GolfTEC Blog

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.