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How do you build the top of your bag?

hackitup

hackitup

Some rando
Albatross 2024 Club
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I'm going to be dropping my 5h in favor of a 4i for a bit to see which suits my game and tastes better. I may even decide to alternate depending on weather and course conditions. I'm pretty set in my plans and plan on seeing this experiment through, but...

That got me curious. How do you select which clubs are at the top of your bag? Do you try for greens at 200+? Do you favor workability or forgiveness? What's your philosophy for the longer clubs and how well does it match your playing style?
 
hackitup said:
I'm going to be dropping my 5h in favor of a 4i for a bit to see which suits my game and tastes better. I may even decide to alternate depending on weather and course conditions. I'm pretty set in my plans and plan on seeing this experiment through, but...

That got me curious. How do you select which clubs are at the top of your bag? Do you try for greens at 200+? Do you favor workability or forgiveness? What's your philosophy for the longer clubs and how well does it match your playing style?
Click to expand...

The top of my bag is determined by my swing speed. As I approach 60, I no longer have the swing speed to hit longer irons - so a 6 iron is as high as I get. Then its a 5, 4 and 3 hybrid along with a 4 wood. So the decision process is out of my hands - which is kind of nice 'cause I don't need to fret over it!
 
I've come a long way from trying to hit everything "as far as possible " but I have to admit I still find it great fun.

So unless going long is just a bad idea, I try to stretch my shots.

For the top of the bag, I just try to fill the gap between my driver and my longest and most reliable iron, which is the 6.
 
I can still hit a 4i ok but want some forgiveness there so I play a hollow body 4i. I then want about 10-15 yd gap and some forgiveness so I play a hybrid that gives me that distance. I play 16.5* wood because it gives me similar distance to a 15* wood but easier to hit and get some launch. Driver I play what looks good, sounds/feel good and fits my swing
 
I am having a similar issue at the time with my bag, I am in the process of adding a 4th wedge SM6 58* to the bag and trying to decide if I should remove my 4 iron or 3 wood. If I go by use of club the 3 wood would go due to several rounds that I never put it in play, as I have a 2 hybrid 17.5* that I hit better and carry it close to the same distance (15-20 yards). My confidence with the driver finding the fairway is so high that I never use the 3 wood of the tee and most par 5's I can't get home in two so I hit the 2h or 5 iron for the lay up. The 4 iron I use for punch shots and some longer par 3's, but could choke down on the 3h or hood the 5 iron and get similar results. As it stands right now I think the extra wedge will be of more value than the 3 wood or 4 iron, just which one to pull.

I think part of the issue is I've been struggling with the 3 wood of late, and just not getting a good strike on the ball and lost some confidence in it.
 
D, 3W, 3i, 4i....

I've got some big gaps there, but I've got no gaps in my wedges. I weighed it up and that was what I felt was more important. I hit a choked down 3/4 3wood 210metres, so there's a bit of a gap filler, but without compression and speed it's a low ball flight with run so I can't hit it for any circumstance.


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I build it based on carry distances and comfort/confidence. I like hitting FW's, so I go 3w-5w, and I like the forgiveness and distance bump a hybrid gives me, so I go hybrid over 4i. I will go at greens up to about 230-240 out.
 
Driver, some sort of fairway like a 3W and then irons...I have a hybrid now at that 3H spot but I'm pulling it in favor of another utility iron. I prefer them and hit them better than any hybrid. So, despite trying to adapt to using a hybrid because everyone told me I should, I'm going back to the same type of bag construction I had as a young man.
 
How do you build the top of your bag?

Everything is based off carry numbers except 3w. I find what's comfortable to me then play it


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Driver
Mini driver for when I trick myself into thinking I need more control with the tee shot
4 wood for long shots from the fairway where there is room left
4 hybrid which is my 200+ yard club from the rough (I will also play bump-and-run chips around the green with it)
5 iron is around 190 and I go from there.
 
alez367 said:
Everything is based off carry numbers except 3w. I find what's comfortable to me then play it


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Click to expand...

Same. I have a gap between my highest iron / hybrid and 3W but I don't care.
 
SouthernShred said:
Same. I have a gap between my highest iron / hybrid and 3W but I don't care.
Click to expand...

Sometimes you just need a club that you don't care the results every time, swinging it just comes natural and it works for you. That's my 3w. And of course you know I have a replacement coming for it already ??*♂️


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alez367 said:
Sometimes you just need a club that you don't care the results every time, swinging it just comes natural and it works for you. That's my 3w. And of course you know I have a replacement coming for it already ����*♂️


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Click to expand...

Lol...but of course.

I have about a 40 yard gap but I could care less. It is at a distance that I'm not going to be pin hunting
 
I want a driver with a maximized launchy and carry. I've owned the fade I play here, but there are some drivers that make it more playable than others, I lean towards those (more heel weighting)

3W is a tee option first (90% of the time) and I want a higher ball flight for the shorter par 4's, but to still be able to hit a nice mid shot off the deck of a par 5 if the hole allows for it design wise. Want to be able to turn this one over.

5W is for off the deck (90% of the time) and I want MAXIMIZED carry because I'm going to hit it from 240 in, into greens and frozen ropes won't do.

4H is literally a jack of all trades club for me, flatter flight but still enough to go at long par 3's or poorly played par 4's. Also a great layup club on long Par 5's.

5H is a green light club, its got a higher flight than its 4H sibling and I can hit it into any green and any pin without worrying about it not holding the surface, in fact, its a drop and stop club.

These are the things I try my best to design the top half of my bag to do, it doesn't always work out that way depending on what I'm reviewing, but its the goal.
 
200 yards is about the longest approach I'll try, much more and I'm usually laying up to a little wedge, but I can get a ton of roll with my 4i so if there's an opening I'll go for it with that club.

3w- 220
3h- 200
4i- 180

I carry a 3W for the tee ball only, never off the FW, but I'm working on it!
 
First of all I'm not a long hitter with a driver SS between 90-93 mph, if I really step into one but still maintaining control I can get up to 95 mph. I'm now 62 so perhaps that may not be too bad.

The top of my bag is Driver, 3-4W, 5-6W, 7-8W. I recently switched to SL irons beginning with the 4i. What I discovered is that the gapping between the 4i and the 5i was only about 5 to 6 yards, all other gaps were just fine. So I pulled my 4i and replaced it with 3-4 hybrid which provides gapping I'm looking for.

We are always searching for distance, but I'm focusing on using the right club that will deliver the best consistancy. I'm feeling real good about how my bag is now setup.
 
Jman said:
I want a driver with a maximized launchy and carry. I've owned the fade I play here, but there are some drivers that make it more playable than others, I lean towards those (more heel weighting)


3W is a tee option first (90% of the time) and I want a higher ball flight for the shorter par 4's, but to still be able to hit a nice mid shot off the deck of a par 5 if the hole allows for it design wise. Want to be able to turn this one over.


5W is for off the deck (90% of the time) and I want MAXIMIZED carry because I'm going to hit it from 240 in, into greens and frozen ropes won't do.


4H is literally a jack of all trades club for me, flatter flight but still enough to go at long par 3's or poorly played par 4's. Also a great layup club on long Par 5's.


5H is a green light club, its got a higher flight than its 4H sibling and I can hit it into any green and any pin without worrying about it not holding the surface, in fact, its a drop and stop club.


These are the things I try my best to design the top half of my bag to do, it doesn't always work out that way depending on what I'm reviewing, but its the goal.
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This is an excellent post and other than the ball flight off the tee, details my goals for the top of the bag pretty well.
 
I work off my driver carry distance. I do carry a 3w, but only as a secondary tee option. So after whatever tee option my Heavenwood starts my gapping into my hybrid and long irons.
 
I pick the longest driver
I then pick the longest FW
I then pick the longest hybrid
Iron's are more about precision for me. But I like them to go a long ways as well.
 
As others have said it is all about carry and how YOU will use them. Personally start with Driver, finding the one that is going to give me the most shots in the fairway at the longest distance from the tee.

Then figure out where your "scoring" clubs start, I like to have the bottom of my bag set first, then determine the longer clubs. I am comfortable with 6I down in my irons, and am covered to a 60* wedge. With Irons/wedges/putter/driver I have 10 clubs, leaving 4 spots between Driver and 6I. I found a larger more forgiving 5I that works for me right now, and is about 10-15 yards longer than my 6I.

Then I got fit for a 4H that is about 10-15 yards longer than the 5I and I am comfortable hitting out of decent length rough. Same day, got fit for 3W/5W that give me 12/15 yard gaps between each other and the 4H.

That hits the number of clubs and gives me solid gaps and yardages that I am confident on what club to hit in different situations. IE, I am not struggling over the ball wondering which club to hit very often.
 
I pick the clubs throughout the bag to fill the gaps.
I carry an 18* hybrid (3) and then go down to a 4 iron.
That covers 190 to 225 between those 2 clubs.
I favor forgiveness over workability.
 
The spaces between the 3 wood HL and the 6 iron are subject to change once my season gets underway.
Gaps and how well I consistently hit each club will determine what plays and what stays home or in the car.
Right now I've got a 3h 4h 5h then 6iron, but the 5iron may go back in. My 3h and 4h are really similar to me for some reason, but I haven't really figured out distances yet this year so everything will stay as is until I get my swing and distances figured out.
 
mancest said:
As others have said it is all about carry and how YOU will use them.
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I'm beginning to think this is why I haven't found much on the topic. It does look like a very personal thing with a few general ideas in common - comfort, confidence, ability, and playing style. I also see gapping at this end is still somewhat a personal decision but mostly within the 10-15 yd range.

mancest said:
Then I got fit for a 4H that is about 10-15 yards longer than the 5I and I am comfortable hitting out of decent length rough. Same day, got fit for 3W/5W that give me 12/15 yard gaps between each other and the 4H.
Click to expand...
You got fit for hybrids and woods? Nice. I did more or less the same, but on my own in the golf shop's hitting bay. I also play with shafts to get the flight and landing I want.

Interesting responses so far. I was hoping to find more general ideas in common but I'm seeing how personal club selection is and how few generalizations can be made.
 
hackitup said:
I'm beginning to think this is why I haven't found much on the topic. It does look like a very personal thing with a few general ideas in common - comfort, confidence, ability, and playing style. I also see gapping at this end is still somewhat a personal decision but mostly within the 10-15 yd range.


You got fit for hybrids and woods? Nice. I did more or less the same, but on my own in the golf shop's hitting bay. I also play with shafts to get the flight and landing I want.

Interesting responses so far. I was hoping to find more general ideas in common but I'm seeing how personal club selection is and how few generalizations can be made.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is tough to get dialed in for what you need. The fitter I went to offers a full bag fitting, then driver fitting, long game (FW/Hybrid) fitting, iron/wedge fitting and putter.
 
As a little clarification from my earlier post.

The driver is going to be what it is, but maybe I could find a longer one, but this one seldom misses the fairway. My 3 wood is just an option for distance if its needed but most of the time I will select a shorter more accurate club. I really don't try for the green unless I'm 200 or less to the green, this is the area I try for more consistence in gapping.

I just got my 4th wedge a SM6 58* K grind so I'll drop the 4 iron for now and see how that works.
 
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