TSG’s gocchin – What’s in the Bag

Magazines and websites love to cover what’s in the bag for all the top pros on tour. One of the things I find most interesting is what’s in the bag of your fellow peer or average golfer. There are so many brands out there and what each person plays is not only a testament to what fits them but what brands they like and in many cases what is most popular in the market. Today we are going to look at the what’s in the bag for… ME.

As many of you know I have access to almost any club in Japan and I test and try all different brands and models regularly. At first switching clubs for me was like a revolving door, but strangely enough, I have slowly become less of a golf club ho in Japan than I was before. Maybe because I’ve finally tried to stick with what works for me, and the gear that will improve my game. Too many players, myself included, get caught up in all the great gear out there and swap clubs in an out, often more frequently then we should. While reasons like simply wanting to try something new or on the search for the longest iron or best spinning wedge, are all valid reasons (I use those reasons too), sometimes when a club works you stick with it.

So what has managed to stick with me most of this year? Some of you who know me may be amazed to see how used my clubs actually look since in the past my WITB posts on the forum has always looked like brand new clubs. This is a credit to the clubs I play now as most of them have lasted much longer than usual.

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So as I’ve said above, my main bag (yes I do have backups so I still qualify as a “club collector”  lol) consists of clubs I actually game and work for me. These are clubs are truly help me make my game better.

Driver: The driver is my worst club. I have long battled the right side and because of this lose distance. I went from too steep a downswing, causing too much spin and too high a trajectory to flattening out my swing which improved spin tremendously but in the process losing trajectory.  I’ve been able to get away with playing 10.5 and 11.5* retail off the shelf drivers. Many of these retail drivers especially average golfer models have real lofts that are higher (in some cases 2-3* even) than stated loft. The truth is this is not necessarily a bad thing for the average golfer or slower swinger because, as I have discovered myself, that higher loft works for getting extra carry for this bracket of player. This fall I replaced my PRGR GN502 gamer with a Kamui Works 456 Silver. As many of you know this driver is handmade to spec and all specs are pretty much exact. The Kamui I have has a true loft of 11* and even with a high launching Motore Speeder VC3.0, I could probably use a tad more launch but the feel and forgiveness of this driver are tremendous. I am thinking of getting Kamui to produce a 12+* loft driver for me.  I play the 456 Silver at 44″ and a C8 swing weight.  I feel at this length and balance that I have enough control and speed to load the shaft and produce results.

Fairway Woods: I am carrying a 17* PRGR egg Spoon and a 20* PRGR GN502 Hit. They are both very different clubs but both are amazing performers. I use the egg more than the GN502 because it is simply so long as you can read from my previous review on it. I am not a long hitter so I need the egg frequently as my second shot on par 5’s or long par 4’s.  I play both these clubs because of their forgiveness and performance. They are both very easy to hit. The 17* egg is shafted with a Griffin G53 at 42.5″ though I may re-shaft it as the Griffin is best in a driver at longer lengths and is a mid launch shaft. The GN502 also has a G53 at 41.5″. I am not looking at replacing either of these woods right now as they simply work.

Utility: I carry a 24* ONOFF Fairway arms utility. This in fact replaces my 5 iron (which is also 24*). I have found I can hit this utility far more consistently than a 5 iron or than most utilities I have tried in the past. My fairway arms UT was a special order from ONOFF and I had them build it to a shorter 38.5″ and I use it as a 5 iron off the deck and off the tee with great success on long par 3’s .  The shorter shaft makes it very easy to control and square at impact which is exactly what I wanted. The ONOFF gives a higher but very stable trajectory with a soft landing.

Irons: I’m playing the ONOFF 2008 Iron 6-PW. These irons replaced the PRGR GN502 and Epon AF-701 I had earlier this year. ONOFF is about to replace this model with a 2010 model but this iron is one of the reasons why ONOFF has made great progress as a brand to be reckoned with especially among average golfers. The maraging face feels amazing and forgiveness is on a whole new level. I personally find them more forgiving than any other mid sized cavity I have tried which is why I am playing them. Distance is amazing and with custom shaft options you can have them built the way you want. Mine are shafted with Roddio I-6 graphite built by ONOFF as a custom order.  These shafts play a big part in how the irons performs and are very stable but smooth feeling graphite shafts. I do play my irons at standard lengths with is a 38″ 5 iron.

Wedges: The Sky Dream Jump DP-2010 are actually the newest edition in my bag. They replace what I consider to be the best wedges I have played in a long time the Royal Collection 6150TG Forged. DP-2010 have a mid to compact head, minimal offset and a wonderfully milled face. It is as I mentioned in previous blog posts, a very different wedge as it is made from a damp alloy material with high magnesium content. Sky Dream Jump says the actual material is 3 times stronger/harder than S25C steel but feels just as soft due to its absorption characteristics that really grabs the ball at impact creating major spin. I have these shafted with Roddio I-8 graphite to go along with the I-6. The verdict is yet to be decided on these new wedges but so far I like them a lot or they would already be gone from my bag!

Putter: I was playing the Gold’s Factory Hearts proto for all of last year and I began the season playing a center shaft itsy bitsy Spider. By summer my putting was going very poorly as I had poor control with the Spider. The Spider is forgiving and the agsi+ face is soft but I was not getting enough feedback from the spider so I went back to a blade anser style putter.  I like a heavy head with a shorter length so I now have a Bettinardi Japan model 360TR cut to 33″ and D1.3 swing weight. The firmer yet soft (does that make sense?) honeycomb face gives me the feel and roll I want and my putting has improved tremendously. Is another Gold’s putter on the horizon for me? Maybe.

One of the best things about my bag is the bag itself. I got a ONOFF caddy bag figuring it looked different. It not only looks different it has turned out to be the most useful caddy bag I have ever owned. Storage is unparalleled with huge easily accessible pockets on all sides. I keep a sweater, rain gear, food, drinks, my shoes, lots of balls and accessories and still have lots of room to spare.

So there you have my bag at least until next year. Golf is all year round here in Japan so I hope the golf ho bug doesn’t bite me especially with lots of great new gear coming out in 2010 from Epon, Tourstage, XXIO, ONOFF and others!