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Help with my equipment (L40)

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Thu, Aug 23 2018 4:07 AM (9 replies)
  • Brgc
    1 Posts
    Tue, Aug 14 2018 10:37 AM

    Hello. I could really use your help with planning my equipment changes.

    Background

    I played more than two years ago for a few weeks, then stopped. Now I want to come back and play again. I'm L40 Pro. My current equipment is all basic WGT Starter clubs except for putter (MAX Control Putter, L0, Hack, which I purchased back in the day). I think I made it to this level (two years ago) using rental clubs. When I play now, I feel the shortcomings of the basic clubs playing from Pro tees.

    Goal

    I want to equip myself decently, but I don't have an unlimited budget and I'd like to take a somehow frugal(ish) approach, which I understand as planning two "tiers" of equipment purchases. One purchased now and one planned upgrade at higher levels, and no more (unless I'm drowning with earned credits somehow). I don't have much experience, so I might overvalue or undervalue some of the clubs' numeric parameters. I'd love to hear your opinions on what I'm planning based on my research, and maybe some alternative suggestions. Any suggestions will be appreciated!

    The driver problem

    My biggest current pain is distance from the tee. A lot of par 4 holes are like a par 5 for me played from the Pro tees, because it's often impossible to get to the green in two shots with starter driver (225 yards) and 3WD (205 yards). I'm a shot behind compared to better equipped opponents and need my best game (great 3rd shot approach and 1-putt) AND their mediocre game to win. Some longer par 5 holes are challenging as well, requiring 150-180 yard 3rd approach shot, which is not easy in windy conditions with starter irons (precision 0.5, spin 0.5).

    It's frustrating and taking a lot of joy away from the game and perhaps it's the reason why I stopped playing two years ago when my rentals expired. So my main goal is to increase distance from the tee. My secondary goal is to increase approach precision.

    A lot of people recommend TaylorMade R1 9.0 Driver (L48+) and frugal players recommend to wait for it, but I hate playing with the basic driver so much and I don't think I want to wait until L48 (also, I think I like TaylorMade M1 L55+ more). I could wait if I didn't use rental clubs to advance to Pro tier back in the day and were still playing from Amateur tees.

    Immediate purchases (L40)

    Judging solely by numbers, I identified clubs which seems to have best value/price of what's available for my level.

    • Driver: Callaway Rogue 10.5° Driver (L32+). I considered waiting for Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic Driver (L44+), but I think I like the Rouge more. The Big Bertha has slightly longer distance (270 vs 260), but it's slightly worse on precision+forgiveness (3.5+3.0=6.5 vs. 3.0+4.5=7.5) and much worse on meter speed (3.0 vs. 4.5). I think 260 yards will be a sufficient upgrade from my current 225 and I think I prefer precision, forgiveness and meter speed over another 10 yards.
    • Irons: TaylorMade R11 Iron Set (Steel) (L32+), 110-205 yards, precision+forgiveness 2.5+3.5=6, spin 3.0, meter speed 3.5. I also considered PING i25 Iron Set (Graphite) (L36+), 105-195 yards, precision+forgiveness 1.5+4.5=6, spin 2.0, meter speed 4.5. I'm not exactly sure how precision+forgiveness work (and which combination will be better), so I guess the balanced numbers will be safer. Also, R11's distance range will better complement my other choices.
    • Wedges: Cleveland 588 (L27-31+). Three wedges 64/60/56 with distances 60, 75, 90 yards.
    • 3WD: Callaway Rogue 3 Wood (L33+). Distance 235 would fit perfectly well between log irons (205) and the driver (260).
    • Hybrid: none. Third wedge instead of a hybrid.
    • Putter: While I wouldn't buy my current putter (MAX Control Putter, L0, Hack) for 1750 credits today, I already have it and could sell it for only 438 credits, and for that price you can't get anything better. I'll stick with it for now.

    I'll appreciate opinions about the above choices and maybe suggestions for other choices.

    I don't think I'll purchase everything at once, so I'm open for suggestions for an order of purchases. My thinking is:

    • Driver comes first as it'll solve my biggest pain. 2325 credits.
    • Then two wedges 64/60 with distances 60 and 75 yards. My old 3-iron has 90 yards distance so I can leave 56 wedge with distance 90 for when I replace irons. 1990 credits.
    • Then irons and the third wedge. 2990 credits.
    • The least useful seems to be the 3WD. 1325 credits. But maybe after upgrading the driver I'll find the gap between new the driver distance (260) and the old 3WD (205) too problematic and will decide to bump the 3WD purchase.

    Wow, after summing it up I started doubting whether I really want to go back to the game if it requires me investing so much. I hope that upgrading just the driver will allow me to start earning some credits in tournaments and finance the next purchases from winnings. I'm sure as hell I won't be able to win anything at the pro tier using the starter clubs, so some purchases now are necessary.

    Future purchases (L55-85)

    Looking for notable upgrades at higher levels, I identified the following interesting clubs. All of them should be final purchases, good enough to play up to the highest levels.

    • at L55, driver: TaylorMade M1 9.0° Driver (L55+): upgrades range from 260 to 277, precision from 3 to 4, meter speed from 3.7 to 4.5.
    • at L69, 3WD (optional): TaylorMade M2 3 Wood (L69+): upgrades range from 235 to 250, precision from 3.0 to 3.5, downgrades forgiveness from 4.5 to 3.0, upgrades meter speed from 3.7 to 4.0. I guess I'll decide for this purchase only if the gap between the new driver and old 3WD will be problematic.
    • at L80, wedges: Cleveland 588 (L75-80+) 64/60/56 wedges, same lofts as before but upgrade precision from 3.5 to 4.5 and spin from 3.5 to 4.5. Also upgrade distances from 60/75/90 to 60/80/100 which will better suit irons purchased five levels later (but will be fine with previous irons as well).
    • at L85, irons: Callaway Rogue Iron Set (L85+): upgrades range from 110-205 to 115-220, precision+forgiveness from 2.5+3.5=6 to 4.5+3.0=7.5, meter speed from 3.5 to 4.4.

    Thank you for reading up to this point. I know it's a lot of text. Thanks for all opinions and tips (especially things I didn't think of or didn't think through).

  • pjctas0822
    4,609 Posts
    Tue, Aug 14 2018 8:26 PM

    😩😒😯 Dunno what to say...Get everything you want on your way up the ladder I guess. Too much info for me but when I started the first thing I upgraded was my driver and putter. Years later I still suck so...

  • alosso
    21,073 Posts
    Tue, Aug 14 2018 9:06 PM

    As a Pro, you have yet another tier before you, playing from the same tees.

    I'd wait for major changes at least until you hit Master tier!

    Your first problem isn't the driver, I assume. Usually, it's rather the &%§$" Starter wedges. Get two short ones (60/80 or 50/75 yds) and wait with the third for better equipment.

    Next, I'd propose a 3WD to cure your driver problems, though staying too short will hone your up-and-down skills. As a TP, I beat many masters w/o driver!

    The R11 equipment (irons and woods) is often recommended, just a question of cash. You'd be @L59 soon (88,000 XPs) where the G25s loom.

    Stick with the putter until you feel that you are better than it. The best bang for bucks comes with the Daytona @L55.

    Have fun!

  • MrHaleIrwin
    6 Posts
    Wed, Aug 15 2018 3:56 AM

    I give you one bit of advice since I made this mistake. Make sure any iron set you buy has high trajectory. Med/high is a waste since your shots will need to land short and roll onto green. So any protected greens will make it impossible to get good results.

  • flatstick96
    214 Posts
    Mon, Aug 20 2018 4:06 PM

    Here's a copy-and-paste of something I wrote in answer to a similar question over a year ago.  I wrote this about a month after starting the game, but if I was starting over again today, this is how I'd still do it, with relatively few exceptions (I've added edits for those things I'd consider doing differently now):

    "I started playing this game a month ago, so I just went through the process that you are slogging through right now.  

    A quick aside before I get into the meat of my response: It became clear to me very quickly that, to be competitive here, you MUST upgrade equipment.  That's not to say that you must upgrade anything to have FUN here - you don't - but to be COMPETITIVE, you really do. Yes, I'm sure there are a couple of players who are outliers and serve as exceptions to this, but whatever.  The game is effectively rigged to put you at a DISTINCT disadvantage if you choose not to upgrade equipment; to be clear, this isn't a criticism of WGT - kudos to them for figuring out how to monetize their game better than any other game developers I've ever seen.

    That said...

    I AM competitive; so for me upgrading was a given.  I'm also thrifty, so I wanted maximum ROI on credits spent, and I only wanted to upgrade each item in my bag one time for the foreseeable future, so I did A LOT of digging through these forums to help me accomplish my goal.  I distilled that information into an action plan that would enable me to upgrade my whole bag for under 6,400 credits.  Here's the plan I followed (not necessarily right for everyone, but this is how I did it):

    Step 1: Buy the R11 3 wood at L30.  It's cheap, it's forgiving, and it's as long as the drivers you can obtain at this level (longer, if you consider that you can also hit it off the deck on par fives and long par fours).  You can EASILY use it as your driver until you reach Tour Pro, and you can use it as 3W long after that.  It's 395 credits, but only 356 after the 10% discount (I always made sure I already had the credits I needed when I got to the levels where I'd need them, so that I could always take the discount).

    Step 2: Upgrade the wedges.  I did this at L42, procuring the L42 Gorge 60*, the L41 Gorge 54*, and the L39 ATV 64*.  The base distances for those three are 50/75/95 which are the increments I wanted, but YMMV.  Cost on the Gorge are 295 each and the ATV is 495.  Total for all three, with the discount, comes out to 978 credits.  NOTE: I wanted precision wedge play, so I put all three in my bag immediately; this basically means one "extra" wedge in the bag since the starter PW (which you can't remove) has a base yardage of 90 (which makes it worthless with the 95 yard Gorge in the bag), and it means a gap in the longer clubs since you have to lose the hybrid to add the extra wedge.  I was OK with this, and in fact it's not hard to learn how to use the R11 3 wood to cover most of the shots in the 190-210 range with a little practice.  Again, this won't be right for everyone, but it's how I did it.

    Step 3: Add the R1 driver at L48.  This club is a true difference maker.  Love it.  And after hitting the R11 3 wood so much prior to this, I found the R1 really easy to hit (those two clubs are very similar in their "playability").  It's a bit expensive at 2,495 (2,246 with the discount) but you'll be able to use it for a VERY long time.  EDIT: If I were doing it over, I'd probably wait for the L55 driver since it has a slower meter; but if you're in a rush, the L48 is a fantastic buy.

    Step 4: Get the Daytona putter at L55.  I was originally going to save putter for last, but I noticed that I was lipping out A LOT of putts with the starter putter, and I couldn't escape the thought that many of those would be falling with a better putter. When I read through the thread on putter mapping and saw just how much more consistent the Daytona was than the starter putter (on true "ding" putts), I knew it was a no-brainer.  I've only had it a few days and it has already made a HUGE difference in holing mid-range putts (say 10-25 feet).  It only costs 725 credits (653 with the discount) which strikes me as a stupid good value for what you're getting with this in your bag.

    Step 5: Close out the upgrades with the G25 irons at L59.  I've literally had these in my bag less than 24 hours, so I'm still getting a feeling for them, but the difference between these and the rest of the irons I've hit is stark; the high ball flight makes a big difference in your ability to follow Harvey Penick's advice and "take dead aim".  There will be a learning curve, for sure - but after just a couple of rounds I know these are going to cut my "avg. distance to pin" stat considerably.  Price is 2,395 credits, which works out to 2,156 with the discount.

    Total for everything, after the discount, works out to 6,389 credits and I shouldn't have to upgrade anything other than balls for the foreseeable future.  NOTE: I'm still hitting starter balls, but am researching ball upgrades now and will probably start investing in balls soon.  I just didn't see the point until I had all of the starter clubs out of my bag."

    EDIT: After the round of upgrades outlinde above, I wouldn't upgrade driver, 3W, or irons until the L80's.

  • gherkinhead1
    249 Posts
    Tue, Aug 21 2018 3:23 AM

    too many words.

    didn't read it.

    lol.

     

  • gherkinhead1
    249 Posts
    Tue, Aug 21 2018 3:51 AM

    Brgc:

    Hello. I could really use your help with planning my equipment changes.

    Background

    I played more than two years ago for a few weeks, then stopped. Now I want to come back and play again. I'm L40 Pro. My current equipment is all basic WGT Starter clubs except for putter (MAX Control Putter, L0, Hack, which I purchased back in the day). I think I made it to this level (two years ago) using rental clubs. When I play now, I feel the shortcomings of the basic clubs playing from Pro tees.

    Goal

    I want to equip myself decently, but I don't have an unlimited budget and I'd like to take a somehow frugal(ish) approach, which I understand as planning two "tiers" of equipment purchases. One purchased now and one planned upgrade at higher levels, and no more (unless I'm drowning with earned credits somehow). I don't have much experience, so I might overvalue or undervalue some of the clubs' numeric parameters. I'd love to hear your opinions on what I'm planning based on my research, and maybe some alternative suggestions. Any suggestions will be appreciated!

    The driver problem

    My biggest current pain is distance from the tee. A lot of par 4 holes are like a par 5 for me played from the Pro tees, because it's often impossible to get to the green in two shots with starter driver (225 yards) and 3WD (205 yards). I'm a shot behind compared to better equipped opponents and need my best game (great 3rd shot approach and 1-putt) AND their mediocre game to win. Some longer par 5 holes are challenging as well, requiring 150-180 yard 3rd approach shot, which is not easy in windy conditions with starter irons (precision 0.5, spin 0.5).

    It's frustrating and taking a lot of joy away from the game and perhaps it's the reason why I stopped playing two years ago when my rentals expired. So my main goal is to increase distance from the tee. My secondary goal is to increase approach precision.

    A lot of people recommend TaylorMade R1 9.0 Driver (L48+) and frugal players recommend to wait for it, but I hate playing with the basic driver so much and I don't think I want to wait until L48 (also, I think I like TaylorMade M1 L55+ more). I could wait if I didn't use rental clubs to advance to Pro tier back in the day and were still playing from Amateur tees.

    Immediate purchases (L40)

    Judging solely by numbers, I identified clubs which seems to have best value/price of what's available for my level.

     

    • Driver: Callaway Rogue 10.5° Driver (L32+). I considered waiting for Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic Driver (L44+), but I think I like the Rouge more. The Big Bertha has slightly longer distance (270 vs 260), but it's slightly worse on precision+forgiveness (3.5+3.0=6.5 vs. 3.0+4.5=7.5) and much worse on meter speed (3.0 vs. 4.5). I think 260 yards will be a sufficient upgrade from my current 225 and I think I prefer precision, forgiveness and meter speed over another 10 yards.
    • Irons: TaylorMade R11 Iron Set (Steel) (L32+), 110-205 yards, precision+forgiveness 2.5+3.5=6, spin 3.0, meter speed 3.5. I also considered PING i25 Iron Set (Graphite) (L36+), 105-195 yards, precision+forgiveness 1.5+4.5=6, spin 2.0, meter speed 4.5. I'm not exactly sure how precision+forgiveness work (and which combination will be better), so I guess the balanced numbers will be safer. Also, R11's distance range will better complement my other choices.
    • Wedges: Cleveland 588 (L27-31+). Three wedges 64/60/56 with distances 60, 75, 90 yards.
    • 3WD: Callaway Rogue 3 Wood (L33+). Distance 235 would fit perfectly well between log irons (205) and the driver (260).
    • Hybrid: none. Third wedge instead of a hybrid.
    • Putter: While I wouldn't buy my current putter (MAX Control Putter, L0, Hack) for 1750 credits today, I already have it and could sell it for only 438 credits, and for that price you can't get anything better. I'll stick with it for now.

     

    I'll appreciate opinions about the above choices and maybe suggestions for other choices.

    I don't think I'll purchase everything at once, so I'm open for suggestions for an order of purchases. My thinking is:

     

    • Driver comes first as it'll solve my biggest pain. 2325 credits.
    • Then two wedges 64/60 with distances 60 and 75 yards. My old 3-iron has 90 yards distance so I can leave 56 wedge with distance 90 for when I replace irons. 1990 credits.
    • Then irons and the third wedge. 2990 credits.
    • The least useful seems to be the 3WD. 1325 credits. But maybe after upgrading the driver I'll find the gap between new the driver distance (260) and the old 3WD (205) too problematic and will decide to bump the 3WD purchase.

     

    Wow, after summing it up I started doubting whether I really want to go back to the game if it requires me investing so much. I hope that upgrading just the driver will allow me to start earning some credits in tournaments and finance the next purchases from winnings. I'm sure as hell I won't be able to win anything at the pro tier using the starter clubs, so some purchases now are necessary.

    Future purchases (L55-85)

    Looking for notable upgrades at higher levels, I identified the following interesting clubs. All of them should be final purchases, good enough to play up to the highest levels.

     

    • at L55, driver: TaylorMade M1 9.0° Driver (L55+): upgrades range from 260 to 277, precision from 3 to 4, meter speed from 3.7 to 4.5.
    • at L69, 3WD (optional): TaylorMade M2 3 Wood (L69+): upgrades range from 235 to 250, precision from 3.0 to 3.5, downgrades forgiveness from 4.5 to 3.0, upgrades meter speed from 3.7 to 4.0. I guess I'll decide for this purchase only if the gap between the new driver and old 3WD will be problematic.
    • at L80, wedges: Cleveland 588 (L75-80+) 64/60/56 wedges, same lofts as before but upgrade precision from 3.5 to 4.5 and spin from 3.5 to 4.5. Also upgrade distances from 60/75/90 to 60/80/100 which will better suit irons purchased five levels later (but will be fine with previous irons as well).
    • at L85, irons: Callaway Rogue Iron Set (L85+): upgrades range from 110-205 to 115-220, precision+forgiveness from 2.5+3.5=6 to 4.5+3.0=7.5, meter speed from 3.5 to 4.4.

     

    Thank you for reading up to this point. I know it's a lot of text. Thanks for all opinions and tips (especially things I didn't think of or didn't think through).

    Hello. I could really use your help with planning my equipment changes.

    Background

    I played more than two years ago for a few weeks, then stopped. Now I want to come back and play again. I'm L40 Pro. My current equipment is all basic WGT Starter clubs except for putter (MAX Control Putter, L0, Hack, which I purchased back in the day). I think I made it to this level (two years ago) using rental clubs. When I play now, I feel the shortcomings of the basic clubs playing from Pro tees.

    Goal

    I want to equip myself decently, but I don't have an unlimited budget and I'd like to take a somehow frugal(ish) approach, which I understand as planning two "tiers" of equipment purchases. One purchased now and one planned upgrade at higher levels, and no more (unless I'm drowning with earned credits somehow). I don't have much experience, so I might overvalue or undervalue some of the clubs' numeric parameters. I'd love to hear your opinions on what I'm planning based on my research, and maybe some alternative suggestions. Any suggestions will be appreciated!

    The driver problem

    My biggest current pain is distance from the tee. A lot of par 4 holes are like a par 5 for me played from the Pro tees, because it's often impossible to get to the green in two shots with starter driver (225 yards) and 3WD (205 yards). I'm a shot behind compared to better equipped opponents and need my best game (great 3rd shot approach and 1-putt) AND their mediocre game to win. Some longer par 5 holes are challenging as well, requiring 150-180 yard 3rd approach shot, which is not easy in windy conditions with starter irons (precision 0.5, spin 0.5).

    It's frustrating and taking a lot of joy away from the game and perhaps it's the reason why I stopped playing two years ago when my rentals expired. So my main goal is to increase distance from the tee. My secondary goal is to increase approach precision.

    A lot of people recommend TaylorMade R1 9.0 Driver (L48+) and frugal players recommend to wait for it, but I hate playing with the basic driver so much and I don't think I want to wait until L48 (also, I think I like TaylorMade M1 L55+ more). I could wait if I didn't use rental clubs to advance to Pro tier back in the day and were still playing from Amateur tees.

    Immediate purchases (L40)

    Judging solely by numbers, I identified clubs which seems to have best value/price of what's available for my level.

     

    • Driver: Callaway Rogue 10.5° Driver (L32+). I considered waiting for Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic Driver (L44+), but I think I like the Rouge more. The Big Bertha has slightly longer distance (270 vs 260), but it's slightly worse on precision+forgiveness (3.5+3.0=6.5 vs. 3.0+4.5=7.5) and much worse on meter speed (3.0 vs. 4.5). I think 260 yards will be a sufficient upgrade from my current 225 and I think I prefer precision, forgiveness and meter speed over another 10 yards.
    • Irons: TaylorMade R11 Iron Set (Steel) (L32+), 110-205 yards, precision+forgiveness 2.5+3.5=6, spin 3.0, meter speed 3.5. I also considered PING i25 Iron Set (Graphite) (L36+), 105-195 yards, precision+forgiveness 1.5+4.5=6, spin 2.0, meter speed 4.5. I'm not exactly sure how precision+forgiveness work (and which combination will be better), so I guess the balanced numbers will be safer. Also, R11's distance range will better complement my other choices.
    • Wedges: Cleveland 588 (L27-31+). Three wedges 64/60/56 with distances 60, 75, 90 yards.
    • 3WD: Callaway Rogue 3 Wood (L33+). Distance 235 would fit perfectly well between log irons (205) and the driver (260).
    • Hybrid: none. Third wedge instead of a hybrid.
    • Putter: While I wouldn't buy my current putter (MAX Control Putter, L0, Hack) for 1750 credits today, I already have it and could sell it for only 438 credits, and for that price you can't get anything better. I'll stick with it for now.

     

    I'll appreciate opinions about the above choices and maybe suggestions for other choices.

    I don't think I'll purchase everything at once, so I'm open for suggestions for an order of purchases. My thinking is:

     

    • Driver comes first as it'll solve my biggest pain. 2325 credits.
    • Then two wedges 64/60 with distances 60 and 75 yards. My old 3-iron has 90 yards distance so I can leave 56 wedge with distance 90 for when I replace irons. 1990 credits.
    • Then irons and the third wedge. 2990 credits.
    • The least useful seems to be the 3WD. 1325 credits. But maybe after upgrading the driver I'll find the gap between new the driver distance (260) and the old 3WD (205) too problematic and will decide to bump the 3WD purchase.

     

    Wow, after summing it up I started doubting whether I really want to go back to the game if it requires me investing so much. I hope that upgrading just the driver will allow me to start earning some credits in tournaments and finance the next purchases from winnings. I'm sure as hell I won't be able to win anything at the pro tier using the starter clubs, so some purchases now are necessary.

    Future purchases (L55-85)

    Looking for notable upgrades at higher levels, I identified the following interesting clubs. All of them should be final purchases, good enough to play up to the highest levels.

     

    • at L55, driver: TaylorMade M1 9.0° Driver (L55+): upgrades range from 260 to 277, precision from 3 to 4, meter speed from 3.7 to 4.5.
    • at L69, 3WD (optional): TaylorMade M2 3 Wood (L69+): upgrades range from 235 to 250, precision from 3.0 to 3.5, downgrades forgiveness from 4.5 to 3.0, upgrades meter speed from 3.7 to 4.0. I guess I'll decide for this purchase only if the gap between the new driver and old 3WD will be problematic.
    • at L80, wedges: Cleveland 588 (L75-80+) 64/60/56 wedges, same lofts as before but upgrade precision from 3.5 to 4.5 and spin from 3.5 to 4.5. Also upgrade distances from 60/75/90 to 60/80/100 which will better suit irons purchased five levels later (but will be fine with previous irons as well).
    • at L85, irons: Callaway Rogue Iron Set (L85+): upgrades range from 110-205 to 115-220, precision+forgiveness from 2.5+3.5=6 to 4.5+3.0=7.5, meter speed from 3.5 to 4.4.

     

    Thank you for reading up to this point. I know it's a lot of text. Thanks for all opinions and tips (especially things I didn't think of or didn't think through

     

  • gherkinhead1
    249 Posts
    Tue, Aug 21 2018 3:51 AM

    Brgc:

    Hello. I could really use your help with planning my equipment changes.

    Background

    I played more than two years ago for a few weeks, then stopped. Now I want to come back and play again. I'm L40 Pro. My current equipment is all basic WGT Starter clubs except for putter (MAX Control Putter, L0, Hack, which I purchased back in the day). I think I made it to this level (two years ago) using rental clubs. When I play now, I feel the shortcomings of the basic clubs playing from Pro tees.

    Goal

    I want to equip myself decently, but I don't have an unlimited budget and I'd like to take a somehow frugal(ish) approach, which I understand as planning two "tiers" of equipment purchases. One purchased now and one planned upgrade at higher levels, and no more (unless I'm drowning with earned credits somehow). I don't have much experience, so I might overvalue or undervalue some of the clubs' numeric parameters. I'd love to hear your opinions on what I'm planning based on my research, and maybe some alternative suggestions. Any suggestions will be appreciated!

    The driver problem

    My biggest current pain is distance from the tee. A lot of par 4 holes are like a par 5 for me played from the Pro tees, because it's often impossible to get to the green in two shots with starter driver (225 yards) and 3WD (205 yards). I'm a shot behind compared to better equipped opponents and need my best game (great 3rd shot approach and 1-putt) AND their mediocre game to win. Some longer par 5 holes are challenging as well, requiring 150-180 yard 3rd approach shot, which is not easy in windy conditions with starter irons (precision 0.5, spin 0.5).

    It's frustrating and taking a lot of joy away from the game and perhaps it's the reason why I stopped playing two years ago when my rentals expired. So my main goal is to increase distance from the tee. My secondary goal is to increase approach precision.

    A lot of people recommend TaylorMade R1 9.0 Driver (L48+) and frugal players recommend to wait for it, but I hate playing with the basic driver so much and I don't think I want to wait until L48 (also, I think I like TaylorMade M1 L55+ more). I could wait if I didn't use rental clubs to advance to Pro tier back in the day and were still playing from Amateur tees.

    Immediate purchases (L40)

    Judging solely by numbers, I identified clubs which seems to have best value/price of what's available for my level.

     

    • Driver: Callaway Rogue 10.5° Driver (L32+). I considered waiting for Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic Driver (L44+), but I think I like the Rouge more. The Big Bertha has slightly longer distance (270 vs 260), but it's slightly worse on precision+forgiveness (3.5+3.0=6.5 vs. 3.0+4.5=7.5) and much worse on meter speed (3.0 vs. 4.5). I think 260 yards will be a sufficient upgrade from my current 225 and I think I prefer precision, forgiveness and meter speed over another 10 yards.
    • Irons: TaylorMade R11 Iron Set (Steel) (L32+), 110-205 yards, precision+forgiveness 2.5+3.5=6, spin 3.0, meter speed 3.5. I also considered PING i25 Iron Set (Graphite) (L36+), 105-195 yards, precision+forgiveness 1.5+4.5=6, spin 2.0, meter speed 4.5. I'm not exactly sure how precision+forgiveness work (and which combination will be better), so I guess the balanced numbers will be safer. Also, R11's distance range will better complement my other choices.
    • Wedges: Cleveland 588 (L27-31+). Three wedges 64/60/56 with distances 60, 75, 90 yards.
    • 3WD: Callaway Rogue 3 Wood (L33+). Distance 235 would fit perfectly well between log irons (205) and the driver (260).
    • Hybrid: none. Third wedge instead of a hybrid.
    • Putter: While I wouldn't buy my current putter (MAX Control Putter, L0, Hack) for 1750 credits today, I already have it and could sell it for only 438 credits, and for that price you can't get anything better. I'll stick with it for now.

     

    I'll appreciate opinions about the above choices and maybe suggestions for other choices.

    I don't think I'll purchase everything at once, so I'm open for suggestions for an order of purchases. My thinking is:

     

    • Driver comes first as it'll solve my biggest pain. 2325 credits.
    • Then two wedges 64/60 with distances 60 and 75 yards. My old 3-iron has 90 yards distance so I can leave 56 wedge with distance 90 for when I replace irons. 1990 credits.
    • Then irons and the third wedge. 2990 credits.
    • The least useful seems to be the 3WD. 1325 credits. But maybe after upgrading the driver I'll find the gap between new the driver distance (260) and the old 3WD (205) too problematic and will decide to bump the 3WD purchase.

     

    Wow, after summing it up I started doubting whether I really want to go back to the game if it requires me investing so much. I hope that upgrading just the driver will allow me to start earning some credits in tournaments and finance the next purchases from winnings. I'm sure as hell I won't be able to win anything at the pro tier using the starter clubs, so some purchases now are necessary.

    Future purchases (L55-85)

    Looking for notable upgrades at higher levels, I identified the following interesting clubs. All of them should be final purchases, good enough to play up to the highest levels.

     

    • at L55, driver: TaylorMade M1 9.0° Driver (L55+): upgrades range from 260 to 277, precision from 3 to 4, meter speed from 3.7 to 4.5.
    • at L69, 3WD (optional): TaylorMade M2 3 Wood (L69+): upgrades range from 235 to 250, precision from 3.0 to 3.5, downgrades forgiveness from 4.5 to 3.0, upgrades meter speed from 3.7 to 4.0. I guess I'll decide for this purchase only if the gap between the new driver and old 3WD will be problematic.
    • at L80, wedges: Cleveland 588 (L75-80+) 64/60/56 wedges, same lofts as before but upgrade precision from 3.5 to 4.5 and spin from 3.5 to 4.5. Also upgrade distances from 60/75/90 to 60/80/100 which will better suit irons purchased five levels later (but will be fine with previous irons as well).
    • at L85, irons: Callaway Rogue Iron Set (L85+): upgrades range from 110-205 to 115-220, precision+forgiveness from 2.5+3.5=6 to 4.5+3.0=7.5, meter speed from 3.5 to 4.4.

     

    Thank you for reading up to this point. I know it's a lot of text. Thanks for all opinions and tips (especially things I didn't think of or didn't think through).

    Hello. I could really use your help with planning my equipment changes.

    Background

    I played more than two years ago for a few weeks, then stopped. Now I want to come back and play again. I'm L40 Pro. My current equipment is all basic WGT Starter clubs except for putter (MAX Control Putter, L0, Hack, which I purchased back in the day). I think I made it to this level (two years ago) using rental clubs. When I play now, I feel the shortcomings of the basic clubs playing from Pro tees.

    Goal

    I want to equip myself decently, but I don't have an unlimited budget and I'd like to take a somehow frugal(ish) approach, which I understand as planning two "tiers" of equipment purchases. One purchased now and one planned upgrade at higher levels, and no more (unless I'm drowning with earned credits somehow). I don't have much experience, so I might overvalue or undervalue some of the clubs' numeric parameters. I'd love to hear your opinions on what I'm planning based on my research, and maybe some alternative suggestions. Any suggestions will be appreciated!

    The driver problem

    My biggest current pain is distance from the tee. A lot of par 4 holes are like a par 5 for me played from the Pro tees, because it's often impossible to get to the green in two shots with starter driver (225 yards) and 3WD (205 yards). I'm a shot behind compared to better equipped opponents and need my best game (great 3rd shot approach and 1-putt) AND their mediocre game to win. Some longer par 5 holes are challenging as well, requiring 150-180 yard 3rd approach shot, which is not easy in windy conditions with starter irons (precision 0.5, spin 0.5).

    It's frustrating and taking a lot of joy away from the game and perhaps it's the reason why I stopped playing two years ago when my rentals expired. So my main goal is to increase distance from the tee. My secondary goal is to increase approach precision.

    A lot of people recommend TaylorMade R1 9.0 Driver (L48+) and frugal players recommend to wait for it, but I hate playing with the basic driver so much and I don't think I want to wait until L48 (also, I think I like TaylorMade M1 L55+ more). I could wait if I didn't use rental clubs to advance to Pro tier back in the day and were still playing from Amateur tees.

    Immediate purchases (L40)

    Judging solely by numbers, I identified clubs which seems to have best value/price of what's available for my level.

     

    • Driver: Callaway Rogue 10.5° Driver (L32+). I considered waiting for Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic Driver (L44+), but I think I like the Rouge more. The Big Bertha has slightly longer distance (270 vs 260), but it's slightly worse on precision+forgiveness (3.5+3.0=6.5 vs. 3.0+4.5=7.5) and much worse on meter speed (3.0 vs. 4.5). I think 260 yards will be a sufficient upgrade from my current 225 and I think I prefer precision, forgiveness and meter speed over another 10 yards.
    • Irons: TaylorMade R11 Iron Set (Steel) (L32+), 110-205 yards, precision+forgiveness 2.5+3.5=6, spin 3.0, meter speed 3.5. I also considered PING i25 Iron Set (Graphite) (L36+), 105-195 yards, precision+forgiveness 1.5+4.5=6, spin 2.0, meter speed 4.5. I'm not exactly sure how precision+forgiveness work (and which combination will be better), so I guess the balanced numbers will be safer. Also, R11's distance range will better complement my other choices.
    • Wedges: Cleveland 588 (L27-31+). Three wedges 64/60/56 with distances 60, 75, 90 yards.
    • 3WD: Callaway Rogue 3 Wood (L33+). Distance 235 would fit perfectly well between log irons (205) and the driver (260).
    • Hybrid: none. Third wedge instead of a hybrid.
    • Putter: While I wouldn't buy my current putter (MAX Control Putter, L0, Hack) for 1750 credits today, I already have it and could sell it for only 438 credits, and for that price you can't get anything better. I'll stick with it for now.

     

    I'll appreciate opinions about the above choices and maybe suggestions for other choices.

    I don't think I'll purchase everything at once, so I'm open for suggestions for an order of purchases. My thinking is:

     

    • Driver comes first as it'll solve my biggest pain. 2325 credits.
    • Then two wedges 64/60 with distances 60 and 75 yards. My old 3-iron has 90 yards distance so I can leave 56 wedge with distance 90 for when I replace irons. 1990 credits.
    • Then irons and the third wedge. 2990 credits.
    • The least useful seems to be the 3WD. 1325 credits. But maybe after upgrading the driver I'll find the gap between new the driver distance (260) and the old 3WD (205) too problematic and will decide to bump the 3WD purchase.

     

    Wow, after summing it up I started doubting whether I really want to go back to the game if it requires me investing so much. I hope that upgrading just the driver will allow me to start earning some credits in tournaments and finance the next purchases from winnings. I'm sure as hell I won't be able to win anything at the pro tier using the starter clubs, so some purchases now are necessary.

    Future purchases (L55-85)

    Looking for notable upgrades at higher levels, I identified the following interesting clubs. All of them should be final purchases, good enough to play up to the highest levels.

     

    • at L55, driver: TaylorMade M1 9.0° Driver (L55+): upgrades range from 260 to 277, precision from 3 to 4, meter speed from 3.7 to 4.5.
    • at L69, 3WD (optional): TaylorMade M2 3 Wood (L69+): upgrades range from 235 to 250, precision from 3.0 to 3.5, downgrades forgiveness from 4.5 to 3.0, upgrades meter speed from 3.7 to 4.0. I guess I'll decide for this purchase only if the gap between the new driver and old 3WD will be problematic.
    • at L80, wedges: Cleveland 588 (L75-80+) 64/60/56 wedges, same lofts as before but upgrade precision from 3.5 to 4.5 and spin from 3.5 to 4.5. Also upgrade distances from 60/75/90 to 60/80/100 which will better suit irons purchased five levels later (but will be fine with previous irons as well).
    • at L85, irons: Callaway Rogue Iron Set (L85+): upgrades range from 110-205 to 115-220, precision+forgiveness from 2.5+3.5=6 to 4.5+3.0=7.5, meter speed from 3.5 to 4.4.

     

    Thank you for reading up to this point. I know it's a lot of text. Thanks for all opinions and tips (especially things I didn't think of or didn't think through

     

  • deljzc
    55 Posts
    Wed, Aug 22 2018 2:04 PM

    I have been playing since 2010 with a LONG hiatus in the middle (a couple of years I quit and then came back).  I have only spent $5 on the game but have done thousands of videos/surveys to make credits.  I'm as frugal as they come.

    First, I can not recommend enough the Level 30+ Taylor Made R11 3-Wood.  In my opinion, if you are on a budget, this should be your #1 purchase in the game (since leveling from 1-30 is relatively quick).  I am level 95 and still have the R11 in my bag as it is easier to ding than the high level Callaway 3-woods and will fit in to gap between the Callaway 3-woods and any low level iron set you ride into the level 90's.  At 395 credits (356 with the discount) it is crazy to me when I see people playing with balls that cost 450 credits and don't have this to replace beginner equipment.

    Irons are by far the hardest and most expensive thing to buy because none of them are that good.  They all have weaknesses up until the very highest level iron sets in the game.  They may not have the best trajectory (he higher the better), if you use stock balls to level day-to-day (and if you are on a budget you probably use them) the swing speed might just be too quick, some don't have any spin.

    To me Irons really come down to how often you want to buy them.  I bought the level 32 Taylor Made R11 set and I've been gutting it out with them to this day (2 levels away from finally replacing them).  At mid/low levels, these are the cream of the crop and cost it.... 1995 credits is a lot at that level.  But they can be competitive for a long time except on the severe uphill approach shots (where the high/medium trajectory hurts you).  Distance is good.  Very little "negatives" as most of the important stats are 2.5-3.5.  Believe me, I've wanted to upgrade throughout the level 70's to 80's but I just couldn't justify the cost the high level irons have with still obvious weaknesses.  I mean you could buy level 59 Pings and only gain high trajectory and +0.5 in spin+meter speed (and precision+trajectory is the same).  And to me, by the time you consider the new level 85+ Rogue or Level 90+ Taylor Made why not just wait until best-in-game stuff at level 97 or 100? (Although that's worth another conversation maybe).

    Drivers are really a no brainer because wait/save until level 48 and buy the Taylor Made R1 TP.  That thing kicks ass for its level.  Problem is when you reach legend (whenever that is), there are a few holes it can't carry the fairway with stock balls and you will get frustrated with it and might buy something to bridge the gap in the 80's and 90's until best in game (that's what I did - 275 max distance just wasn't enough).

  • Bowl64
    3,119 Posts
    Thu, Aug 23 2018 4:07 AM

    Read most of the posts and they make good sense to me, but if i may, my bit of advice on putters. I recently went back to the L35+ Spider putter, 800 credits, and i honestly don`t think i`ll ever change again :)

    On other clubs the important things for me was meterspeed, have problems with "fast" clubs such as those faster then a 4.0 meterspeed. Even though my wedges are 3.5`s...;-) Of course distance is a major factor, compare different sets in the proshop, think things thru and hopefully you`ll make the right choice.

    Good luck :)))

    Cheers

    Bjorn 

     

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