Hi folks,

After having a shocking round the other day with my ten year old set and losing to all the mates I used to beat regularly, I’m thinking it might be time to upgrade a few of the sticks and try to shave a few strokes in the process. Only trouble is, I’m a tightarse, so I’m off the big brands and trying to find some good bang for buck. Here’s what I’m thinking – any comments or contrary suggestions?

My current clubs are old Brosnan Firebirds (well, there goes my credibility) with stiff steel shafts. I have a reasonably fast swing and hit a 7 iron just over 150m, and my short game drags me well into the 90s, and sometimes lately, beyond. I want to buy:

1. A driver. I have the 9 degree, small head 1 wood from the set and keep up with my mates (who all tote rocket launchers on a stick) distance-wise, but I spray it a bit as a result. My goal is to get a club that gives me a little bit more distance (always nice to out-drive the mates), but more importantly much more accuracy. I’m thinking of going for the Nickent 3dx square driver which is getting cheaper now that the new models are on the horizon. $150-200. I’m going for a stiff shaft and can’t decide between 9 or 10.5 degrees. I’m thinking 10.5 because it should be slightly straighter, right?

2. Some wedges. Put simply, my short game is diabolical. I’m blaming my cavity back high-bounce PW, but it also could just be me. I do much better on fuller swings, but I really struggle with the fiddly shots. I’m thinking a loftier wedge will help because I can swing it harder. I’m not sure on this theory, so I don’t want to fork out for expensive wedges and find out it is just me, so I’ve come across a set of 3 Adams “Tom Watson” wedges (G/S/L) with the funky looking dampeners on the back for around $80-100.

3. And this is where it gets hard. I like the idea of getting a hybrid into the bag – they just sound cool. I’m just not sure which club to remove and what loft to get. Should I dump the 3 or 5 wood, or go without the 3 iron and keep the woods? Once again, I’m thinking Nickent on this one – last year’s model though because I’m tight. Around $80-100 again.

I’m going to leave the putter for now, because that’s a completely lost cause and I’m pretty certain that I’m the problem in that particular aspect of the game. :)

Any thoughts?

-Larry

They all sound like good value clubs for you. I have replaced my 5 wood with a hybrid, but use it pretty much to cover the 5 wood and the 3 iron (although i do pull out the 3 iron occasionally for various reasons).

I would seriously look at buying everything your after from Lind, from all accounts, excellent bang for buck and you can get exactly what your after. I would say definitely go the 10.5 driver also.

I was talking to my local pro and it appears the the square drivers are straighter but that a lot of people are getting about 10m less distance. He was talking about the FTi so I don’t know if they are all the same. Maybe you should go and hit a few square drivers before you go down that line.

As with the hybrid I didn’t bother with a 3 iron but as with Andre the hybrid would just about cover the 5 wood as well so decide which one you can do without.

Hi franky,
I would sacrifice, 10metres, if I hit alot more fairways, work out what is important to you. Instead of hitting half wedge in your hitting a fullwedge almost which could be a good thing

Bio, I agree totally but it seems like Larry wants the best of both worlds, that 10 might not suit him.

Thanks for the responses guys:

Andre – thanks for the tip, I’ll take a look at Lind. They might not be competitive on price for a couple of the clubs, but the hybrids could be a goer (and I’m not so tight that I wouldn’t spend a couple of bucks extra for warranty and service).

Franky / bio – Good thoughts, I’ll probably take 10m less for more balls on the fairway at the moment, on many courses I wouldn’t mind being a fraction further back so that I can take a full swing on the approach.

I might have to do away with the 3 iron AND the 5 wood now that I think about it, since I’ll be taking 4 wedges and a hybrid with this plan. Oh well, at least I don’t have to make an agonising decision between a wood or an iron to leave home. :)

Thanks again.

Larry

The Mellow Yellow Square by Bang is actually 17.4 yards longer than other squares from independent testing results. Have actually used one in a Long Drive Comp.

Square heads do have really top notch accuracy though I have personally found.

Give us a break Aussie Bomber or other people on this forum? Bang drivers go longer? Square heads do have accuracy if you have a swing that is on “song” and apart from that, people will still cut the head off a duck near a lake and re-create gum tree’s to carve out a potential fairway at times with any driver in their hand?
Go and use or buy a Square driver if it helps you…For a player that can work it and go long, why?
Work on your swing….....any decent driver will work? A shaft option may help as more than one may think….Grip it, rip it….....

Not quite sure what your point is there, doggystyle. There’s obviously small differences between clubs, and that’s the info I’m looking for. Sure, some of the differences might be insignificant too, but I’m interested in hearing what people think and A_B makes a valid point.

Of course, I’m not thinking that a new driver will cure me of bashing balls into the trees for once and for all. That’s crazy talk. :) I’d be happy to get a club that puts, say, 1 more ball in play per round or better.

Interesting point about the shaft option though – one of the selling points for the Nickent is that it comes with a UST V2 out of the box, which is pretty good for my budget.

As for the Bang, I think the shaft options price it out of my “tightarse” budget, despite the obvious appeal of a driver with the word BANG written all over it. :) Thanks for the tip Aussie_Bomber.

P.S. I wonder how they did the testing? Iron Byron? A bunch of consistent hitters? Everybody says their clubs are proven by independent testing, and it’s hard to get an authoritative test from anywhere.

Thought I’d post an update for anybody that might be interested. I ended up getting the driver, the wedges, and a Nickent Pipe putter. Delivered for AU $275 from rock bottom. Every tightarse’s dream. :)

The driver is definately a little bit easier to hit straight, although I still do slice it occasionally. I think I’m not quite right with the alignment yet, but it’s coming along. Distance-wise, it’s a fraction shorter than some of the longer clubs out there, but I get good distance if I middle it. I’m finding it tough to cope with the extra couple of inches on the shaft, so lots of hits are off-centre at the moment. A trip to the range is in order, but overall I think it was a good buy.

The wedges have really helped my short game. My problem was that I couldn’t play a short chip, just struggled with anything less than a quarter swing. Getting some wedges with a bit more loft gave me the option of using that swing for short chips without flying over the back. I’d recommend this approach to any hacker who struggles with the delicate stuff.

As for the putter, well, I was right. The problem really is me. :)

Hey Larryl,

In almost the identical situation (except I broke my driver). I’m looking to replace rather than repair.

Tried a KZG at the driving range that was real real nice, then the shop man says $280 ish. Too dear for me but I’m looking for something similar, something with a bigger more forgiving club head than the loan club he has given me. I had a 9 degree bang previously but I’m thinking the 10 or 10.5 might be a little more forgiving.

Your deal $275 including some wedges (also an issue I’m working on, hit one fat, then hit one thin arrg) sounds good, could ya give me some more details, i.e. what exactly you got and how long did it take them to ship?

Thanks,

Rohan

Hi Rohan,

The Driver I got was actually the Nickent 3DX square, not the Bang one. The wedges were a set of 3 Adams “Tom Watson” ones – Gap, Sand and Lob. Probably cheapo ones, mind you. Not spin-milled or anything funky like that, but I just wanted something that I could get in the air without hitting them 30-40m like I do with my PW. Doing the job so far, but my expectations are low. :)

I got mine from rockbottomgolf.com in the US – there’s another thread going about them at the moment. Didn’t have any problems at all, and the clubs showed up within a week of the order going in.

I think RBG mostly sells last year’s clearance models, so if you’re not fussed about getting outdated equipment there are plenty of bargains to be had.

-Larry

Thanks Larry,

I had a look at their website looks good once I build up some cash might have a go

Rohan

RBG has good price
but some of the models are slightly older
some still older current
BUT who cares they are cheaper….and authentic

btw larry, hows the nickent 3dx Sq going …larrylong ! ??

dog: maybe you should have a look at ab’s credentials. he knows more about drivers than most people on this forum.

Hey KYC, I think it actually is fairly Long, but I’m not quite getting it yet. I hit one a couple of weeks ago that was a bit of a “Woah!” moment, but most of them aren’t quite coming out like that yet.

The big thing is the shaft length. It’s actually 2 and a half inches longer than my old driver, and I always gripped that one right down near the bottom of the grips (something I’ve always done with all my clubs). I haven’t cleaned it since the last hit, and looking at it now, I can see a lot of dimple marks on the inside of the club, nearer to the hosel than they should be. I can see that I’m going to have to get some tape and a bucket of balls and head to the range to try and force myself to stand a bit further away at address.

The other thing is the alignment, which is different to what I’m used to. When you line it up dead straight, the shaft is angled further forward than my old driver – I guess it’s a little more closed than my old one. I’ve made mistake of opening it a little to make it “look” straight, and that’s making me slice most shots. When I think about it, I think it will suit me better to leave it closed and trust it to come through straight, as I swing with my hands well in front of the club most of the time anyway.

The good news is that all these inside misses and slices are still coming off OK without too much slice and aren’t hurting me as much as they would with some clubs. I’m getting average distance and decent accuracy, and I think when I work it out I’ll get much better distance and better than my usual accuracy. The club’s very good, but there’s room for improvement in the dud on the other end of it. :)

I swapped over to the 3DX Square a while ago. Gained about 10mt and am now hitting a nice draw. Wasn’t chasing distance as such, just needed to be more accurate and consistent with my drives.

Took me a while to get used to the closed face, wasn’t too comfortable at first.
But now… Driving into the rough is a thing of the past!