Quick Question

Fourteen clubs makes a full bag. I have 13 in mine and have not had any blatant distance gaps, but was thinking that it could be fun to play around with some different clubs to see if there is anything that could be utilized in my game.

Currently, my set reads like this:

Putter; 52 and 56 degree loft wedges; Pitching wedge through 5-iron; 4 and 3 hybrid; 3 wood; driver.

The 52 has 10 degrees of bounce and the 56 has 14 degrees.

Any recommendations on what I should try out? Thank you!

Side note: I am sorry that I have not replied to blog comments lately. I read each one and if there was more time in the day I would reply to everyone, but time has been precious lately and unfortunately some things have to take a back seat. I truly appreciate the comments and promise that I pay attention to each one.

17 Responses to "Quick Question"

David says:

October 2, 2012 at 8:00 pm

I’m surprised your lowest lofted wedge is a 56 degree, you don’t see that often among single digit players all the way up to professionals. I would definitely look into getting a 60 degree wedge. I’m a big believer in the more bounce the better but of course it depends on course conditions and your swing. I would get on flightscope or trackman and do an analysis of your distant gaps. You can go to Red Tail or Tualitine island greens to get this done. Basically you’ll hit 10 shots or so and it will average out your carry and roll distance for each club and from there you’ll be able to see where your biggest distance gap is. As you get better and develop more of a repertoire of shots around the green I think you’ll find the 60 degree wedge will allow you to execute certain shots more consistently then a 56.
Dave says:

October 2, 2012 at 8:05 pm

You might want to talk with your coach about a lob wedge (60?), that seems obvious given that you seem to have plenty of distance. On the less obvious, I live by my 5 wood. I don’t use a three, the five is nearly as long, and less subject to the problems of side spin introduced by my less than repeatable stroke. It flies high, lands reasonably soft with a predictable amount of run. Saw an interview with a tour pro (Chris DiMarco?) talking about the five wood as his goto club.
Richard Chen says:

October 2, 2012 at 8:06 pm

Is the 56 with 14 degrees of bounce equivalent to what used to be called the sand-wedge? Sarazen invented the sand-wedge by adding a big bulge at the bottom of the wedge, so that the club will glide through the sand to explode the ball out of the trap. The sand-wedge can also be used for a close in pitch from a good lie. For a sand-wedge pitch from the fairway, the ball is played from just inside the trailing foot to hit the ball with a steep clubhead path to avoid the bulge from bouncing off the turf. Nicklaus likes to hit all of his shots with the ball placed forward, so that he needed to file off some of the bulge from his sand-wedge. There are many variations in the design of the sand wedge that manufacturers claim to get the ball out of the sand traps better. Another variation is an extra heavy sand wedge, which offers the impression of being able to plow through things to get to the ball.

The ability to hit the 2-iron well from the fairway as well as from the tee used to be considered the mark of an accomplished golfer.

The 4-wood is Miller’s favorite club.

If a player experiments with many clubs, it is important to set up a routine to always count the number of clubs in the bag before teeing off the first tee to make sure that are no more than fourteen clubs in the bag.
Charlie says:

October 2, 2012 at 8:09 pm

What’s the loft and bounce on your PW? I think you should have a wedge with little bounce — perhaps 4 degrees or less.

I second the thoughts of trying a 4- or 5-wood.
williamevanl says:

October 2, 2012 at 8:43 pm

60 degree wedge, You’ll either love it or hate it. You can thank me if you end up loving it.
Will D says:

October 2, 2012 at 9:45 pm

60 degree wedge, Dan. Low bounce. Saves me a stroke or two every round. Fly it about 60-75 yards to a tight pin, or lob a flop shot over a bunker.
Patrick says:

October 2, 2012 at 10:20 pm

I have a 2 hybrid that I can’t live without. Use it off the tee, fairway, punching out from trees and sometimes chipping/putting from just off the green. I didn’t think that I would use it so much when I bought it. Also agree with the 60 degree wedge. I carry a 52, 56 and 60. I like the wedge game and need lots of options. Good luck!
sl says:

October 3, 2012 at 6:08 am

a 60* wedge would be a perfect addition. make sure it has very low bounce though. this club is used for finesse shots and pitch shots and high bounce lob wedges tend to blade shots. low bounce will allow you to easily use this club out of tight fairways.

this club is indispensable for short yardage situations (<70 yards) and for pitching around the green: definite stroke saver!
John_D says:

October 3, 2012 at 6:31 am

A second driver is clearly the answer. Six degrees of loft, 48″ shaft, X-flex.
Tim says:

October 3, 2012 at 6:52 am

60 Degree Wedge, hands down. You will use that numerous times per round compared to a 2 hybrid or 4 wood you may hit once or twice. Think about the times you are less than a 100 in or around the green and need to get the ball up. Short game. short game. short game.
Ric (Crusader55A) says:

October 3, 2012 at 9:00 am

Low bounce 60* wedge or a 5W.

You started with the short game so the 60* will either give you shot options that will have you jumping for joy or you’ll hate it because of what you’re already used to and the added option could result in too many choices around the green. Just about everyone carries a 58* or 60* these days so you’re definitely “old school” with your 56* wedge as most lofted.

The 5W will give you another short par 4 “go to” driving club, an accurate par 5 approach gap club, and a long range option from the rough for shots farther than your 3H.
tom says:

October 3, 2012 at 12:24 pm

A low bounce 60* wedge will be your new favorite club.
Celio says:

October 4, 2012 at 2:43 am

Put in a right-handed club!
You might need them from time to time… (on courses with a lot of trees)
Gareth says:

October 4, 2012 at 2:50 am

what is your loft on your PW? 44 degrees?

Maybe a 48 degree loft with 4/6 of bounce?
Blake says:

October 4, 2012 at 8:24 am

Hi Dan,

I know you didn’t necessarily ask for this, but wanted to finally let you know that you’ve really inspired me. I love the theory that you are living out. Primarily, that hard work does pay off and is the dominant factor in determining one’s success! Really enjoy your small video clips as well.
bigstack says:

October 4, 2012 at 8:30 am

I agree with a lot of the others in that you should get a 60 or 62* lob wedge.
I mainly use mine for coming out of green side bunkers and or up and over green side hills that protect the green. Or whenever the pin is very close to the edge of the green and i want very little roll out.

also like they said bounce really is based on your swing and your terrain…

I also dumped my 3 wood and got a 2-hybrid…. could not be happier… I am not long by any imagination… but i can send that 2 hybrid about 220-240 off the tee… 210-225 off fairway…nice low shot that defeats the wind. (callaway razrx tour 2-hy). I likeld my 3 wood off the tee however hitting it off the fairway was always problematic.

I have recently discovered your website and “plan”… I also started playing recently and have gone off the deep end in terms of amount of time playing.I never played golf till a year ago (nov 2011) and have played roughly 120-130 rounds of golf in that time. I went back and watched every video of yours and can draw a lot of correlations between our “journeys” .
I am not as good as you are as I have not broken 80 yet (am trying to break 80 in under a year). I have had a several 83-85 rounds in the past few months but have not gotten there yet(mainly I am in the 85-93 range). I have pretty much been 100% self taught .. .via youtube videos and recording my own swing to compare to others. I imagine that my next step would be to get a coach…. but it is hard to find a coach that is willing to spend time on the course… and not just swing coach at a driving range.

Another thing you may want to spend some $$ on is a high speed camera(though judging from the videos etc you like already have something that will do over 120fps).
I bought the CASIO EX-FH100 does 1000fps (yes 1k not 100)… also adjustable shutter speed… which makes a difference.

Anyway sorry for the long boring blog comment… but your story really excites me that someone has the f#cking balls to do this. I hope you do well. I want to see “the dan plan” marching down the course at the us open (or some other big time event)… IT WILL BE A VICTORY FOR DREAMERS! and a confirmation that hard work pays off.
Crane says:

November 4, 2012 at 9:54 pm

Maybe a right handed club for trouble without a lefty shot. I have a 4 iron for the other side if I need to make a shot “the wrong way”. Before I flipped over a 3 iron but this has been going well.

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