Winter bag setup?

CH919Forged

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Shandon Park NI
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Callaway XR 10.5 Project X Stiff
#1
Any thoughts on carrying a half set in the winter and if so what would you take? I'm thinking driver, 4,6,8, pw, 56. Or even alternate every other week to 5, 7, 9, gw. Our place is seriously muddy owing to clay based ground and a lot of rain. Only play 9 holes in winter league and it's off mats so not sure there's much advantage carrying the full bag.
 

PaulBoy

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#3
Muddy conditions in NI, surely not! - My main course is exactly the same, also due to clay base & in the last 2x weeks we have had complete closure or "carry only" to contend with - Due to my knackered spine, I usually carry just Driver 5w 5, 7, 9 53 Putter but sometimes swap to Driver 3w 5hy 6, 8, PW, 53? - I managed 36pts using the latter the other day - I thought I might win our Fiddle, but someone had 40pts!
 

DennisMiller

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#4
You guys sound like you are considering walking, but I can only ride, thanks to millions of jump shots and rebounds nobody tells you are going to destroy your knees in old age.

Living in Miami, seasons don't change enough to affect golf much. We get more rain during the summer, mostly in the afternoon, but I play in the mornings. What we get that affects how I play is wind.

During the fall, hurricane season, the wind comes off the ocean and it's fairly constant when it is there at all. It'll vary greatly, from a gentle breeze to 30-40 mph walls of wind you can lean into.

I'll rarely hit a full shot up high, because there's very little to indicate wind upstairs. I'll play a more European style, bumping the ball along the ground, usually with a 6 iron. If I need to clear some hazard, I'll hit 2-3 extra clubs and punch it onto a green. There's little need for carrying hazards that at Killian Greens, with bunkers to either side of the greens, but none in front. Where we have to clear lakes or canals, there's still plenty of space to land the ball and run it up.

During the spring, the wind usually comes in gusts from the west, off the Gulf coast, so I feel like it's the hardest time of the year to judge shots. At contact, a 30 mph wind can slam you off balance or affect the shot in the air. It's a lottery what happens then. I suppose I probably hit more bump and run shots then, than in the fall.

That's about as complicated as it gets for me.
 

CH919Forged

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Shandon Park NI
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Callaway XR 10.5 Project X Stiff
#5
Muddy conditions in NI, surely not! - My main course is exactly the same, also due to clay base & in the last 2x weeks we have had complete closure or "carry only" to contend with - Due to my knackered spine, I usually carry just Driver 5w 5, 7, 9 53 Putter but sometimes swap to Driver 3w 5hy 6, 8, PW, 53? - I managed 36pts using the latter the other day - I thought I might win our Fiddle, but someone had 40pts!
Think our place would have carry only if they could but the vast majority of members wouldn't get a game. I'm happy enough to carry but the walking in the mud and rain is worse with a full set on the back. Greens are good but tee to green is brutal. 36 is great shooting with a half set!
 
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CH919Forged

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#6
You guys sound like you are considering walking, but I can only ride, thanks to millions of jump shots and rebounds nobody tells you are going to destroy your knees in old age.

Living in Miami, seasons don't change enough to affect golf much. We get more rain during the summer, mostly in the afternoon, but I play in the mornings. What we get that affects how I play is wind.

During the fall, hurricane season, the wind comes off the ocean and it's fairly constant when it is there at all. It'll vary greatly, from a gentle breeze to 30-40 mph walls of wind you can lean into.

I'll rarely hit a full shot up high, because there's very little to indicate wind upstairs. I'll play a more European style, bumping the ball along the ground, usually with a 6 iron. If I need to clear some hazard, I'll hit 2-3 extra clubs and punch it onto a green. There's little need for carrying hazards that at Killian Greens, with bunkers to either side of the greens, but none in front. Where we have to clear lakes or canals, there's still plenty of space to land the ball and run it up.

During the spring, the wind usually comes in gusts from the west, off the Gulf coast, so I feel like it's the hardest time of the year to judge shots. At contact, a 30 mph wind can slam you off balance or affect the shot in the air. It's a lottery what happens then. I suppose I probably hit more bump and run shots then, than in the fall.

That's about as complicated as it gets for me.
That sounds like fun navigating the winds and playing bump and run! That's the beauty of our game. There's a million ways to play it and get round. We get one season a year here in NI and that's the rainy season. Our greens can get firm and fast in the summer and you have to think your way round and land it short. In the winter it's like throwing darts but the weather can be grim. My home track isn't demanding enough to take a buggy out. Not particularly hilly and no big walks between holes.
 

PaulBoy

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#7
That sounds like fun navigating the winds and playing bump and run! That's the beauty of our game. There's a million ways to play it and get round. We get one season a year here in NI and that's the rainy season. Our greens can get firm and fast in the summer and you have to think your way round and land it short. In the winter it's like throwing darts but the weather can be grim. My home track isn't demanding enough to take a buggy out. Not particularly hilly and no big walks between holes.
I decided to leave NI for various reasons (mainly for work) but one of the bonuses was definitely escaping the weather! - As you say "one season per annum, the rainy season" - My quip on this used to be ... "It rains twice a week in NI, once for three days & once for four!" - Carry only is not popular at my club where more than half the members are seniors - We've had 2x rollups recently when you had to carry & the usual 20+ players were reduced to 6 on each occasion - In an ideal world (one where I was rich) I would employ a caddy & he could carry all my clubs ...
 

DennisMiller

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ST-180
#9
One thing I forgot to mention... I tend to look for drivers with 9*-9.5* lofts, then raise the loft a degree or two for the slight draw bias it adds. I don't change that during the windy times of the year. My ST-Z is currently set to 11*. For whatever reason, I never seem to notice a difference in the trajectory of my tee shots, regardless where I set the loft. I don't find much difference in distance either, with the 11* loft making maybe a 5 yard difference at the most.
 

HAIRY ESSEX BLOKE

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#10
You guys sound like you are considering walking, but I can only ride, thanks to millions of jump shots and rebounds nobody tells you are going to destroy your knees in old age.

Living in Miami, seasons don't change enough to affect golf much. We get more rain during the summer, mostly in the afternoon, but I play in the mornings. What we get that affects how I play is wind.

During the fall, hurricane season, the wind comes off the ocean and it's fairly constant when it is there at all. It'll vary greatly, from a gentle breeze to 30-40 mph walls of wind you can lean into.

I'll rarely hit a full shot up high, because there's very little to indicate wind upstairs. I'll play a more European style, bumping the ball along the ground, usually with a 6 iron. If I need to clear some hazard, I'll hit 2-3 extra clubs and punch it onto a green. There's little need for carrying hazards that at Killian Greens, with bunkers to either side of the greens, but none in front. Where we have to clear lakes or canals, there's still plenty of space to land the ball and run it up.

During the spring, the wind usually comes in gusts from the west, off the Gulf coast, so I feel like it's the hardest time of the year to judge shots. At contact, a 30 mph wind can slam you off balance or affect the shot in the air. It's a lottery what happens then. I suppose I probably hit more bump and run shots then, than in the fall.

That's about as complicated as it gets for me.
Having moved to the seaside four and a half years ago I am still trying to work out the wind issues, gusts up to 45 mph as you say have an alarming effect on you your club and on the greens uncanny results, also those that know me can say the way my hair gets blown into my face.
 
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DennisMiller

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#11
Having moved to the seaside four and a half years ago I am still trying to work out the wind issues, gusts up to 45 mph as you say have an alarming effect on you your club and on the greens uncanny results, also those that know me can say the way my hair gets blown into my face.
When I know what the wind is doing, I manage things pretty well, but at Killian Greens, the course runs through houses with a heavily forested area in the neighborhood on the front nine. The wind at ground level doesn't mean much. It can be going 2 different ways after hitting the houses and trees and you feel it both directions if you just roll a few yards away in one direction. It's not all that easy to read the movement in those old growth trees either. Sometimes, all you can do is hit and hope.

On the back nine, it's much less forested and more wide open. The course itself is easier than the front nine, but playing the wind is much easier on the back nine too. It's not uncommon for me to shoot something like 45-37...
 

DennisMiller

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#12
I thought about this thread last night. Long story short, the wind is up, so I changed to my Cobra one length set, which I can hit much lower and control under the wind better. My putter is the only consistent club.

My Cobra driver is still set at 12*. I'll probably lower it to 10.5* before I play this morning.

That's about all I know to do as far as changes are concerned.
 

PaulBoy

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#13
Hi Dennis ... Not much else you can do equipment wise - Maybe brush up on some technique changes to flight the ball lower? - I know when my brother moved to the windier climes on the coast, he had to learn how to keep the ball more on the ground than in the sky - He also learned to use the putter much more from off the green - It's amazing to see someone putting from 20 or 30 yards short of the green!
 

DennisMiller

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#14
I had a friend in Ft Lauderdale tell me about his neighbor, who had some Taylormade Stealth woods he wanted to sell. I picked up the 1-3-7 for only $450 and I'm about to go test them out this morning. I figure if I don't like them, I should be able to sell them and get my money back easily.

What it has to do with this thread is, the driver is a 12* and it's still pretty windy on days when I play later than my usual 9 AM tee time. If I had time to play 18 today, by 11 AM, the wind would start coming up.

I'm well aware someone my age, with my increasingly slower swing speed, should use a higher loft driver, but it does make me wonder whether 12* is going to lose me distance into the wind on 7 holes where I play, 3 of which on the front this morning. I might have to pull a Mickelson, like he did in the U.S. Open some years ago, carrying 2 drivers. I generally carry 12 clubs, so I have room, but I wonder if I'm just not overthinking this, much less causing myself more trouble than it would probably be worth.

Also, I tend to play a natural fade, so lowering the loft might not be the greatest idea in the world. If i lower it to 10*, but set the lie upright, I don't think the lie adjustment will offset the open face.
 

DCB

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#15
I dont play in the winter now, too cold for my back and neck. In the days I did play I had an eclectic mix in the bag depending on weather conditions. I played a parkland course, so that dictated one bag setup. If we went down the coast for links golf that was almost a full summer setup.

A heavy old T P Mills putter was my preferred weapon for the slower winter greens. Other than that it'd be a Driver, 5 W 6, 8 & PW & SW for most of the time. A nice easy carry to help keep you warm.

@ Dennis, 12° Driver is definitely the way to go, had one in my bag since I won an original JPX EZ way back in 2013 in a Forum competition ;)
 
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Br1an_g

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#16
Im with dcb, Best winter set up is to stay indoors. Too cold for me these days..
 

DennisMiller

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#17
I had a friend in Ft Lauderdale tell me about his neighbor, who had some Taylormade Stealth woods he wanted to sell. I picked up the 1-3-7 for only $450 and I'm about to go test them out this morning. I figure if I don't like them, I should be able to sell them and get my money back easily.
And that's exactly what happened. I was OK with the feel of the fairway woods, which had glued in head/shaft connections, but the driver feel was awful.

Back to the old ST-Z...
 

DennisMiller

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#18
Im with dcb, Best winter set up is to stay indoors. Too cold for me these days..
LOL, I know that feeling. I'm totally spoiled here in Miami. Tomorrow morning, it's supposed to be only 60* when I tee off at 9AM. To me, at that temperature, my personal molecular movement stops and my backswing is not likely to see my hands rise above my belt.

After my wife had a heart attack back in May, our kids wanted us to move to North Carolina so we would be closer to them if they needed to help us. I realize completely what that means in terms of the golf season, instead of the golf year. None the less, I'm for it, but so far, I haven't been able to get my wife to retire. I think she's scared she might have to spend more time with me. What the hell... I always wanted a female caddie like Fanny was for Sir Nick.
 

DennisMiller

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Mar 25, 2014
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Miami, Florida
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Old Age
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ST-180
#19
We are in that windy part of the year I mentioned before. I've lowered the loft on my driver to the standard 9.5*. I usually keep it around 10.5*, not that I see much difference in trajectory. It's about all I can do.
 
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