Well, you're showing 15 clubs on that list... so including your putter, you have to drop 2 clubs.  IMHO, being as a majority of the game seems to played inside 120 yds., I would lean towards dropping the 3 iron and 4W and letting the 3H soak up those gaps. The 3H looks like it spans the high end of your 4I to the low end of your 3W. This way, it keeps your scoring club yardages intact and the lob wedge can really come in handy around the greens on short side shots.  Just my opinion, of course, but I may be leaning this way because that's exactly how my bag is set up.

Good Luck!!

Agree with DaveB.  Mount the 3 Iron over the fireplace.  The 4W and 3W would need to be considered based on which one you reliably hit, do you need the extra distance fairway on par 5's if you are reliable with the 3W, and how often would you really go to the 3W based on a bad day with the driver.  Based on the course and how you did with the driving range warmup, you can swap these 2 for the day.  Keep your short game solid.

Hi Dave,

Sorry if I wasn't clear on my post, but i usually don't have the hybrid and 4 wood in my bag. I mentioned I dropped the lob wedge to go with the hybrid, but now I am wondering if I should go with the 4 wood or 3 wood. I also have a 2 iron, but I get about the same numbers as the hybrid and the hybrid is easier to get up and more useful out of certain conditions (rough, mud, etc.)

Thanks,

Mike

Mike,

Oh, I thought you trying to decide between clubs on that list...sorry.  Well, I would still stick with the 3 wood to back up your driver off the tee... but that's just me. I also like the hybrid vs. the 3I... just an easier club to deal with and like you say (and I agree), more versatile out of various lies that can be difficult to hit a 3I from. I think the combo of Driver, 3W, 3H just fits your gaps better on the long end of your bag. I also think you're better off sticking with the wedge lineup that you listed for scoring opportunities.  But in the end, it's all gonna be what you're comfortable with, Mike.  experimenting with different setups can be a lot of fun in itself, so have fun with it.

If you were going to buy clubs, yet another idea is to replace the 4W and 3H with a 2H. If you need 3H distance, choke down 1/2". The other possibility is replace the 3H and 4W with a 7W.

Normally the difference between a 4 wood and 3 wood is about 5 yards. 

My dad told me about 7 years ago that the golf pro recommended a wood setup of driver-4W-7W (10.5-17-21) and a 24 hybrid.  The lowest loft iron in the bag is a 5 iron.  This also allows room for 4 wedges.  The 7 wood is a great club. 

I  consider a lob wedge pretty important, especially for hitting greenside bunkers with firm or wet sand.

I'm a little unusual in that I carry an X wedge (64*).  I discovered them in 2006 and now know why PM used one - the San Diego munis have hard greens.  I rarely use it except for where the pin is very close to the front or a short deep bunker with little green to work with.

I think we are all consistent in dropping the 3 iron and keeping the 3H to accomodate the lob wedge.

Also another thing to consider is the 4 iron has the same carry as the 5 iron but has 25 yards of roll.  May want to think about replacing it with a 4H.

Not a lot of us would consider dropping a wedge since most of your golf game is played from 100 yards in. For me, I have a gap wedge but can play without it since I had a set of irons in 2009 that had only PW (47) and SW (55).  I've been playing with AP1 PW (45) and SM4 54-11 (53) for almost 2 years now and just added a 50-08 (49) because it is "nice to have".  A LW is actually more of a necessity, particularly if you have firm bunkers or tight lies. 

So here is the bottom line: keep the 3 wood or 4 wood. The carry distance and playability off the fairway are most important (you can't always rely on the 35 yard roll of the 3 wood).  Added value of a 4 wood vs the 3H off the fairway is next (if little is to be gained with the 4W, stick with the 3W).  If either the 3W or 4W is never used off the fairway, the former is a better choice.  If near pinpoint accuracy is desired, the 4W is better. 

Thanks for all for the thorough responses Lou. With the new season, the adjustable 910 woods have come into my realm of affordability. On top of that, my swing speed is shifting towards S flex shafts, so the original yardages posted will probably be changing soon.

I used to not be able to hit my hybrid without having to play a large fade to get it off the ground. The 3 iron at the time was much more controllable for me which is why it stayed in the bag. This last weekend I used the hybrid for the first time in months and, like magic , it was my best performer of the day! I know my swing mechanics have improved since, so I'm sure that's the reason.

As for the lob wedge, its been getting me in more trouble than not. My chips were coming up short due to too much loft/spin, or the ground was deceptively soft and it would chunk way too deep. I tend to have pretty good feel and the sand wedge and gap wedge have been my go to for running the ball up to the hole.

I'll probably just scope out the ground conditions and hole yardages before a round and make my club selection based on that.

Mike

I do agree with Dave on dropping the 3 iron.  3H is easily workable and you can choke down to fill the gap between it and the 4 iron.  My initial thought when I responded to the original post is that the 3 wood has 35 yards of roll and if it stops dead, there is little diff between it and the 4W.  Also a 4W is easier to hit off the deck.

A lob wedge is very handy.  I carry an SM4 58-06 and use it quite a bit from 50 yards in. 

Don't know how well you hit a 3 wood off the deck. 

If you want to really evaluate the 3 wood and 4 wood alongside, you can temporarily drop the gap wedge and work the PW a little bit. 

I havea pretty high trajectory on my clubs so my roll is considerably less.   I have what is classified as a "senior setup" (I'm also almost 57).  I broke 80 last year.  I rarely use my 3 wood.

My distances:

driver (13*) 200/220

3W   -  175/190

7W - 170/180

22H  160/170

27H- 145/155

34H - 135/140

8 iron 120/130

9 iron 110/120

PW 100/110

48 95/100

54  80/85

58 65/70

64 50 (almost no roll)

I can also play a Sunday bag by dropping the 3 wood, 22H, 8 iron and PW.  There is no ill effect either.  This is what I take to the exec courses.   I'm pretty deadly with my 7 wood, 27H, 34H, 9 iron and wedges.  I also have about 20 yards in reserve with the 7 wood if I really smack it.

The arrangement between the 3W down to the 3 iron is overkill.  More so with the 3 and 4W being separated by only 5 yards on carry.  Having a 3H and a 3 iron is also overkill. 

The 4W can still be used if the driver misbehaves.  You also have more opportunities to use it vs the 3 wood off the fairway. You also have 35 yards of roll with the 3 wood - could be less if the turf is soft.

You can also drop the 3 iron and work the 3H. 

What is also unusual is that the 3 and 4 irons have 25 yards of roll and the remainder of the irons have 10. 

Hi Lou,

So if I'm following right, you're saying drop the 3 wood and 3 iron and I can keep the Lob wedge in? I might give that a try.

My irons are from a second hand store, so they are not exactly fitted. On better days I do get higher launch and carry with them but just not reliably, and I figure I should share more honest numbers. Ideally I should pick up another hybrid, but I was more curious to see if people feel it is better to have an even but wider gap between the irons to driver or shift it tighter towards the irons. (probably should have just phrased the question this way)

Thanks,

Michael U

With just a quick look, I would recommend rotating the 3w, 4w, 3h, 3i, and a wedge.  Look at what course you're playing, what you think you'll need the most, and pick the best combo.  For example, is the course long or short?  Is there a lot of need for wedges around the greens?  Do you need to attack greens where a hybrid might work better than an iron?  If you already have the clubs, you don't need to make a hard decision.  Be fluid and adapt to the needs of a course.

Get with a Titleist fitter that has the fitting manual, LM and fits outdoors.  The manual will tell you what your launch should be in order for the ball toCARRY and stop on the green with good control.Roll does not count with shots to the green. In other words not roll out more than 20 feet,  With 25 years of fitting in this manner i can tell you that from your 5 iron and longer your ball does not stop very good on a green.  So I would prob suggest adding a27* hybrid adjusted to A4 ( making it a28.5*) and then gap your shots from there with the guide of the manual.

 Drivers and 3W we would consider the roll out based on launch conditions, but everything else should be evaluated in the above manner. And this MUST be done from real grass -- mats, nets, indoor stuff is not real golf. that indoor environment inflates and exagerates all these numbers.

steve ball, PGA Master Professional
Top 100 fitter 

My bag is set up as such:

13* draw driver - 220-240 (I occasionally get 250+ with roll)

3 wood (15) 190-200

7 wood 185

4-22H 170

6-27H 155

7-34H 140

8 iron 130

9 iron 120

PW 110

50 - 95

54- 80

58 - 65

64- 50

I don't have a tremendous amount of roll from the 3W down.  I tend to hit a small fade with the 3W.  I can snap a chalk line from the 7W down and have a pretty high ball flight.  The distances above are with a conservative swing.  I've hit my 7 wood over 200 yards on a few occasions and hit the 4H close to 190.  Main objective with the 6H down is to stick the green.

I also have my 54 1/2* upright on lie angle and the two lob wedges 1* upright.  About 5 years ago I had trouble hitting full shots with a lob wedge and bending the lie angle upright cured that.