Is Monoculture the Exception or the Norm?

[Barfolomew]

My playing partner only has TM in his bag and plays TM ball too..... but he's lame

[JShaw]

I was all Titleist for a period several years ago.  I didn't really do it on purpose.  I was using 83 tour model irons, starship fairway woods, 905s driver, Vokey wedges, and a Cameron Circa 62 no. 2 putter.  I played some of my best golf with that setup.  I probably should have just stuck with them.

[iknowbagu]

Never been mono in my life.  That being said, the bag has always been heavy on Titleist. 

 

I'd venture to guess those single brand players are an extreme minority, but they are very noticeable in the wild when you do encounter them, especially when the bag also matches.  I think it's probably *slightly* more common here as this community is much more knowledgeable than the average dude you get paired up with at your club on a Saturday morning, and therefore can be more fiercely loyal.

[Mych]

I liked it because it constrained my club-hoing tendencies. Once I looked at all the offerings from "my" brand, I could make a pretty easy decision about what to buy or not. Now that I'm back to multiple brands in the bag, the number of options is too large. Luckily, I'm really happy with my overall setup so there's not as much of a desire to try/buy everything on the market right now.

 

 

[NorCal678]

21 hours ago, MattM97 said:

A decent amount of guys do it, I see zero reason to do it myself, I get fitted I see what club works best, I buy that club. If my bag was 5 different brands so be it. 

Bingo!  You don't get paid so you may as well try everything.  With fitting of shafts and adjustable weights, you can get every major companies clubs to perform about the same, but if you get better performance with another brand go for it.  

 

I gave my friend a load of crap because he bought a Callaway 3 wood without trying anything else, i'm sure you can guess who makes the rest of his clubs.  Then a week later i buy a whole bag minus putter from pxg.  LOL.  He served me up a big slice of humble pie!    

[kiwihacker]

21 hours ago, nostatic said:

CDO* is a thing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*CDO is OCD but in alphabetical order - like it should be!

Do you know what DNA stands for? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National dyslexia association. 

[NorCal678]

I see a lot of people go TM through the whole bad.  I don't have anything against their equipment, i just hate their marketing.  

 

Ping is the other one i see whole bags of quite often, but they don't promote bs claims, and they are true to their nature.  They clubs typically are not the longest, but are typically the most forgiving.  It's hard to find a ping product that everybody doesn't hit well.  There may be something slightly better for an individual, but their clubs will always be top 3 from a numbers perspective.  I don't like their sound and feel, but that's not important to everyone.  When people are new to golf or a higher handi, and ask what clubs should i look at, ping is always my recommendation.    

 

I just got pxg's through the bag (minus putter), so i'm not one to talk.   

[MattM97]

6 minutes ago, NorCal678 said:

Bingo!  You don't get paid so you may as well try everything.  With fitting of shafts and adjustable weights, you can get every major companies clubs to perform about the same, but if you get better performance with another brand go for it.  

 

I gave my friend a load of crap because he bought a Callaway 3 wood without trying anything else, i'm sure you can guess who makes the rest of his clubs.  Then a week later i buy a whole bag minus putter from pxg.  LOL.  He served me up a big slice of humble pie!    

 

I was going to bring that up as well, I don't get paid to play any of the clubs I use so I'm going to use what's best for me. Now there are some clubs I wish I could use or worked for me but I want to make my rounds semi enjoyable. 

[MtlJeff]

I usually only have 1-2 MFRs in my bag. It's never really "intentional" in a poser-esque way....it's usually more because that's just how i like to order through my shop. I want to get my stuff at the same time

 

When i ordered my Cobra irons, i wanted new wedges too---So why not order the Cobra wedges, get them with the exact same grips, same shafts...get them at the same time etc..

 

Same with woods, i'll usually order driver/3 wood at the same time so i tend to order from the same one.

 

Right now i have Callaway woods and Cobra irons/wedges. It's mostly just for ease of ordering

[14max]

I've owned a lot of brands (RAM, Wilson, Cobra, Nike, Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade, PING, Mizuno, Tour Edge, Cleveland, etc.) since 1996 and have settled into a mostly PING bag. We like what we like and it doesn't matter what others prefer.  It's your choice...

[Bridges]

I have been all Callaway including balls but I use a Sun Mountain C-130 and do not care about shoes, gloves etc. I have a Bettinardi in the bag right now but the trusty Odyssey 7 is always lurking ready to come back in. 

 

 

 

 

 

[DHoch]

So I've usually had two in the bag throughout most of my golfing life, and that had to do with liking similar designs within categories more than anything else. If I like the driver, why not hit the three wood? I like the three wood, why not hit the hybrid, etc?

 

I have Ping and Sub70 in the bag, and am very happy. I picked up a used set of the 699 Pros at 2nd Swing, and they were exactly what I was looking for with consistent distance but without insane lofts. 

[NoTalentLefty]

I can suck either way. My current bag is a mix and just ordered Mizuno irons 7-GW as a first time manufacturer appearance in my bag.  Closest I ever came was Titleist and Callaway but for one Sw wedges,  Titleist and/or Cleveland will always be there. 

[NoTalentLefty]

I can suck either way. My current bag is a mix and just ordered Mizuno irons 7-GW as a first time manufacturer appearance in my bag.  Closest I ever came was Titleist and Callaway but for one Sw wedges,  Titleist and/or Cleveland will always be there. 

[Halebopp]

What I've found funny is how often I get the (almost rhetorical) question about me having an all-Mizuno bag even when I had an obvious Evnroll head cover sticking out whereas no one has paid any attention to my friends' all-Titleist bags over the years.

 

But generally speaking, the vast majority of golfers wouldn't probably notice any performance losses playing a full bag from a single manufacturer. Any subtle differences would get lost in the noise of the playing conditions and the player's mental and physical capabilities on any given day.

[TwistedSister]

21 hours ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 Headcovers for the woods say "Boilermakers" on them, not the brand of the club they're protecting 😉 

 

 

I guess We're in kind of the same boat.  I have paid for THREE Purdue degrees!  NONE of them mine.

[MountainKing]

I know people, that's part of why my bag is what it is.  Although to be honest, I'm always hitting different stuff out there and I just really like what TM is doing right now.  They look good and feel good.

[bird_4_3]

Titleist irons and wedges, Ping woods, Callaway hybrid, Odyssey triple track putter and triple track balls.  Play what works

[PhilWhitUK]

I have had mono bags on occasion.  The bag I was most comfortable with was PING.  They make clubs that most can play and they are forgiving.  My daughters are near to getting adult clubs and I could easily see them both with full bags of PING.

 

I think most common ones are:

- PING - they don’t make a bad club and you know you are getting a reliable bag

- PXG - once you try them it is easy to get drawn in.  Not sure how anyone affords the bags, though

- Titleist - they are just solid good players clubs that people get comfortable with as juniors and know what they are getting.  No crazy marketing gimmicks

- Taylormade - I see a lot of juniors now playing a full bag of TM when they would have been Titleist in the past.  Getting the big name players must have an effect.

 

My bag is currently mixed but I am struggling having Callaway bag with TM driver (just locked up the mini!!)

 

[me05501]

I could definitely play all Callaway or all Srixon. But I don't because I think it's a bit goofy to run around with what looks like a rental set. 

[KGrinols]

On 7/28/2021 at 1:29 AM, DHoch said:

So for all of the people in thread with one manufacturer, do you think the bag should match the brand?

Yes, assuming it's a golf brand.

If you have a Nike, Ogio, or Sun Mountain then you don't have to match, but if you have a full set of Taylormades, your bag (and towel) should match.

 

I personally have everything Mizuno, except putter.  Bag, towel, wedges, irons, driver, 3w, and driver, all matching with a Mizuno Blue theme.

 

When I look into new clubs, I instinctually look at a new bag to match, or whether I like the woods\driver, if I could pull off the full set, etc.

 

I might mismatch my next set, because some of the new stuff is really tempting from cross brands.  But if I'm in the fence between a new iron set of 921s, ZX5s or P790s, the more attractive driver probably breaks the tie.  

[DHoch]

15 hours ago, me05501 said:

I could definitely play all Callaway or all Srixon. But I don't because I think it's a bit goofy to run around with what looks like a rental set. 

Thats a really good point. I really like just having two. My issue is that I have Sub70 and Ping in the bag, but hate the way Ping designs bags. What’s a man with mild CDO to do lol?

[HoosierHacker89]

At the end of the day in my heart of hearts I am a ping guy through and through. I deviate from them to try new things, but could go all ping anytime and be happy. 

[dgarland]

It’s more common for each section of the bag to be single manufacturer.  I’m Titleist driver - 4h, Srixon irons, Callaway wedges, & Scotty Cameron putter. 

[Jim53]

Currently all Callaway, just because it is working for me right now, I tend to stray and try something new and if it is better somehow I end up with other clubs from that brand until the bag is pretty much all that brand. Been that route with Honma, Miura, Ping, Titleist.

 

I don't get along with the V Sole so Srixon has not ever made any inroads iron wise, for a time their Driver and FW's were in the bag with Cleveland irons. Which is a shame since I love the look of their irons they just don't work well for me. Same with the newer Ben Hogan's, had a free set of them and played them for a long time out of respect for the outfit that gave them to me but they just were not a good fit.

 

Cobra is a no go for any clubs since I had a bad time with them quality wise back and their Customer Service sucked 15 years ago, it might be the best now but they will never get another dime from me. 

 

Never had a staff bag from any brand and tend to stay with Toulon Putters, but have tried most others at some time and never really find anything better for more than a few rounds. If I could find a Scotty or even a off the wall brand that would make me a good Putter it would be in the bag tomorrow, sadly that unicorn has eluded me so far or maybe it is just not made yet..

[quizzylish]

I don't think I've ever had a complete bag, although I have tried a lot of different brand in all types of clubs.  Through all that experimentation I have come to like certain brands in a certain category.  PING has been my go to for drivers.  Callaway was my leader for my 3 wood through several models but I have been enjoying my Ping fairway, just bought the LST.  Utility has been Srixon.  I have really like Callaway wedges, Vokeys are a close second.  Putter is all over but I have fell in love lately with Bettinardi.  

 

I have used several models of Mizuno for irons but I am trying the Ping i210's this year.  Although, I did just get a demo of some Ben Hogans.  I had the apex pros a long time ago before I started going with mizuno.  I have to say the PTx Pro looks amazing.  Just got it and can't wait to demo it tomorrow. The V-sole looks cool 

[SammyShaf]

I have never been close to a single brand bag.  I tend to stick with what works and like traditional looking clubs.  I have 5 brands in the bag, but could easily have 6 if I put a different putter in the bag.  I would only have a single brand bag if I won a full fitting. 

[Andygolderson]

On 7/28/2021 at 4:29 PM, DHoch said:

So for all of the people in thread with one manufacturer, do you think the bag should match the brand?

haha this is very difficult now 🙃. next level.

 

I like the same brand for all the clubs, mostly due to OCD. The putter is my main "showstopper" but I like my putters and i don't suffer any mental breakdown from it 😁. I play Cobras, Callaway bag and some different putters. I also don't find a nice Cobra bag that I like, at least not that is available to buy. I'm also sceptical about their new putters if i want to buy or how they will perform. luckilly they're not a huge expense, but one i don't really need to waste.

 

I think it's a looks thing for some, and really opposite for others who only care for optimal performance. 

 

Even when ihve matching headcovers to my bag, i feel oring after a while, or i actually don't want them to match. It's a weird thing to explain and understand.

[MPAndreassi]

I have all one brand in the bag, with the exception of my putter currently. I play Titleist driver to wedge. It’s not on purpose, it’s just how the chips ended up falling this time. I’ve played a few Scotty’s this season and have a Champion’s Choice on the way, so that’ll see some bag time. I’m also going to start experimenting with the 300 Mini Driver in the next week or so. 

[Nixhex524]

I currently have a bag full of Titleist, but that will for sure change.  I go from wanting to play all one OEM to mixing it up.  Either way, I score about the same so it really doesn't make a difference.  I have a full Ping bag as well, and it kind of just worked out this way as for all the hoing I have done, it's just kind of where I wound up.  I do have a Ping Hoofer and a Moonlite, but I am always sure to have a bag or two that doesnt have OEM branding on it so I have a Jones and a Vessel for those non Ping days...LOL  

 

It's a game, have fun, play what you want and F anyone for judging.