I’m a self confessed “Club Ho”… you’ll see why in a minute.

Talking about Ho’s… how stupid is it that in many places Santa Claus is not aloud to say Ho, Ho, Ho!

Sometimes the powers that be are a little too sensitive and way too Politically Correct!

Here’s a list of my “current” clubs:

The Driver – Taylormade Burner 9.5 Stiff Flex (worste driver I’ve ever had)

Previous driver was a Titleist 905T… sure I can hit it longer at times with the Burner… but I could definitely hit more fairways with the Titleist.

As for my current driver, I’m over it.  Don’t know whether it’s the shaft, clubhead or what, but changing to it I’ve almost forgotten what a fairway looks like.  Dare I say it, but sometimes it’s best to sacrifice a little swing speed for greater accuracy.

Frank Thomas from franklygolf.com and from http://www.thegolfchannel.com/ (Let’s be Frank section) says that they should sell “Snake Bite” kits with these longer drivers… I couldn’t agree with him more.

Here’s a little of what Frank said…

“It seems the number one thing we all want is distance. Some manufacturers are now increasing the length of drivers to help give golfers what they want, without concern for the effect this may have on accuracy. I have suggested that a snakebite kit should be included with these new $500 drivers, just in case we encounter a vicious reptile while looking for our stray-but-tremendously-long drives. “… read the full story here:

Needless to say the driver will soon be history to me… eBay here it comes.  I’m finally going to book in for a launch monitor fitting session and test drive a whole bunch of drivers, with different specs to find what really works best for me (I’m strongly leaning towards the PING G10)

I’ll use the information from the launch monitor session to narrow down the field, and then I’ll play the top two off against each other until there’s a winner (at least until something newer and shinier comes along ?).
3 Wood – Srixon 15 degree M-Steel

This is a fantastic club… it flys off the club face and gives a great ball flight.  I tend to use it more and more for tee shots.  Unless the hole demands a really long drive, then I opt for the more conservative but more successful approach (when ego gets the better of me, more often than not I pay the price with a bad score).

5 Wood – Srixon 18 degree M-Steel

I really like this club.  I have played a number of hybrids, and I must say that I prefer a 5wood over them… although I really like the Srixon AD Hybrid that I swap in for the 5 wood from time to time.

Irons & Wedges

I’m on my 3rd set of irons in the past 12 months… and it’s not because I’ve worn any of them out.

I started with Titlest 735 CM’s, then went to Taylormade R7’s and now I have Mizuno MP 57’s (prior to these I had Henry Griffitts Green Backs and some KZG Evolutions).

I liked the 735’s but after a few training mistakes, I ended up with a good dose of elbow tendonitis and my elbow was against the DG S300 shafts. 

Steel shafts are fine if you don’t have any joint pain or tendonitis, but they’re just brutal on your body if you do have problems.  I tried out a number of steel shafts with the so called shock absorbing inserts, in my ever so humble opinion… they’re USELESS!

A mate of mine got me to try the Taylormade R7’s with graphite irons.  Being one of “the boys” and not over 70 years of age, I was dead set against graphite iron shafts… after all, that’s what old men and woman play (or so I thought).

A couple of mates of mine (Mark “Vico” Victorsen and Dave Saunders), who are PGA Professionals, both had graphite shafted irons and I figured if it was good enough for them, it was good enough for me. 

Vico had also suffered with elbow tendonitis and agrees with me, that graphite irons are the only permanent cure to the problem.

Anyway, the graphite shafts in the R7’s were a little too light for my liking and the heads on the short irons were a bit too chunky for my liking… especially playing off closely mown fairways or tight lies.  I probably should have gone for the heavier shafts and smaller heads in the R7 TP irons.

Not entirely happy with the R7’s I was again on the hunt for new irons… I also disliked the ugly Taylormade colors so I was happy to change clubs.

Sidenote:  since changing to the Taylormade Burner Driver and R7 irons from the titleist 905T and 735 CM irons… as of right now, my handicap has gone up by 2.5 (so much for extra forgiveness).

On with the story… I hit some Mizuno’s at a demo day and fell in love with them. 

I really liked the MP 60’s, however, the new MP 57 irons were about to come out and I liked the confidence of a slightly bigger cavity (but without looking like a shovel). 

The other thing that sold me on the MP 57’s was that Mizuno have a fantastic graphite shaft for their MP Irons (Mizuno Exsar IS2 Tour Spec graphite shaft ).  The shafts are blue and white, I love these colors, so the irons are much more pleasing to my eye. 

I would still prefer plain black or silver graphite iron shafts… but every manufacturer wants to brand them with their colors. 

I love the smooth feel from the Mizuno heads and graphite shafts. 

All going to plan, I’ll keep these irons in the bag until I wear out the grooves in the clubfaces… then again, I’m a “Club Ho” so you might see a set of MP 60 irons in my bag in a few months.

Here’s the details for my irons and wedges:

#3 21degree Mizuno MP Fli-Hi Exsar IS2 Tour Spec Stiff Flex
Mizuno MP 57 Irons 4 – PW

51 degree Mizuno MP-T series Black Nickel (6 degrees bounce)
58 degree Mizuno MP-R series Black Nickel (10 degrees bounce)

I love both these wedges.  The MP-T series has better alignment for my approach shots inside 100.  I prefer the more rounded MP-R wedge for a lot of shots around the green and out of green side bunkers.  There’s not much in it, but I prefer the Black Nickel finish over the chrome.

I’ve played with 4 wedges in my bag before (a Dave Pelz recommendation), but for now I’m playing with 3 wedges (PW, 51, 58) and very happy with them.

Specs for Irons and Wedges

Length + ½ inch (35.25” 5 iron)
Lie 3 degrees upright (63.5 degree 5 iron)
Shaft – Mizuno Exsar IS2 Tour Spec Stiff Flex

Putter
Never Compromise GM2 Exchange #7 35 inches (loft)
70degree lie angle
3.5 degrees loft

I’ve figured out that I putt better with face balanced putters… I always kept going back to them, and finally the S.A.M Putt Lab confirmed this for me.

I’m over the mallet putter though and on the hunt for a more traditional looking face balanced putter (possibly Yes Tracy or Mizuno Bettinardi C 06).

Bag – Callaway Carry Bag (nothing special but does the job)

Rain Suit

Mizuno  This thing is awesome.  I finally shelled out a few bucks and got myself a top of the line golf rain suit.  It’s worth the money to get one of these, they keep the rain out like nothing else, so while everyone else is soaking at the end, you’re still nice and dry.

Shoes

FootJoy Dry Joy Pro

I’ve got two pairs of these.  One black and one white with black saddle.  Good shoes and they keep your feet dry.

Balls

Srixon ZURC (they work well for Jim Furyk)

I’ve tried Titleist ProV1x & V1, Callaway Hex Tour and Hex Tour56 and a bunch of other balls… then I found these.

The Srixon ZURC for me are long off the tee, yet still offer great control around the green, I love them.  

Sean Cassidy

“Real Men Swing Fast”

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Tags: What's In My Bag, driver, golf clubs, graphite, mizuno, PING, sean cassidy, srixon, titleist, whats in my bag