Going Pro: What's In My Bag For 2020 - Episode 4

I have to admit that I love the What's In The Bag segments that everyone posts on YouTube. It's one of my favorite things to do, and obviously, if you're reading this right now, you must like them as well. Now, take this for what it is as there's no way you should play what I play (unless you are fitted for it) but here is my bag line up for 2020.

Driver - 9.0° Wilson Cortex with 76g Fujikura Speeder 757 TS X-Stiff Shaft

  -  The Wilson Cortex was the winner of Driver Vs. Driver Season 2. The popular Wilson Golf show aired on the Golf Channel in November of last year and was probably most remembered for the gaff where they showed the winning design in an on-screen graphic about 5 minutes before it was actually revealed. The Cortex is still the most technological piece of gear that Wilson has ever released. The carbon fiber crown allowed Wilson to position more weight where needed for a greater level of forgiveness and the weighting system proved to offer performance as good as anything else on the market at that time. Unfortunately, the $499 price tag put it square in the sights of TaylorMade's M5/M6 and Callaway's Epic Flash series drivers, which killed any momentum it had gained from the show. Still, it was a Wilson driver that performed as well as anything on the market, but as well doesn't sell against the big boys. Fast forward to the end of 2020 (or about a year) and the price has been cut in half and it is one of the best value drivers in the game today. I've swapped out my stock Fujikura Atmos Black 7X shaft for my trusted Fujikura Speeder 757 Tour Spec and love the performance of the club.

Irons - 2-PW - Wilson Staff Model Blades - KBS C-Taper X130 Shafts

 - Wilson has won more majors than any other manufacturer, most recently with Gary Woodland's victory in the 2019 US Open at Pebble Beach. Woodland used the Wilson Staff Model Blades with the blacked out KBS C-Taper shafts in them to notch that victory and that is the exact same setup that I have in my bag today. The custom specs on the irons are 2° upright and 1/4" longer than standard. They are outfitted with the KBS C-Taper (standard finish) shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips with just one wrap of tape. The Staff Model Blades were an easy upgrade from the FG100's that I had been using that had become damaged over the few seasons that I had them. They play almost the same as the 100's, but the extra bit of toe weight allows the face to square up a bit more for me, which eliminates that short right shot that was an issue with the 100's.

Wedges - Wilson PMP RAW - 52°, 56° & 60° - KBS C-Taper X130 Shafts

 - The PMP wedges have been in my bag for a few seasons now. This year, after experimenting with the TaylorMade Milled Grind wedges, I ventured back to the Wilson brand, but opted for the more "blemish hiding" RAW finish. While most people associate the RAW finish with rust, the reason why I liked it more than the frost finish that I've used in the past is that it hides the scratches and dings better. Currently, I'm carrying three different lofts, but there is a good chance that the 60° model will find a place in the garage bag going forward as the 56° model is spaced out perfectly with the 52° and my 46° pitching wedge. It's in the bag for now, but if I find a driving iron or decide that the 2 hybrid needs to get back in the bag for the wetter months, it will be the one that gets pulled.

Putter - Wilson Staff Infinite Lake Shore - 35"

 - When you pick up the perfect putter, you just know it. For me, finding something that could replace my nearly 20 year old Odyssey Tri-Hot has been almost impossible. As I was working in the shop, I kept trying the Lake Shore model and just found that it set up almost perfectly for me from the start. Once I mad a small forward press on the shaft, the club felt absolutely perfect and swung like a dream. The excess length (I typically use a 34" putter) helped balance the heavier head and really forced a smoother tempo from me. I can't see anything dethroning this one anytime soon, but I do love to test out putters.

Ball - Titleist AVX Yellow

 - "Soft Is Slow" has become an anthem on the internet since the My Golf Spy Ball Test Results hit the airwaves. Unfortunately, what the tests failed to show was that the flight of the ball can have almost as much impact now how well it fits a player as the speed of the ball off the club face. Now, kudos to MGS for doing this test because what it really did is bring into focus the ball itself and how different factors can impact your game. For example, I could get more distance from a different ball, but I may sacrifice control. I could get more spin from a ball, but I may not be able to flight it as low as I want. So many things go into a ball fitting and MGS highlighted the need for every golfer on the planet to consider having one done - or at the very least, the importance of using the same ball consistently. After nearly 4 months of ball testing, and two false starts, the Titleist AVX became that ball for me. The lower, penetrating flight combined with the lesser spin into the green created the perfect blend of performance for my game. If you are a high ball hitter, I highly recommend trying the AVX over the Pro V1 or Pro V1x.

Bag - Wilson Staff Exo Carry Bag

 - Bags are really just an accessory for me, but honestly, I love the design of the Exo bag's stand. The stand allows the bag to sit a bit flatter and lower than previous models, which is a good thing for me. As someone that likes to carry, I appreciate the little things like being able to pull a club out of the bag without having to dislocate a shoulder by pulling it 10 feet in the air. It's a small thing, but a very nice detail. There is also plenty of storage, good water resistance and a very well padded strap system. My one complaint about the bag is the center section of the bag strap isn't the most comfortable I've had, but it's a very small complaint overall.

Shoes - Skechers Go Golf Elite V3

 - The now discontinued Skechers Elite V3 shoes have been my favorite since trying them on a few years ago. The new V4 series is just as comfortable, but seeing as I grabbed a few pairs of the V3 models before they were gone, I'll be keeping my feet comfortable with these for a while yet. That said, Skechers team, if you want to send me a 10.5 in the new model, I'd love to test them out for you. Of course, the one thing that I wish is that the V3's or V4's came in a spiked design as well as the spikeless that I have now. During the winter months, courses in the Pacific Northwest get more than a bit mushy and it would be nice to have a tad more grip, but it's not a deal breaker for me at all.

Cart - Clicgear Rovic RV2L - Sun Mountain C130 Cart Bag

 - When the need arises for a round where I will be pushing a cart, I went with the value-line ClicGear Rovic RV2L push cart and use the Sun Mountain C130 Cart Bag on it. I picked up a 2017 model of the C130 last winter and love the storage and the individual club dividers that it offers. If I didn't carry so much in the evenings, I would easily have made it my daily bag, but I'm just not able to cart as often as I'd like to, so a stand bag is a must.

So, that's the bag for the start of 202 and what should be in my bag for the PAT in April of next year. Things are getting dialed in nicely and feeling much better than they were in August of last year. It's hard to remember that I only had about a month of play on that bag when I attempted the PAT last time, so this should be a much more successful run this time. I'll keep pushing numbers through my Flightscope Mevo and getting the bag dialed in on the course so I am ready to go low when I need to.