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Well I did it. Went to the shop tonight planning on a full set of irons but they were all sold out of everything but the display set which was only 5-PW. Got a pro-rated price of $300 for that and added in a used Nickent 4 hybrid for another $100 (marked at $130 used but in really really good looking condition). Also picked up a 58.12 Vokey wedge because I needed a sand wedge. I've decided to keep my 54* wedge from the Vulcan blade set, used to be a standard pitching wedge but was bent to 54* by my brother when he owned the clubs. So I'm really looking forward to playing with these. I got really lucky that the fit of their last set of G5 clubs was perfect for me. I had one guy at the shop, who didn't know I was looking at the last set of G5 irons which were blue dot, use the swing plate thing and all that. He told me I needed blue which was perfect.

I used to play with some cheap cavity backs back in the day, but most of my clubs have been hand-me-downs from my brother who was a much more avid golfer then I was in the past. Currently I play with some Vulcan blade irons he used to have. I hit them surprisingly well most of the time, but I certainly do have my bad hits on occasion as well. I struggle more with my driver then my irons, but they aren't perfect all the time. I'm planning on playing more this year and am considering some Ping G5 irons from the local golf shop for $400. Seems like a decent price for this set of irons and I hit them at the indoor hitting area at the shop and the felt surprisingly good. My concern is that it has been a long time (9+ years) since I've hit cavity back irons and I just am not sure I will really like them once I play a whole round with them. Will I really see that much more forgiveness out of them to make it worth it? I plan to play a lot more this year and I've been playing off and on for 15 years now so I know they will get plenty of use over time. I guess I'm just afraid I will miss the feel of my blades even if I can't hit them perfect every time. Anybody else made the switch from blades to cavity backs? Thoughts? Suggestions?

I looked at the Four 5 when I was shopping for bags. I didn't have a scale handy but in my hands it felt about the same weight as my Nike Sasquatch. Went with the Nike because the actuator for the stand legs didn't stick out nearly as far from the bag (actually, pretty inline with the edge of the bag on the Nike) whereas the Sun Mountain stuck out a ways which would make it hard to use on a cart which I do occasionally. Otherwise seemed like a great bag though and was in my top 3 when it came down to the end.

Nike Sasquatch has 14 full length dividers. I don't really even like Nike stuff but when I went looking for a bag this was the best combinations of features I could find. Very happy with it so far.

Yeah, I can't figure out why you would want to take that pocket off either...weird one that. I use it for balls because it has the mesh velcro sides which are handy, but can't imagine why one would take it all the way off. I tried to resist but it just called too hard to me.

I spent this weekend trying to find the best carry bag available. I love the stand feature on the Ping bags as it is the most stable I have seen, but the lack of dividers for club management made it a no-go for me. The Taylor Made bags frankly felt cheap to me. I just didn't care for them even though a couple were on sale at the Golf Galaxy I stopped at. In the end it really came down to Ogio Grom or Edge and the Nike Sasquatch. Frankly, I really didn't want to like the Nike. I've never been a Nike fan, but when it came down to it I loved the bag. The Ogio was nice but it never felt quite as stable as the Sasquatch. I also really liked the 14 slot system on the Nike bag, I'm a stickler for organization and I love the idea of each club having it's own place in the bag. Also the material quality was nice and surprisingly, according to the tag, the bag is assembled in the USA which I appreciate. So, after wanting a Taylor Made or Ogio at the start, and after getting strong recommendations for Ping from my brother, I went with the Nike Sasquatch and I really like it so far. Not the brand I was looking for but it's the bag that actually fulfills all my wants/needs.

I went out today to a place that had a putting and chipping green. Putting green was signed "putting only", the chipping green had no signage at all. I was the only one there the whole time so I chipped onto the chipping green and then putted out. I wouldn't have done that had others been using it however, though I much prefer being able to do that rather then separating the two activities.

I work in the tech department of the best bicycle company around.