Why buy a full set?

[Crate]

Bought my first set of clubs. I have said this on the forum before. But I don't understand something.well maybe a couple of things. I hope someone will help me out.

Number one:

Why buy a full set of irons? The 1,2,3,4, and maybe the 5 are harder to hit than the new Hybrids? So from what I've read most replace the irons. Why did I waste my money buying those long irons? Does it work out to be cheaper just buying the whole set?

Number two:

I think I read most pro's or a high percentage of them use steel shafts. Is this true? If it is why are we all buy graphite?

Number three:

Wedges, many buy more than one. Why? what is the angle thats comes with a standard set, such as my Nike Slingshots?

Number four:

A bag should contain , A driver, #3, 4 & 5, fairway wood ( hybrid ) Toss the irons, but keep the 6,7,8,9 irons & pitching wedge and or a sand wedge and the last club....A putter. is this pretty much all one needs.

Thanks for the info.

[Logie]

Regarding Q1. Hybrids are only just taking over, but most good players and pro's prefer the workability of the Iron still and only carry 1 hybrid to help with long shots out of the rough

Q3. The short game is easier with more wedges. I prefer to always hit a shot at my 100% swing. Why make it harder and have to open up the 1 wedge you have to get over a bunker and only have to swing at 77%. When a 60 degree LW will do it with a normal setup and a full swing?

Most shots are made up in the short game (Within 125 yards) so having the tools to save shots there is why most carry more wedges. 120 Yards out? Hit the PW, 100 yards? Gap Wedge! etc etc

Also, some people might want alot of backspin, so choose a high lofted club to try and help generate more spin

[Shindig]

Bought my first set of clubs. I have said this on the forum before. But I don't understand something.well maybe a couple of things. I hope someone will help me out.

A full set of irons is probably cheaper than buying them individually. But... where did you find a set that had a 1- or even a 2-iron?

The iron sets I've seen are mostly 3-PW or 4-SW. Many replace their long irons. Others don't. It's entirely your call. If you can hit your 3-Iron well, more power to you. I didn't even get one in the first place.

Unless you've got a very low handicap, there's no sense worrying about what a pro uses. Tiger uses a different set of wedges than I do, and I don't think that switching to Nike wedges will make me a better wedge player. And there aren't any pros I know of who use super-game improvement irons. Most use blades, or minor cavity backs.

Find out - probably from a pro, although many here can point you in the right direction - which will work well for you.

Number three:

I would bet that your pitching wedge is between 45* and 48*. I'm sure it's listed with your irons, or at least online. The multiple wedges is because you might find yourself with less than a full pitching wedge shot. Having a 'weaker' angled wedge allows you to take a full swing and still hit the distance you want.

Number four:

It should contain whatever you feel like carrying. Look at many signatures here to see the variety of configurations. You should decide based on which clubs you'll need during the round: if you're playing primarily par-3 courses, you might not need a driver. If you can putt with a 3-Iron, you can skip a putter (not suggested).

There are also some odd combinations on tour. Golf Digest does a "in my bag" special some months: you can probably find the archives online if you're looking for other ideas.

[Crate]

"""Unless you've got a very low handicap, there's no sense worrying about what a pro uses. Tiger uses a different set of wedges than I do, and I don't think that switching to Nike wedges will make me a better wedge player. And there aren't any pros I know of who use super-game improvement irons. Most use blades, or minor cavity backs."""

Yes I understand that. I don't think a pro would use game improvement irons, my point was that a "pros" iron, his whole set of irons are manufactured with a steel shafts. I thought i read that somewhere.

[Sherpat]

Congrats on the new clubs!

Welcome to the exciting new world of Incessant Indecision and Insecurity

Seriously though, that's great. Best of luck with them. Try not to constantly drive yourself nuts now by second guessing every. single. thing. in your bag, including brand of pencils. Have fun hitting the stupid ball.

I'll take a swing at your questions, for what my opinion is worth:

1. You don't have to buy a full set. A little pre-shopping spree research might have helped a bit here. It did with me. I went to a clubfitter/maker first, and he recommended that the longest iron I put in my bag be a 5. After some discussion, my first set ended up 6-SW, 4-hybrid and a 3-wood (and putter, of course). That was GREAT advice. It saved me money, and as I've gotten better I've been able to buy longer irons from him - one at a time. Clubmakers ROCK.

2. Professional golfers do use steel shafts. Because they're professionals. They crank out 115+ mph swing speeds on a pretty regular basis and generally make pinpoint perfect strikes on the clubface during them. Steel is terrific under those conditions. Us mere mortals who hit thin, fat, hosels, etc. etc. etc. once in a while often find that grafite shafts offer a bit more shock absorbsion on those mis-hits. Plus, our more human swing speeds don't really place much stress on modern graphite. So you get the benefits of shock cushioning with no loss of performance.

3. Why carry more than two wedges? Well, some influential swing svengalis argue that the closer you can get to the pin when you first land on the green, the fewer putts you'll make after. Kinda "News of the Obvious" if you ask me. But anyway, they recommend golfers carry several wedges, each with a different loft, so that a full swing can be made from more short distances. In other words if you've got 30 yards to the green, and a full swing with your sand wedge goes 90 yards (say) - and a sand wedge is the shortest club in your bag - you have to finesse a 1/3 swing to knock it close. Most golfers, they argue, would do better to have a club that only goes 30 yards at most in that situation. So by carrying multiple clubs that each goes less than 100 yards, you're covered in more situations.

4. Your bag should contain the clubs you can hit well, and that fit your game strategy. For instance, if you find that (as above) you really like carrying 4 wedges because you constantly find yourself between 20 and 90 yards short of the green and can't hit half-swing shots, you'll have to make decisions about other clubs possibly.

Again, whatever you decide: good luck, and have fun!

Tom

[Shindig]

"""Unless you've got a very low handicap, there's no sense worrying about what a pro uses. Tiger uses a different set of wedges than I do, and I don't think that switching to Nike wedges will make me a better wedge player. And there aren't any pros I know of who use super-game improvement irons. Most use blades, or minor cavity backs."""

That could be the case. But - and I don't mean this as sarcastic - what does it matter what a pro uses? I bring up super-game improvement as an example of an iron choice that's great for many of us, but that a pro would never use. Graphite shafts are great for some of us, but most (if not all) touring pros don't have them in their irons.

There's some discussion on the differences in shafts at golf.about.com, such as http://golf.about.com/cs/componentsc...vsgraphite.htm . This might help. In short, the shafts in your clubs should be the best ones for you -- even if they'd be a bad choice for Tiger.

[guitarnutteruk]

its always good to have a spare long iron to snap, in case of anger, instead of a club you might want to hit again!

[Dr._chip_in]

a 2-iron is a great asset on a windy day

[LeftysRule]

I agree, why look at what tiger and Mickelson use? Just use what is comfortable with you. Go out and hit 18 with what you like. Whether it be Nike Drivers and vokey wedges and all inbetween, that's cool. As long as you like it. Screw what everyone else thinks or has. Oh and I buy my irons from 3-PW and usually buy the long irons every few months because I'm a sucker for good marketing......