I’ve never truly believed anyone would be particularly interested in what I have in my golf bag. To be fair, I still don’t. As a golfer who has hovered around a 10 handicap (give or take a few) for the better part of 15 years now, I just don’t think there’s anything special in there.
That said, I consider myself a true feel player. I grew up feeling my shots. On the golf course, all I needed was a 150-yard mark. When I was really having fun, I would hit each club dozens of yardages, in every shape and way possible. I enjoyed picking the range closed at the various golf courses I used to work at, placing the plastic garbage bins filled with golf balls at increasing increments of 10-yards across the range, and then trying to hit those garbage bins at each yardage with every club from driver down to wedge. I absolutely loved hitting what would come to be known as 3-wood stingers that stayed no more than 10 to 15-feet of the grond and hearing the resulting “thwack” when the golf ball hit the plastic bin.
Recently, a surprising number of people I have played with have been interested in hitting my clubs. The major issue for most of them is I’m left-handed and they’re not. So I thought I would share what I’m playing in a blog post to change it up a bit.
Below I will outline what golf clubs I’m currently playing , what might be coming or changing, as well as why I play them.
My Numbers
- Driver Carry: 260’s
- 7-Iron Carry: 160’s
- Ball Flight: High
- Spin: High
- Natural Shot Shape: Draw
I prefer golf shafts that feel active and have softer tips. I’ve never liked a “boardy” feel, and I prefer to sacrifice some distance due to higher spin for the feel I like. I would say my swing leans more to the slow/smooth side, and that I have very active hands.
My Golf Clubs
DRIVER
MODEL: Titleist TSR3
LOFT: 9.0 Degree
SETTING: A4 LH (-.75 Degree, Standard Lie)
SHAFT: Ventus Red VeloCore 6X
GRIP: JumboMax JMX Ultralite Large Pinstripes
LENGTH: 45.25″
My Titleist TSR3 driver is one of my favourites of all time, right up there with my old TaylorMade R580, Cobra KING Speedzone, and Cobra S9.1 Pro S. It looks incredible at setup, with its slightly smaller footprint, and just feels to me like it’s ready to launch the golf ball forever. I’ve tried the GT lineup, and though very good, they just aren’t good enough to make me change.
I guess there are a couple of interesting things to note here.
First, I play an extra stiff shaft in my driver. I used to play 70 gram shafts as I like the weight, but went with the 6X as it comes in around 68.5 grams, which is on the heavier side of 60s. This Ventus Red VeloCore helped me keep my spin down and still provided me the tip and handle feel I like. This shaft, to me, feels active, and that works for my tastes.
Second, I use a JumboMax grip on my driver — yes, the same one as Bryson — but not on any other club. I initially tried them for pain purposes, and I also tried them on all my clubs. I found that I really love them on clubs that I swing full out, which for me is just the driver. My driver is the only club I consistently hit as hard as I can, and in those scenarios, along with my overactive hands, the grip feels like it just always wants to come back to impact exactly the way I set it up. It’s hard to be over active, but because I already am, this steadies it out. With all other clubs, I play attempt to play so many different shots that I don’t want a grip that helps keep my hands quiet.
FAIRWAY WOOD – JUST ONE
MODEL: TaylorMade Sim2 Titanium
LOFT: 5-Wood/19.0 Degree
SETTING: -.75 Degree Loft\1.5 Degree Open
SHAFT: Ventus Black VeloCore+ 8X
GRIP: Golfpride MCC +4 Black/Blue
LENGTH: Standard 42.25″
I just cannot get this club out of my bag. Despite being a few generations old, I still love the black/white contrast, finish on the crown, shape, size, and even the sound. I have hit and gone through too many fairway woods to count, and this is a keeper.
I’ve never been a fan of 3-woods. I’ve struggled to hit them my whole life and they were always too inconsistent to ever put one in the bag. For at least a decade of my golfing life, I actually went without a fairway wood at all…until this Sim 2 Titanium 5-wood. I’m scared to think what will happen when it breaks and can’t be repaired. Hopefully it just doesn’t happen.
Like my driver, I play an extra stiff shaft in my 5-wood. Here, though, I go heavier and towards the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to profile. Before this club, I was using DGS300’s in my fairway woods. Yes, even up to 2020, I had steel shafts in any fairway wood because they just felt right.
This club has a Ventus Black Velocore+ 8X shaft, which weighs in at 84 grams and is widely thought of as the most stout and boardy shaft in the Ventus lineup. To my surprise, when I tried it, it felt smooth. Despite having a noticeably firmer tip than my Ventus Red in the driver, the shaft overall felt nicely active, and it helped keep my spin down significantly –exactly what I was trying to do by going to this shaft.
HYBRID
MODEL: TaylorMade Sim 2 Max
LOFT: 4-Hybrid/22.0 Degree
SETTING: Non-adjustable
SHAFT: Stock Ventus Blue 7S
GRIP: Golfpride MCC +4 Black/Blue
LENGTH: Standard
My 4-hybrid bridges the gap between my 5-wood and 5-iron. The deeper we go into my bag the more I need my clubs to be versatile and adapt to the swings I put on them. As I mentioned, I rarely hit any club outside my driver at 100%, so I need all my other clubs to react well at 50% just as much as 80%.
This is pretty much a stock club. I tried various shafts with it, but I found the simple, stock Ventus Blue 7S to have the feel I was looking for. Hardcore equipment junkies will say the stock Ventus Blue is not a real shaft, but that’s simply not true — it’s just a different shaft than the aftermarket VeloCore version. For me, it’s the one I preferred as the shaft felt more active and the tip a little less firm.
Like my 5-wood, I’ve tried a ton of hybrids, but this is the one I stick with. As a backup, I have a Wilson D9 4-hybrid with Ventus Black VeloCore + 9X. I really need to be swinging to hit that and I also need to be swinging at mostly full speed when I want to use it. It has fallen out of favour with me, and stays in the basement for what must be 99% of the time. The other 1% I get curious, hit it, and quickly realize extra stiff, heavy shafts are reserved for the two top spots of my bag only.
IRONS – 5-PW
MODEL: Wilson D9 Forged
LOFT: 5-PW
SHAFT: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 125 X
GRIP: Golfpride MCC +4 Black/Blue
LENGTH: Standard
My Wilson D9 Forged irons are my favourite irons of all time. They look like a slightly larger players iron, have the just right amount of offset, tons of forgiveness, amazing feel, and they give me good distances. I went with N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 125 X’s because I wanted more weight, but that will be changing soon. I took on more than I wanted to in terms of feel when I made this decision. The weight and flex, though they help me keep my spin down and compensate for my active hands, as I get tired through the round or try to manufacture shots, it becomes increasingly difficult. I also don’t have the active feel I prefer, and I miss it.
So, as I usually do, I’m going to the complete opposite side of the spectrum and I am waiting on a set of 5-GW Wilson Dynapower Forged irons with KBS Tour Lite regular shafts. I played the Tour Lite regular’s in these D9’s previously and I want them back, and I will have them back soon.
WEDGE – AGAIN, JUST ONE
MODEL: Wilson Staff 2023
LOFT: 56 Degree bent to 55
SHAFT: AMT White Wedge Flex
GRIP: Golfpride MCC +4 Black/Blue
LENGTH: Standard
Ever the contrarian, I’ve only ever played a single wedge outside my PW/GW since the beginning of time — or at least since the first time I ever purchased a wedge as a teenager.
I don’t like stock shots. You know that by now. When I get down into the wedge part of my bag I like to know exactly what the club in my hand is going to do and how it’s going to react.
Previously, I played a Nike VR Forged Black wedge that I had in the bag for 20 years. Since Artisan Golf can’t make me a left-handed wedge, it was finally replaced when I found this Wilson Staff. I play flop shots, low runners, and hit every shot from 100-yards in with this club. It’s the only wedge that’s been able to take the old Nike out of the bag, and that’s saying something. It’s a beautiful looking club that suits my eye and feels like butter. The AMT White shaft strikes the perfect balance between firm and soft that suits my needs when it comes to feel in a wedge. More than any other club, I find the same shaft can feel different in different heads, and despite having a DGS400 in my Nike for 20 years, it felt horrible in the Wilson, and after hitting a bunch AMT White I went.
PUTTER
Ping Tyne H. There isn’t much else that needs to be said here. I love the look–it’s black out from grip to shaft to clubhead. It sits square for me, plays 32 inches to let my arms hang the way I like them, I can feel the head throughout the stroke, I can pick up the ball when I miss, and it’s got a cool headcover. It checks all the boxes.
I don’t believe in overcomplicating putters and/or putting. Zero Torque zero interest from me here. I believe everything about putting is about feel, and it’s worked for most of my life. I’ve always had a reputation for being a pretty decent putter, and this club has allowed me to keep that streak going.
Closing Out My Golf Bag Discussion 2025
And there you have my what’s in the bag for 2025 (at least until my new irons come in). Some of the golf gear junkies might look at these clubs and think….”what the hec?” And some might understand. Ultimately, golf clubs are highly personal and I’m a feel player. What makes sense for me might not make sense for you. Hec, it might not even make sense for me depending on the day, week, month, year, whatever. There is more than one occasion in my life where I switched something just because I didn’t want to look at it anymore. Whatever reason you play the golf clubs you play, just be sure you are happy with them and be sure you make each swing with confidence and golf like nobody is watching!
