Fall has me feeling like a walk in foliage with a single strap and a strategic tool kit. Actually, golfing is fun, but I personally enjoy the tinkering of putting a bag together. Golfing is one of those cool personal activities where you can go back in time for a random round and play clubs from 70 years ago.
For me, Todd Dempsey is my guy. He has made me some high-loft fun: an 11° driver, 16.5° baffy, and 23.5° spoon. I also have some of my dad’s old MacGregors that I love to bring out. He was a 1-iron guy, so no fun high-lofted hard woods. Some other favorites are the Ping Eye 2 Blondies and the Hogan ’53s.
In modern stuff, you can’t beat these mini drivers. I’ve been a huge fan of the loft TaylorMade makes, so I go 11.5°. It’s great off the tee and such a good par-5 attack club. It plays for me at 240+ off the fairway and gets me 265+ off the tee.
Then I go to the next zone I want: 210–230. With a goal of carrying fewer than 10 clubs, I go 7 wood. It allows me to hit soft, higher shots but can also chase some longer approaches.
The middle of the bag is pretty basic for me:
- 175–190 yards: 26°
- 150–165 yards: 34°
- 120–140 yards: 42°
My wedges stay almost the same as my tournament set, but I take the 46° and 50° out and replace them with a 48°. That gives me a fun gap to my 42° and lets me always play my two favorite wedges.
Honestly, this is some of the most fun golf I play. The expectations go away and the shot focus gets clearer. The main thing with short-set building is to have a blast and test some things. It’s an exercise in freedom, not a quest for perfection.
Reach out if you ever have questions. Hope you enjoyed the quick read.
