JoshYoung's WITB - Updated End of 2018

Josshyoung · November 28, 2013

(Updated WITB bottom of page, left this here for reference in future)

Hello GolfWRX,

I have been following the forum for some time now and decided I would post my WITB and introduce myself. Quickly a bit about me. I am a 16 year old high school student from Adelaide, South Australia and have been playing golf since the beginning of 2012.

In the past I played cricket and aussie rules football but decided to give them up after a knee injury and starting at a new school and decided to take up golf as dad had played for as long as I can remember. 2012 was not an overly productive year, stayed on 36 handicap for a few months (only playing 2-3 times a month) and then dropped to 30 throughout the remainder of the year playing ever Saturday. 2013 on the other hand has been a great year, for my major school project I set out to see how far I could reduce my handicap by taking statistics and using them to find where I was going wrong. from these I read articles on here and watched youtube videos to practice and improve. This 8 month project saw me reduce my handicap from 30 to 17 smashing my initial goal, I continued using the same procedure after the project finished and am now down to 15.2 with plenty of improvement still possible.

Recently I have taken up basketball after missing the team sport atmosphere so currently I am juggling between the two along with my study's, I hope to continue reducing my handicap, enjoying the process and some day be off scratch or plus handicap.

Now to the clubs for the foreseeable future, Most of my clubs are second-hand but when I bought them they all looked barely used and in great condition, all of these clubs are quite old models but they seem to work for me on my budget.

Driver - Titleist 909D3 9.5* Diamana 65S

3 Wood - Titeist 906F2 15* Graphite Design YS-6 FW+ R

4-W - Titleist 710 AP1 NS PRO 105T R

52*, 56* - Mizuno MP-T11 True Temper Dynamic Gold bent to 54* & 58*

Putter - Taylormade Est. 79 TM-880 35"

Ball - Titleist ProV1 or Srixon Z Star

Glove - Footjoy Sofjoy

Bag - Nike Xtreme SPORT IV

Range Finder - Bushnell Tour v3

Now some pictures...

]

Thanks for taking a look

TooMuchAwesome · November 28, 2013

Congrats on surpassing your goals! Keep working hard and practicing, this sport is addicting! Have a good holiday and play lots for us here stuck in the cold weather

Nelly32 · November 30, 2013

[color=#282828]Good luck on your goals man, keep it up![/color]

Josshyoung · November 30, 2013

Thanks for the support guys, going to play heaps for you all!

Josshyoung · April 23, 2017

Hello all, long time without an update.

Since I last posted I played out the remainder of the 2013 and the whole of 2014, playing most saturdays. Handicap floated between a handicap of 15 & 13 (playing and practicing at most 2 times a week), lowest I got down to was 13.1 mid 2014. Through this time I really focused on my basketball moving up divisions until the last game of the season early 2015 I landed awkwardly and it wasn't until the next day that I noticed I had done something to my lower back leaving a really uncomfortable sensation. After a month or so of physio and specialist visits they discovered I had torn my lower disk. Throughout this waiting period, I continued to play golf and continually had sudden sharp pain in my back at or just after impact, physio said I could play as it is low impact but I just needed to stretch and be warm before teeing off. The pain either stayed constant or would go away straight away and I could keep playing pain free... I had to walk off the course multiple times in fear of further injury.

After they found the tear I took a good 6 or so month break off golf without swinging a club and gave basketball away then just really lost interest only playing every now. Late last year is when I took golf up seriously again, I joined a club which is having a massive renovation with most of the front 9 being changed including a new replica of the road hole green at st Andrews, which opened today (huge green, two putt birdie today :derisive:). I have dropped from 15.2 handicap down to 9.3 in the last two months, due to playing/ practicing upwards of 3 times a week the aim is to get down to 6 by end of June.

Now, the clubs I have been playing have drastically changed since my first post and have changed throughout the time since but what I have now is pretty set as I am really happy with them

Driver - Taylormade M1 2016 8.5* (STD Loft) - Tour AD BB-7S, 45.5", GP white BCT cord

3 Wood - Titleist 915F 15* (A1 setting) - Aldila Rouge 95 MSI (80-2.6-X), 43.0", GP white BCT cord

Irons - Titleist 712 AP2 (3-PW) - DG S300, +0.5" longer than standard, 1 degree upright, standard lofts, GP white BCT cord (Faces are pretty worn out, due to upgrade soon)

Wedges - Titleist Vokey Spin Milled raw finish, 52-08, 56-08, 60-07, all 36.0", GP Black BCT cord

Putter - Titleist Scotty Cameron Select Squareback, 2x 10 gram weights, 34.5", SuperStroke Slim 3.0, T circle cover

Ball - Titleist ProV1, marked with thin black line half the ball over prov1 stamp (2016, stocked up on release of 2017 due to clearance price)

Glove - N/A (haven't used a glove since 2014, prefer feel without one)

Range Finder - Bushnell Tour v4 (v3 was stolen from my bag when playing at another local course, home insurance covered replacement)

Shoes - Adidas Tour Boost 360 White/Silver

Sunglasses - Oakley Radar (Golf lenses + standard black lenses)

Bag - Titleist Black players 5 way stand bag (2016)

Thanks for looking, also if anyone can recommend some high quality head covers please do so

Josshyoung · December 13, 2018

Hello all, back again for a quick update! Been well over a year since my last update and a lot has changed...

Since my last post I continued to play and practice at Thaxted where major renovations continued which included the addition of a driving range and chipping green along with the completion of the front 9 course renovations. This meant I was able to practice most days after work during the summer and when it wasn't raining or dark during the winter, Although I prefer to play holes as I find this is the best way I improve, the facilities were nice to work on some things off the course. My handicap has floated between 10 and 6 since my last post... it was nice to finally reach my handicap goal of 6 in May at the beginning of this year.

Since the last post I have entered in a few local stroke play events playing to or just under my handicap, placing middle of the field which was a great experience and nice to see my game trending in the right direction. Along with these events I played summer pennants for my local club (Marion) which is where I started my golf back in 2012. This was my 4th consecutive year playing for the club and it is always a bit of fun, for those who don't know in Australia Pennants is 7 weeks + a final of 7 a side individual match play against other local clubs, this season we had quite a good year going all the way to the finals. I played number 2 and went undefeated all season, unfortunately we as a team went down in the final 4 & 3.

I was also selected to play Pennants for Thaxted in winter (which is a higher division), I had quite a successful first season in this division of pennant being selected 5 of the 7 weeks and winning 3 of them and narrowly losing the other two matches 2&1. The team finished 3^rd disappointingly missing out on the finals…

The biggest move of the year was joining the Royal Adelaide Golf Club in October, which is rated the 10^th best course in Australia. I am absolutely loving it, the course and facilities are second to none and I am excited to see how far I can develop my golf there, my goal for 2019 is to get down to a handicap of 5 or lower and maintain it so I am eligible to play in all the local stroke play events and keep working to hopefully be selected to play Pennant for Royal Adelaide. Below is a photo of one of my favourite holes on the course, the short par 4 11th, tight tee shot typically can't hit much more than 2 iron which leaves about 130m to an amphitheatre green surrounded by bunkers and sand dunes.

Now onto the clubs, only some minor changes but I am really happy with the whole set. Hopefully next year I can get out to see a club fitter and get a bag fitting top to bottom and fine tune it all.

Driver - Taylormade M1 2016 8.5* (STD Loft) - Tour AD BB-7S, 45" (Cut down 1/2 inch to gain control, hitting a lot more fairways now!), GP Z-Cord. tested a lot of other clubs and haven’t seen any significant gains, overall really happy with this head/ shaft combo, the cover is the Leuk the duck which supports Jarrod Lyle and the challenge cancer council.

3 Wood - Titleist 915F 15* (A1 setting) - Aldila Rouge 95 MSI (80-2.6-X), 43.0", GP Z-Cord. Absolutely in love with this 3 wood, go to club off the tee and for placement into long par 5s… however, it does come out a little flat when trying to hit long par 4s or par 5s in two making it hard to hold greens… I think this is because the shaft is a bit too strong but I really like the boardy feel and my dispersion off the tee is really good, every 3 wood I have had in the past goes left on me and has been hard to control, this however is really easy to hit straight or hit baby cuts/ draws. might muck around with settings but luckily there aren’t too many times I need to use 3 wood to hold a green. I did really like the M4 3 wood but keep reverting back to this.

Driving Iron - PING Rapture 2 Iron, TourAD AD-85S, GP Z-Cord. One of the best additions to the bag, this replaces the AP2 set 3 iron, alot more forgiving, I find I can hit it almost anywhere on the face and it will still go alright, it's alot easier to get up in the air and carries alot further than the 3 iron, fitting the gap between 4 iron and 3 wood perfectly. It's a great club to hit off the tee as I can get it up to carry a distance or I can hit it down to get it running almost as far as my 3 wood which is perfect in the wind. I played a hybrid for a little while but found it a struggle to shape and keep down especially in the wind, this is the perfect replacement and I often use it when attacking long par 4s or 5s from the fairway as I can hit it up and get it to stop on the greens.

Irons - Titleist 712 AP2 (4-PW) – KBS Tour C-Taper Lite 110 Stiff (After a fitting at the local shop I decided to swap out the shafts in these Irons as the numbers, ball flight and dispersion I get with these over the DG S300 are so much better + I found a really good deal on the shafts online, even though in my last post I said I was looking to upgrade, the shafts made a big difference so I decided to hold off on upgrading), +0.5" longer than standard, 2 degree upright, standard lofts, GP white BCT cord (Faces are pretty worn out and I am missing a lot of greens so a proper iron fitting should really be the next upgrade to the bag)

Wedges – Titleist Vokey SM7 Jet Black, 50-08F, 54-08M, 58-08M, N.S.PRO Modus3 Tour 125 Wedge Stiff Flex (These are the newest addition to the bag, I had them fitted at a vokey fitting day and my short game has improved out of sight… I have always been one to struggle around the greens but since adding these my up & down percentage has improved dramatically, apart from bunker play… I am still really struggling, really need to get out and practice and perhaps a lesson. This is a new wedge configuration, I have always had 52-56-60 but 50-54-58 fits my gapping alot better, I may in the future get a 60 as I do miss that extra loft around the greens and then bend the 54 to 55 but at the moment I am pretty happy with the configuration)

Putter – Titleist Scotty Cameron Futura 6M, 4 x 10g weights, 34” cut down from 35”, black matador small grip. (I bought this putter after a putting lesson, the professional I had the lesson with discussed how my stroke is more straight back and how I would benefit with less toe hang and more face balanced… I can’t agree more, putting use to be one of my weaknesses especially inside 6 ft now I am so confident with the flat stick, just need a bit of work with longer putts and getting speed down, often leave them quite short putting a lot of pressure on the next putt, but I think that is more to do with actually reading the greens. I had a record low 24 putts yesterday and see putting as a real strength of my game at the moment, downside to this putter is aftermarket covers are extremely hard to come across without spending an arm and a leg…)

Backup Putter - Titleist Scotty Cameron Select Squareback, 2x 10 gram weights, 34” (all paintfill has been removed giving it a raw look, I want to replace the grip with a black matador small grip like what I have on the 6M, absolutely love this putter and all the covers I have for it, I really want to put it in the bag again but the 6M is just too good)

Ball – Titleist ProV1X, Marked with thin black sharpie line over the ProV1 logo (did play the TP5X for about 8 months but found the outer layer on the Taylormade to be not very durable in comparison… do want to try the Srixon Z stars again but at this stage I am staying with the Titleist)

Glove – Titleist Players (Gone back to using a glove, hands became quite soft and once I started using one again it feels weird swinging without one…)

Range Finder – Bushnell Tour v4 (still the trusty, keep about 5 battery’s in the bag… learnt the hard way in the middle of an event)

Shoes – FJ white Pro SL & FJ Black Dry Joy Tours (both great shoes, really love the softness of the Pro SL’s but not overly happy with the durability… wish I just got a white pair of the Dry Joy Tours they are by far the best shoe I have ever purchased, comfortable, extremely durable and easy to clean)

Sunglasses - Oakley Radar (Golf lenses + standard black lenses)

The best addition to my bag is the Game Golf unit, I absolutely love it. I use it every time I play whether it is a comp round or just quick 9 holes I find it really easy to use and such a great tool to have when you want to know what to work on, to be honest I should be looking at what I need to work on more often, but overall a great product and social integration.

https://www.gamegolf.com/player/JosshYoung

Longballjock · December 13, 2018

Great to see you surpassing your goals , practice is definitely paying off.

Hope you get your goals for 2019, and get as low as possible.

Great bag and the 712 Ap2 is a money club I kept a hold of my set and recently gave them to my dad who loves them

Enjoy and keep swinging.

Josshyoung · December 13, 2018

Great to see you surpassing your goals , practice is definitely paying off.
Hope you get your goals for 2019, and get as low as possible.

Great bag and the 712 Ap2 is a money club I kept a hold of my set and recently gave them to my dad who loves them

Enjoy and keep swinging.

Thanks mate, hope to get as low as possible! I know I've got it in me, just gotta beat the mental game... have had -2 thru 9 and then 5 over around the back, all in the head

and yeah will never let the 712 AP2's go... would slip straight into the backup bag

Katke87 · December 13, 2018

(Updated WITB bottom of page, left this here for reference in future)

Hello GolfWRX,

I have been following the forum for some time now and decided I would post my WITB and introduce myself. Quickly a bit about me. I am a 16 year old high school student from Adelaide, South Australia and have been playing golf since the beginning of 2012.

In the past I played cricket and aussie rules football but decided to give them up after a knee injury and starting at a new school and decided to take up golf as dad had played for as long as I can remember. 2012 was not an overly productive year, stayed on 36 handicap for a few months (only playing 2-3 times a month) and then dropped to 30 throughout the remainder of the year playing ever Saturday. 2013 on the other hand has been a great year, for my major school project I set out to see how far I could reduce my handicap by taking statistics and using them to find where I was going wrong. from these I read articles on here and watched youtube videos to practice and improve. This 8 month project saw me reduce my handicap from 30 to 17 smashing my initial goal, I continued using the same procedure after the project finished and am now down to 15.2 with plenty of improvement still possible.

Recently I have taken up basketball after missing the team sport atmosphere so currently I am juggling between the two along with my study's, I hope to continue reducing my handicap, enjoying the process and some day be off scratch or plus handicap.

Now to the clubs for the foreseeable future, Most of my clubs are second-hand but when I bought them they all looked barely used and in great condition, all of these clubs are quite old models but they seem to work for me on my budget.

Driver - Titleist 909D3 9.5* Diamana 65S
3 Wood - Titeist 906F2 15* Graphite Design YS-6 FW+ R
4-W - Titleist 710 AP1 NS PRO 105T R
52*, 56* - Mizuno MP-T11 True Temper Dynamic Gold bent to 54* & 58*
Putter - Taylormade Est. 79 TM-880 35"
Ball - Titleist ProV1 or Srixon Z Star
Glove - Footjoy Sofjoy
Bag - Nike Xtreme SPORT IV
Range Finder - Bushnell Tour v3

Now some pictures...

]

Thanks for taking a look