The Official Golf Thread

[offtheground]

I use my 3 or 4 Iron mostly for 'recovery' shots out of the rough / trees where you don't want much loft due to overhanging tree's. 1/2 backswing and 1/2 follow through to get a low trajectory ball flight to get back onto the fairway.
Unfortunately i need to use this shot quite a bit due to a bad drive...

[cockahoop]

Recently took up golf in a more serious way.  Had always futtered about playing the odd round here & there.  But took out membership this year & will be playing off 24.

As you can tell, i'm not going to break into the professional ranks any time soon, but i think a handicap of 20 this time next year is a reasonable target.

Putting is my biggest Achilles' Heel at the minute & i know it's the part of my game is going to need the most practice.

In the last few rounds I've put a 4 hybird in the bag & this has helped me immensely.  My 3 & 4 irons are now redundant (rarely used them anyway as i found them so hard to hit).

What does everyone else keep in there bag?  I've Driver, 5 Wood, 4 Hybrid, 3-9 irons, PW, SW & Putter.

If i'm going to sack the 3 iron there is room for 2 more clubs in the bag - any recommendations?

well at 24 drop the 5 wood,youll find your 4 hybrid will be a similar distance to a 5 wood...you could add a 3 wood but again if your comfortable with your hybrid that's the club to stick with as you would only use a 3 wood for second shots on par 5's and you probably wont reach the green anyway.
When your getting more comfortable with your irons id give the four iron ago and stick with it as its very useful for playing low shots to get you out of bother
As for using a gap wedge well that would be within the distance where you could use 7 or 8 iron bump and run shots (play off the back foot with a putter action) again once you feel comfortable and more confident you could experiment with a gap wedge and see which has the best results.
all my opinion of course,i play off 6 and like you if my putting was better id probably cut off a few more.

[screenexile]

Here's another one... I have a Cobra Amp Cell Hybrid 2/3 and a 5W... is there any real difference in these.

Contrary to most I can hit the 5 Wood much better than they hybrid and I'm wondering if there's any point in having it in the bag to be honest. The clubs are fairly new and we've been playing lift and place since Christmas so I'm wondering if it's worth keeping for hitting out of the rough or should i just stick with the 5W?

[Puckoon]

You currently only have 13 clubs in your bag if I am counting correctly - so you get to add one more regardless of what you take out. I would say there is little point to carrying a 4 hybrid and a 3 and 4 iron. Your hybrid is essentially an easier to hit and slightly longer version of a standard 4 iron. So you are doubling up there. You seem to have 3-4 clubs that should all do a similar job

5 wood (maybe around 17 or 18 degrees?)
4 hybrid (maybe around 21 degrees?)
3 iron around 20 degrees
4 iron around 25 degrees

If you got a little more versatile with the 4 hybrid - I would restructure that end of the bag as follows:

Driver, 3 wood, either a 5 wood or Hybrid (I'd probably keep the 5 wood - I think it is easier to hit than a hybrid).

As a new golfer, and depending on your age and goals I would maybe recommend hybrids to replace your irons from 3-5 irons. They are generally a little easier to hit. I like to keep the long irons in my bag as I feel they force me to work on better ball striking. Put some "Scoring clubs" in the bag maybe. A few more wedges. A 56 and a 60 would be a decent start without knowing what your gap distances are from PW up.

Putting might be the easiest part of your game to improve on. You could shave some strokes off your handicap by working on that part pretty quick. Speed is the most important part of our game as amateurs. Worry less about the line and more about the speed of your putts and that will help a lot.

My set up changes monthly but currently the bag is set at

Driver, 3 wood, 18 degree hybrid, 4-PW, 52, 56, 64, Putter

Regarding your low irons to hit recovery shots - unless you are Jordan Spieth, chasing a 4 iron 200 yards back up the fair way out of the trees, under the branches - I don't think that a particularly great reason to keep those clubs in the bag. You can learn to hit a 6 or 7 low to get yourself back in play. A low long shot that never gets higher than branch level is a 1 in 20 shot.

Good luck, enjoy!

[Puckoon]

Here's another one... I have a Cobra Amp Cell Hybrid 2/3 and a 5W... is there any real difference in these.

Contrary to most I can hit the 5 Wood much better than they hybrid and I'm wondering if there's any point in having it in the bag to be honest. The clubs are fairly new and we've been playing lift and place since Christmas so I'm wondering if it's worth keeping for hitting out of the rough or should i just stick with the 5W?

Loft wise they are both pretty similar Screen. Cobra 2 is about 17 and 3 is about 18. Most 5 woods are around 18. I wasn't thinking when I bought my last hybrid - emotional purchase. Realized a few weeks later I had two clubs in the bag doing the same job. 5 wood went in the garage. If I was struggling a bit, I would swap out the 5 wood for the hybrid.

[Puckoon]

By the way - not sure what Driver you have in the bag - but the Amp Cell is seriously long and hot off the face. If I wasn't on probation...

[thebigfella]

I use my 3 or 4 Iron mostly for 'recovery' shots out of the rough / trees where you don't want much loft due to overhanging tree's. 1/2 backswing and 1/2 follow through to get a low trajectory ball flight to get back onto the fairway.
Unfortunately i need to use this shot quite a bit due to a bad drive...

You could de-loft the club face by moving the ball back in your stance as opposed to carrying pointless clubs.

[screenexile]

By the way - not sure what Driver you have in the bag - but the Amp Cell is seriously long and hot off the face. If I wasn't on probation...

Have the Amp Cell driver surely!! My driving wouldn't be great now but when I connect properly the ball flies!!

I got a fitting done before Christmas and got a full set of amp cell irons and a driver and then picked up the hybrid & 5W of the range second hand. I'd say the irons have improved me by at least 3/4 shots and while the driver is erratic it doesn't cost me too much. Now if I could just get the chipping and putting sorted I'm sure I'd get below the 20 and probably more!! I've just joined a club recently so hopefully playing regular will improve it!

[Puckoon]

Nothing beats practice. Hope your club has some facilities to work on things. I know Omagh is improving - they have a few bays with nets now, not sure anything else was available last time I was home. You cannot go out on a weekend and expect things to be better if you haven't gotten some range or green time in.

[screenexile]

Nothing beats practice. Hope your club has some facilities to work on things. I know Omagh is improving - they have a few bays with nets now, not sure anything else was available last time I was home. You cannot go out on a weekend and expect things to be better if you haven't gotten some range or green time in.

Killymoon is poor for practice really but there's a driving range with a small academy course and a chipping/putting/bunker area about a 10 min drive from work which will get battered now the long evenings are here!

[Gabriel_Hurl]

A 64 wedge Puck???    Or should I be calling you Phil 

[Mikhailov]

Nothing beats practice. Hope your club has some facilities to work on things. I know Omagh is improving - they have a few bays with nets now, not sure anything else was available last time I was home. You cannot go out on a weekend and expect things to be better if you haven't gotten some range or green time in.

Killymoon is poor for practice really but there's a driving range with a small academy course and a chipping/putting/bunker area about a 10 min drive from work which will get battered now the long evenings are here!

where is that at, screen...?

[cornerback]

Nothing beats practice. Hope your club has some facilities to work on things. I know Omagh is improving - they have a few bays with nets now, not sure anything else was available last time I was home. You cannot go out on a weekend and expect things to be better if you haven't gotten some range or green time in.

Killymoon is poor for practice really but there's a driving range with a small academy course and a chipping/putting/bunker area about a 10 min drive from work which will get battered now the long evenings are here!

where is that at, screen...?

Killymoon = Cookstown
Driving Range etc = Tobermore

[cornerback]

Cheers for all the feedback.

Yeah, I've only 13 clubs in the bag at the minute.  I will be keeping the 4 iron as it's a club I want to be able to hit well i just need more practice with it.  The 4 hybrid has replaced the 3 iron distance wise (theoretically of course because I have rarely, if ever, caught the 3 iron right).  The 4 iron is slightly easier & I'm more than happy with my 5 iron.

An extra wedge could be added.  I wouldn't be sure of the exact degrees of my PW & SW but i must look into it...

[Applesisapples]

You currently only have 13 clubs in your bag if I am counting correctly - so you get to add one more regardless of what you take out. I would say there is little point to carrying a 4 hybrid and a 3 and 4 iron. Your hybrid is essentially an easier to hit and slightly longer version of a standard 4 iron. So you are doubling up there. You seem to have 3-4 clubs that should all do a similar job

5 wood (maybe around 17 or 18 degrees?)
4 hybrid (maybe around 21 degrees?)
3 iron around 20 degrees
4 iron around 25 degrees

If you got a little more versatile with the 4 hybrid - I would restructure that end of the bag as follows:

Driver, 3 wood, either a 5 wood or Hybrid (I'd probably keep the 5 wood - I think it is easier to hit than a hybrid).

As a new golfer, and depending on your age and goals I would maybe recommend hybrids to replace your irons from 3-5 irons. They are generally a little easier to hit. I like to keep the long irons in my bag as I feel they force me to work on better ball striking. Put some "Scoring clubs" in the bag maybe. A few more wedges. A 56 and a 60 would be a decent start without knowing what your gap distances are from PW up.

Putting might be the easiest part of your game to improve on. You could shave some strokes off your handicap by working on that part pretty quick. Speed is the most important part of our game as amateurs. Worry less about the line and more about the speed of your putts and that will help a lot.

My set up changes monthly but currently the bag is set at

Driver, 3 wood, 18 degree hybrid, 4-PW, 52, 56, 64, Putter

Regarding your low irons to hit recovery shots - unless you are Jordan Spieth, chasing a 4 iron 200 yards back up the fair way out of the trees, under the branches - I don't think that a particularly great reason to keep those clubs in the bag. You can learn to hit a 6 or 7 low to get yourself back in play. A low long shot that never gets higher than branch level is a 1 in 20 shot.

Good luck, enjoy!

Playing of 20 I've the same club set as you except I currently have the 5 wood in and the 64 out, I'm debating which is better, I use the hybrid more than the 5. I would also use the hybrid with a shorten grip off the back foot to hit low recovery shots, seems to work.