ZirjoGondar:
The key is to space the wedges so that you don't have to go below 85% power or so. You'll see less variation/more consistency with higher power levels. The 90y punches 75/74(?). You can squeeze 62 yards out of the 64° by applying topspin. They mesh perfectly. You can ignore the PW for now; the Vokey 90y is much more accurate. When/if you get the L59 PINGs, the 90yd Vokey will fit perfectly with the PING PW, which goes 115y full and (about) 98y punched. Use those punch shots liberally; they're like having an extra club.
Gotcha! I had already bought the 60 unfortunately (based on gaps/one line in Edward's guide), so this one isn't the cheapest lesson I've given myself here. Ah well. Am I better off keeping the 60° for later use, or selling it back for 300cr and eating the 895cr loss?
At the moment it feels like I need to go take some time and sit in the rough/bunkers/fairway on a hill and get the short shot distances and conditions memorized a bit better - I'm still hitting the rare chip in the rough a foot or 2 instead of 15 if I'm not paying attention and getting pars instead of birdies.
ZirjoGondar: Believe me, I know the urge to upgrade is strong. When I started out, the free credit videos were unlimited. So I went hog wild on club upgrades and even bought the PLUS membership to level up even faster. You don't have that luxury. But if you're at L39 after a week, you should get to L59 in about another 3 weeks.
It'll probably take you closer to a year before you get to the levels required to replace that whole PING set. I would just tough it out with the starters for a few more weeks. Concentrate on punching, pitching, chipping, and flopping those wedges (and putting) until then. Youll be using those clubs for a lot longer than your current woods, and it will serve you better in the long run than getting 30 more yards out of your drives for 3 weeks. The wedges and the putter impact your score much more than the woods. But if you're comfortable with the cost, it won't hurt anything to buy a wood before then. I was just thinking in terms of total cost efficiency over your first year. I had forgotten about EasyEdward's guide that Sam mentioned. He may have some different recommendations. It's been over a year since I read it!
It really is- I'm regularly out-driven by 20-50 yards on H2H matches which is a bit frustrating, although I can often gain strokes back in the iron and short shots with good distance/spin selections. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little proud to be able to come to the green in the same number of strokes as players with much longer clubs, yet the feeling that I'm sometimes losing a stroke in the process remains. I should be L40 and partway to L41 tonight, roughly 1800 credits saved still (after both wedges). Not quite sure if that puts me in a comfortable position to buy a wood in-between (excl. the WGT Pro 9.5, which I may have to pair with a slower-meter ball, I may gather data for a few days/levels and see how something like the L44 Callaway Epic feels, both as per EasyEdward's guide (circa June 2019), although I do like the sound of the meter speed on the L59 Ping being close to my comfort level thus far. Yet, sticking it out for another week or 2 with the same clubs through L44 to 59 doesn't sound that bad at all.
Bolded is what I was very much hoping to hear, a solid jump in clubs that'll be enjoyable and last until I have more in the 'silly golf game' budget, to quote my wife.
ZirjoGondar: I recommended those balls because you mentioned meter speed might be a problem. They both play about the same; the GI-S having a faster meter is the only difference. TBH, I don't remember if they take a noticeable amount of spin from the starter clubs. Try the ball Sam sent you with the new wedges to see if it's worth the cost. You will definitely see an improvement in stopping power with them across the whole PING set. If you can handle the speed of the starter ball for now, though, you could just roll with it until L59.
Not so much a problem with the starter meter speed (reflexes are still good, thankfully) as finding myself hitting it off-ding just enough to negate my careful target choices, moreso with short-medium wedge shots and putts that finish within a few inches of the cup. Still need to learn my regular misses, I know. The GI2-S, as I mentioned, is much easier to hit precisely in this range and actually felt too slow for a while. I'll try the GI-S and 10cr models next. So far I'm surprisingly hitting it only a little straighter over ~150yd (a bit of spin difference, not as much as with the Vokeys), but notably better closer-in and especially improved on putt strikes - I can miss to either side by a hair to work against a break with ok (IMO) reliability in comparison, but again this is probably down to more practice.
I've been experimenting a little with some of the apparel stat boosts as well for a +7% XP boost and what seems to be a pretty noticeable but not fully consistent 7-12 yard driver distance difference I still need to fully confirm. Some of the numbers are (probably intentionally) very difficult to try and quantify, but there seems to be something to it.. sometimes.
ZirjoGondar: Best of luck with whatever you decide, Kenny. Obviously, it's your
call. Most importantly, have fun with it. I'm still learning after
almost 14 months...and it's still a lot of fun.
Thanks Zirio, I really appreciate the thoughtful veteran input you fine folks have provided for a new player. I'll admit I downloaded this game on a whim but feel like I found something with an amazing amount of depth, detail, variability and mostly loads of fun that'll remain part of my downtime (or between-client-call) routine for a long time.