I Tried To Buy a Game and Ended Up With This…

[Nelson.br.1515]

I have filled the last year or so with buying and selling clubs to test and occasionally flip. I have historically struggled with driver and putter while everything in between is decent enough. I went through and listed out what I used the most this year and why I enjoyed it or didn’t. Feel good about where my bag is and I am contemplating just deleting the eBay app…let me know if you have any questions on anything I have tried. 
Drivers:

• Callaway Great Big Bertha 2015 tried twice once w/Mitsubishi Kuro Kage and once w/Tour AD MJ. Really solid just felt like I was leaving some forgiveness on the table
• Callaway Big Bertha Fusion 2016 w/HZRDUS Red very stable just couldn’t get over the triangle shape 
• Callaway Mavrik w/Tour AD DI loved the feel of the shaft, was hitting it all over the place 
• Ping G400 Max w/Aldila XTORSION Copper not sure what it was but could only hit high moon balls that went nowhere 
• Callaway Big Bertha B21 w/Ventus Velocore Red stayed in the bag for most of the year but wasn’t getting the distance I needed 
• Ping G425 Max w/Accra FX 2.0 260 great but occasional big right miss
• Ping G425 SFT w/Accra FX 2.0 260 (in the bag) so darn stable and virtually takes the right side out of play, also the Accra shaft feels so smooth and loads effortlessly 

 

Mini Drivers:

• Callaway Mini 1.5 w/Diamana D+ White 14* lofted up to 16* was a great 3 wood replacement just couldn’t get the head weight right at the 3 wood length
• Taylormade 300 Mini w/Ventus Velocore Red 12* I have a mental block for whatever reason on TM clubs no clue why, I really wanted to like this setup

 

Fairways: 

• Callaway Big Bertha Fusion w/Diamana D+ White hit it well but wanted to be able to play with loft and shafts and this is a bonded hosel
• Ping G400 w/Alta CB awful for me 
• Callaway Alpha 815 w/Tour AD MJ the prettiest FW out there I think, this is one I should have probably kept
• Callaway Epic Flash w/Accra FX 2.0 200F (3 & 5 in the bag) love everything about these looks, feel, launch and distance

 

Hybrids:

• Adams DHY w/Matrix Altus White Tie awesome off the tee but for me hard to hit off turf 
• Callaway Alpha 815 w/Evenflow Black so good another one I am not sure why I got rid of it 
• Ping G400 w/Alta CB left machine for me and I don’t hit anything left 
• Ping G400 Crossover w/Alta CB felt bad and sounded worse
• Callaway Super Hybrid w/Ventus Velocore Blue this one was hard to kick out but it was creating gapping issues with the fairways 
• Callaway Apex 2019 w/Oban Devotion (23* & 26* in the bag) really like how these fit in my bag easy to hit high or low and very forgiving in a compact shape

 

Irons: 

• Callaway XR w/TrueTemper Elevate 95 could not control flight or distance 
• Mizuno MP-H4 w/KBS C-Taper Lite these are awesome I shouldn’t have let these go
• Adams XTD Forged w/Matrix Program really liked these but just don’t have a consistent enough swing for them
• Ping i200 w/Nippon Modus 105 liked these a lot but felt like I was giving too much distance 
• Callaway Apex CF16 Smoke w/XP95 (6-AW in the bag) feel great, solid distance love the stealth look 

 

Wedges: 

• Mizuno S5 w/Dynamic Gold XP115 so soft and love the forgiving shape, had 56* 60* but wanted to change to 54* & 58* for gapping
• Callaway PM Grind 2019 w/KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 loved the 64* but it was dangerous, either great or awful and not a lot in between 
• Ping Glide 2.0 SS w/Nippon Modus 105 54* 12& 58* 10 Red Dot (in the bag) been really happy with these, consistent distances and really versatile

 

Putters:

• Bettinardi iNOVAi 3.0 Tour Stock this one was so hard to get rid of but just missed to many short putts 
• Ping Redwood D66 felt so darn good and was in great shape, probably should have kept it
• Odyssey Stroke Lab Big Seven Arm Lock was great until it wasn’t 
• Odyssey Stroke Lab Double Wide Arm Lock (see above)
• Evnroll ER1TS super funky looking but made quite a few putts, felt like I couldn’t line it up consistently
• Odyssey 2 Ball Ten Limited Edition White Hot Insert (in the bag) love how easy this is to align and how stable it is, trying a Garsen Max on it right now and it feels great

[ckay]

The cure to ho'ing is to remove yourself from WRX.  I am not joking either.  Nice set up btw.

[Nelson.br.1515]

1 hour ago, ckay said:

The cure to ho'ing is to remove yourself from WRX.  I am not joking either.  Nice set up btw.

Haha good point, but WRX is the only place that even semi-cares about what shafts I have in my wedges. 

[LeoLeo99]

I rented clubs in Vegas and the G400 Max was the driver they gave me.  High moonballs that went nowhere.  It's not just you.  

 

I've stopped ho'ing clubs for the past couple years for the most part.  Lob wedges and putters are always ripe for change.  

[OnTheBag]

First, nice looking setup.  You aren't the first to try and buy an instant game and won't be the last.  Especially with today's technology, you can make marked improvements with the right gear, but at the end of the day contact is king.  If you aren't making contact at the same spot on the clubface 85% of the time, then everything else is moot.  

 

Spend some of that money next year on good lessons (include playing lessons in the plan) and it will pay more dividends than the money you've already spent on clubs.  It looks like you got a great foundation in the bag to set everything else on the right course.