I need to remove one of three clubs or add one....give me your 2 cents on which club to ditch/add

[tristanhilton85]

I don't think you need the 13.5°... I'd either get the 15° or just stick with the 17°.

[Mulligan Jeff]

I don't have a problem hitting either one. I have probably hit some of my best shots with the strong three wood.

Go with what works best!

[Valleygolfer]

I don't think you need the 13.5°... I'd either get the 15° or just stick with the 17°.

I think this is where I am going. I will only put the strong 3 in the bag and pull the driver, for less lengthy courses.

[tristanhilton85]

I think this is where I am going. I will only put the strong 3 in the bag and pull the driver, for less lengthy courses.

Eh... I don't see why you would do that... I'm not a fan of pulling the driver out of the bag.

[Valleygolfer]

Eh... I don't see why you would do that... I'm not a fan of pulling the driver out of the bag.

Yeah, me either. It most likely won't happen.

[FooFader]

You obviously hit the ball pretty far so this would be my thought process going through the choices...

You're going to be hitting most par 5s in 2 (or have the distance to at least). I would play the 13.5 only if you need it to reach the par 5s, if you can get to all the ones with a 15 that you could a 13.5 then switch it out, those 10 yard won't gain you much but the extra height and ability to stop a 15 more quickly could be a greater scoring tool. But that trade off will depend on the courses you play.

Regardless of the 3W you choose i would drop the 5W for sure. IMO, that 10/20 yard gap would be better served by a 2-hybrid that plays 20 yards longer than a 3-iron because 200-230 will be a range where you'd prefer the extra options over having the options at 250-270.

[dfreuter415]

Valleygolfer,

I think your decision should be based on the course you are playing.

I have a dilemma right now in my bag. I need to get rid of a club. I would like different views on why you would keep or ditch a club to help me decide. Plus it is fun to speculate the scenarios.

I agree that it is fun to speculate. My question to you is: What club have you added to your bag, so that you now need to get rid of one?

It seems like you are set on getting rid of a fairway wood, so I would say to get rid of the 13.5° and the 17°, and add a 15°.

However, I do think that since you have fun speculating about your clubs, why not base the clubs in your bag on the course you are playing.  Here is an example: I have a 17° TM Raylor that goes into my bag whenever I play courses with deep rough, when the rough is light I play an 18° V-steel 4 wood.

If you have a couple of reachable par 5's, put the 13.5° in the bag, if not use a 15° or 17°.

[Valleygolfer]

You obviously hit the ball pretty far so this would be my thought process going through the choices...

You're going to be hitting most par 5s in 2 (or have the distance to at least). I would play the 13.5 only if you need it to reach the par 5s, if you can get to all the ones with a 15 that you could a 13.5 then switch it out, those 10 yard won't gain you much but the extra height and ability to stop a 15 more quickly could be a greater scoring tool. But that trade off will depend on the courses you play.

Regardless of the 3W you choose i would drop the 5W for sure. IMO, that 10/20 yard gap would be better served by a 2-hybrid that plays 20 yards longer than a 3-iron because 200-230 will be a range where you'd prefer the extra options over having the options at 250-270.

Right now I am going to fluctuate between the 4 (17*) and 3 (15.5*) depending on second shot distance on par 5's. I know it is a little like splitting hairs but that is the plan. Maybe a 20 degree 5 wood should be thrown in?

[Valleygolfer]

Valleygolfer,

I think your decision should be based on the course you are playing.

I agree that it is fun to speculate. My question to you is: What club have you added to your bag, so that you now need to get rid of one?

It seems like you are set on getting rid of a fairway wood, so I would say to get rid of the 13.5° and the 17°, and add a 15°.

However, I do think that since you have fun speculating about your clubs, why not base the clubs in your bag on the course you are playing.  Here is an example: I have a 17° TM Raylor that goes into my bag whenever I play courses with deep rough, when the rough is light I play an 18° V-steel 4 wood.

If you have a couple of reachable par 5's, put the 13.5° in the bag, if not use a 15° or 17°.

I added a 50* GW to my wedge setup so one of the lesser use woods had to go.

[FooFader]

Right now I am going to fluctuate between the 4 (17*) and 3 (15.5*) depending on second shot distance on par 5's. I know it is a little like splitting hairs but that is the plan. Maybe a 20 degree 5 wood should be thrown in?

Seems logical to me

I think though, as you say, it is splitting hairs. Just use whichever you feel most comfortable with. Yes the extra 10 yards is a good weapon to have, but i know a lot of very good players choose  a 4W over a 3&5W to save that space for an extra wedge or just because that little extra loft gives them that little bit more confidence in hitter the straighter off the deck and from the tee.

[Aflighter]

No offense but since your an 11 handicap and hit it as far as you do then its safe to say your long game isn't holding you back.It was wise to get the 50 wedge because id say its your short game that's holding you back.I would suggest keeping the 4 wood and ditching the 3 wood because going for some of the par 5s in two instead of getting up within easy pitch or 100 yard shots can be more risky.Thats purpose of getting the 50 degree wedge anyways.You could always ditch the 4 wood and add a 5 wood since you wouldn't lose much and still keep 3 iron.You know the traditional set is driver,3wd,5wd anyways.I use driver,3wd,4wd,5wd,4-pw,52 wedge,sw,putter.Honestly I could probably yank the 4 or 5 wd but the extra 10-15 I get with 4wd helps.If I ever add another wedge or club id remove the 3wd because I hit driver off deck anyways and rarely feel need to hit 3wd.No matter what you do your gonna always have gaps where youll need to take some off shots.

[FooFader]

No offense but since your an 11 handicap and hit it as far as you do then its safe to say your long game isn't holding you back.It was wise to get the 50 wedge because id say its your short game that's holding you back.I would suggest keeping the 4 wood and ditching the 3 wood because going for some of the par 5s in two instead of getting up within easy pitch or 100 yard shots can be more risky.Thats purpose of getting the 50 degree wedge anyways.You could always ditch the 4 wood and add a 5 wood since you wouldn't lose much and still keep 3 iron.You know the traditional set is driver,3wd,5wd anyways.I use driver,3wd,4wd,5wd,4-pw,52 wedge,sw,putter.Honestly I could probably yank the 4 or 5 wd but the extra 10-15 I get with 4wd helps.If I ever add another wedge or club id remove the 3wd because I hit driver off deck anyways and rarely feel need to hit 3wd.No matter what you do your gonna always have gaps where youll need to take some off shots.

No saying you're right or wrong but just because someone CAN hit it X distance doesn't tell you much about handicap nor now good their long-game is. Also a lot of people here would argue that long game ability is always holding you back but that's OT.

Also which driver do you play? I don't think i've ever seen anyone i know play the driver off the deck shot with and sort of success.

[Aflighter]

No saying you're right or wrong but just because someone CAN hit it X distance doesn't tell you much about handicap nor now good their long-game is. Also a lot of people here would argue that long game ability is always holding you back but that's OT.

Also which driver do you play? I don't think i've ever seen anyone i know play the driver off the deck shot with and sort of success.

You may be right if hes not straight with his long clubs but if hes hitting that far and pretty straight with his woods then the only thing that's left is the short clubs or hes just not making any putts.As an 11 handicap im guessing hes shooting scores anywhere from 79-88.Im not a long hitter so for me on par 5s I will hit driver off deck on my second shot because im generally a ways back compared to others drives plus I know even if I mishit that its going to roll out a lot more than mishitting a 3wd or iron.Theres really no reason to do it even when I know I cant get to green but if its not a risky approach then I have nothing to lose since im used to hitting it.You have to realize that unless you top it then its not going to be that hard to hit it.Ive played with some very talented golfers and even they wont hit one off deck because they think its tough but I tell them its not plus they don't need to.I use an R9 supertri 9.5 degrees,stiff shaft.Sadly I can hit it off deck just about as far as off tee.My drives are only 210-225 so you can probably figure I hit down on driver anyways which helps off deck.

[Valleygolfer]

Distance is not really the answer to scoring low. The problem with distance is that when you are not accurate you can be way off the mark. My game has made a lot of progress with ball striking but keeping it in the fairway helped a ton. My shot adders are due to poor ball striking. As far as the club decision, it's difficult because of the limited need for these clubs and often laying up is the protocol.

[Aguirre]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valleygolfer

As much as the driver gives me grief, I do not want to pull it. I have been hitting it decent lately so I want to keep it. I basically need to sort out the middle ground from 265 to 230 area.

I can't imagine losing very many (if any) strokes because of too much gap from 230 to 265. Not exactly "scoring range" for anybody.

Pretty much this.

[Shorty]

I basically need to sort out the middle ground from 265 to 230 area.

LOL - Who are you, Adam Scott?

Don't you know what courses you play?

Surely you know which club is least/most accurate.

Surely there is one that is used less than others.

Seriously - what can anyone here contribute?

What would we know about your game?

If you hit each these clubs consistently (which no-one would) ditch any of them.

Otherwise, the answer is probably staring you in the face.

And - if you hit them all the way you claim to, you have a problem that can't be solved by tossing one of these clubs.

[Valleygolfer]

LOL - Who are you, Adam Scott?:roll:   Don't you know what courses you play? Surely you know which club is least/most accurate. Surely there is one that is used less than others. Seriously - what can anyone here contribute? What would we know about your game? If you hit each these clubs consistently (which no-one would) ditch any of them. Otherwise, the answer is probably staring you in the face. And - if you hit them all the way you claim to, you have a problem that can't be solved by tossing one of these clubs.

First of all, I believe I asked about average conditions and admitted it's entertaining to speculate. Your no nonsense approach cannot have fun with this. Secondly, I play a lot of different courses around, some for the first time and I don't always get to research them. I have stated that I hit them all well, they are all the same model and it has to do with the distances listed. My point of this is decided what distance is the best to have available in the range these clubs hit. I'm sorry you can't have any fun with this.