**Edited since there is no longer a 220 yard 7-wood as was offered in the Flare set previously.
Imagine if you could take clubs from any of the 20 different bags that Golden Tee has assembled over the LIVE era, compiling your own personal set. What would you choose?
First, let’s list off some of the factors that need to be considered in such an important decision.
1) The course – as with the current club set offerings today, you’d want to know the lay of the land before building your ultimate set. Do you need extra loft with that 9-wood on a particular hole, or do you need to run a 2-hybrid under some obstacle instead? For the purpose of this exercise, let’s say you need a set that best prepares you for anything Jim Z. might throw at you blind.
2) Distance – Are you a long hitter? If so, that extra distance on your driver could result in a couple extra strokes. If not, you’d be more comfortable with less gap in your club distance.
3) Loft – Can you control a 7-wood in a cross-wind, or would you rather hit a low-lofted club from the same distance? Lofted clubs require more skill when playing the wind, but irons or hybrids may leave you in a jam if you don’t plan ahead for elevation changes.
4) Irons vs. hybrids – How precise are you with the trackball, especially out of the rough? Hybrids have a friendlier touch out of tough lies but come with different distances to consider along with the rest of your set. Irons also cut more than woods or hybrids, requiring different knowledge of curve shots based on the type of club.
5) The wedges – How is your short game? Are you comfortable making distance adjustments with big gaps between your wedges? Do you prefer to have extra loft for tough green-side lies? Each additional wedge you need leaves you with one less club you could use to fill a gap at a longer distance.
6) Distance Gaps – Ideally, your clubs are spaced out enough such that each club has value but so much that you are left with long, uncomfortable gaps. Therefore, distance spacing should be an important factor in your club set selection.
With all that in mind, here are the 44 different (based on loft and distance) woods, irons, and hybrids that have been offered in one of the 22 different set offerings in the LIVE era (in addition to a variety of putters):
Low-loft driver (8.5 degrees): 310
Hightail/Ripper driver (9 degrees): 310
Ballista/Equalizer driver (9.5 degrees): 310
Pyro driver (9.5 degrees): 305
Standard driver (9.5 degrees): 300
10 degree driver (10 degrees): 300
High-loft driver (10.5 degrees): 290
2 Wood: 290
0 Hybrid: 280
Equalizer 3 Wood: 280
3 Wood: 275
4 Wood: 260
Equalizer 5 Wood: 255
5 Wood: 250
1 Iron: 250
2 Hybrid: 235
6 Wood: 235
2 Iron: 225
2 Iron (Equalizer set): 220
3 Hybrid: 210
3 Iron: 200
7 Wood: 200
3 Iron (Equalizer set): 195
9 Wood: 190
4 Hybrid: 190
4 Iron: 180
4 Iron (Equalizer set): 175
5 Hybrid: 170
6 Hybrid: 160
5 Iron: 160
5 Iron (Equalizer set): 155
6 Iron (2013 sets): 155
6 Iron: 150
6 Iron (Equalizer set): 145
7 Iron: 140
7 Iron (Equalizer set): 135
8 Iron: 125
8 Iron (Equalizer set): 120
9 Iron: 100
9 Iron (Equalizer set): 95
Pitching Wedge: 80
A Wedge / Gap Wedge: 70
Sand Wedge: 60
Lob Wedge: 40
Flop Wedge: 30
Given that list and a set of criteria to factor in your decision, what 13 clubs above would you put in your bag along with a putter? Here’s what I chose, and why:
Ballista/Equalizer driver (9.5 degrees): 310
- The longest driver, with the most loft for its distance. Carries farthest with a high tee, and distance certainly helps my game.
Equalizer 3 Wood: 280
Equalizer 5 Wood: 255
- With the extra distance on my driver, I wanted the 5 extra yards on my 3 Wood and 5 Wood as well to help close that gap on longer shots.
6 Wood: 235
3 Hybrid: 210
4 Hybrid: 190
5 Hybrid: 170
- I love the feel of the hybrids, and I like the distance gaps they offer me coming back down from the 220 7-Wood. I can muscle up a 4-hybrid or thumb a 7-wood to fairly comfortably fill that 30-yard gap.
6 Iron (2013 sets): 155
- I opted for this club over the stock 150-yard 6-iron so that I have an even 15-yard gap between my 5-hybrid and my 7-iron.
7 Iron: 140
8 Iron (Equalizer set): 120
9 Iron: 100
- I chose the 8-iron from the Equalizer set to get an even 20-yard gap from my 7-iron down to my 9-iron.
Gap Wedge: 70
Lob Wedge: 40
- These were my best options to fill out the bag with wedges. A lob wedge was a must for me, and the gap wedge filled in the distance up to the 9-iron.
So there’s my set! Not surprisingly, it’s a combination of the Ballista, Flare, and Hawk sets (which have been my favorites throughout the past several years), while also taking advantage of some of the different distances that clubs from the Equalizer set offer. For now I’m sticking with the Flares as my blind-course option, but maybe there will be a day when we can assemble our own bag of clubs to attack the course at our personalized liking!
What would you choose? Feel free to comment on other criteria you would consider in your decision and list out the club set that would best fit your game!
