On Equipment

If a carpenter’s tool box is the center of his profession, a golf bag serves the exact same role for a golfer. Inside the bag contains all the ornate shovels and hammers required for a solid day’s work. However, golfer’s clubs tend to be as diverse and unique as the players that use them. If the tools make the man, then the clubs make the man as well.

            My bag, in particular, is quite unique. A typical good player’s bag contains a Driver (the club players hit off the tee), a putter (to use on the greens), some high-lofted wedge (loft is how the club sits with respect to the ground, the more “loft”, the more it looks like a pancake), and a set of irons (blade looking clubs designed to go a different distance). However, that’s pretty much where the similarities end from player to player. Some players elect to use a 3 wood (effectively a mini driver) as their second longest club in their bag. Others choose a “driving iron” (an abnormally long iron designed to replace the 3 wood with a lower trajectory). Working from the longer end of the bag to the shorter end, some players elect to use hybrids, which look like baby 3 woods and are designed to fly shorter. I personally carry a “2 hybrid” and a 3 iron, rather than all irons or woods. Most players tend to have a succession of irons from 4-9, typically varying by about .5 inches in length and 4 degrees of loft. After the 9 iron, the bag again becomes unique depending on each respective player. Since you’re only allowed 14 clubs, typically either the long end or the short end has “gaps” that can’t really be filled. Personally, my gap is on the longer end of the bag, as I carry a 46 degree, 50 degree, 54 degree, and 58 degree wedge. Tiger Woods, for example, carries a 46 degree, skips a wedge, 56 degree and a 60 degree. As you can see, different players have very different bags from one another.

            Not only are the clubs each player uses different, the balls they choose to use are too. Typically, brands such as Titleist and Taylormade make different types of golf balls. Depending on how many “pieces” the inside of the ball is and what cover is on the ball, it can have slightly different behaviors in the air. Even the smallest of changes can make a 500 rpm difference in the air, which is critical for controlling the height and spin of the golf ball. Due to my body type and club selection, I’m naturally a high-launch high-spin player. Because of that, I chose a low spin ball so I have a better chance of cutting the ball through the wind. Ultimately, each player has to choose the ball that both “feels right” and provides the launch and spin characteristics they desire.

            As you can see, golf equipment is a lot more complicated than one may think. Hopefully, I did a successful job of showing the intricacies of golf equipment while also showing a little about the choices I make when I look for a set of golf clubs.

DJ’s Bag Set Up

Driver (10.5 degrees of loft)                           255 yd carry distance

3 wood (16 degrees of loft, bent to 14.5)      230 yd carry distance

2 Hybrid (17 degrees of loft)                          215 yd carry distance

3 iron (21 degrees of loft)                              200 yd carry distance

5 iron (29 degrees of loft)                              185 yd carry distance

6 iron (33 degrees of loft)                              170 yd carry distance

7 iron (36 degrees of loft)                              160 yd carry distance

8 iron (39 degrees of loft)                              148 yd carry distance

9 iron (42 degrees of loft)                              136 yd carry distance

Pitching Wedge (46 degrees of loft)              127 yd carry distance

Gap Wedge (50 degrees of loft)                    110 yd carry distance

Sand Wedge (54 degrees of loft)                   90 yd carry distance

Lob Wedge (58 degrees of loft)                     60 yd carry distance

Putter