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Setting your bag for success

Tadashi70

Tadashi70

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I saw a photo of Ernie Els bag yesterday. He had driver, (2) fairway woods, (2) hybrids, 5-pw, 52 and 60* wedges and his putter. This apparently is the setup that works for him. His longest iron is a 5 iron. He is a tour star with 40% of his bag made up of woods. I see you guys with 3i in their bags and two woods that can't break 90. That tells me their bags aren't set for success.

Is your bag set for success? Or does it follow a trend of what is popular? The goal of the bag is to support your strengths on the course. But I find with a great deal of golfer their bags magnify their flaws.

I see guys carrying clubs that they feel they can hit but in reality have no business hitting. I always want to tell them to switch for a hybrid or grab the 56* instead of the 60*. We as players tend to only remember the good shots with a certain club and forget the 100s of poor shots we hit. If we focused on what was broken our games might reach the next level, what ever that may be.

If your bag isn't set for success, then lessons and fittings won't help. Is your bag set for success?
 
Interesting topic. I'm still learning what I need and what I don't. I definitely have an incomplete bag with zero fairway woods. I'm still building a decent bag for myself as I'm learning what clubs are good for me and what clubs aren't.


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I feel like mine is with just maybe 1 tweak in the near future. My bag is set similar to Ernie's with the exception of my carrying an extra wedge (50, 54, 58) and one less hybrid (only carry a 4h - 23*). The only thing I feel that I need to change is either finding a hybrid I can hit better or replacing it with a 7 wood.
 
Great topic!!

Currently my bag is set for my swing and my game. Carrying a 4w since I hit it better than the 3w and the longest iron I carry is a 5i. I usually bag 4 wedges and 2 hybrids, but if I'm playing a longer course, I'll pull the 52° and 62° wedges and put a driver in once I get fitted for a new one next month. I like to think that by setting my clubs for the course I'm playing, it give me a better shot at getting into the 80's more often.

I won't be bagging a driver much this year since I'm going to stick to my home course that plays 5300 yards from the whites.
 
It's time to drop the 4i from my bag & focus on what FW/hybrid setup works best for me. I recently got Cobra Amp Cell FW woods, but haven't had a chance to hit them. Lots of adjustability, so I'm hoping I can get my bag set up better for the start of the season.
 
Good topic and good timing as I've been reviewing mine the last couple of days.

I've been looking at reinstating a hybrid towards this goal as I can't hit my 3w consistently off the deck and as a result, my 2nd shots are further from the green than they should be. I'm not a big hitter so need something of decent length but something I can actually hit rather than duff 40yds.
To generate the space, I'm going to bench my 48 wedge, 52 is the go to tool, 58 is emergency break glass device and I can manipulate pw to fill the 48 gap.

I know if I get on/around the green in 3, I stand the best chance of my goal of round in even 5s.
 
My bag is set equipment wise except for finding a three wood that I can bond with. I'm looking at the Cally Big Bertha 3 wood as an option. My driver (Titleist 910 D2) is a good stick although I will add the new Callaway Big Bertha in April, compliments of the King. I love my irons (5 -PW) which have plenty of forgiveness built in and the hybrids I bag, are good sticks.
 
Good question Sir! I would say it's getting closer. It's taken a while for me to set the ego aside honestly.
 
Funds permitting I will be looking at my bag setup this year, but as it currently stands, I am happy with the clubs in my bag and having 3i to SW is something I am comfortable with using. Yes, I can hit a bad 3i, but I could equally hit a bad hybrid if I had one in my bag, I just feel more comfortable with a long iron in my hand at this point in time. Maybe that would change if I got to spend time with a few hybrids but I can't afford to drop £££ on a club that I then find I don't feel comfortable hitting

The driver I have just picked up is only the second time I have purchased a club without hitting it prior to purchase and could turn out to be a bad buy, but for the price I paid it was a risk I was willing to take. If it doesn't work out, then I could be very slightly out of pocket, but nothing like if I had paid the normal selling price

If the driver doesn't work out, then I may look at a slightly stronger 3W to replace the current TM RBZ to give me a few extra yards off the tee (but with the same consistency that I currently get) and look at wedges to give me slightly more options at that end of the bag

Any changes at either end of the bag though will be dependent on the iron setup to ensure that there are no glaring gaps between irons/FW or irons/wedges
 
I think my bag is setup well for me, but it is something I will be reviewing in detail with my tour rep this year for the Morgan Cup as well. My gaps are covered pretty well on the top end of my bag and don't have issues making solid contact or getting my long irons up in the air. I made the switch to a PW/52/58 last year so I could add a 5w and that's been a successful setup for me. The 5w is a great option for attacking par 5s in two or another option off the tee. I have learned to control the distance with my wedges and trajectory and that philosophy has moved on throughout my bag. I now find myself taking more 3/4 swings in search of control. Like I said, I feel like I have a good setup currently but everything is open for discussion for the MC setup.
 
Excellent topic!
I have recently thought about this also, I will be keeping track of my shots both good and bad this year, and trying to be playing only the most consistent clubs.
 
Some very good points. Towards the end of this season I ditched my 60* wedge (it was a $12 impulse buy, don't know what I was thinking) and got a dedicated chipper. Let me tell you, I broke 100 for the first time thanks to that club setting me up for much better and shorter putts.
 
Great topic Freddie, I think it is, I can hit the long irons with regularity and consistency but am slowly entering a hybrid into the mix for versatility. I agree with your thoughts 100%
 
I think so. My longest iron is a 6 and I have fully embraced going with a set-up that will help me succeed vs. something that looks cool.
 
I jumped on the easier to hit bandwagon last year as well. Longest iron is a 5, and im considing going to a hybrid for it. I have no desire to hit a 3 or 4 iron anymore. I can control my 6 -pw and my 3 wedges just fine. Some may hit long irons well, I just find it with the minimal practice time that hitting a hybrid is much easier than long iron. My hands thank me fot it every cold golf morning.
 
My strength is my game inside 160 yards, so having 5 wedges (80-95-110-125-140) that I regularly use is a lot more important to my score than having the 3w that I might hit once every few rounds in there. The only way I'd set it up if I could would be to have exactly 15 yard gaps between all of my clubs instead of 15 yds b/w wedges and 10 for the rest of my irons. That would solve the 'problem' of no 3w. Though realistically, if I wanted to truly set up for success I'd scrap the driver and go with a 3w. I'd say my driver doesn't add too much to my success when I'm hitting it well compared to how much it hurts me when off (only hit it about 270 and my 3w goes 250). Just can't bring myself to get rid of it. As for my irons, I'd say my only change that might help would be to chuck my 5i and get another of the MT irons to replace it. Can't stand/hit hybrids, but love those MTs. My 6i on down I have full confidence hitting.
 
This is a great topic. I feel like my bag is set up for success. The 5 iron is my longest iron and I just added a 60* wedge. I think your bag setup is personal thing and what clubs you are comfortable with. Last year I put the 5 iron back in the bag when I bought my g-25's. I have complete confidence in hitting every club in my bag. Know when on the course if I could clear my head I will be shooting in the low 80's all season.
 
Great question and I really looked at myself last year as why do I have what I have if I can't hit it. Say I could never hit my 3 wood and got properly fitted and found out I need a 4 or 5 wood for me to get greater flight. Also I am starting to think of changing out my 4 iron with a hybrid. I can usually hit it but man hybrids are so much easier and can be used in multiple lies.
 
I'm focusing on the top of my bag this off season for sure. The short irons and wedges are solid. I game a PW, AW, 56 and 60. I think the days are numbered though for my 4 iron and 5 wood. I am looking hard at a Driver, 4 wood, 3 hybrid setup. I plan on getting a fitting next month, so I should have a solid plan of attack.
 
I never even got the plastic wrap off the 4 iron in the previous set I bought. New irons for this year begin at 5i thru AW. Bags starts Driver, 5w, 7w, 4h and finishes with 54 & 58 degree wedges. Sometimes the 7 wood stays home for a 3 wood.

I would like to hit the 5 iron better but I use it more often to punch out of trouble than I do for full swings.
 
Great question Freddie. I am clueless when it comes to setting up my bag. I switched from a 3 wood to a 4 wood in 2013 and it was worked perfectly. Having it custom fit has me hitting that further than any 3 wood I ever carried. I struggle a bit with hitting hybrids consistently, so I've been considering adding a 7 wood to replace my 3h-- depending on how that gapping works out.

I hit my 4 iron ok, but really struggle with the 5, 6, and even 7 some times. I'm mental.

My plan of action for now is to take some lessons, find a more consistent swing, and maybe fool around with bag setup at the top afterwards.
 
Leading up to the Morgan Cup, I've been pondering what changes do I feel like I need to make in my MC bag compared to my regular one - I doubt that I will have an iron lower than a 5i, and I enjoy hitting hybrids. With Cleveland, I also have the option of not using a MB wedge and instead using an easier to hit Smart Sole.
 
If I take my bag to support my strengths I will take and leave the woods out, and add a 3 iron. I won't say I can hit a 3i perfectly, but my 3 wood and hybrid shots are abysmal.
 
Tadashi70 said:
If your bag isn't set for success, then lessons and fittings won't help. Is your bag set for success?
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this. I have a chart with me I bring and mark to see what club or shot is hurting my game or helping my game. You never really know unless you track it.

This is year I removed the 3 wood, 62 degree, all hybrids, and my lower lofted driver. None of those clubs ever did anything but cost me strokes. I also pitch and run more than hop and stop. I never flop, and I use 7-9 irons around the green more than my sw or lw. My stats have improved.
 
Great topic Freddy and this is something I am working/ struggling with this offseason. The more I read and study up on the Pelz system, I am wondering whether in fact - I am set up for success. Initially I was leaning towards carrying 4 wedges, but now wondering if I really need that many wedges to be successful. I starting to think I would rather remove the 60 wedge from my bag and use the room to add another club to the top of my bag (5 wood).
 
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