a gap I used to have. Removed the 5w (which I only really hit off the odd tee box), and put in a Mashie M3 (also have a Mashie+ M3).

The Mashie really filled the gap for me. My bag goes 10.5 driver, 3W, 3h, 4i. It ended up being the right combo for me.

There should be a lot of affordable decent hybrids available out there, and I would really recommend you look into them if you are trying to fill that specific gap.
 
Most people don't need a 60* wedge. My 58 barely gets used. I am pretty sure timbertoes was saying that tongue-in-cheek.
 
I just got back from the range. They had a Cobra Baffler 4H 22* that I was able to hit. It did seem really solid. Even my off hits were pretty good once I adjusted to the length of the shaft. It felt odd at first to stand so close with what looked like a wood, and I topped the heck out of the first few. It convinced me pretty quickly that a hybrid like that could really help my game. I nearly bought it on the spot, since it was $40. I decided to wait and do some research on them first, though.

On another note, are there clubs you just can't hit well? I tried to hit my new Fybrid 5W again, and I have yet to hit a solid shot with that thing. I just seem to cut across the ball more with that club than I do with any other (and cutting across is already a big problem for me, I don't need it worse!) I don't know what it is, but I just can't seem to hit that club.
 
Some head and shaft combo's just don't work for all of us. You need clubs that your are confident in and the Bafflers are very underrated and very good in my opinion.
 
Smallville said:
Most people don't need a 60* wedge. My 58 barely gets used. I am pretty sure timbertoes was saying that tongue-in-cheek.
Click to expand...
Not at all. It is a fun club to use. just for the record, I would never tongue-in-cheek reply to a serious question. :)
 
I will soon have a couple of new Adams hybrids in the bag, Adams Tech V3 3h and 4h. I've always felt great about the way my current Tight Lies hits, and I'm hoping it translates to these hybrids. Thanks all for the advice!

Oh, and about the Fybrid 5W 18* that I just can't seem to hit, I think I may be standing way too far away. I took some video at the range last time and I was hitting most shots with it off the toe. I'll keep working on that club for now, and I'll try to stand a little closer. :)
 
i don't see a problem with your setup, i play 8* driver, 17* 4 wood, 21* & 24* hybrids, then 5i.
 
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