New Irons & Bag Setup Questions

[dragonsm]

Alright....on to my second "post" and the reason I searched and joined the Sandtrap. 😁

This past weekend, Austad's golf had a HUGE President's Day sale. (They are headquartered and their flagship store is in my city here in SD) Originally went for my son (10) as they were having a youth golf event with SD First Tee.....and he did find a sweet pair of Calloway Golf Shoes!

My old irons are Tommy Armour 845S Oversized (which I bought new back in my college days late 90's) Steel Stiff Shaft 3-PW and A3. I have used them sparingly over the last 10 years, but the grips were definately needing replacing.

While my son was taking part in the youth event, dad wandered around the store, got a price for grip replacement......and then stumbled across at least what I thought was a deal. They had a set of Callaway Big Bertha Tungsten (2023 Model) irons with the graphite shafts (regular flex) 5-GW....used once for a fitting in store for $750. Some of the clubs were never swung. So, taking into account the cost for regrips, the fact that my swing isn't as fast as it use to be and the technology advancement in 25 years....I used some of my moldy fantasy football money and purchased some new irons. They swing/hit great but because courses aren't open....I've only had the chance to swing at Great Shots (Top Golf). Hard to gauge distance.

 

Now, my 2 Questions as I look to replenish the bag

1) I did compare loft of the new clubs to the old clubs.....and the Callaway irons are pretty much same loft as the 845S 2 clubs higher (5 iron callaway is the same as 3 iron Tommy Armour) Is it a fair assumption the 5 will play similar to the old 3? (This may explain when I played a few rounds with some guys similar drive distance but much newer clubs...on certain holes they were always hitting 2 clubs down from me)

 

2) I do have a sand wedge (different brand) that I plan to keep in the bag so I won't be replacing that. My current driver is a Cobra Speed F9 that I hit well, and my "oldest" clubs in the bag are a fairway 3W (don't rembember degree...maybe 13?) and 5W (19 degree) (Orlimar Trimetal from back in the college days) I never hit the 3W...don't know why I carry it.....but I do hit the 5W well and straight. These may get replaced in the near future, but not my initial focus for where I spend my $.

With the above currently, am I needing to be on the lookout for a 3 or 4 hybrid? Any gaping holes in the setup to target? The salesman at Austad's told me to come back when we get closer to spring as they do get a lot of hybrid's coming in on trade (some not even used) as they get many that will upgrade their clubs annually. I've never hit or had experience with hybrids.

Just looking for some knowledge and guidance as I jump 25 years in development and quickly get back up to speed.

Thanks,

Steve

[dragonsm]

On a side note, with the unseasonably warm weather we are having (almost spring like) courses opening aren't to far off I'd expect. I do plan to get out and hopefully get some range time with my son and play a few rounds with what I have before just blindly buying clubs and spending money. My kids spend enough of it the way it is. 😅🤣😂

[snapfade]

44 minutes ago, dragonsm said:

Alright....on to my second "post" and the reason I searched and joined the Sandtrap. 😁

This past weekend, Austad's golf had a HUGE President's Day sale. (They are headquartered and their flagship store is in my city here in SD) Originally went for my son (10) as they were having a youth golf event with SD First Tee.....and he did find a sweet pair of Calloway Golf Shoes!

My old irons are Tommy Armour 845S Oversized (which I bought new back in my college days late 90's) Steel Stiff Shaft 3-PW and A3. I have used them sparingly over the last 10 years, but the grips were definately needing replacing.

While my son was taking part in the youth event, dad wandered around the store, got a price for grip replacement......and then stumbled across at least what I thought was a deal. They had a set of Callaway Big Bertha Tungsten (2023 Model) irons with the graphite shafts (regular flex) 5-GW....used once for a fitting in store for $750. Some of the clubs were never swung. So, taking into account the cost for regrips, the fact that my swing isn't as fast as it use to be and the technology advancement in 25 years....I used some of my moldy fantasy football money and purchased some new irons. They swing/hit great but because courses aren't open....I've only had the chance to swing at Great Shots (Top Golf). Hard to gauge distance.

 

Now, my 2 Questions as I look to replenish the bag

1) I did compare loft of the new clubs to the old clubs.....and the Callaway irons are pretty much same loft as the 845S 2 clubs higher (5 iron callaway is the same as 3 iron Tommy Armour) Is it a fair assumption the 5 will play similar to the old 3? (This may explain when I played a few rounds with some guys similar drive distance but much newer clubs...on certain holes they were always hitting 2 clubs down from me)

 

2) I do have a sand wedge (different brand) that I plan to keep in the bag so I won't be replacing that. My current driver is a Cobra Speed F9 that I hit well, and my "oldest" clubs in the bag are a fairway 3W (don't rembember degree...maybe 13?) and 5W (19 degree) (Orlimar Trimetal from back in the college days) I never hit the 3W...don't know why I carry it.....but I do hit the 5W well and straight. These may get replaced in the near future, but not my initial focus for where I spend my $.

With the above currently, am I needing to be on the lookout for a 3 or 4 hybrid? Any gaping holes in the setup to target? The salesman at Austad's told me to come back when we get closer to spring as they do get a lot of hybrid's coming in on trade (some not even used) as they get many that will upgrade their clubs annually. I've never hit or had experience with hybrids.

Just looking for some knowledge and guidance as I jump 25 years in development and quickly get back up to speed.

Thanks,

Steve

The salesman at Austad's should have recommend a fitting.  I didn't even know Austad's was still in business. Anyways, take the time and get a proper fitting. Thats where a jump in 25 yeas in development is really beneficial. With so many options in shafts, driver adjustments, etc,  a good fitter will get you set up on the right direction. You can price shop from there. 

[klineka]

I would get on a launch monitor with your new Callaway irons and get an idea of how far you carry each new club plus your 5 wood so that way you know what yardage gap you need to fill (if any). 

Your new 5iron has 21 degrees of loft so it's possible that you might not need anything between that and your 5 wood at 19 degrees of loft.

Your new gap wedge has 52 degrees of loft, so if your sand wedge is 56 degrees then you probably won't have any major gaps that immediately need addressed. 

[ChetlovesMer]

Okay, a couple of thoughts.

First, if you were fit for that Cobra F9, keep it. That was/is a great driver. 

5 hours ago, klineka said:

I would get on a launch monitor with your new Callaway irons and get an idea of how far you carry each new club plus your 5 wood so that way you know what yardage gap you need to fill (if any). 

This is such good advice. I'm not sure I can improve upon it. 

Once you know your distances, the gaps may jump right out at you. If they don't, then you may get the luxury of picking where to fill out your bag. 

9 hours ago, dragonsm said:

I never hit the 3W...don't know why I carry it.

 You sound like you want to keep the 5W. Compare the distance you hit that to the distance you hit your 5 iron and you'll know right away if you need/want a hybrid. You could also consider something like a 7 wood. 

[dragonsm]

Much appreciated on the advice. At the time of purchase, fittings were booked a week out (weekdays).....I believe the weekends were a few weeks out.

The above has given me an understanding of how the new clubs compare to the old clubs. The launch monitor has been added to my "list" and something I'll look into.

The F9 was fitted to me.....as for the 5W....as mentioned above I hit it well from the tee box or fairway....any sort of rough and it tends to want to float over rather than power through.....I feel there is a solution to be found to replace that at some point.

All and all, great advice and knowledge. 

Thanks,

Steve

 

[WUTiger]

On 2/23/2024 at 9:42 AM, dragonsm said:

My old irons are Tommy Armour 845S Oversized (which I bought new back in my college days late 90's) Steel Stiff Shaft 3-PW

On 2/23/2024 at 9:42 AM, dragonsm said:

Callaway Big Bertha Tungsten (2023 Model) irons with the graphite shafts (regular flex) 5-GW....used once for a fitting in store for $750. Some of the clubs were never swung. So, taking into account the cost for regrips, the fact that my swing isn't as fast as it use to be and the technology advancement in 25 years... fantasy football money and purchased some new irons.

You're mixing up a lot of things, with performance outcomes hard to predict. A couple of things:

• Your TA irons (in stiff) likely have the TA Tour step shafts, weight about 120 grams.
• Your new BBTs likely have the RCH 651 graphite (65 grams).

So, you will get more clubhead speed from the BBTs in graphite, and better energy transfer from modern graphite vs. pre-2000 steel.

As far as actual distance? We don't have good way to compare the clubhead design of the two iron models, which will also influence launch and distance.

Only way to tell for sure is do a side-by-side test of the two iron models.

---------------------------

Fairway woods: dump the 3W (most players can't hit it off deck), and keep the 5W for short term.  You may find a 4H will work best in slot; it will fly longer than a 4i, and stretch out well to the 5W distance.

Get a FW and a hybrid you can hit, and in future seasons you can fine tune the distance gap. For short term, learn how to hit those BBTs.

(Possible long term mixes for bridge clubs: 4W + 7w + 4H / or / 4W + 3H + 4H)

[onthehunt526]

On 3/23/2024 at 11:27 PM, WUTiger said:

You're mixing up a lot of things, with performance outcomes hard to predict. A couple of things:

• Your TA irons (in stiff) likely have the TA Tour step shafts, weight about 120 grams.
• Your new BBTs likely have the RCH 651 graphite (65 grams).

So, you will get more clubhead speed from the BBTs in graphite, and better energy transfer from modern graphite vs. pre-2000 steel.

As far as actual distance? We don't have good way to compare the clubhead design of the two iron models, which will also influence launch and distance.

Only way to tell for sure is do a side-by-side test of the two iron models.

---------------------------

Fairway woods: dump the 3W (most players can't hit it off deck), and keep the 5W for short term.  You may find a 4H will work best in slot; it will fly longer than a 4i, and stretch out well to the 5W distance.

Get a FW and a hybrid you can hit, and in future seasons you can fine tune the distance gap. For short term, learn how to hit those BBTs.

(Possible long term mixes for bridge clubs: 4W + 7w + 4H / or / 4W + 3H + 4H)

Meanwhile, another old Tour Edge guy switches to Callaway for this season. I have a different problem, course dependent set-ups.

What I’m wondering is if @dragonsmhas the 8 iron set 5-PW, AW, GW or just 5-PW, GW. Because the PW is 42°, AW 47°, and GW 52°. Because that could potentially be a gap there. The 5-iron to 6-iron length jump is 5/8” instead of 1/2” so you should be careful of that. 
 

@WUTiger the problem most people have with 3-woods is they don’t play them far enough back into their stance. And they usually don’t have enough loft and the shaft is too long. So 3HL, 4 or 5-wood is probably better for most golfers. I do the “Frankenwood” approach. I have both the 3+ and 5 woods. I typically will either add two degrees to the 3+ on 6600 yards or longer courses, or take a degree off the 5-wood on shorter courses than 6300 or so, and use the 5-wood shaft for both. I don’t usually find a situation where I need both the 3 and 5 wood on a course. I don’t play from 7000 yards it’s no fun.

Edit: I mostly agree with @WUTiger on the gapping, although a lot of the newer even fixed hosel fairway woods are made better than what we had when we were playing the old Exotics XRails.