Ugly Duck wrote:
Well bring it on, Craig. I'll look at your "junk", especially if you've got a set of Callaways that you don't use 'cause they're too easy to hit and lack feel.
The Callaway's are not junk, they are X-16's and are sweet. They are the sort of club that most should start/finish with. They do lack feel, and I'm a feel golfer (while my back was giving me heck this year, last year I was down to a 10 HCP (low 80's for eighteen) and looking for single digits). It totally depends on what sort of golf temperament you have.
I'm a feel player - when I take lessons they have to explain how the movement feels, not how the mechanics work. So for me the switch to the Ping ISI BeCu's that I play was one of feel. They are the most spectacular clubs for feel short of a forged iron (or the Ping Eye-2 BeCu's). In fact, they are well over a decade out of production and are still highly sought after on the used market (like $400 on ebay).
As you move on, you may find a point where things stall out (like most things). For me, improving at golf meant figuring out where my miss hits were coming from. With the Cally X-16's you just can't tell. I can tell you just about exactly where I hit the Ping's (shank, toe, etc). Catch the sweet spot and they are the loveliest club to hit (they make a very special sound at that point) - miss and they punish you. That's how I learn. When I'm having trouble, the X-16's go back in the bag. In fact, with how much I've played this year - they should be there now.
As for the drivers, I switched from the 983K Titleist (a pure players club with a sweet spot the size of a dime) to a Taylor Made R7 Quad so I could get some forgiveness off the tee. So, you see it depends on where you need the help.
The rest of the junk is a set of Vokey wedges (gap, sand, 60), a Ping Crazy putter (I've got a ping Anser, Taylor Made Rosa Anser copy and their mallet thing, and a wooden putter that I use from time to time) and Callaway fairway woods and a couple of Hogan hybrids (2,3,4).
There you have my golf tool collection. It doesn't rival the garage, but it's a pretty good arsenal.
If anything is open when I'm up at the end of the month, we should go put some miles on the golf shoes (no carts).