Aviador Naval - easing into the ‘old guy’ bag...

[Aviador Naval]

Playing regularly again after two years in job induced golf purgatory and re-tooling the bag with a mix of new, old, and really old.  Very happy with current mix and could play it all year in all conditions without hesitation.  However, I’ve got a bit of shop credit and some stuff to sell so you never know...

 

Driver:  917D2 - 9.5 deg at 44.5” in A1 w/MRC S+ Ltd 60.

 

FWs:  TS2 (x2) - 16.5 at 42.5” in B1 w/MRC S+ Ltd 60  &  21 at 41.5” in B1 w/AD-DI 7

 

Hybrids:  818 H1 (x2) - 21 at 39” in C3 (+1 loft / +1 lie) & 27 at 38.25” in D2 (-1 loft / +2 lie) both with AD-DI 95

 

Irons:  ZX5 6i and ZX7 7i - PW at std lie/loft/length with Modus 105

 

Wedges:  SM7 50-12F & Vokey Forged 56-12K & SM6 58-12K w/heel grind and a shade of trailing edge relief

 

Putter:  Ping MnBn My Day - 35.5” at 68.5 deg lie and 4.5 deg loft with SS Tour 1.0

 

Notes:

Still very happy with driver but it may be on the trade block to move to AD-DI shaft.

 

Fairways and hybrids are utterly safe after substantial work this off season trying various head combos and Surefit settings.  Biggest moves we’re going much heavier/shorter/stouter shaft in hybrids and moving to 7w.  Took a little work to up the fairway game but it’s reached the point of being ready for play.

 

The ZX7 irons are utterly safe.  With the Modus shaft, they are simply the best I’ve ever played.  Quite happy with ZX5 6i but may move to ZX7 as well once the supply chain issues are resolved.

 

Wedges are a dog’s breakfast of shafts and grips.  I modified the 58K into a ‘mid bounce’ with a little heel grind and a touch of trailing edge relief.  VERY happy with that club and it has a lot of life remaining.  I bought the Vokey Forged for the sole.  It’s like K and F had a love child plus a little pre-worn leading edge.  Contrary to popular myth they don’t feel any better.  If anything, it feels a bit firmer/clickier.  The 50 is fine but nearing the end of its service life.  I expect by mid summer I’ll be in SM8 52-12F and 56-12D and all shafts will either be Modus 105-S or 105-X 8i shaft.

 

 

 

Putter:  I’ve gone the Cameron, Morgan, Bettinardi, Odyssey route.  Nothing has ever looked or felt nearly as good as this Manganese Bronze My Day that was manufactured in 1966 or 1967 (I was born in 1967...).  It is beautifully balanced, I can start the ball on line as well as any putter I’ve ever used, and my speed control has improved substantially.  I now own four of them at a total cost of $155.  They will all be set to 68.5 deg lie and 4.5 deg loft like this one.  I didn’t order those specs at the work shop - rather, we bent it a little - then hit some putts - rinse, repeat until it was right where I wanted it.  We measured at the end so we could match the rest.  Two of the four will be at 35.5” like this one.  The first has a SS Tour 1.0 and the second will have a PP58 blackout.  One will be at 35.75” and the other at 35.25” with grips yet to be determined but almost certainly the SuperStroke.  Theory here is I can mix it up a bit occasionally without straying too far off course...

 

 

All shafts are Stiff flex.  Playing a mixed bag of grips intentionally.  All are Tour Velvet.  Some are Standard TV360 - some Midsize.  Some are TV +4 - Std and Mid.  A couple are Standard TV 360 built up to 2 extra wraps under left hand and 4 extra under right hand.  Will standardize them once supply issue is resolved.  Right now the Standard TV 360 built up +2/+4 is the leading contender.

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by Aviador Naval

[Chip Out Sideways]

Love this bag and particularly the putter(s)

[4x4GGG]

Digging that Ping putter. 

[Brattina1221]

That's a lot of woods! 

[Aviador Naval]

9 hours ago, Brattina1221 said:

That's a lot of woods! 

It is and I didn’t arrive there easily...

 

However, a couple of years ago after reading the report of a plus handicaps’ fitting at Titleist TPI I decided to make the main focus of building my bag to hit all clubs from ~18 degrees to ~50 degrees the same height on a stock shot from the turf.  For my swingspeed, 85-90 feet is a good target and my options to get there were the LPGA set-up or oversized tech irons.  The choice was a no brainer but it took a while to get used to a 21 deg FW and a 26 deg hybrid.  I can’t hit the 4w quite that high from the turf but it does get high enough to have a meaningful distance gap beyond the 21 deg FW and still goes plenty far from a tee.

[Brattina1221]

It all makes sense though, good example of showing how the makeup of a bag is unique to each individual

[bullsfan]

Got the same putter and never have parted with it. Got it back in high school. I don't use it much anymore as I prefer a heavy putter but it's not going anywhere. Great bag, enjoy your rounds.

[Hawkeye77]

Great stuff!  Now I know where those zx7s are I've been waiting for. 😉

 

Except for a couple of loft differences in the fairways/hybrids it's the same setup I arrived at last fall, with a couple brand differences.  I will be experimenting with the zx7 AW just to see if it's a worthy substitute for my 50 degree wedge - it's mostly just for 100 yards or so anyway, so whichever feels and performs the best for those shots will be the survivor.

[Aviador Naval]

On 3/26/2021 at 3:08 AM, Hawkeye77 said:

I will be experimenting with the zx7 AW just to see if it's a worthy substitute for my 50 degree wedge - it's mostly just for 100 yards or so anyway, so whichever feels and performs the best for those shots will be the survivor.

I’m leaning that way as well.  I really like the V-sole and, while I don’t do it much, I’ve found it very easy to chip with the ZX7 short irons.  I know the AW will be awesome for approach shots so if I am comfortable with it around the green it may stick around.

[Jtbarilla]

raw wedges are a treat

[Aviador Naval]

No hybrid in the bag for first time in over 10 years.  Decided to try the techie launch assist iron route for a spell.

 

ZX-Utility 3i bent weakened to 21 degrees is after 7w and then ZX5 5i at 24 degrees.  The gaps are spaced nicely with nice high ballflight from 5i and 7w and a bit lower and hotter with the utility.  I really like the tighter azimuth dispersion with the utility vs hybrid.

 

[Hawkeye77]

Don't think you can claim "old guy" now with that beast!

 

Or "old guy with speed" which is cool!

Edited April 25, 2021 by Hawkeye77

[Aviador Naval]

6 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

Don't think you can claim "old guy" now with that beast!

 

Or "old guy with speed" which is cool!

Ha - perhaps “delusional old guy” would be most appropriate...

 

Actually this bag may be a specific solution for the course I’ll be playing most this year.  It is a touch on the short side but frequently windy with lots of trees.  I can hit it high enough from  a tee on our long par 3, it’s perfect for two short par 4s that have trouble at driver and fairway distance, is a great low-mid ‘wind cheater’ on par 5 second shots, and useful for the low hook/slice to recover from being partially treed.

 

For more benign conditions or shots that require some height, I can step on the 5i a little or choke up on the 7w.  The 7w is quickly becoming my favorite club