Building a Backup/Office Bag - What to do and what to get?

[MattM97]

I'm not the club tinkerer like most WRX'ers are so I don't have several options at every club except putters cause that's my addiction plus my old clubs I usually give or sell to friends cheap to get them into the game or just play with better gear. But I have been thinking about putting together a backup bag one that I keep in my office or toss in my truck randomly so I can play a twilight 9 or 18 after work or even with the boss some days.

So my question is what is the best way to go about doing this? Do I try and match what I have in my bag? Is it best to match shafts for similar feel? Or do I just go completely off the deep and and buy stuff on good deals or stuff I just want to try? Basically a tinker bag with no drawback.

This is going to be a slow bag build main reason being cost and the second is I plan to have this bag for the 2021 season just so I can take advantage of heavily discounted clubs in the fall/winter after people upgrade their bags.

Also suggestion on what gear to get, being a lefty I am limited to options a bit, and how should I lay out my bag? 7 clubs, 10 clubs, 12 clubs?

[Puttersaurus Rex]

Recently I put together a back-up bag. I thought I would play different shafts in my irons, but I hated it. I would rather be more consistent with the same shafts. Don't get me wrong, I still want to try different iron sets.

If you want to tinker, then go for it...

 

My back-up bag:

-Found the same shafts, and iron heads separately at great prices

-back-up driver that I swing well

-experiment a little with woods/hybrids

-50, 56 wedge instead of 50, 54, 58

-back-up putter that I am comfortable with

[Puttersaurus Rex]

I also play a minimal bag once in a while.

[MelloYello]

I always find it really hard. By the time you have everything you want it seems you've gotten to 9-10 clubs and it's almost pointless to leave the other 3-4 out.

You have to decide whether you can get away with a single tee club (e.g. just a driver or 3w) and if you can get away with a single short game club (e.g. SW or LW). If not, you're kind of stuck with a full bag. And there's no reason to have multiple sets you regularly use. That's not good. And I don't know if I'd want to go play 18 without a full bag anyway. You might be better just getting a super-lightweight carry bag or a trolley of some sort and just keeping your normal clubs in your car.

[MattM97]

I am most concerned about the irons since they'll be the biggest purchase, I might just look for the same shaft and deal with whatever the head is second. The one issues is that not many people use the AMT White shaft so I may just go after the standard DG shaft and not worry too much about the weighting like in the AMT line.

Woods and hybrid might just take a little while to find the ones I want, some do pop up on the BST at times so just need to be watching often and have money ready.

Wedges and putters well I have old wedges, the grooves will be a bit worn but free is better than spending and putters I have enough to fill several bags.

[MattM97]

I'm probably more open to leaving out a club at the top or bottom of my bag, like If I find a 3W that I like I can most likely forgo a driver and don't really need a hybrid unless I find a 5-PW set of irons, wedges I'll roll with extra ones I have since I have them so can swap around what I play.

As for playing 18 that will most likely not happen, maybe the rare time but I'd play an executive course so a full bag isn't needed. I'd mostly just play 9 holes cause I'm outside working majority of the day and don't finish until 4 to 6pm depending on what I'm doing and when I start so not likely to get 18 in anyways, I can easily get a cheap 9 in before the sun goes down. I plan to get a light bag, I do have a cart already but just want to kinda just throw a light bag over my shoulders and walk, not worry about much else in the round. Like a post work stress release, hit some shots, have some fun, not worry too much about anything really.

[jvincent]

This is why I never sell my old clubs unless I have more than one backup. The next to last set in play becomes the backup.

If you don't have any backups then looking for sets with shafts that match what you have now is a good place to start. You can always get loft/lie adjusted to match distances but feel should be the same.

[setter02]

Except that isn't true at all. It's up to you as to what you tee off with. Personally, in my full minimalist bag, I have 3 options depending on the hole with 3wd, 19* hybrid or DI (what ever I feel like that day) and a 4i. 9 clubs that give me 3 options from the tee and 3 wedges (if you include the PW as a 'wedge''. I'm basically missing 1 club out of a full bag set up for tee options that I generally hit with a 9 club 3wd, hybrid, 4/6/8/pw, 52/58 and putter set up.

 

Dropping down to a 9 club bag is pretty easy and a good way to start. Pick up a sunday/moonlite bag, move up a deck and enjoy yourself as this is more about a quick get away/range session than anything else it seems.

 

 

[MattM97]

My last set was some cheap OTR set just to get me back into the game, plus I would have needed new shafts and grip so not worth it just sold them to a buddy cheap. In the future though I'll keep extra sets just for that reason. But I will for sure make sure my shafts match if not play a very similar shaft.

[MattM97]

I'll look into doing a smaller setup, the irons may be tough to find a partial set but if I find a cheap full set I can always just leave out what I don't need/want.

 

And you're right about what my intentions are with this, it's not a tournament bag or my main gamer it just a bag for me to go out, have some time to myself, probably not even worry what I shoot and just use that time as practice or something. It's either that or I probably spend what I'd plan to spend on a backup bag on liquor throughout the year.

[setter02]

The iron set that I use for this one was a set of Titleist 690.CB that was missing a 9i. I was going to try and look for that club, but all places I found them were either in poor shape (mine are in great shape) or asking way too much for what I was willing to pay given they were asking almost what I paid for the set... So, just rebuilt them for a minimalist set up. Doesn't have to be latest and greatest and you can always find great deals on older sets so as to not break the bank on a sunday bag set up.

[MattM97]

Oh yeah I'm not looking for brand new just something that doesn't look like it was dragged on the cart path the entire round. I'm going to look for some older models maybe one the the Titleist CB irons or one of the older Srixon 7 series irons. Will make a short list of irons and what I'd want to pay for a set.

[Chadwickog]

I have a set with amt white s300s in my backup bag I may be willing to part with if they fit your requirements

[MattM97]

Well the main requirement is them being a lefty and your profile pics says that might be a problem.

But thanks for the offer I wouldn't be in the buying phase right now seeing as I just bought some new woods and a putter.

[LeoLeo99]

My clubs are always with me along with an emergency change of golf clothes so I can play on a moment's notice.

Is there a certain manufacturer you've always wanted to play or a classic set of irons that has piqued your interest? Eye 2 or some Hogan Medallions?

[MattM97]

I've always like the look of a classic CB iron like the ones from Titleist or Mizuno and I'm sure there are plenty of older models out there that I could get cheap. That's kinda gonna be my focus, I'd probably look for something a bit more forgiving but trying to find a suitable shaft for those heads would be a headache or too expensive.

[Myherobobhope]

Thinking through this concept for me, here's what I'd do:

Backup Driver - Retire my current driver into this bag, and get fit for a new driver... Playing a Cobra Pro LTD, so it's around time to upgrade. Still hit this one great, so no reason to shop around... I'll probably pick up a cheap 2020 driver next year to do this... Looking at the Mizuno ST200G

Backup 3w: Once again, retire my current 3 wood... Have an Adams Speedline. It's fine, but I could use something with a heavier shaft. Probably makes more sense to buy a new to me three wood, and just back up the current 3w

Long Irons / Hybrids: Probably just buy some cheap used ones with heavy, stiff shafts... I like my gamer setup, but might end up swapping which one is which based on what I found shopping

Irons: This is probably the biggest challenge for me... Playing Adams CMBs with Project X shafts in them, so I'm not going to find a similar used set anywhere... I could throw my 1995 irons in them (played them until this season) but might keep an eye out for a cheap, fun set with specs around what I want... since this is just a backup bag, I'd probably want something +1/2-3/4 over any other concern, as I'm tall and need long irons... Feel like that change would mess me up more than anything else.

Wedges: Currently play 50 / 54 / 58/// Probably grab 52 / 56/ 60 on the cheap (looking at you Costco) or buy something fun I found cheap... Less worried about the grooves on these, might go funky and try more game improvement wedges if I could find them cheap. Ideally, these would be good enough I could change up my wedge setup depending one where i was going... (my high bounce, wide sole 58 wasn't my friend on my golf trip to idaho due to the different conditions)

 

That's what I would do, I think...

[ChipNRun]

My backup bag has a theme to it: TM clubs I have accumulated through odd - but legal - vectors.

I did a product review of TM SLDR irons in 2014 and got to keep them. Soon found a Tour Preferred SW and LW - both underpriced - and added them. My brother brought me an old TPA VIII putter he got for $1 at a garage sale. A Burner Superfast driver showed up, and I got a RBZ Stage 2 (orange trim) 3W/HL for $70 on eBay. Finally, I traded around some stray hybrids and got Burner Rescues #3 and #4 (circa 2008) for maybe $15 net each.

Finally, they ended up in a blue-and-white budget TM stand bag I got for $90 + coupon on clearance. Finally, I managed to find SLDR/Jetspeed generic headcovers - blue and white with black trim - for the driver, FW and two rescues. One headcover cost $15, the others I got from trade-around or because a shopkeeper had one in the back closet.

I really need to take this set out and play it. (Note: I have to leave either the #4 Rescue or the 4i at home to keep it to 14 clubs.)

Finally, if a TM Rossa Classic putter grabbed me at maybe under $40, the TPA would exit the bag.As for OP...

Find a putter you likeGet a set of irons maybe 5i-PW or AWGet decent SW, can also be used for close-in pitchesOne each: driver, 4W and hybridProbably 11 clubs, but you will do OK playing it.

[BYK]

I usually just use my old set of clubs, whatever I used before my newest set

[MattM97]

If I had old sets I would but seeing as I just got back into golf 3 years ago my hoarding of sets is non-existent.

[MattM97]

Your post is getting me thinking a bit of what to narrow down to, if I had more old equipment I'd stick that in. Also note I'm a lefty so my prices are either insane or dirt cheap, no middle ground.

Driver: This can get expensive, so I'm going to avoid brands like TaylorMade, Callaway and Ping, their old driver with good shafts are pushing $300+ and their stock shafts suck except Ping. So I'm going to look at drivers with good stock shafts, the ST200 is probably a stand out first choice, on a good day I can probably grab one for under $200. A dark horse option might be the Wilson Cortex but just because they came stock with the Atmos TS shafts and they're cheap. The other dark horse might be the Srixon 785 if I can find one with a good shaft for me but unlikely.

3W: I actually have a club already, my old Cobra F7 but I might opt for something else, I tested a TS3 in my fitting not long ago and quite liked it, couldn't get it to click in the fitting for what we wanted but I could make it work. I've seen them pop up on the BST for a reasonable price with and without shafts.

Hybrid: I might bypass this club, I generally use mine as an in between when I need to get a shot in the 230-250 yard range to set up my next shot or get me out of trouble. So I don't think I'd worry about that I'd just hit longer or hit shorter since I'm playing for fun.

Irons: This is going to be the hardest part, I think I'm honestly going to look for shaft first and then heads seconds. I don't think many will use the AMT White shaft so I'd probably just go for the standard Dynamic Gold and just deal with the heavier long irons. I might have to look through my old fitting notes and see what other shafts worked well. But thinking of setting a $400 budget and just keeping an eye out for sets when they pop up on the BST or just put out a very specific WTB.

Wedges: I currently have 5 wedges I swap in and out, I plan on getting new wedges in the winter so I'll just get a loft and lie check and go with a 52/56 or 51/55 combo, maybe toss in a 60 when I'm feeling it.

Putter: I have lots I'll just pick what's not getting love and rotate my 'red headed step child' putters in my collection.

 

This could completely change come fall/winter but it could also get much cheaper with new clubs coming out, bless the yearly releases from OEM's.

[MattM97]

I'm probably going to avoid a single brand bag just because some brands certain clubs are just not dropping in price especially being a lefty, so just plan on buying the best deals for stuff I think will work well for me. I did list what I'm probably looking at, this could all change with new releases coming out soon so could make certain clubs cheaper and in weird cases certain clubs more expensive. Will see what happens, there are some clubs I'd love to try but their price might be more than what I could build an entire bag for.

[ChipNRun]

Secret: I didn't plan it at first. It just kind of fell together. The good deal on the stand bag, plus the almost-free matching head covers, pushed me over the edge.

As for you a driver and a {5W or hybrid}, 5-PW, SW and putter would do it for a casual bag - just 10 clubs.

[MattM97]

Probably what I'll do, going to avoid the hybrid in this bag maybe do a 3W and 5W but I don't really need those I have the length and playing shorter courses probably wouldn't see certain clubs played much.

[goloworgohome]

I think a second bag should be all about experimentation to see what could potentially work in your main bag. Think of it like a AAA bag with those clubs trying to make it to the show.

If your main bag has a 3-wood, try a 4 or a 5. If your main bag has a 3-iron, try a hybrid. If your main bag has three wedges, try four, or maybe change the gapping on them.

What I don't recommend is experimenting with all new (iron) shafts in a second bag. I don't see the point in dumping that kind of money in. Much cheaper and easier to just get a 7-iron shaft, pop it into an old head, and do an apples to apples comparison on one club and go from there. That being said, I can see the benefit of experimenting with different wood shafts.

[NixLix26]

I did this for a travel bag. I think i spent under $100 and had a everything, then i took it to work and travel like you plan. and actually played and performed better. so it became my gamer bag for quite awhile. I just tried to make sure all the shafts were something i was use too. S300 in irons. and wood shafts i had played previously

Cleveland TA3 iron set i scooped up for $35 3-pw. got lucky finding these in such great shape

Callaway FT9tour driver, like $25

Mizuno MP001 3 wood

Cleveland 588 52,60 wedges.

any flat stick

[courcy75]

I went about mine a little different. I decided I wanted to make a bag out of the stuff I loved/couldn't afford back in HS. Took some patience but kept costs low and made the below. The 905R is out and the Superquad TP is in.

 

[MattM97]

I agree with part of what you say but my main bag is all fitted for so should be the best for me by quite a bit. Irons I definitely plan on buying the same shaft if possible if not very similar based on what I use. Wood shafts I might try some different stuff but going to stick to shaft profiles that work for me, if not I literally don't get the ball off the ground. But I will have fun with it for sure.

[NixLix26]

that looks awesome. @courcy75

[MattM97]

That's actually not a bad idea but I wasn't playing golf back then, focused on another sport but maybe I'll look back at clubs when I was in high school or college.