Let me be totally clear about something. My 2022 golf season was absolutely horrible and for all intents and purposes a waste of time. I could have spent so many more hours on the water flogging flies at trout and bass with the time lost golfing that it was actually, quite insufferable. Had I done a little more often what I did at the end of the year, I would have had no complaints. Dragging my fly rod and popper on the golf course yielded a nice largemouth bass late in the season. The only time that I tried this was during one of my last rounds of the season.
The reasons for my piss-poor season could be attributed to a bevy of reasons. Poor health, a back in dire need of surgery, a lack of repetitions (driving range or on-course time), poor technique, and just having a revolving door of equipment being played. I searched all season long for the right bag composition.
Always at the top end of the bag were Tour Edge Exotics C/E 722 metalwoods usually consisting of driver (10.5*), 3W (16.5* typically), 7W (21*) all shafted with X-flex based on a whim from the year prior. Then a stiff-shafted 4H (22*) which literally made, no sense. So gapping aside there was a a slight modicum of cohesion.
The situation with my irons was an absolute mess.It was nothing to see my SUB 70 699 Pro, New Level 1031 Forged, and Tour Edge Golf Exotics CBX Forged irons all in there during the course of one week. I was plagued by low trajectories with all of the above but the higher flights were accomplished with the CBX Forged at the expense of lost yardage. While the 699 Pro’s were shafted with graphite PX 6.0 and the New Level were shafted with KBS Tour 125 (Steel) the Exotics were shafted with UST Mamiya Recoil F5 (X-flex).
My wedges were Edison Forged Wedges and my putter rounded things out. For the record, it’s a Tour Edge Exotics Wingman shafted with Breakthrough Golf Technology Tour Fire shaft. That shaft is worth its weight in gold.
But then, the winds of change blew. Change as imminent. It was October and then my Co-Host of TeeBox Chatter started to experiment. First it was about experimenting with lead tape. Adding swingweight (lead tape) and going up several swingweights started to produce better trajectories and with them, a light at the end of the tunnel. Then with his counsel he suggested trying his Senior Flex shafted Titleist 716 (I think) AP1 irons. Immediately, I gained in terms of trajectory and distance.
The proverbial hamster now fully running in his wheel. I went all-in on a change in equipment. I did think about just getting a bunch or regular flex shafts but I went one step further. The good news is that from a set composition I now knew I wanted to go D, 4W, and 7W. However, new to the fray was going to be a 5H and 6H leaving me a 7i as my lowest-lofted iron.
An expedition that Douger and I took to Fore Golfer’s Only in St. Thomas, ON resulted in me getting what I needed. I toyed with the idea of Senior Flex in my clubs but on their range I noticed that I was prone to a loss of dispersion and ballooning ballflight. So, I “settled” for Regular flex graphite shafts.
In the bag is Titleist for the first time since I was a member of Titleist Staff. I guess you could say that I went back to who and what I know. My bag makeup looks very different heading into this season. Here’s my…
WITB
Driver – Titleist TSi1 12* MCA Tensei Raw Blue R
4W – Titleist TSi2 17* MCA Tensei Raw Blue R
7W – Titleist TSi2 21* MCA Tensei Raw Blue R
5H Titleist 816 H2 25* MCA Diamana Red R
6H Titleist 816 H2 29* MCA Diamana Red R
7-GW Titleist 718 AP3 MCA Tensei AV Red AM(2)
56* PING Eye 2 Orange Dot
60* PING Eye 2 Orange Dot
Putter -Tour Edge Exotics Wingman 002 w/ BGT Stability Tour Fire
Ball – Titleist Pro V1x
I managed to sneak in a couple of quick nine hole rounds with these sticks and all thatI can say is that I cannot wait to tee it up in 2023. This is going to be good. Really good!
(I should note that this was a gamble. I haven’t been fit since 2014 and my body has been through Hell. If I have a piece of advice to offer that I should have followed it’s quite simple… Get fit!)
Until The Next Tee!!
#fightandgrind
The Next Tee (TNT) 