WITB: What's in the Bag?

I had a fitting with Kevin Kraft yesterday, which resulted in a couple of new additions to the bag. So, I thought I’d share a "What’s in the Bag" post with some commentary on my choices.

Kevin Kraft is a Master Club Fitter at 2nd Swing Golf in Columbia, MD.  Kevin has played on the Korn Ferry Tour and recently won the 2023 Maryland Senior Open and the 2023 Pennsylvania Open.  You can read my interview with him here.

Driver: Ping G430 MAX 10K

I switched from a SimMax2 10.5 degree to the Ping G430 MAX 10K 9 degree with a Ping Tour 2.0 Chrome 65 Stiff Shaft.

I never got fitted for my SimMAX, and I always felt like I wasn't getting the most out of my shots in terms of consistency and accuracy. Part of that was due to the loft and partly the shaft.

The difference with the PING was immediately noticeable. I was hitting the sweet spot consistently, low launch, accuracy up, and I didn’t lose any swing speed.

I’m excited to see how this club translates to the course.

7-Wood: Cobra Darkspeed X

As long-time readers know, I’ve wanted to add a 7-wood to the bag for a while now. This club immediately felt right. My carry was consistently around 210 yards, allowing me to replace my 3-Hybrid (which I hated) and my 4-iron (which I didn’t love either).

Kevin said that 7-woods are becoming hugely popular with customers, and for good reason. These clubs are forgiving, high launching, and can still stop on greens. A 9-wood might be in my future.

Check out Edition #30 for why more and more pros are putting 7-woods in the bag.

5-Wood: TaylorMade SimMAX 2

I love, love, love this club. I use it for tee shots, second shots on Par 5s, and sometimes on long Par 3s. This club has been a game-changer. Again, these woods are just so forgiving, combined with a high launch. I highly recommend it.

Irons: TaylorMade P790’s

I got the P790’s when they came out in 2019, and I’m a big fan. They look great and are extremely forgiving. If there is one thing you should get fitted for, it’s your irons. Don’t skimp out on these! Irons can last you a decade, and you want consistency across the clubs with proper gapping.

Quick note: I had Kevin check the lie and loft of my irons, and they were off by quite a bit. He said it’s best to check them twice a year. All the wear and tear, especially from range mats, can significantly alter the clubs.

Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind 3 (50, 54, 58)

The Milled Grind 3s are great wedges. I went with a 50/54/58 setup to bridge better the gap between my pitching wedge and gap wedge. Also, I prefer high-bounce wedges because I tend to be steep.

These are the only clubs in your bag that you should replace every 1, 2, or 3 years, depending on how often you play. Titleist recommends replacing your wedges after 75 rounds. I’m due for a replacement of my 54 degree.

Putter: TaylorMade Spider X

I don’t love this putter, but I got it for free. Scottie and Rory use a similar model, so at least I’m in good company. At some point, I would love to move to a softer-feel putter like the Odyssey 2-Ball Ten.

Wrap Up

I like where my bag is overall. Most importantly, I got rid of two clubs in which I lacked confidence. Comment below with a club you want to add to the bag this year.

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Til next week.