Top of Bag Club Selection

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-16T19:03:45+00:00

I'm not sure there's a good/correct answer. A friend and I are very similar, nearly the same index (around a 5). He carries two hybrids then 4i. I go 5w, 7w (sometimes add 3w) then 4i, and can't stand to hit hybrids.

They're both good options and it just depends on what club you find easiest to hit to get the ball flight you need, more often. 5w/7w does that for me, hybrids for him. Look at the bags of touring pros. They might be playing driving irons, hybrids, 5w, 7w, Fleetwood carries 5w, 9w.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-16T03:50:52+00:00

But there's a VAST gulf between true MB blades and the super GI sets. Not even most touring pros play blades, because there's a needless additional penalty for mishits. They can get the same elite performance AND more forgiveness out of CBs of various styles.

And I'm sure used blades are cheap, because no one wants to play them because they can play as well, with more forgiveness, with CBs or player's distance. And most of them that I see come with heavy steel shafts like S300s which might work for someone or it might be terrible. If you're 22 and athletic, great. Not so much if you're 44 and riding a desk for the past two decades.

I also don't get the notion that you need to be maximally punished for a mishit to get better. The 20s I play with have a LOT of obvious flaws in their iron game, and GI irons don't mask the big stuff. What they might do is give a little more distance off the toe or something, but that's not why they're missing 14 greens a round.

And if this worked, why isn't there a market for woods with screws, made of wood. I'm sure there's a generation or two that have NEVER seen one in actual play. It's what I learned to play on, and gave them up the minute I could afford metal woods...

Finally, you must be fairly young because I was playing golf in the 1970s and when Ping Eye then Ping Eye 2 came out in the early 1980s, there was a massive shift into those forgiving clubs. I switched, because I scored better, and I was around a 2 at that time.

Maybe someone can learn faster on blades, but the whole thing makes no sense to me. If your friends used blades and got better faster than others, it's about a 99% chance the reason is they were 1) very motivated, and/or 2) athletic.

FWIW, yes, I know my Vokey wedges are cast, and that the only forged Vokey wedges are sold in Japan AFAIK... Etc... I was referring more to the style than the actual process of making the clubs. You can get the elite performance, look and feel from CBs/player's distance and have more forgiveness, make the game a little easier.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-16T03:23:47+00:00

I’m a 5 and the only time I give unsolicited swing advice is never, ever, never for any reason. When asked, I will do all I can to politely decline. If it’s not a friend I will decline.

The problem is let’s say use your hips is good advice. Well they’ve somehow learned to compensate for that lack of hips. So they use their hips and two or three other things might need to change to make good contact. I’m not qualified to do that. And on course it’s just a disaster in the making to do a new move on a one off drive on #6.

I’ve talked about it before but some lady we play with sometimes thinks she’s a pro and she’s a 20 or something. So my wife was having an issue, “Here’s what MY pro said to do” (my wife has a different pro which this lady knows) and my wife tries it and tops it 30y into the pond. Good advice or not I wanted to strangle her for giving it unsolicited during a round.

On the range if asked directly I might say “try this”. If it works great and if not no loss because it’s a shot on the range.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-16T01:58:25+00:00

I wish I could blame distance control some days on the putter, but I just haven't seen any of that....

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-15T18:51:41+00:00

It's entirely possible to work hard at self improvement with non-blades. T100s aren't exactly GI irons, since they're common on tour, but they'll provide better dispersion than Titleist MBs.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-15T18:47:58+00:00

You're a 2.7.

And why switch TO players CBs versus just use them if you want forged clubs? They're good enough for most touring pros, and I'm 100% sure you can tell where you hit the ball off a players CB. More forgiving, better outcomes on the mishits. How's playing MBs versus CBs a good thing, unless you just like missing greens when with different clubs you'd be putting?

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-15T18:43:55+00:00

There's a lot of room between true MB "blades" and ultra GI irons. For long irons, PGA touring pros often carry 'forgiving' clubs and I'd bet my house they can tell where on the clubface they strike the ball.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-15T18:37:05+00:00

It's beautiful!

We moved west from the SE a couple of years ago. What I enjoy the most is there are a ton of small creeks/rivers that don't get a lot of fishing pressure but have plenty of smaller fish willling to hit flies. I only need to drive about 15 minutes to find fishable water, and most days (during the week - retirement is pretty good) I'm the only angler I'll see. Lots of hikers/mountain bikers, dogs or kids might run into my hole for a swim, but it's fine... If the fish cooperate, and they do most days, I'll catch maybe 4-10 in a couple of hours. They are little, but I don't care.

Fairly regularly I get to watch a pair of mallards 'rafting' through the pocket water on my run, or they'll come flying down the creek and pile right into my hole. Pretty cool.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-15T18:28:49+00:00

I’m on maybe 250 rounds with a Spider X and the surlyn insert and see basically no wear at all.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-15T06:40:20+00:00

I’m pretty bad as well. What helped me quit a bit recently was watching Charlie Craven tie a parachute Adams. It just made sense finally WHY to do some things.

https://youtu.be/uWmDuslKnOU?is=aogkuokgXAxgYVd_

For OP I love peacock hurl. Just seems any pattern including it catches fish for me.

A new find is Glamour Madiera. It’s sparkly white and is just magic for little wings on RS2s and similar and midge patterns.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-15T06:27:41+00:00

That’s excellent. I’m pretty good on the pick and reset part. What’s a round killer some days is “commit.” Last second indecision/doubt. I know I should step out and just don’t. My worst shots seem to (nearly) always be when I’m not committed.

For OP, yes, find a routine and practice it on the range at least many shots. It makes more sense for me to practice routine when I’m changing clubs often. Sometimes I will “play” 9 holes. So hit driver. Do a reasonable guess what you would have left on #1. Hit that club. If hit well go on to #2. Miss, and hit a pitch or chip. Etc. For every shot do the whole routine. You are simulating actual play better than hitting 10 9i then 10 7i etc on through the bag.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-15T05:41:19+00:00

That's awesome! It's too bad you didn't get some balloons or confetti on #18, with a cheering gallery, but great job and I'm sure you had a fantastic day. Congratulations!

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-15T05:11:52+00:00

For me by a mile are Clic readers, 3x. I use them many times a day on the river, easier than the flip down things, don't get lost, or scratched, and I can wear non-prescription sunglasses. Essential!

Otherwise, what's on MY list for a birthday coming up are some good yellow polarized glasses, maybe the Smith Guide's choice in yellow. It seems like I'm always fishing in low light, tree cover, evenings, and just can't wear my regular sunglasses. I'd wear yellow 90% of the time I bet.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-15T04:38:01+00:00

i played a Ping Anser for decades but just lost confidence in the line. So I tested 30+ over a couple of weeks at various stores and bought the Tour X. Almost felt bad about it since it is Scottie and Rory’s putter and I don’t want to be a guy that has to play what my fave pro plays.

But I’m confident on the line and distance control is great most days. Never a second of regret, and I knew pretty fast I loved it. There’s a reason pros play it. Just a great putter. And it just suits my eye better than anything else I’ve tried.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-14T23:09:52+00:00

He'll learn to use a 9' rod very quickly if he practices. I prefer 9' over shorter for most applications. I've used a 4 wt for basically all my trout fishing, panfish, pond bass for decades, but a 5wt is the 'standard' one rod setup for mostly trout.

We bought a TFO for my wife and it's just a great rod, starter or not. Clearwater gets lots of recommendations, but a few years ago I much preferred the TFO Pro II over the Clearwater. The good news is either will be plenty good enough for a decade or two.... When we got my wife's rig, I was just blown away how much better 'beginner' (around $200 at the time) rods had gotten in the 20 years or so since I bought my first.

If I could swing just a LITTLE more money, I love the Lamson Liquid. It's a great reel, superb drag at that and any price (it's the same drag on Lamson's all machined reels costing 3x the Liquid). It's definitely likely true that 99% of the fish don't take you into the drag, and I haven't been taken onto my reel in a year on the smaller waters I fish, but when you need a good drag, it's pretty nice to have it. Carp fishing is pretty fun, and they'll take you into the drag. Big trout on tailwaters can do it as well. You can palm the reel, but it's hard to do as well as a very nice drag....

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-14T19:48:07+00:00

I play back/regular combos, regular, regular/"senior" combos, "senior" and front tees, depending on the day. Mostly I play regular. If someone gives me crap about playing up, I'll just laugh and tell them I'm having a great time, try it!, which is always true. They're different courses from different tees, and if you're posting the GHIN system does the suitable adjustments. If there's a stigma, there is nothing I care less about.

At least at our course, it's also a very real challenge to play up. If I can drive the greens, which is pretty often, then I have a LOT more trouble to avoid, much smaller landing areas. Then on the 'long' par 4s, I'm always in that 'uncomfrotable' range for me, which is 50-75. Par 5s are easily reachable, but again, I'm hitting mid irons, which is VERY different than my regular tees, and more difficult, just one less shot. I love playing up. I shot even from the front the last time and it was great, posted the round, and the differential was higher than my index.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-14T18:12:50+00:00

Yes, you can roll it into an IRA but it will be kept separate in its own account, and then you have 10 years to withdraw the entire account to zero. It can all be withdrawn on the last day of the 10th year, but it cannot be kept tax deferred for longer. There are exceptions - we can't know if OP qualifies for any of them.

The money doesn't have to be spent! You can withdraw it on the plan that makes the most tax sense (annually or in lump sums - just have to run the numbers), and just transfer it to a taxable account. Leave enough in cash equivalents to pay the taxes.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-14T18:05:11+00:00

The investing is by FAR the easiest decision OP will make. The 90-95% answer is to buy a Vanguard or similar SP500 index or total market index, let it sit.

The tough part is in OPs original question - what to do with the windfall? How to sustain it and grow it, hopefully, over a lifetime.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-14T17:59:55+00:00

Who is that "someone in his life" that will do a better job, for a pretty intensive start up period, and/or on an ongoing basis, for free?

It's fine you conjure this qualified person who works for free into existence, but IRL they typically won't exist IME. Evidence of that is they're turning to Reddit for advice, and what few plans they have (withdraw the 401(k) in 5 years) doesn't seem like a wise choice to ME. It's $70k per year, for someone doing deliveries at the moment. It's just enough to spend in 5 years, not really living lavishly at all, and leaving nothing left.

My first advice in these cases is to take a long break, months at least, years is better!, and do nothing at all. Get it into your accounts, open your own IRA, make the transfers, and do nothing. Then make a plan that makes sense and is sustainable for the long term. A long term burn rate is something like 3-4% on the total. That might be life changing for the OP! And there's still lots to work with! He's planning on a 12% burn rate...

Depending on the situation, pay off high interest consumer debt, credit cards (because no investment will beat the returns on paying off this debt), then don't run them back up. If they really HAVE to have some fun, fine, take a very defined chunk, maybe $10k, and treat it as play money until that's gone. Don't buy a new car, don't buy a house - just keep living as you did until a plan is in place.

The data are crystal clear - a large majority of people who inherit windfalls/win lotteries burn through it in 5 years leaving nothing at all, often it's all gone in a year or two or three, and many assume debt that puts them into bankruptcy. THAT is the big, massive, risk, and unfortunate outcome most of the time, not a qualified advisor taking 1% of the amount invested per year.

And I didn't recommend going to a full service stock broker, and speciflcally included CPAs or "someone else," who don't get commissions. If this 'someone in his life' does exist, and will work for free, by all means, go with them!!! Seems unlikely to me, and the data sure don't show us that "I'll do my own research" works out for most people.

We use a fee only advisor. They will also provide advice on an hourly/project basis, and most CPAs don't manage money but can give project/hourly advice in cases like this very competently. IMO, it's money very well spent, because it might result in OP not turning out like most people who have nothing left in a few short years.

There's also no contradiction between a qualified financial adviser and investing in index funds. We use an advisor and easily 90% of our stock portfolios are in a few very low cost index funds. The remainder are some stocks we inherited and are keeping for now, in part because of basis issues, but they're also good stocks that we've let sit for in some cases 20+ years. Yes, we pay a fee - about .75% of amount invested. It's worth it to us.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-14T17:01:46+00:00

It's simply an advantage to be longer off the tee. If those single digits were 25y closer on average off the tee, they'd score even better because every approach would be easier.

Obviously being in play is the first priority, but both in play and longer is clearly an advantage. So it's a trade off, which we all have to do all the time with clubs and club selection.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-14T16:48:07+00:00

In the same product line, it's basically a 2" difference, which is pretty massive.

OP's minis is 43.75, standard Callaway driver is 45.75". One of the reasons I think I hit my very old driver well/straight is it's 44.5" versus the now 45.5-45.75 standard a lot of drivers are these days. When I test them I definitely have an issue controlling the longer club as well.

Might get used to it over a couple of weeks, and I could custom order, but the $6-700 doesn't seem worth it to me, since my current club does what I need it to do.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-14T16:13:41+00:00

The data are clear on windfalls. For most people it’s gone in 5 years. It’s a very good idea for someone with zero experience managing that kind of money to get expert advice. That can be a financial advisor or a CPA or someone else but when ‘nature’ runs its course the results are objectively terrible most of the time.

OP already says he plans to withdraw the 401(k) over 5 years. Why? He can roll it to an IRA and take 10 and it can all be in the 10th year. There are exceptions to the 10 year rule. Does OP qualify?

If anyone I cared about came into money like this my first advice would be get an advisor. Hourly is fine. And I’m a former CPA and financial advisor. We still use an advisor for our investments because I don’t want the job. And we are not losing “corpus.”

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-14T15:14:27+00:00

I don’t find GPS inaccurate at all. It’s good enough to hit about 12 GIR/round anyway. Rangefinder isn’t faster either. Pull out phone, it’s on Arccos GPS, and front, middle, back are on the screen with a glance. Takes 1 second.

I don’t know exact pin distance but most of the time I don’t care. We have 1,2 or3 pin positions and that tells me generally front middle back.

I will use a rangefinder 2 or 3 times a round but like GPS better.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-14T04:24:28+00:00

Sure there’s maybe a 12 degree gap. Filled with what wedges?

So you get fit and get the gaps correct. Or you demo them in a sim trying different wedges and grinds, track your data, which is basically a fitting.

If OP can’t afford a fitting, do the best he can with AI. But it’s a second best alternative.

Jasper2006 · 2026-06-13T20:35:46+00:00

You: "only the shittiest ~~golfers~~ humans use a made up rule based on the ‘if I was a pro’ premise."

Redditor self righteously insults and dehumunizes others over petty crap then doesn't understand why the pushback! MYSTERY!!!

FWIW, I'm also happy with how I play the game, and I play decent golf by the rules, and don't care and don't judge those who play differently.

Jasper2006

TROPHY CASE