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Equipment Advice & Priorities

• Aggelos777 9 Posts

  Sun, May 21 2017 3:49 AM

  Hi, First of all i would like to thank the seniors members for their advises on us newer members

  I'm on Tour Pro tier at level 68 and i started looking at the equipment aspect of the game late, probably like 20 days ago (so be kind guys). At this point i'm gathering 50-60 credits per day by watching videos and not planning to spend money in the near future.

  My plan is in the next 3 months to have decent equipment focusing on meter speed and forgiveness.

   

  1) Priorities

  As i currently plan to stick to the "traditional" format of 2 and not 3 wedges, from what i have read my priorities are the following (please comment if you have other suggestions):

  Short Wedge>Iron Set>Driver>Long Wedge>Putter>3 Wood>Hybrid

   

  2) Equipment

  As i'm on a short budget i have come up with some options that cost about 7.000 credits which i can gather in the next 3 months or so. I'm reminding that meter speed (slow and more or less matching), forgiveness are my main factors.

  Driver: MAX Meter 9.5° Driver (L46+) / 1.395 / 255 yds

  3WD: MAX Meter 3 Fairway Wood (L46+) / 495 / 230 yds

  3H: MAX Meter 3 Hybrid 17° (L46+) / 495 / 215 yds

  Irons: MAX Meter Iron Set (L47+) / 1895 / 110 yds - 200 yds

  Long Wedge: Cleveland 588 56° Wedge (L27+) / 995 / 90 yds

  Short Wedge: Cleveland 588 64° Wedge (L31+) / 995 / 60 yds

  Putter: TaylorMade Ghost Spider Putter (L35+) / 800

   

  Hope this thread helps others too...thanks in advance!

  Aggelos

• phred952 2,714 Posts

  Sun, May 21 2017 10:01 AM

  Since you are at L65 and trying to work within a budget, you might think about the Ping L59 G25 full set.  It's 4495 credits which is only 215 credits more than the price of the Max clubs you mentioned.  The Pings are much better clubs and well worth the higher cost.  The high trajectory of the Pings will reduce ball roll out compared to the Max Meter Irons with their med/high trajectory.

  One other option you appear to have missed is the L48 Max full set.  It has all those clubs you mentioned, at the set price is 3495 credits, a savings of 785 credits over the individual prices.

  To view these club set offers go to the pro shop, click on clubs and then click on club sets.  But I stand by my comment that the Pings are vastly superior to the Max set.

   I bought the Ping set when I reached L59 and used them until I could buy the TM SLDR in white @ L79, which was my first stand alone driver.  

  I used the Ping 3W's (both L58 and L81) for quite while a while and had good luck with them.  I compared the Ping L81 3W to the Cally X2 Hot  3W (L73) and found the Ping played about as well over an 18 hole round on the Best of Par 5 using the mulligan feature and tracking carry distance and roll out.  Over the 18 holes with no driver, just the 3W's average distance was about 1 yard difference between the 2.  and the Ping is about 1/2 the cost.

  One other thing to think about is checking how many times you will use a hybrid in a round, compared to how many shots you will use with a 3rd wedge.  I did that myself and found the 3rd wedge is more useful.  That was when I made the change to the 3 wedge setup.  Better distance control without choking down on power.

  Good Luck,

  phred952

• alosso 21,034 Posts

  Sun, May 21 2017 12:03 PM

  My priorities:

  2 short wedges - 3WD - irons - 3rd wedge - driver - putter

  +100 to the G25 set, due to it's high trajectory, and no irons or woods below that if you have the level!

  Daytona putter above the Ghost Spider.

• Aggelos777 9 Posts

  Sun, May 21 2017 10:43 PM

  Thanks for your reply Phred.

   

  1. What i find a bit discouraging about the Ping L59 G25 full set is the 2.5 forgiveness. Since i'm no mouse clicking guru, i'm worried that i will need paid balls to feel comfortable.

  2. Do you have any comments about the TaylorMade M2 Full Set (L69+)? They are 100 credit more but spec-wise they seem somewhat better since they have a 3.0 forgiveness.

  3. If i don't go the full club set way but on individual club purchases (getting hasty), how would you prioritize?

   

  Cheers

  Aggelos

• Aggelos777 9 Posts

  Sun, May 21 2017 10:48 PM

  Thanks Alosso,

   

  If i go with the 3 Wedge setup (something like 60,80,100 i suppose?) what would be the ideal yardage of the PW in terms of good spacing? Something like 110 yds or it is not really important?

   

  Cheers

  Aggelos

• phred952 2,714 Posts

  Mon, May 22 2017 1:08 PM

  Aggelos777:

  Thanks for your reply Phred.

   

  1. What i find a bit discouraging about the Ping L59 G25 full set is the 2.5 forgiveness. Since i'm no mouse clicking guru, i'm worried that i will need paid balls to feel comfortable.

  2. Do you have any comments about the TaylorMade M2 Full Set (L69+)? They are 100 credit more but spec-wise they seem somewhat better since they have a 3.0 forgiveness.

  3. If i don't go the full club set way but on individual club purchases (getting hasty), how would you prioritize?

   

  Cheers

  Aggelos

  I never tried the M2's as they came out after I was using the Rsi-2 irons.  I would rather have a high trajectory irons like the Pings instead of the med trajectory of the M2's, as the ball will have less roll out after landing.

  The US Open is June 16th - 19th.  Hopefully there will be a free rental weekend then,  If so you could try out the different clubs you are interested in then.

  Here is a link to Gary Pinhunters web site.  He has some great tips including something about precision and forgiveness that give a great description of how they work.

  http://shortgrass123.wixsite.com/pinhunters

  On the home page hover over "Golf Tips and Helps" and then click the drop down for "Forgiveness and Precision"  

  In my opinion I don't think the 0.5 dot forgiveness difference between the two iron sets would make giving up the high trajectory worth it.

  Alosso gave you great advice if you buy clubs individually.  Wedges will make the biggest difference right now.  I used the L38 and L39 ATV wedges until I could get the top Clevelands.  I once tried both the 64 degree L52 Max spin wedge and a L91 Max Meter wedge on a free rental weekend, but I liked the CW's better.

  Those ATV's do step funny.  When I had the Ping G25 set, I used a 64*, and a 60* with distances of 50 and 77 yards.  I eventually got rid of the hybrid and added the 54* with a 98 yd distance, as the PW for the Ping irons is 115 yards.  The top level Clevelands do step at 60, 80 and 100 yds, while the mid levels are 60, 75 and 90.  The top one work well with the top 3 irons sets, all having a PW of 120 yards.  I have the top level Nike iron set and the PW plays about as well as a Cleveland does.

  When I was playing the Pings I started using a WGT G12-S (meter 2.0) ball for fun and then went to the G13-S ball after I started using the Cally L33 (both meters 2.5) for tournaments I took seriously.  They cost 64, 99 and 250 credits respectively.  I still use the G13-S balls for fun.  Inexpensive balls are available that will work OK for most things you are playing.

  I hope this helps a bit more.

   

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Mon, May 22 2017 1:30 PM

  Aggelos777:

  As i currently plan to stick to the "traditional" format of 2 and not 3 wedges

  I think this is a big mistake. Phred pointed out why and I'll take it a step further-4 wedges! That might seem a little outlandish but I speak from experience. I never had a 3W (besides the free one) until I made Legend. Driver, 220 yard iron set and 4 wedges.

  The tees are so close you don't need more than a decent driver and carrying 4 wedges gives you great experience for when you make Legend and have to rethink the bag. Those 4 wedges result in 20 different yardages when you factor in learning all of the shots with them. All of a sudden your short game is strong, the distance to pin shrinks and your average goes with it.

  This isn't for everybody but it was the most fun I've had since I started this game-getting to the back tees- and it paid serious dividends.  :-)

• JFidanza 1,676 Posts

  Mon, May 22 2017 6:43 PM

  Yes, the L59 G25s were great, and I wanted to keep them, always.

  It's been said and I agree that their forgiveness rating is actually a little better and not as low as listed. 

• Aggelos777 9 Posts

  Tue, May 23 2017 12:33 AM

  Great feedback guys! Highly appreciated...

  So 3 wedge it is...The hybrid will rest in a dark corner in my garage for next generations to discover...:)

  I'm torn between the irons though...Since i can get the TaylorMade M2 Iron Set (Steel) (L68+) in the next 4-5 days (i'm level 65 now) with a discount at 2.000 credits, i was wondering if that 400 credit lower price compared to the lvl 59 Pings, the somewhat better forgiveness (3.0 vs 2.5) and the biggest range of the Taylor's (105 vs 90) compensate the medium trajectory issue.

  Is the 3.0 spin enough to stop those free balls after a medium trajectory?

  Cheers

  Aggelos

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Tue, May 23 2017 4:47 PM

  Aggelos777:

  the lvl 59 Pings

  With 3 matched wedges, all you need to get to the top of leaderboards in your tier, all the way to Legend. You have a tee advantage, use it.

  FWIW, what you learn with those Pings is going to pay major dividends when you get to the high level clubs. Save your money,  those will get you there.  :-)