Whats In My Bag
After playing with Mizuno MP32’s for a few years now, I decided that on my 40th birthday I was going to treat myself to some new clubs. But why stop at the irons? So I went the full hog and got myself EVERYTHING! Including a new bag! Yes it was expensive, but it was worth it! I also got fitted for the woods and irons using TrackMan in McGuirks in Cork, Ireland as I had never done this before. So whats in my bag?
Driver
Epic Flash Sub-Zero with HZRDUS Smoke shafts
The driver on my mind was the Epic Flash. I had seen these being used quite a bit on tour and seen good reviews about them. Because of my swing I knew I needed a stiff shaft but not sure which one.
During the fitting we tried different combinations using shafts and heads from both the Epic Flash and the Epic Flash Sub-Zero. Surprisingly, my ball launch was quite low so we upped the loft to 12.5° from the standard 10.5°. (I am usually known for having a high ball flight so this stat surprised me a lot!).
There was a lot of hitting done where my carry was about 250 yards. Which isn’t bad but I knew I could do better. Finally, using the Epic Flash Sub-Zero with the HZRDUS Smoke shaft got me to a carry of about 275 on my good hits. Which was more in line with what I would expect from my swing.
Fairway Woods
Epic Flash: 3W & 5W with HZRDUS Smoke shafts
Onto the fairway woods. These are not clubs I play a lot to be honest. Unless it’s from a tee or a really good lie on a fairway. I’m more of a long iron player and feel far more comfortable with them. However, I do need these to fill the gap in my bag and because who knows, if I find ones I’m comfortable with then maybe I’ll play them more.
Again the Epic Flash fairway woods were my choice. Straight away we went for the HZRDUS Smoke shaft. From the first shot I knew it was the right combination. I carried 260 on my shot with the 3 wood. That was the deal sealed as far as I was concerned! A few more shots after that didn’t quite make it that far didn’t change my mind. I ended up getting the 3W and the 5W.
Irons
Mizuno MP20 blade: 3 – PW with Modus Tour105S shafts
Now to what really made me change my clubs; the irons. Being a huge fan of my MP32s and with Mizuno bringing out the latest model the Mizuno MP20 blade I couldn’t wait to try it out! I had seen great reviews on them and everyone was impressed by them. I am a blade player and a bit of a traditionalist so I wanted to try these. And boy were they worth trying! They just felt beautiful! I was convinced as soon as I hit the first few that I wanted them!
Being a natural drawer of the ball and having an in-to-out swing of which I knew all my stats beforehand, the ball did as it always did but with a couple going straight instead of drawing. We changed the shafts to the Modus Tour105S shaft and I couldn’t believe the difference this made!
All of a sudden my ball flight was much straighter and more accurate! My spread really tightened up and after hitting about 20 balls in the same place we agreed on this. There was no need to change lie or angle as I was pretty on the money with the impact. Not being a hybrid player as I just cannot hit them I went for the 3 iron to the PW.
Wedges
Titleist Vokey: SM7 52°12 & SM7 56°10
Even though I love Mizuno irons, I have always preferred the Titleist Vokey wedges. These I didn’t get fitted for but I like to play gentler with my wedges so I just went with standard shaft and lie for these. My wedges have always been a 52° and a 56° so again I went with the same and purchased Titleist Vokey SM7 52° with 12 bounce and SM7 56° with 10 bounce.
Putter
Taylormade Spider X with 35″ shaft
Having been a blade putter all my life, I wanted to try something different. Not being a fan of putters like the two-ball Odyssey I opted for the Taylormade Spider X with 35” shaft. This is a putter used a lot on tour now and it does feel and look really nice. After playing a few times with it when home I think it will take a little getting used to but I feel like I will get into it.
Bag
Mizuno BR-D1 waterproof stand bag
With new clubs I wanted to make sure I had something nice and shiny to carry them in! As the irons are the showcase I decided to go with the Mizuno BR-D1 waterproof stand bag in black and lime. The colour reflects the headcovers of the woods so this is the reason I selected this colour. I prefer stand bags as I like to walk courses and when the course is a bit wet it makes it easier to stand the bag and to have it waterproof. Plus I find the stand bag makes it easier when cleaning your clubs.
Conclusion
I am very happy with my purchase, even though it was very expensive, (roughly $4000). I never had a top quality set at home as when I was there full time I never took fitting or modern clubs very seriously and always thought I could get by with anything. But now after playing a bit more in the last few years and becoming more interested in club technology I can see the benefits of having a fully fitted modern set of clubs.
The fitting is definitely something I would recommend to everyone. You may think you do fine with standard clubs. But get fitted and you might get a nice surprise. You may find that your bad shots are not all about you doing something wrong and could be minimized by having a fitted set of clubs.
As for where to get fitted? If you’re in Ireland then I can fully recommend McGuirks in Cork and their man Denis who was very helpful to me.
Click here for McGuirks Golf website.
Now it’s just to enjoy them on my course in Glengarriff Golf Club!