Know your number - Bag set up

hades

I was talking to a buddy recently about how to get the most of your bag. I play with this guy pretty frequently, so he was able to tell me straight off the bat that i never hit my 4 iron, 3 hybrid or 5 wood. To be honest, i never really thought about it, but he went on to explain......

I'm 200m out from the green i always hit the 5i, not because i'll reach with the 5i, but thats the longest iron i'm comfortable with. So i'll poke it down towards the hole and have a pitch into the green. Why not hit any of the 3 clubs mentioned above, well, because its pretty much a lottery when i hit them and i'd prefer to keep the ball in play then run the risk of playing them.

So the question here is, why bother carrying them at all? Why take up space in my bag with clubs i'm not going to use when i could put something else in there?

So then i started thinking about "knowing your number" and the rest of my bag set up. How far do i really hit my 5i and where are the gaps i need to fill. So i swallowed a bitter pill and bought a 4 hybrid. I promised myself i'd never get a hybrid that was more than a 3i "because i'm a good player" :rolleyes: but on hitting the hybrid side by side with my 4i, i was made to have continued using my 4i.

I'm at the stage now where i'm considering getting my distances measured to see how to make my bag up and to get the best use out of my clubs. I use a GPS, so i have an idea, but a lot of the time it can still be a lottery from the further away distances.

So anyway, who here uses all their clubs or who has gone thru this process before? And who "knows their number"?

big_drive

I'd have a good enough idea. But it's a range of distance with a club, I don't think you can be too specific. I can't say I hit a 7 iron 155 yards every time for example. But I might use a 7 iron for a shot from 140 - 160 depending on conditions, slope, etc

Seve OB

when you say "know your number", yea i'd be pretty confident that I know how far I hit each club.

Unfortunately, being an amateur, I don't always hit it where i want! but in general, the distance is pretty constant... all things being equal.

mike12

A bit like yourself 4 iron is the lowest i have in the bag. i find the utilities go a club further at least that the equilivent iron. I'm around 195 for the 5 but my 4 utility goes 230. I have a 6 utility thats goes 210 or so.
Find myself using the 6 utility and choking down on it out of the rough for shots from 190 up.

Telecaster58

I certainly would not put clubs in the bag that I don't use. At the moment I use every club at least once in a round. Personally, if I could have 16 clubs in the bag I'd be happier.

Seve OB

Looking back on Saturday at the Boards outing in Roscrea....

Driver... used all holes
3 wood, didn't use at all, but probably should have a couple of times
5 wood... used twice on par 5's
3 iron.. few times
4 iron.. maybe once
5 iron.... few times
6 iron... few times
7 iron... good bit
8 iron... definitely used
9 iron... plenty
wedge... good bit
sandy... not used
lob wedge... couple of times

so 2 clubs not used at all, but i wasn't in any bunkers at all, so in summary, yes i needed every club in my bag.

different courses call for different measures and when you get to know a course, you could probably limit the number of clubs you carry. pros do it a lot, swap a wedge for a hybrid etc depending on the course!

however, a bad shot could leave you in a position where you could do with the club you left out, so bring em all.

my set has a 2 iron which i don't carry as my own track is quite short, but if i was playing a longer track week in week out, i would consider swapping my iout sw & LW for something in between and bringing the 2!

hades

I guess my problem is two fold.

1 - I play the same course pretty much all the time, i have a good idea on what club to play on most holes from just playing them so often.

2 - Safe shots, i generally play the percentages and just keep the ball in play, rather then bring trouble into the equation. Hence not using my woods and long irons. I'm happier playing a par 5 as a drive and 2 pw shots, rather then a drive and going for glory. Perhaps i should adopt a more "reckless" approach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGB8z5rAE7k

GreeBo

stevieob wrote: »

my set has a 2 iron which i don't carry as my own track is quite short, but if i was playing a longer track week in week out, i would consider swapping my iout sw & LW for something in between and bringing the 2!

A 2 iron that you can use in maybe 2 situations versus a short iron that you can use in loads? Doesnt seem right.

I presume the 2 iron is for between the 3 and 5 wood, is there really that much of a consistent gap that you couldnt close with a gripped down 3w?

mike12

GreeBo wrote: »

A 2 iron that you can use in maybe 2 situations versus a short iron that you can use in loads? Doesnt seem right.

I presume the 2 iron is for between the 3 and 5 wood, is there really that much of a consistent gap that you couldnt close with a gripped down 3w?

I have just bought a 2 iron to go in the bag for playing links golf. find i hit the utilities way too high for links so the 2 iron will replace one of them.
Would agree much better to have 3/4 wedges than a extra long club or 2.

Golfnut77

I got gap tested a few months ago I'd recommend everyone to do it, especially low handicappers who have plateaued so to speak, really helped me with getting the ball pin high consistently.

My distances are as follows, (total distances including roll out):

Driver - 292 yards

3 wood 15*- 246 yards

19* Hybrid - 225 yards

3 iron - 211 yards

4 iron - 203 yards

5 iron - 195 yards

6 iron - 186 yards

7 iron - 172 yards

8 iron - 163 yards

9 iron - 149 yards

PW 48* - 136 yards

Gap 52* - 120 yards

SW 56* - 106 yards

LW 60* - 94 yards


I swap between the Hybrid and the 3 iron depending on the conditions. The only worrying one was the gap between 8 and 9 iron, might weaken the 8 iron slightly to close that gap.

I find I might only use the 3 wood 2 or 3 times in the round but I always have it in just in case the driver isn't firing.

hades

That's pretty much exactly what i was on about, (i'm just not great at getting my thoughts down on the screen).

I've some prepaid lessons left with my pro, i might ask him to do a session on gap testing and see what my figures say.

GreeBo

mike12 wrote: »

I have just bought a 2 iron to go in the bag for playing links golf. find i hit the utilities way too high for links so the 2 iron will replace one of them.
Would agree much better to have 3/4 wedges than a extra long club or 2.

I have a 4i and a 3hybrid that pretty much go the same distance but the hybrid is higher and lands softer usually. 19* hybrid is far easier to hit and I can take some off it but I will often use the 4i if I need to find a fairway (especially in the wind we have had recently)

I dropped the 3i in favour of an extra wedge and dont miss it at all. After that its a 3w and driver.
I have 4* between each club and no gaps.

hades wrote: »

That's pretty much exactly what i was on about, (i'm just not great at getting my thoughts down on the screen).

I've some prepaid lessons left with my pro, i might ask him to do a session on gap testing and see what my figures say.

Is that not a huge waste of a lesson?

Get a bucket of balls yourself and measure each club? disregard the mis hits and count the middle 50% of your shots (so discount the top and bottom 25%) and thats your distance.

Rikand

On my home course I'd use every club in my bag over the course of a round.

Actually made me think about this. On a calm summers day would I use them all ?

Driver, 5 wood, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 iron, pw, gw, lw, putter.

Not including putter/chip shots a typical round would be::

1: driver, 9 iron
2: 8 iron
3: driver, 8 iron
4: 3 iron, 4 iron
5: driver, 5 wood, pw
6: 7 iron
7: driver, 5 wood
8: driver, 7 iron
9: 3 iron, 5 wood
10: 6 iron
11: driver, 7 iron
12: driver, 5 wood, gw
13: 5 wood, 7 iron
14: 3 iron, 9 iron
15: 5 wood, gw
16: driver, 5 iron
17: pw
18: 5 wood, 7 iron

Every club except lw which I use from bunkers and around greens. Gw the same.

Anyways. Nevermind me. More for my own thoughts about it

hades

GreeBo wrote: »

Is that not a huge waste of a lesson?

Get a bucket of balls yourself and measure each club? disregard the mis hits and count the middle 50% of your shots (so discount the top and bottom 25%) and thats your distance.

Unfortunately i don't have that luxury, i use the Fota Academy as my practice ground and unless i wore a hard hat and marked the balls i'd never get my distances. My home club only has a short game practice area.

GreeBo

hades wrote: »

Unfortunately i don't have that luxury, i use the Fota Academy as my practice ground and unless i wore a hard hat and marked the balls i'd never get my distances. My home club only has a short game practice area.

doh.
so where will you do the distances so? I wouldnt accept using extrapolated data...

hades

My pro uses Trackman for fitting, so i'd say we'll go with that. I must give him a ring to see what he thinks.

GreeBo

hades wrote: »

My pro uses Trackman for fitting, so i'd say we'll go with that. I must give him a ring to see what he thinks.

Trackman is fine for comparing clubs/setups etc, but I wouldnt use it to calculate my distances at all.

Russman

Knowing your numbers is obviously a good thing, but as someone stated earlier, at best all we'll get is a range, probably up to 20 yards for each club.

I think equally important is the ability to play different shots and add a little or take a bit off a club. Like playing with a half set, say, all the even numbered irons or all the odds, its great for developing your game IMO.

Here's a very good article about your numbers from the bould Monte Scheinblum (apologies I posted it a few weeks ago in a different thread but I think its probably more relevant here)
http://montescheinblum.com/blog/2011/07/14/i-hit-5-iron-183-yards/

hades

Great point.

One of the things i worked on this summer was my short game, i was very uncomfortable with anything really lofted in my hands and always just did a bump and run shot. My pro got me to just use my 58 wedge while practicing so i could do a variety of shots and of course to get to a level of comfort with it.

Perhaps its time to spend a bit more time working on half shots, knock down shots etc and learn distance control that way.

I blame my maths brain, trying to make sense of a nonsensical game.

GreeBo

Russman wrote: »

Knowing your numbers is obviously a good thing, but as someone stated earlier, at best all we'll get is a range, probably up to 20 yards for each club.

I think equally important is the ability to play different shots and add a little or take a bit off a club. Like playing with a half set, say, all the even numbered irons or all the odds, its great for developing your game IMO.

Here's a very good article about your numbers from the bould Monte Scheinblum (apologies I posted it a few weeks ago in a different thread but I think its probably more relevant here)
http://montescheinblum.com/blog/2011/07/14/i-hit-5-iron-183-yards/

An ability to hit different clubs different distances is of course useful (i only ever practice with a half set, either even or odd) but you still need to know your numbers.

Also I think a 20 yard (2 club) variance indicates an issue somewhere...thats a huge range.

Russman

GreeBo wrote: »

Also I think a 20 yard (2 club) variance indicates an issue somewhere...thats a huge range.

Hmmm, maybe. But I still think if most of us hit a bag of balls with, say, a 6 iron, there would be close to that distance, between the longest and shortest shots.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

GreeBo

Russman wrote: »

Hmmm, maybe. But I still think if most of us hit a bag of balls with, say, a 6 iron, there would be close to that distance, between the longest and shortest shots.

between longest and shortest sure, probably more, but thats why you discount the top and bottom 25%, no point in including mis hits either, you rarely plan to play a mis hit

galwaylad14

I'd say I'm like a lot of people when I say I wouldn't be 100% sure what length exactly I hit each club but I'm generally good at picking the right club, I basically know that flat and calm I hit my 8 iron exactly 150m and I hit my gap wedge exactly 100m (our club has 150m and 100m markers so thats how I know) and I basically just judge everything else based on those, i.e if I'm 150m out and into a slight breeze or up a hill I'll hit a 7 iron or if I'm a few metres inside the 150m I'll go with the 9. It's definitley not how the pros do it or anything and I know I really should try nail down exact figures but it's just something I have never really got round to because my current system works fairly well.

TheDoc

I used to have a very unorthodox bag, and somewhat still that draws some comments from players.


I've gone through a wide variety of 3woods and cant find one that sits well with me. After going to get some tracking and data done, it appears I hit my 4iron roughly 210. I've a 21* hybrid that got clocked in on average about 190. It's a bit mental considering. But I just get this really good strikeon my four iron that keeps it low and penetrative.

So after thinking long and hard, I've decided to not splurge more money on junk I cant hit, and won't be carrying a 3 wood anymore.

I remember I got a lot of odd comments as I was one of the first people to carry four wedges in the club, as a younger player. It's the norm now, but in reality my gap wedge and lob wedge rarely come out of the bag.

I used to check in on my distances once every two months, haven't done it in ages though. Must get around to it close of season I've a sneaky feeling my gap wedge doesn't go as far as I think it should, or a gap wedge normally would.

Tones69

Know each club to within a yard or 2, ive obsessed over it long enough now. Im going i have a 5wd now and 52* and 58* wedges where i used to straight from 3 wood to 3i and have 3 wedges. Can safely say i use pretty much every club every round. Obviously use 8-pw more than any others but i couldnt say i could do without any club in my bag