What’s in the Bag: Sean Kicker, GolfTEC Coach

February 19, 2010

A look inside the bag of Sean Kicker, GolfTEC Coach, Director of Instruction and Store Manager at GolfTEC Coral Gables in Miami, FL.

Driver: Cleveland HiBore (9-degree); Fujikura Fit-on Gold shaft, S-flex

I personally prefer the smaller 330cc head size of this driver. It really fits my eye and gives me the confidence to keep the ball in the fairway.

Fairway Wood: Cleveland HiBore 3-wood (15-degree); Aldila NVS shaft, S-flex

This is one of my most reliable clubs both off the tee and from the fairway. This small compact head features an Energy Transfer Core that transfers into higher ball speeds.

Hybrids: Mizuno MP-FLI-HI Iron Hybrid (18-, 21-degree); Project X 6.0 shaft

These hybrids are a recent addition to my bag and I am amazed that it took me so long to get rid of my old long irons and switch over to hybrids. These MP FLI-HI iron hybrids deliver a high ball launch and trajectory, pin-point distance control and a soft landing from long distances.

Irons: Mizuno MP-62 (4-PW); Golf Pride Multi-Compound Midsized Grips; Project X 6.0 shafts

The MP-62 irons with breakthrough DUAL MUSCLE technology give me maximum workability and shot making control, while still providing some level of forgiveness.

Wedges: Mizuno MP T-10 White Satin (52-, 56-degree)

I haven’t played a wedge that feels as good as these Mizunos. And with the new Quad Cut Grooves, they give me maximum spin and control.

Putter: Couture Golf Gullane (32″ length, 365 grams)

If you haven’t been fit for a putter—playing an off-the-rack putter instead—you’re missing out in a big way! Playing a custom-fit putter like this one allows me to get into the same setup every time and putt consistently from round to round. The head weight is heavier, which reminds me to accelerate through the ball.

Ball: TaylorMade TP Red Tournament Edition

The TP Red Tournament Edition ball was designed for higher ball speed and higher spin players. It features a mid-to-low launch angle which gives me increased distance and exceptional control in windy conditions.

If you’re considering upgrading your bag, getting a club fitting or just want to try out some new golf equipment, call or stop by a GolfTEC Improvement Center near you.

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What’s in the Bag: Elliot Hall, GolfTEC Coach

January 7, 2010

Elliot Hall — GolfTEC Coach, Sacramento, CA — gives you a look inside his bag.

Driver: 7.5-degree Alpha C8302; Bang FAST 45g shaft, X-flex

This is one of the top driver heads in the long-drive contests. It has a plasma welded face vs. a titanium weld, which increases ball speed and distance. The shaft is what really makes this driver fly. It is a super light-weight shaft with spine-low technology. This allows the club to be swung faster without losing control or adding spin, which produces a boring, penetrating ball flight.

Fairway wood: 13.5-degree Titleist 909F2; Aldila Voodoo Red shaft, S-flex

I use this depending on the length of the course and weather conditions. It produces a nice low, penetrating ball flight. This is my go-to club on long courses and in windy conditions. If I’m playing a shorter course with less wind, I’ll stick with my hybrid.

Hybrid: 17-degree Mizuno MX-700; Exsar HS4 80g shaft, S-flex

This is one of Mizuno’s new hybrid designs. The ES-230 Hot Metal face provides a great feel at impact. It flies much higher and softer than my 3-wood, anywhere from 240-260 yards. If I need it to go 220-230 yards, I can choke down and still have the control and high ball flight. There’s not a more versatile club in my bag. It’s forgiving out of all types of lies: deep rough, bunkers, hard-pan, etc. Overall, I love this club!

Irons: Mizuno MP-60 forged blades (3-PW); X100 Dynamic Gold shafts

These irons have the softest and sweetest feel when you hit the sweet spot! The muscle back allows for some forgiveness on mis-hits, while keeping the workability of the club. The great thing about playing a forged iron is the feedback you receive on mis-hits. It has really allowed me to improve my ball striking and consistency. Plus, it is a great looking club!

Wedges: Mizuno MP-T Series (53-degree); Titleist Spin Milled Vokey (60-degree)

I use a three-wedge system for my scoring clubs (including my PW). I can change the distance of the shot simply by changing the length of my swing or how far I choke down on the shaft. There are about three yardages assigned to each club, based on a half, three-quarter and full swing. If I’m in between clubs, I usually take the longer of the two choices and then choke down. This allows me to stay aggressive with all my scoring clubs.

Putter: Pro Gear CG100 Classic Blade

This putter was fitted for me with a 34″ length and balanced heel/toe weighting. The grip I use is an oversized putter grip. This allows me to take the hand rotation out of the stroke, which in turn keeps my ball on the selected line.

Ball: Bridgestone B330, B330-S

Since I have a higher swing speed, I play a high compression ball. Bridgestone has done a remarkable job on ball fittings based on swing speeds. The higher compression fits my driver swing speed, which reduces the spin rate, allowing the ball to curve less and carry farther. I play the B330 ball on longer courses with softer greens. On shorter courses with firm greens, I play the B330-S.

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What’s in the Bag: Steve Lippincott

December 15, 2009

Steve Lippincott – GolfTEC Coach, Director of Instruction and Store Manager, Tampa, FL — shows us his current set makeup.

Driver: 10.5-degree Adams Insight Tech A4 Driver; Matrix Ozik shaft, stiff flex

This club is as solid and good looking as any driver on the market today, but it really flies under the radar. The look is very simple; it has no alignment aid, which I prefer because I line up my driver on the toe so that when the club gets to impact height, the center of the face meets the middle of the ball. What I like most about this club is the shaft—it gets the ball up in the air quickly with minimal backspin, which gives me increased roll.

Fairway wood: Adams Insight XTD A3 5-wood; Aldila NVS shaft, stiff flex

I recently switched from two fairway woods to one. It was an easy decision after spending time on the launch monitor. I found that the 5-wood not only gave me a higher launch angle, but also increased my carry distance by 10 yards. You certainly don’t have to carry a 3-wood anymore. If you look in a lot of Tour Pro’s bags, they carry one fairway wood that has 16-18 degrees of loft instead of a 13-degree club.

Hybrid: Adams A3 22-degree (4-iron) Hybrid; Graffaloy Prolaunch Red shaft, stiff flex

Adams is known for their hybrids on Tour and this one is a beauty. It’s shorter than most hybrids because the length is based on a normal 4-iron instead of a fairway wood. It gives me a great option in the 200-yard range—most recently I used it for a par-5 second shot to record a rare albatross. For that reason alone, I love this club.

Irons: Adams A4 Forged 3- and 4-irons; Adams A3 5-PW, stiff-flex steel shafts

If you add it up, I actually carry 15 clubs in my bag, which is one over the USGA limit. Depending on the conditions, I will choose between my hybrid and 3-wood. If it’s windy out I will generally leave the higher-launching hybrid in the trunk and put the 3-iron in for more control in the wind.

These A3 irons are different from any other set I’ve played because they are a blended set. This means the 5-, 6- and 7-irons are more forgiving cavity-back irons, while the 8-iron, 9-iron and PW are more of a blade iron, providing greater control. (To learn more about blended sets, check out this post)

Wedges: Cleveland CG12 (50-, 56- and 60-degree)

I carry four scoring clubs (including my PW) because it gives me three swing options depending on yardage. Each wedge has a yardage assigned to it for a full, three-quarter and half swing. This eliminates the guessing and changing of swing speeds, allowing me to control distance with the length of my backswing.

Putter: Couture Golf Carnoustie, 32.25″, 365 grams

If you haven’t been fit for a putter—playing an off-the-rack putter instead—you’re missing out in a big way! Playing a custom-fit putter like this one allows me to get into the same setup every time and putt consistently from round to round. The head weight is heavier, which reminds me to accelerate through the ball.

Ball: Srixon Z-STAR X

Despite being a slower-swing-speed player, I choose to play a lower-spin ball (normally recommended for higher swing speeds) because it improves my accuracy. Less spin on the ball means it curves less. For a straight hitter like me, that’s an advantage. This ball also has a very resilient cover—allowing me to play the same golf ball for more than just five or six holes.

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What’s in the Bag: Toby Baldwin

November 11, 2009

Toby Baldwin – GolfTEC Coach, Director of Instruction and Store Manager, Indianapolis, IN — gives us a look inside his bag.

Toby Baldwin's Bag

Driver: 9.5-degree Callaway FT-9 Tour; Fujikura Z-Com Pro 65, Stiff Flex shaft

This is the only non-Cleveland club I have in my bag so that must mean that I like it. The FT-9 gives me a ton of versatility off the tee. I play a baby draw and the Tour version keeps me from overcooking it, which tends to be my miss. The shaft is slightly heavier than most, which gives me more reliability in my shot making. On tight par fours, this clubs allows me to hit a 250-yard cut, or if I need to, I can bomb my natural draw with a slight setup change.

Hybrid: Cleveland Launcher 18-degree Hybrid; Steel Dynamic Gold S300 shaft

You’ll notice that I left out a fairway wood; that’s because I don’t carry one! This is my favorite club in my bag. I can hit it close to 250 off the tee and 240 off the deck, which permits me to leave out the 3-wood. Since I carry a 3-iron along with my four wedges, it doesn’t leave me enough room in the bag. I like the feel of the S300 shaft in this club, as graphite shafts give me too much kick for a controlled hybrid shot.

Irons: Cleveland CG7 Tour 3-PW; Dynamic Gold Superlite S300

Unlike most good players, I really don’t like the feel of true blades. I prefer a deadened feel, which this set provides for me with every club.  Although I prefer slightly firmer shafts in my woods, I really like the feel of the Superlite S300s in this set. I feel like I have total control and workability, even with my long irons.

Toby Baldwin's ClubsWedges: Cleveland CG12 (50-, 54- and 58-degree)

I like to carry four scoring clubs (which includes the PW from my iron set) in my bag and use them in different situations. Without question, I would prefer a gap wedge over a 3-wood because of my great hybrid and the frequency of use of the gap wedge. Each wedge gives me four degrees between each club, which translates into a 15-yard gap between—from 85 to 130 yards.

Putter: Cleveland Blade CCM; 34″ length

I have been known to switch my putter around from time to time. The blade that I currently have is a throwback and would remind you of Mickelson’s blade putter. I really enjoy the feel of it when I strike it solid. I’ve always played a 34″ putter and I try to bend the lie angle flat a degree or two so I don’t have to pick the heel up to attain a flat sole at address.

Ball: Srixon Z-Star

Around the greens the Srixon doesn’t feel as good as the PRO V1, but I think it’s a slightly longer ball. It also has a very low spin rate off of my FT-9, which results in a nice penetrating ball flight.

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What’s In the Bag: Henry Coxe

October 16, 2009

Henry Coxe — GolfTEC Coach, Store Manager, Pleasanton, CA — gives us a look inside his bag.

Henry's Bag

Driver: TaylorMade R9, 9.5-degree; stock shaft – stiff

I just put this driver in my bag this summer and so far I love it!

TaylorMade R9

This driver replaced my old TaylorMade 580 with 10.5 degrees of loft that I have had in my bag since 2003. My normal ball flight is a right to left draw, so I have set up the R9 with the face one degree closed to make sure the ball does not start too far right of the target. With the R9 this also effectively increases the loft to 10.5, which allows me to launch the ball just a bit higher to maximize carry.

Fairway Woods: Titleist 975F 3-wood, 14-degree; 5-wood, 18-degree; True Temper Dynamic Gold steel S-300 shafts

I might be sacrificing a little distance by not going with graphite, but I like the feel and control I get with the steel.

Hybrids: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi, 21-degree and 24-degree; True Temper Dynamic Gold steel S-300 shaft

These two hybrids replace the 3- and 4-irons from my set. I will never go back to a traditional 3- or 4-iron!

Irons: TaylorMade RAC Muscle Back forged, 5-PW; True Temper Dynamic Gold steel S-300

TaylorMade RAC IronsFor the most part I have been playing a blade style of iron for more than 20 years, dating back to my college days. These TaylorMade irons offer up the soft feel that I look for and also give me the control I need with my ball flight. I am a “feel” player by nature and cavity backed clubs just don’t give me the control I desire.

Wedges: Cleveland CG-10, 52-degree; Titleist Vokey, 58-degree

Titleist Vokey WedgeFrom 100 yards and in, 75% of my shots are hit with my 58-degree Vokey. I grew up without a gap wedge and no lob wedge. This forced me to get creative with my shots and ball flights, which taught me to hit lob shots and run-up shots with my sand wedge.

Putter: Scotty Cameron Pro Platinum Del Mar 3.5

Henry's PutterI have had this putter in the bag since 2003. Like most Scotty Cameron putters, the weight and balance is perfect on this putter. My advice with putters is this: find something that you like and stick with it. Don’t be afraid of spending $250 dollars on a properly fit putter that will give you the confidence to get the ball in the hole.

Ball: Titleist Pro V-1 X

I have been a Titleist golf ball guy my entire golf career and this is the model that best fits my game. With my short irons I have steep angle of attack, which imparts a good amount of spin. The Pro V-1 X spins less than the normal Pro V-1 and that is what I need.

Thanks to Henry for giving us a look inside his bag and also providing the pictures. Questions and comments are welcome.

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