Thought I'd give a quick rundown of what's in my bag and what I think of them. I haven't played a ton of different clubs, so you may need to take this with a big grain of salt.
Driver - Ping G15 10.5 degree with stiff TFC graphite shaft
I just picked this bad boy up about a week ago. Previously, I'd gone through a large number of cheapo drivers and could never hit them straight or any semblance of consistent. Then I picked up a Ping G5 and fell in love. I've only been on the course a couple times with my new G15, but I've never hit a more consistent, straight, and long driver. I don't feel like I gained much distance from the G5, but I hit the ball much straighter and much higher (the latter may explain the distance). This thing just goes where you aim it. One shot that really sticks out that I hit yesterday was a ball I caught way out on the toe. With my G5, it would've been a lame 150-yard duck hook (and there was water left, so that would've been bogey+). With my G15, I actually put a very nice push-draw flight on it and only lost 10 yards max. Never in my life have I hit a club that was so forgiving off the toe. I do have 2 grips with the club though:
- Shots hit thin tend to lose a ton of distance. This isn't unexpected, but with how insanely forgiving it is off the toe, I thought it might be slightly more forgiving off the bottom of the face.
- It sets up seemingly a degree or more to the left. This took some getting used to as it looks very awkward at address. That said, it doesn't seem to have any measurable impact on the quality of the shots I play with it.
Overall, I'd give this bad boy an A. I'm VERY happy I pulled the trigger on this club. I know the new generation is out (G20), but I can no longer fathom spending $300+ on a driver. I did that with my G5 and now I see them in the bargain bin at Golf Galaxy for $40.
3-wood - Ping G15 with stiff TFC graphite shaft
This was another recent purchase. I used to swear by this old crappy $15 Fleet Farm special that my mom got for Christmas about 15 years ago to use as her driver. Fact is, I inexplicably hit that stupid thing about 240 dead straight every time. That said, I couldn't hit it very well from the fairway so par 5s in two were not really an option, so I upgraded to a G15 and WOW have I missed out. I can hit this thing just as good off the deck as I can off a tee and it seemingly doesn't matter what kind of garbage swing I put on it - it's going to find the fairway. For a club with such a small face, it's absolutely incredible how easy it is to hit. I seriously feel like I'm cheating with this thing in the bag. It's that sick.
Since there are absolutely zero negatives in regards to this club, it's getting an A+ with extra credit to spare.
Irons - Ping i15 3-PW with stiff TFC graphite shafts
So I bought these shortly after they came out because at that time, I had a shitty over-the-top swing and I wanted to buy clubs that made me fix my swing rather than mask it. At the same time, I liked the progressive design for more forgiveness with longer irons. In retrospect, I should've probably gone with steel shafts, but I've been playing graphite for 10+ years for no particular reason so I decided to stick with them. That said, the clubs are awesome. When hit squarely, the ball absolutely LAUNCHES off the face. They also go exactly where they're supposed to. My old Cobra FPs tended to vary by as much as 10 yards, distance-wise, per swing. It made it infuriating because I could never hit the ball the correct distance. The i15s go exactly as far as you'd expect them to go, based on where on the clubface they're hit. It's beautiful. I love these things.
Overall we'll go with an A here. They don't have the big X factor to push them over the top - they just do what you tell them.
Wedges - Cleveland Tour Action 52 and 56 degree with ProjectX graphite wedge shafts
Since the rest of my set was graphite and there was a huge gap between my 46* PW and my 58* SW, I decided I needed some graphite shafted wedges. Since they're impossible to find, I made a post on GolfWRX's WTB forum and found a guy selling these bad boys. I love them - they spin very well, they're incredibly consistent, and they just do what you ask of them.
A here too for the same reasons as the i15s.
SW - TaylorMade Tour Forged 58* with a freaking graphite bubble shaft
This is for flop shots and bunker shots. The flops I can hit with this are ridiculous. I've developed such incredible feel with this club that when it snaps (and it will snap), I don't think I'm going to be able to get it reshafted and play it like I can now. I can hit a flop with this thing and make it land and stop on a nickel. Out of the bunker, it feels like it might have a bit too much bounce, so in harder traps, it'll kick right up into the ball. But in bunkers that courses actually take care of, it comes out just as I'd expect with a nice splash.
Overall B+.
Putter - Ping Karsten Series Anser
This is my only steel shafted club in the bag. There's not much to say about it other than that it goes exactly where I hit it. I've always used blade-style putters and this is the best one I've used. I don't think it gets better than Ping as far as putters are concerned. They must be doing something right - they haven't changed much of anything about the Anser in about 50 years.
Overall A. I wish it would read putts for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment