Adamwon84 WITB

[adamwon84]

Hey Everyone! 

I love coming to the WITB section of the forums and drooling over everyone's bag combinations and seeing what people are mixing and matching with. I have been an equipment junky since I got addicted to golf back when I was 13 years old, since then I loved trying everything and anything in the bag and even if something works I STILL like swapping stuff in and out to "experiment". A little background on my game and the last few years:

Been playing 1-3x a week since i was 13 years old, golf is extremely addicting to me and in my "prime" years I was a +3 handicap (HS Senior/College days, 2004-2008ish). Since then I have had two shoulder injuries and lower back sciatica that ended up in me having to make some major swing changes where I jumped back up to a 10 handicap in 2010. Since then I have been climbing my game back down to a 0.8 at the end of last year! (trying to get back to scratch or better). 

My 2023 WITB changed so many times that having a WITB post would have required a monthly update haha. Anyways, the current set has been incredible in performance, feel and everything I have been looking for in a balanced set:

 

Driver: Ping G430 Max 10k, 10.5 loft, Kai'li 60x (x-flex)

Fairway: Ping G430 LST 3 Wood, 15 loft, Tour AD Graphite Design IZ-4 (x-flex)

Utility Iron: Ping iCrossover 2 iron, 18 loft, Ping Tour Chrome 2.0 (x-flex)

Irons: ping i230 4-6, Ping Blueprint T 7-PW all with Dynamic Gold X100 

Wedges: Fourteen, 50 loft, Dynamic Gold X100, Ping Glide 4.0 (Eye2 Design) 54 and 60 lofts, Nippon ZZ115 Wedge Shaft

Putter: Lab Mezz 1 Max (bored from a friend to see if I like it, so far its been incredible and I might be buying one soon)

Bag: Miura Cart Bag

Headcovers: Taylormade Summer Commemorative 

 

This setup has been really solid for me, and my scoring and consistency have been fantastic since I got the i230's (originally bought as a 4-PW set). I then ordered the lower irons in the Blueprint T's after a fitting and LOVED the feel and performance. The G430 Max 10k was the biggest surprise for me, I cannot believe how forgiving and long as this driver is. 

3 Wood:

2 Iron:

Putter:

w

Alternative Clubs/Cycling Out:

There are a few clubs that I like to swap in and out depending on the course and conditions. I will say that the Aerojet LS 5 wood is becoming a favorite club so much so that I might look at picking up an Aerojet LS 3 wood to compare it to the Ping LST. I also have a U505 (1 iron build) for super dry or super windy days. 

[Ivyguy]

Wow, cool bag. 
 

Headcover game is 10/10. 
 

Can I ask, orange putter… Any reason?

[DE-ILLINI]

Nice looking bag.  Good luck with the journey back to scratch.

[adamwon84]

6 hours ago, Ivyguy said:

Wow, cool bag. 
 

Headcover game is 10/10. 
 

Can I ask, orange putter… Any reason?

The putter is actually a friends putter that he is letting me borrow for a bit (he is traveling for work for the next few months and won't be able to play) so I can try it out to see if I like. The color is a bit crazy, but I do really like how it looks behind the ball. I think if I end up really liking this putter, I will order one identical in spec and color. 

[Ivyguy]

11 hours ago, adamwon84 said:

The putter is actually a friends putter that he is letting me borrow for a bit (he is traveling for work for the next few months and won't be able to play) so I can try it out to see if I like. The color is a bit crazy, but I do really like how it looks behind the ball. I think if I end up really liking this putter, I will order one identical in spec and color. 

Cool, I think there’s something to the different colors. 

[MGN01]

Great bag and best wishes on your journey to scratch.  You seem to be almost there now.  Enjoy.

[PeterJP]

Yes, congratulations on working your way back to top-flight playing after surgeries and sciatica and swing changes. And a terrific golf bag -- which shows off Ping's main 'strength', ie the ability to design clubs that serve such a wide range of golfers. I'm a broken down and never good mid-handicapper, but with just a change in shafts (to stiff from x flex) and a foregoing of the combo set (staying with the 230s throughout), I'd feel pretty comfortable and confident playing with the same bag of clubs as a scratch/once +3!  Ping has, it seems to me, truly figured it out. 

Edited February 5 by PeterJP

[adamwon84]

Made a few small changes/additions:

 

Out: Ping iCrossover 2 iron

 

In: Ben Hogan UiHi 3 iron (18 degrees)

Shaft: Tour AD-95 (S-Flex)

I was play testing with the UIHI head (its more offset than the iCrossover) but its very easy to get up in the air off the deck and it being combined with the Tour AD shaft gives me a really penetrating ball flight. I had a few great rounds with it over the iCrossover, so its in the bag (for now)

 

In (for testing): Krank Formula Fire Pro (USGA Conforming) 9 degree

Shaft: Fujikura Speeder Tour Light X-Flex

 

I got it for 350 brand new with the Bryson Code (its from his WITB video), figured I would give it a shot. I got it yesterday and hit the range with it and then played 9 holes today. Its 46 inches (my normal gamer is 45) so I figured I would need a few swings to get use to it, especially coupled with the lighter shaft. The first two swings were ok, but after I got use to the weight, I was smacking the hell out of this thing on the range. I played 9 holes today and hit it against my Ping G430 10k, and its surprisingly forgiving (almost as forgiving as the 10k). 

 

Pros: It feels good on solid hits and mishits, its long (a few yards longer than my Ping, but its also 9 degrees where my Ping is set to 10.5) and the rollout is crazy with the Krank. The size of the driver is very nice, smaller than my Ping (looks smaller at address) and I feel like I can really swing hard with this thing.

 

Cons: Its just...so god damn ugly to look down at. I think if it was available in a mat color, then it wouldn't be so bad. The looks are growing on me, but it just looked so weird, like a very cheap store brand, no name driver. 

 

I am going to be doing more testing this week, including increasing the loft and seeing what it can do. I do actually like the drivers performance, even though its hard to look at. 

 

I kind of want to try one of the fairway woods, but I just got my Smoke AI Max and that things is perfection. 

 

Other changes/additions:

Callaway AI Smoke Max 3 wood loft changed from 15 to 14 degrees, get a slightly more penetrating flight and still easy to hit off the deck. 

Picked up a dozen of the new Taylormade TP5X balls to compare to the Titleist Prov1x Left Dash that I have been played for about 9 months, more testing on that. 

[adamwon84]

Updates to the bag:

 

Driver: Ping G430 10k, new shaft the Hulk v6 X-flex (PVD Coloring)

This shaft is unreal with the Ping 10k head, I have never hit the ball so well with a driver. Distance is a bit longer due to roll out, but the accuracy is unmatched. 

 

 

Irons: 

Out: Ping i230/Blueprint T combo

In: Miura MB101 4-PW, Dynamic Gold S400 shafts

 

But why swap? Well let me start off by saying that the Ping irons are still some of the best irons I have ever hit in my entire lifetime of playing golf, so I still have them. The reason for the swap is because of how unreal I played with them recently. I have been on a journey to get back to scratch (down to 0.3 currently!), and Pings were so good I thought I would never take them out...until Masters Weekend happened. I have a thing were every single Masters year, I play Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Sunday I do 27-36 holes in a day usually between two different courses if I can) and I like to play with my most difficult irons I own to challenge myself (and pretend I am a pro, of course). Well I played Friday with them and shot Even par 72 (super happy!), then Saturday I shot a 70 on the same course, and Sunday I shot a 71 and a 37 (both rounds on Sunday were at the same course, 2nd round was only 9 holes). I hit everything amazing and the control I was getting from these reminded me why I love them so much. They are about a club shorter than my Pings, as the Ping's are in Power Spec lofts while the MB101's are in traditional lofts (roughly about 2 degrees weaker per club compared to the Pings). After adjusting to the yardage difference, I was rollllling. 

 

 

Driving Iron/Utility Iron: 

Out: Ben Hogan UiHi 3 iron

In: PXG 0311 X Gen 5 "X" utility iron (Shaft: Aldila NV 85 HYB-X)

 

Why did I swap out my Hogan for the PXG? The Hogan is great, but I wanted to mess around with the PXG a little with the weather being nicer and the fairways getting very firm down here in the south. The PXG with the NV shaft has a very boring/penetrating ball flight and works very well for spring/summer golf. 

 

 

The wedges and putter haven't changed, probably won't be changing them this season (I was using my friends LAB putter but ended up ordering an exact copy of his because he wanted his back and I fell in love with it, no regrets at all)

 

I am sure this will change, I have been eyeing up the new Tayormade Mini Driver to tinker with and seeing the Titleist 2 Wood......my wallet is screaming 

[LannyBombs]

The Headcover game is tight.  Does that one headcover say 'Anger'? lol

[Rockytop1985]

Loving the tape job on the 3 wood! 

[adamwon84]

On 4/19/2024 at 11:13 PM, Rockytop1985 said:

Loving the tape job on the 3 wood! 

My miss is a toe hook and I found that throwing a little bit of tape on the toe keeps the face a bit more open for me and causes a straight or slight cut with that 3 wood. Its a great club, but the Callaway AI Smoke replaced it in the bag currently for a bit. Love them both, might be taping up the Callaway to experiment a bit.