Start point for bag composition

[harpo_72]

Do you just start with your irons you purchase and then adjust hybrids and fairways around those?
Do you even go as far as getting irons of a particular loft ? As there seems to be a few OEMs offering such choices, referred to as “classic”/“strong” etc
I just looked at my bag and saw my Hybrid is the longest serving club from 2015 and has been a constant and I wondered have I selected stuff subconsciously around it or was it jus a fluke

 

[jim8flog]

My bag is like the proverbial new broom

25 sets of irons, 15 different drivers, 10 different putters but the bag is new.

 

[Orikoru]

My bag is like the proverbial new broom

25 sets of irons, 15 different drivers, 10 different putters but the bag is new.

Yeah this is true. Whatever the 'starting point' was it was so long ago for most people that it's irrelevant. You just replace different bits at different times. Must be quite rare that someone builds an entirely new bag from scratch?

 

[DanFST]

Yeah this is true. Whatever the 'starting point' was it was so long ago for most people that it's irrelevant. You just replace different bits at different times. Must be quite rare that someone builds an entirely new bag from scratch?

I Just did, It feels great.

Everything is as I want it. And will be good for the next few years!

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I Just did, It feels great.

Everything is as I want it. And will be good for the next few years!

You crazy, decadent fool .

Out of interest, reading your signature, how do the Nike irons fit into that? I'm guessing they are 2nd hand ones.

 

[DanFST]

You crazy, decadent fool .

Out of interest, reading your signature, how do the Nike irons fit into that? I'm guessing they are 2nd hand ones.

They were irons I've always wanted. But was too poor when they were released, same with the Scotty. Set alerts, and a brand new set came up on Ebay after about a year. Replaced the Nippon Shafts with some DG s300, and they are perfect!

 

[harpo_72]

They were irons I've always wanted. But was too poor when they were released, same with the Scotty. Set alerts, and a brand new set came up on Ebay after about a year. Replaced the Nippon Shafts with some DG s300, and they are perfect!

That’s pretty dedicated!

 

[sunshine]

For me it's evolution not revolution.

Choosing a Putter is a standalone decision, it's not linked to any other club.
Choosing a Driver is also a standalone decision, but once that is sorted I will update the fairway woods to match.
I like Wedges to flow from the irons seamlessly, so if I got a new set of irons I would update wedges.
I think I could live with a standalone Hybrid, but it's nicer if they have the same look/feel as fairways or irons (depending on what I want the club for).

 

[Bdill93]

I started playing "properly" this year. Before I played once a year maybe with passed down clubs from friends etc. Had some lessons and was advised due to my height my clubs were too short - so Ive spent the last few months building the following bag in the following order:

Irons (custom fitted) - Wilson D7 5-PW
Wedges - 52, 56, 60 (gapping works well alongside the irons) - Also Wilson
4 wood - Srixon for £50 from my pro shop... its going to be changed soon!
Driver - Taylormade M2 - aquired from a friend
Hybrids - 3 and 4 - Both wilson D7
Putter - Odyssey #7 35" (xmas gift)

Hybrids added as I dont hit woods great and struggling for distance with irons in winter.

 

[Sats]

I did mine in different times - due to cost rather than anything else. If I could I'd do it in one go.

 

[jim8flog]

I can say that there has only been one period in the 40+ years I have been paying that nearly all the clubs in the bag were the same make and that was during the first few years of starting to play but they were not bought all at once.

The local muni sold Petron Impala clubs that you could by one at a time. I bought an initial part set of PW, 8, 6 4 iron and 4 wood and added another iron roughly every 3 months.

First putter was a loaner until I bought one in the local market.

My last set of irons were bought on traditional loft and traditional head size.

The most recent replacement relative to age was the TM rescue mid was replaced by a TM M1 bought when found in a bargain bucket, brand new at less than half of the original price.

 

[Crow]

I started playing "properly" this year. Before I played once a year maybe with passed down clubs from friends etc. Had some lessons and was advised due to my height my clubs were too short - so Ive spent the last few months building the following bag in the following order:

Irons (custom fitted) - Wilson D7 5-PW
Wedges - 52, 56, 60 (gapping works well alongside the irons) - Also Wilson
4 wood - Srixon for £50 from my pro shop... its going to be changed soon!
Driver - Taylormade M2 - aquired from a friend
Hybrids - 3 and 4 - Both wilson D7
Putter - Odyssey #7 35" (xmas gift)

Hybrids added as I dont hit woods great and struggling for distance with irons in winter.

That's a big gap between your PW and 52 degree, I think you should ditch the 60 and get a 48.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It's been a work in progress. I had a full bag fitting from a Ping fitter. I still have the G25 3 and 5 wood (and sometimes) the 3H. After that I've changed the irons. I did go with the original Ping glide wedges but didn't get on with them so went back to the Gorge that I got at the fitting and then got additional 58 degree wedges with different bounces for different conditions

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Start with your irons, and bridge up to the driver, and down to your lob wedge

 

[hairball_89]

Start with your irons, and bridge up to the driver, and down to your lob wedge

It's this really, for me.

I just picked up the matching 5w to my 3w and hybrid before Christmas. Silly deal, brand new (4 year old club, still in shrink wrap!). It goes brilliantly, so far. I've been wondering for a while about switching out my wedges from 50/56/60º (PW is 45º) to just the 2 at 52º and 58º. And that would allow me to keep both 3&5w.

But then again, I'm also rubbish at golf! So whatever is in the bag, it doesn't really matter!

 

[Golfnut1957]

After many years of constant chopping and changing I was sorted, until LD1 when boredom set me off, and I changed almost every thing, only to find that when I got back on the course nothing felt good.

So I started again last summer with these irons, bought the driver and then found the wedges. The Ping is a relic of LD1 and is there as a genuine utility while also filling a gap. I had two attempts at filling the other gaps before getting it right.

For the first time in a very long time I have no desire to change anything.

 

[harpo_72]

Has anyone been tempted by the strong loft or traditional loft options some brands are offering in their iron sets?
Is blending becoming more common? I have a blended set, but it seems like a certain point you don’t blend.
The reason to blend for me was that consistency of short game feel, I don’t do 5 and 6 iron chip and runs around the green so a more forgiving hollow headed iron made sense

 

[ScienceBoy]

I much prefer to refresh wedges to woods rather than bits at a time, unless direct replacements. Driver and putter could be replaced as and when but these are the least likely two I will replace anytime soon.

I will start with irons and then choose wedges with good distance gapping from the irons. Then finish up the top end with hybrids and a wood if needed.

I just want to ensure a good distance gapping on all my specific distance clubs, getting new irons without looking at wedges would leave a huge distance gap for me. Also I want to drop irons above a 6 for hybrids anyway.

I dream of a blended sets, these are the future IMO. Blade wedges,PW-8 in mid cavity, GI 7 and 6 and then a couple of hybrids.

 

[Slab]

That's a big gap between your PW and 52 degree, I think you should ditch the 60 and get a 48.

Don't want to take the thread off topic so I'll start a new one if folks prefer

Crow, How much of an issue is having a large gap at the lofty end of the bag. What is the shot/s that's not available?

I have a 10 degree gap from PW @ 45 to SW @ 55 and have been looking at getting a 50 for the gap but at £120 i'm struggling to suss out the return on that cost
(i.e cost versus how often I come across a shot that 45 degrees does not get the ball up & down fast enough and also where the 55 would not provide the required distance)

@harpo_72 let me know if you prefer i start a diff thread

 

[Imurg]

Might just be me but I don't get blended sets at all.
I get the idea and, on paper, it's sound.
More forgiving 4,5,6 and 7 irons and more bladed 8 and up or maybe switch after the 6 iron.
Certainly for me, that's only going to work if the transition is seemless from Game Improver to Players/Blade style.
And nobody does it. Some are close but, to my eyes, the difference in overall look and feel is very apparent and off putting.
And sometimes the lofts are a mile out, requiring bending which messes with the bounce and offset