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Re: Needing some club advice....

• JDS531 9 Posts

  Sat, Jun 5 2021 1:13 PM

  Hello all, I posted a quick intro over in the community help forum where I had a question concerning the Steam bundles. But this is my first post here and was looking for opinions/advice on a few clubs.

  The bundles are all Titleist equipment outside the 2 TM Grind wedges. Some I'm looking to replace which I did with the Irons, ditching the APs for the lvl59 Pings thanks to the advice found here. The rest is where I'm not as sure, outside the wedges where I know the consensus is the Vokeys are by far the best choice.

  My current D is the Titleist TS2. Still getting used to it and the extra distance but I have no complaints. Coupled with a good ball it consistently outpaces its 269 rating. The only differences between it and the TM 55 are meter speed (3.8 vs 4.5) and the 8 yds avg distance. Unless there is a larger difference in how they play than on paper then sticking with the Titleist seems prudent. Any thoughts here? Worth the rental cost to see for myself?

  3W options are the lvl46 MAX Meter, the Callaway Epic lvl51, and the Ping G410 lvl58. I know most here prefer the Callaway but with wedges still to buy and possibly a D or putter I may need to watch my costs. Am I giving up too much performance if I go with the MAX? The Ping is much closer to the Callaway, but the low forgiveness makes me wary. 

  I have currently the 52⁰ and a 60⁰ TM wedges and will purchase the 64⁰ Vokey. Not sure which way to go here. Sell the 52⁰ TM and get the 56⁰ Vokey (60-77-90)? Or sell the TM 60⁰ for the Vokey 60⁰ leaving me with 60-75-105? (my PW is 115)

  The bundle putter is the Scotty Cameron and is rated at or better than other options at my current level of 60. It's a much more precise putter than the starter but I'm finding some putts I believe would've fallen with the starter are leaving me with <1ft tap ins. Not sure if this is a ding/miss-ding issue or just learning how to play this putter. I'm still trying to learn the miss-ding style so more comfortable with the ding. Given that, should I take a look at others like the MAX Master, the lvl51 Spyder, the lvl59 Oddesy, or the lvl55 Seemore? Are any of these considered to be ding or miss-ding putters?

  Thanks to all who read this far and many thanks to all those who have shared their knowledge here on these forums. One last thing. I have a few sleeves of the Titleist V1x balls which I think might be a little high end for my level and equipment. If anyone would like to trade a sleeve of TP5's for one of these let me know. 

  Thanks for reading and thanks in advance to all who offer their thoughts. 

• SamSpayed 5,021 Posts

  Sun, Jun 6 2021 12:01 PM

  Hi JDS,

  A few of my thoughts....

  JDS531:

  My current D is the Titleist TS2.

  If you like that driver, just stick with that until L85 and then consider the Callaway Epic Speed Driver (L85+), which has High trajectory and the extra distance you'll need by then.

  JDS531:

  3W options

  See the thread in our CC forum titled A Guide to WGT 3 Woods for my analysis and suggestions.

  JDS531:

  I have currently the 52⁰ and a 60⁰ TM wedges and will purchase the 64⁰ Vokey. Not sure which way to go here.

  See the thread in our CC forum titled A Guide to WGT Wedges for my analysis and suggestions.

  JDS531:

  I'm still trying to learn the miss-ding style so more comfortable with the ding. Given that, should I take a look at others like the MAX Master, the lvl51 Spyder, the lvl59 Oddesy, or the lvl55 Seemore? Are any of these considered to be ding or miss-ding putters?

  Putters are very much a personal preference.  The Scotty Cameron putter you have is a very good putter.  I'd suggest sticking with that until you reach Level 70, at which point you could consider the Scotty Cameron Phantom X 6 Putter (L70+), which would be a marginal improvement.  

  Hope this helps.

• JDS531 9 Posts

  Sun, Jun 6 2021 7:38 PM

  Thanks for the reply Sam and the links, I was actually reading those on the CC forum last night. I'm getting used to the putter and I think the issue might be that being a more precise putter, it actually requires you to be more precise with your aim point and speed you hit it.

   

  Thanks for the advice and invite to the CC. 

• beerstine 722 Posts

  Mon, Jun 7 2021 1:55 AM

  I've played with most of those Steam bundle clubs except the driver.  The TaylorMade L74 driver isn't too far off and is a good upgrade that lasted me until I hit Legend tees.  The Callaway L51 3 Wood is terrific too.

  The TM wedges are the weakest clubs in those bundles, medium trajectory and too much roll on chips and pitches, OK for approach shots.  Get the highest rated 64 wedge you can afford, I prefer the Vokey, and the one at level 80 is a must have regardless what else you buy.  Keep the 105 yard wedge for now, you can take 5-10% off shots easier than get extra distance off a shorter wedge.  

  Keep that putter for now, it's quite good and can last a long time.  I recently played a few rounds with my L0 Cameron and putted as well as I did with my L70.  It's more about learning how to putt than the club itself at these levels.  Use the credits on better wedges and a driver that hits at least 10-12 yards more than your current one.

   

• JDS531 9 Posts

  Mon, Jun 7 2021 11:39 AM

  Thanks for the very helpful advice beerstein, much appreciated.

  I think I'll stay with the Titleist driver for now and then take a look at the L74 TM as you suggested.

  I agree on the wedges. In my admittedly short time playing with them I have been less than impressed. I played better with the MK rentals. I was all set to get the Vokeys but my wandering eye fell on the L50 MAX wedges since WGT has them on sale at 719c. The Vokeys have a better meter and forgiveness but the MAX have a big jump in spin (5.0-3.5). Would you still say the Vokeys are worth the cost difference?

  I do like the putter. It's helped me improve my focus on the green and I'm growing in confidence each time I use it. And now that I know I won't need a driver or putter in the near future, guess I'll pull the trigger on the Callaway 3W.

  Thanks again for the help and would like to hear what you think on the wedge choice I mentioned. 

• beerstine 722 Posts

  Mon, Jun 7 2021 9:01 PM

  Haven't played a MAX wedge except for a 2 hour rental but the spin rating is strong and there is a 64 wedge option which the Callaways don't have (some players like to combine the MAX 64 with longer Callaways).  The sale price is good for an interim club while you wait for the higher end Vokeys or Callaways which offer better meters and accuracy when you can afford them. 

   

• JDS531 9 Posts

  Mon, Jun 7 2021 9:45 PM

  Okay, sounds like I may need to do a rental and see how I feel with that quick meter/high spin rate and go from there. 

  Thanks again for the help. 

• SamSpayed 5,021 Posts

  Mon, Jun 7 2021 10:31 PM

  beerstine:

  The sale price is good for an interim club while you wait for the higher end Vokeys or Callaways which offer better meters and accuracy when you can afford them. 

  Agreed.  Check your inbox, JDS.  You should have a set of MAX Spin wedges waiting 😁

  If you have not already done so, go to your Settings and change CUSTOMIZE EQUIPMENT to ADVANCED.  That will allow you to drop your (useless) hybrid and equip all 3 wedges.

• JDS531 9 Posts

  Tue, Jun 8 2021 3:13 PM

  In my best Harry Caray voice, "Ho-lee Cow!". Thank you very much for your generosity Sam!

  A quick report from Kiawah #1. These dudes stop on a dime with no additional spin added on a full shot. FBS will send it rolling back to you. Even the punch is just a 2yd hop and stop. The 64⁰ wedge ought to be illegal, feel almost like I'm cheating using it. They are a huge improvement over the TM wedges. Have to be mindful of the quick meter because of the low forgiveness but outside of that, I find it difficult to believe the L29 Vokeys would significantly outperform these. Once I learn to properly use them it'll be even better. 

  Again Sam, thank you for the gift. Not sure how you feel about the Titleist balls, but I have a few sleeves of the Pro V1x one's (5.3 D - 4.2 S - 6.0 M). I'd love to send you a sleeve to say thanks if you're interested. 

• SamSpayed 5,021 Posts

  Fri, Jun 11 2021 12:55 PM

  JDS531:

  Again Sam, thank you for the gift. Not sure how you feel about the Titleist balls, but I have a few sleeves of the Pro V1x one's (5.3 D - 4.2 S - 6.0 M). I'd love to send you a sleeve to say thanks if you're interested. 

  My pleasure.  No sleeve necessary.  You can't gift sleeves from your inventory anyway, and I have plenty of balls. 

  If you like those MAX wedges, I'd suggest selling your TM wedges back to the Pro Shop if you can and buying some more Callaway or TM balls with the credits... or just put them toward your next club upgrade.