You could get the 910h in 19 degrees and drop the 3 iron. And maybe get the 4 iron a degree or two stronger to close the gaps. I played this setup when I had a 15 degree 3 wood and it worked well, but I got a longer 3 wood so I had to take out a wedge, add a 5 wood and put my 3 iron back in the bag. Hope this helps

The USGA put a 14 club limit so that you must either learn to vary distance somewhere or suffer having to either hit long or short.

I think it is easier to vary distance with a wedge, especially since with the shortest club you will eventually have to vary distance anyway, but you don't want to consider that.

So, since on a par 5 you can reach in 2 using driver hybrid, and I doubt you will be needing 3W to reach a par 3, I see no need for the 3W. The 17h will work just fine off the tee if you are wanting to give up a little distance to gain accuracy, that will be just 1 iron longer for the approach.

Hey Shaun;

Cool set up. I think 3wood is still important. You can drop the 3iron and go with a hybrid maybe a 19*. The 15* and 17* is quite close to each other. What's your average distance with the 15* and 17* respectively? There you can base your decision. I also believe in not taking out a wedge. That is a very good set up, 4* gaps. Why didn't you get a 48* SM4 and dropped the PW??? Just asking...

Good Luck and Happy Golfing!

 

Carlo

I agree with the majority of the forum. One doesn't really need a 2* gap between clubs.

Here's one that probably no one has thought about... use a 17* 910D. You aren't going to lose much yardage over a 3 wood and would gain some over a 17H. If you're hitting a 3 iron 225, you should hit a 4 wood about 240. My guesstimate for a 17H is about 235 and a 3W would be about 245.

A 19H would be about 230 and a 5W would be about 235. I also base that on how I hit a golf ball back in the good old days (carried a 3 and 4 wood). My average 4W was 230, the 2 iron was 220 and 3 iron was 210 (this was when I was 30). I'm almost a senior citizen these days. I can get about 200 out of a 4 wood nowadays.

The other end of the spectrum is to drop the gap wedge and change the sand wedge to 54. This is a response you might also hear. 6* gap between wedges is not unmanageable nor is 7-8*, for that matter.

What the pros use varies wildly. Some go with a 3W and 19H (dropping the 3 iron) and a few here and there (particularly on the Champions' Tour) use a 7 wood in place of the 3 iron.  Player even fesses up these days to carrying a 9 wood and stated he would have won one extra Masters with one.

There are some pros that recommend (particularly to the senior population) about going with driver-4W-7W and dropping the 3 iron.

Lots of good ideas on this topic as this is something that I think a lot of better players struggle with when figuring out which 14 to go with. I like the idea of going with the 17 degree 910F if you want to stick with your 3 iron. Alternatively, maybe go with the 15 degree 910F and a 19 degree 910H and drop the 3 iron and make your 4 iron a degree stronger. The 910 woods/hyrbrids are great because you have some flexibility to dial in your lofts exactly how you want them. I kind of had the same dilemma when I was picking out my set comp and decided to go 48, 52 and 58 with the wedges and was able to get the 910F in 15 degree and 19 degree and then went 21 degree 910H and dropped the 3 iron. All depends on what you feel most comfortable with and what you're really looking to improve on. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Sam

Hey Carlo, thanks for the suggestions. I hit the 15* 250 - 260 off the tee. I struggle with it off the fairway though. The 17* is 235 - 245 off the tee and I have no problems with it off the fairway because I play it more like an iron. I hit a 19* roughly the same as my 3 iron so 15* then 19* would not do me any good. BTW I did not go with the SM4 48* because when I miss with my wedges I tend to miss a little steep and the AP2 wedge I felt interacted with the turf a little better. Thanks for the help and will let you know how it goes. Shaun

For me, I have 910F 15* and a 980F 19* and an old 503H 22* ( then the 4 iron). Looking to upgrade the 980F 19*, but will hold out until the new hybrids come out later this year (unless there is a good deal). My fitter suggested an AP1 (2 or 3) to replace the 503H, they almost have the same profile. But I still like using the 503H.

As for the SM4 wedges. I went 48, 52 and 58. But had the 48 and the 58 bent 1* stronger. This is to have a consistent 5* gap among the wedges. And that stronger loft will give me a better bounce.

Hi Shaun - our yardages are fairly similar, my set up/ yardages are as follows:

Driver - 8.5* - 300y - average but can greatly vary!

3W - 13.5* - 270y tee 260y deck

Hybrid - 21* - 230y (I have the loft set a little lower but main use of this is for high soft shots into par 5s and out of rough)

2iron - 18* - 250y total from tee - this rolls a lot unless it is wet!

4iron - 23* - 220y - this has been bent a degree strong to make up for no 3 iron, distance/ carry is a little inconsistent 

5iron - 27* - 205y

6iron - 31* - 190y - carry distance at my fitting

Now to wedges:

MB PW - 47* - 130y - can hit this further but like to hit controlled

SM4 52.08 - 115y 

SM4 56.14 - 100y

SM4 60.10 - 85y

SM2 64.07 - 70y

My advice would be look at golfdigest whats in the bag to look at pros setups and yardages - Fowler and Ben Crane are a couple of pros playing 4 wedges who are on there, look to see how they do it. Remember shaft can greatly affect yardages as well so choose diligently.

I think most of the golfing population struggles to hit a 3 wood off the fairway. The ball just about has to be sitting on a plush lie. I could hit a 980F 3 wood off the deck before but the lie had to be absolutely fabulous. I could hit a 975F 16.5 with most fairway lies.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I have not tried the 17* 910F. I will get my hands on one tomorrow and see how it goes. I will also mess around with some of my old wedges and see how that goes. Thanks for the idea on looking into the PRO's bags, I plan on doing that also. Hope to make a decision by middle of the week. Then evrything in my bag is back to Titleist (except my putter). Will let all know how it goes. Shaun

Lou G

I think most of the golfing population struggles to hit a 3 wood off the fairway. The ball just about has to be sitting on a plush lie. I could hit a 980F 3 wood off the deck before but the lie had to be absolutely fabulous. I could hit a 975F 16.5 with most fairway lies.

The 980F has to be about one of the easiest fairway woods to hit off the deck. My only issue with the 980F is it ballooned a bit off the tee.