Philbo

I think the reality is that people who are looking at hitting their 'scoring clubs' x distance are looking at it from completely the wrong perspective. Wedges are accuracy and finesse clubs looking to get as close to the pin as possible. Not necessarily trying to blast as far as you can with them. However, in response to your previous comment, the reason i think i purely because the faster you swing, either you connect poorly with the ball (ie. not hitting it flush or you hitting it slightly fatter). You also have to remember in the short clubs, a lot more of the balls spin will be concentrated as back spin, thus, causing the ball to fly higher. If you are dead set keen on hitting your wedges longer for versatility sake, if you de-loft the club face (ie. have your hands slightly in front of the club head before impact), this should increase your yardage. Or even simpler still, pick one club longer!!!

I'm a physiotherapist in Australia, but going through a career change at the moment hopefully into healthcare management consultancy

I quite like wedge tees as they last for ever. I tend to line them up with the spine facing the direction i'm hitting so i don't get too much resistance through contact, however, some local pro told me to face the spine perpendicular to the direction i was hitting.. don't know why though. Also, they come in some ridiculous colours so there is no way you can lose them !!!

Why do you like the r7 steel fairway woods? If you like the MWT, then in my personal opinion, you're buying the club for the same reason. My understanding of this set up is that by changing the weight, you are effectively changing the location of the sweet spot on the club, which takes a bit of getting used to. Also, the club tends to launch the ball quite high, however, i'm not sure whether that is due to the shaft of the club head itself. If you tend to hit a stock shot that tends to be slightly lower and more penetrating, then its not too much of an issue, however, if you typically tend to hit a higher shot, then you might get the odd ball that balloons. I cannot comment on the hi-bore as i haven;t personally used one but i hear they aren't a bad club. I've use an TM V steel and as stated previously in this thread, they are an absolute classic and a brilliant club. I ungraded to a Ping g5 with i fine is an excellent club with great workability, feedback and consistency but a little more catered to the forgiveness and less workability side than the V steel. to be honest, it is really a matter of personal preference and what club fits your eye as more than likely a fairway wood (i only use a 3 wood) will be a safety club you will use off the tee instead of the driver or long approaches into par 5s so you really do need one you are confident with. you can't really go wrong with the bigger brands

What don't you like about the X-forged bengals/redsox?

Thanks for all your input guys... the only concern that i have with playing player's irons is i guess in terms of sacrificing forgiveness for shot making. I dare say I after a mild step up from my 'never go right' Big Bertha's for something that gives me the option of a high flying fade into a tight pin. I'm just a little turned off the idea of shifting from super game improvement to a player's iron set. I originally started a few years back with an old set of King Cobras which were disastrous for a beginner, so i'm probably still scarred from that. So probably wouldn't go for the X-forged or 755s just yet. About the high draw comment... what type of ball flight is your go to shot? My stock trajectory tends to be a relatively lower drawing shot than most, so having a little more height may not necessarily be a bad thing.

to be completely honest with you, i don't think i have ever hit my 60 wedge with a full swing. In my bag, it is purely a club is use to touch shots around the green and excellent out of the sand. Due to the bounce and loft of the club, unless your a real pure ball striker, i find consistency and distance control quite difficult with this club.

I am actually after something quite different from the Big Bertha's now and like the look at set up of the thinner top line and less offset of the 775 CBs. The x-20 do remind me a lot of the Big Berthas with a slightly chunkier top line and slightly more offset. The review's i have read on the 775CB are that their long irons have something to be desired, more than made up for however, by short iron feel and accuracy. The X-20 are more of a complete set with better performance across all clubs, yet due to the more extreme perimeter weight, looses a bit of feel on the shorter irons. It appears that the 775CB are catered moreso to the high single digit, low double digit handicapper while x-20s may be more suitable to the strictly low double digit handicapper. Has anyone actually got either of these clubs and used them?

Just a quick question regarding anyone who has used or is currently using either one of the above mentioned clubs. I'm in the process of upgrading my current irons, Callaway Big Bertha 04. To be honest, they are flat out the best irons i have every used, such reliable distance on every shot, however, the only downfall to them is they are very difficult to work the ball in any direction. I am playing much more golf now and getting my handicap right down and am starting to crave more workability with my shots. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

tough question... i think the best thing to do when starting out is just to get a set of second hand clubs either from the local golf shop or you can pick up some absolutely awesome deals on ebay (if your willing to run the risk) Nowdays, although technology is being innovated rapidly, a good set of 3-4 year old fairway woods you should be able to get for about $100 give or take $20 depending on the brand and quality. To be honest with you, i have thought long and hard about this when i started off but just go ahead and spend a little bit more for a better club. Who cares if its 2nd hand because its going to get used anyway and get scuffed up, especially as a beginner. The better brands will get you better clubs, as a general rule, and you will enjoy your golf much more. Read a few other reviews for beginner clubs vs. pro clubs (ie. i wouldn't be going for anything titleist or blade irons for example) and you can't really go wrong.

The older titleist 503H hybrids i found fitted my eye much better than the newer wood like hybrids. I presume, like yourself, did not want to deviate to much from the irrefutable control irons have over woods, thus stuck with the 503H hybrids. Unfortunately, almost all manufacturers these days are tranferring technology of lower perimeter weighting and increasing MOI into all facets of club design, including hybrids, so we are basically seeing these iron-like hybrids being fazed out. I personally use a 2 and 4 Callaway FT hyrbid which i am reasonably happy with. great stock shaft in the Aldila NVS, however, launches a little high for my liking. Good selection of club choices with either draw of neutral bias depending on swing. The only complaint that i have with them is that due to the technology and movement towards forgiveness, i feel as through these clubs don't give you great feedback regarding where you've hit the ball on the club face. Basically, every shot feels the same, thus, for a better player such as yourself, sticking to the Titleists isn't a bad idea. If you are after a better player's hybrid, have a look at the Adams Idea Pro hybrids. Aldila Prototype shafts as standard, more iron like appearance, however, very little offset. Should be right up your alley !!!

Current: Ping Ug-Le 34" Others i have used: TM Rossa Mezza Monza and Odyssey #7 White hot XG From my own personal experience, I shifted to a center shafted, face balance putter about 1 year ago purely due to the realization that a straight back and through putting stoke was by far more consistent than the more traditional opening and closing door putter strokes. As a result, more accurate distance control and accuracy. If you are in the market for a center shafted mallet style putter, you cannot go past this baby. Excellent putter ++++

I think everything you need to know has been posted in this thread already. Just a couple of other pointers... in relation to shafts, different manufacturers will produce different shafts for different swing speeds and launch conditions depending on variables such as shaft flex, kick point, shaft materials etc... From personal experience (i've trialled Graphite Design YS-6, Grafalloy Blue and Fujikura Speeder 757 all in stiff flex) and the Fujikura is by far a lower launching and more penetrating shaft than the Grafalloy which launches the ball high with ease. Interestingly, I have found my Fujikura to be much more accurate, penetrating and gaining greater distance than the Grafalloy. However, these shafts must be married up with different club heads. As you aware aware, different driver heads from different manufacturers will create different MOI and different perimeter weighting positions, thus affecting 'sweet spot' and launch conditions of the golf ball depending on where you hit it on the face. So in essence, a very difficult question to answer and will vary depending on varying combinations of shaft type with club head, as well as your specific swing. As stated in previous posts, the best and probably only way to optimize a low spin high launching driver is to get fitted probably. A process which i went through with Callaway and took a good few hours and hitting hundreds of balls. If you do it, make sure you've got the time and fitness to produce a repeatable swing !!!! Hope this helps