What’s in the bag is a common video for golf Youtubers, so I thought I would do one in written form. As you will see throughout my breakdown I do not change out clubs often, so this won’t be a frequent series because I do not have deals with manufacturers or a ton of money to buy new clubs every couple of months. I have always subscribed to the idea that you should blame the carpenter, not the tools. While I still believe that is true, some of my recent updates have convinced me there is a ceiling on that and playing with tech that has been lapped multiple times is just an act of futility. Why make an already challenging game harder by not taking advantage of advances of modern club manufacturing?

Driver: Cobra F9 Speedback Avalanche/ Matte Black with Hazardous Smoke Stiff Shaft 60 g.

While I have been reticent to spend in other areas of the bag because I don’t think I see major differences, I have always been willing to upgrade sooner and with my wallet with the driver. This is mainly because my game off the tee is constantly in flux and I’m always willing to pick up more yards and hit more fairways. I did wait for Black Friday and the Speedzone line to be announced, so I got it at a Rock Bottom price of $275. I decided to step up in shaft as well from my 2012 Cleveland XL Custom Classic. The shift back in the CG of the head and the heavier shaft made me feel like I could absolutely wail on it and hit more fairways with less of my slice. I was almost immediately 20 yards longer on average and was breaking the 290 and 300-yard marks at least once a round when holes allowed for me to step on one. I don’t see this one coming out of my bag for a long time because the new Speedzone has been producing similar numbers on GCQuad tests people have posted. I could see the F9 being the new Ping G5 and you see them in bags long after their competitors have been removed.

3-Wood: Taylormade R580 Stock stiff shaft 60 g.

Here we begin the clubs I never paid for. My buddy who lived in my neighborhood was on the high school golf team, and had offers to play college golf. He constantly had new golf clubs and would give me ones he was done using. This is one of them. It is fine. I have looked at upgrading to the F9 fairway woods with a heavier shaft. I like it because it is the first 3-wood I had with a shallow face which helps me strike it better especially off more dicey lies and get the ball airborne. There are ton of modern 3-woods including the Cobra’s that fit that bill now, so this club is on the chopping block.

5-wood: Callaway Steelhead 3 Regular Flex Stock Shaft

My favorite club I have ever owned is the original Steelhead 5-wood. Unfortunately, I broke it over a golf cart tire when I missed the tire and hit the rim the summer after my senior year of high school and was a few beers deep while playing with my buddies. I have never been sadder on a golf course. This club replaced that one after it was discarded by my grandpa. I kept the original head cover though as a tribute to the GOAT. The flex is so soft I would benefit from an upgrade, but it’s sentimental and the last club in the bag that still has my grandpa’s old Algonquin Club name ID on the shaft. I can manipulate it both ways and it fills a gap, so it’s not like I’m wasting a slot.

Irons: Mizuno MX-23 with Dynamic Gold S300 shafts 3-PW

These are the “newest” clubs in my bag, and the first irons I have ever spent money on. I was playing my grandpa’s Ping Eye 2+’s forever. They worked well for me. I could spin them better than anyone I played with modern irons. Ultimately, I decided giving up 30 years of advancement, even for what is almost inarguably the most innovative iron ever made, was not smart. I jumped from 1989 to 2004, from cast to forged, and from Ping to Mizuno. I think the GOAT cast iron maker is Ping, and Mizuno holds that title for forged irons. After the New Year, I had some money and wanted to find a used set of forged Mizunos. There is just something legendary about them. I decided against going with the true blade and went cavity back due to my own inconsistencies and not wanting to hate these clubs and run back to the Pings. Also, these were in good condition, especially the grooves, and had Golf Pride New Decade MCC midsize grips in good nick in a true full set for less than $150. There definitely was a learning curve. I was playing notoriously light heads and light stiff shafts of the original Karsten philosophy and Golf Pride Tour Wrap grips. Changing all that at once is naturally going to result in some growing pains. I think I have for the most part gotten used to the grips and like them as wells as the added weight that lowers and backs up the CG. The MX-23’s feel amazing as you would expect from a Mizuno. They are the spiritual ancestor of the JPX Forged and MP-20 MMC. They have the added weight to help improve launch like them both, but especially the MMC, and the progressively larger slot like the JPX Forged. The one bummer in switching was I worked hard to move my strike more to the toe and make my misses out there in an effort to eliminate any gear effect from a heely strike that would add to my natural fade. The only spot you are truly punished with the MX-23 is as you get out on the toe. I have been successfully bringing my strike into the sweet-spot of forged clubs, which is middle to slight heel-side.

Wedges: 54-degree Vokey Spin Milled, 60-degree Cleveland Tour Action

The Vokey is my most versatile club in the bag. I use it for almost every shot inside 100 yards and can flight it and spin it anyway required. I actually wore out an older Vokey head and replaced it this summer with an almost brand new spin milled head I had found years ago with part of the shaft snapped off inside the hosel and just kept it moving. I don’t think I will ever get it rid of this club.

I picked up the Cleveland this summer because I found it near mint at Play It Again Sports for only $30. I like playing bunker shots with a 60-degree and this era of Cleveland was second only to Bob Vokey in wedge design. The only time this touches grass is when I have no green to work with and need a true flop I find easier to hit than with my 54-degree.

Putter: Odyssey White Hot Two-Ball with Super Stroke Slim 3.0 Grip

I picked this up as an afterthought when I got the Mizunos. I always check out the used putters when I go to a golf discount store. This time they happened to have a Two-Ball in decent condition with a brand new Super Stroke grip for just a couple bucks more than the price of just the grip. I have always been partial to that putter when I have tried it. Getting my ancient center-shafted Taylormade TPI 25 regripped seemed silly when the grip would be worth more than the putter, so I just got one of the most popular putters ever made thrown in with a premium grip I wanted. It almost instantly made me more consistent with pace from everywhere, and I made way more putts inside of 10 feet.

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

I have been fairly ball indifferent for much of my golf career. I knew Pro V’s were the best and always prized finding them, but I certainly never bought them. I opted for a cheaper ball generally on the lower end of compression because I liked the soft feel and didn’t think I was good enough to notice a huge difference with the Tour balls. I played most of the summer, including some of my best rounds ever, with the Taylormade RocketBallz Soft ($15 at Walmart). Towards the end of the summer, I wasn’t holding greens with longer irons or spinning in the short game like I wanted and got sick of it and bought a pack of Pro V1x’s. Boy, was I an idiot for all those years. It instantly changed my game. The first round I took them out, I spun back a PW on a Par 3 like a pro and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. I also realized that while the soft balls felt good, I was overcompressing them because I picked up distance with the driver immediately after the switch. I now will play either Pro V depending on what I have, but I prefer the X because I feel like the slightly harder ball and flight gives me a little more distance without sacrificing feel or spin in close. I am also looking at the world of budget urethane Tour balls and will be reviewing the Cut Golf and Snell lines looking for something that will still perform but won’t feel like a knife in the heart when it skips across the cart path or plops in a pond.