Joel Tadman and Joe Ferguson from Golf Monthly build their ultimate golf bags. They run though each club and compare their choices from driver through to putter. What clubs would you pick?
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00:00 Now 2023 was an incredible year for new golf clubs,
00:03 but before the cycle kicks off again in January for 2024,
00:06 let's reflect on some of those hot launches
00:09 in the hardware category.
00:10 And we are going to select in this video,
00:12 our ultimate bags.
00:13 I'm alongside Joe Ferguson, our new staff writer.
00:15 He's tested all the latest gear, like myself,
00:18 and we're going to pick our favorite clubs
00:20 from Driver all the way down to Putter
00:22 in creating our ultimate bag.
00:24 It's me versus Joe.
00:25 Make sure in the comments you let us know
00:27 which bag you would pick
00:28 based on the selections that we've made.
00:30 Without further ado, let's kick off our ultimate bag video
00:32 starting with the Driver.
00:34 (upbeat music)
00:37 Right, so we're going to kick this off with Driver.
00:39 Joe, I'm going to throw it to you first.
00:41 Talk us through your selection in this area of the bag,
00:43 please.
00:44 - Well, I'm not messing around.
00:45 I'm coming straight out with the big guns,
00:46 and I've got the Callaway Paradigm Triple Diamond.
00:48 You may well do that because it is super, super hot on tour.
00:53 It's got a 450cc, very compact head, futuristic looks,
00:57 and it's got a really unique feel.
00:59 It's got a really sort of dull thud,
01:00 which kind of hides its really aggressive ball speeds,
01:03 if you ask me, which I like.
01:04 Love the feeling, loads of people playing it on tour,
01:07 and I think you're going to find this quite tough to beat.
01:09 - I am.
01:09 I think, yeah, this is a relatively niche club
01:11 in that it's probably for the higher speed players,
01:13 better players, but in your capability,
01:15 I think it's going to--
01:16 - This is my ultimate bag.
01:17 - Your ultimate bag.
01:18 I'm going to go slightly different.
01:19 I'm going to go for the TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus Driver.
01:24 Now, this differs to yours.
01:25 It has some adjustability on it,
01:27 so you've got a movable weight here in the front,
01:28 which I like because you can change the shot shape.
01:30 For me, being able to negate my hook shot is a good thing.
01:33 Also, because the weight's at the front,
01:35 it's pretty low spin,
01:36 so you get that low spin forgiving combination,
01:38 which I really like.
01:39 I think it's surprisingly playable
01:41 for what is a low spin driver,
01:42 and I do like the look of it, as well as the feel.
01:44 That red face really stands out for alignment,
01:47 and the feel is really solid, too.
01:48 Solid, powerful, it's got a relatively high pitch
01:51 kind of ting to it, but still feels really stable.
01:53 So, yeah, TaylorMade Stealth 2 for me,
01:54 I think it's going to suit a broader range of players.
01:57 (upbeat music)
02:00 - Well, I'm very confident with my driver choice,
02:03 so I'm going to throw over to you,
02:04 and see what you've got in three-way.
02:06 - Well, I think this can be hard to beat, Joe,
02:08 to be honest with you.
02:09 I've gone for the Ping G430 LST model.
02:13 Now, this was a bit delayed
02:14 versus the other models in the range,
02:16 but it was well worth the wait.
02:17 Similar to your Paradigm Triple Diamond, actually.
02:19 This is a relatively niche club,
02:20 quite low spinning for a fairway,
02:22 but having tested it,
02:23 I thought it was surprisingly playable
02:25 for what is a pretty low spinning club.
02:27 I think it looks fantastic, pretty compact,
02:29 got that carbon effect on the crown,
02:31 sits a little bit open as well,
02:32 which better players will like.
02:34 With that tungsten weight here on the sole,
02:35 it launches the ball surprisingly high
02:37 with that low spin combination,
02:39 gives you a really piercing, powerful ball flight.
02:42 And because it is low spinning,
02:43 you can use it off the tee,
02:45 it's a really good driver replacement club.
02:47 It does shape the ball quite a lot as well,
02:49 which I like, and it's adjustable for loft as well,
02:52 so it's pretty versatile, lots of different situations.
02:54 You can tune it to hit a distance gap you want to
02:56 if you're using it off the deck.
02:58 So, for me, it ticks almost all the boxes.
03:00 I think you're going to be hard to beat it from this, Joe.
03:02 What have you gone for?
03:03 - Well, I've gone a little bit off pace,
03:04 so I've not gone with one of the traditional big boys
03:06 in the metalwood market.
03:07 I've gone with the Mizuno STG.
03:10 It's a little bit of a nostalgic choice for me.
03:11 I'm quite new to the team,
03:12 and this is one of the first reviews I did,
03:14 and it was a really good start.
03:15 So, I just think from an aesthetic point of view,
03:18 I don't know if I've ever looked down on a better 3WD.
03:21 It's so clean, it's got a really nice compact head,
03:23 but a really deep face, and that, it's very low spinning.
03:27 I still get a nice high launch, but a low spin.
03:28 It makes it really potent,
03:30 as much off the T as it does off the fairways.
03:32 It's super, super versatile,
03:34 and I just can't get enough of the looks.
03:35 It's super clean, they've done a great job here.
03:38 - Very good choice.
03:39 (upbeat music)
03:41 - All right, next up, we're talking hybrids.
03:44 Joe, talk us through the selection you've made
03:46 in this part of the bag, please.
03:47 - Well, I'm sort of exercising my rights as a newbie
03:50 to bend the rules a bit,
03:52 and I've got a couple of choices, really, in this area,
03:53 'cause this is a tricky area of the bag to fill
03:55 between the irons and the woods.
03:57 So, an honorable mention is not in the bag today,
04:00 but it's one I've tested.
04:01 It's the Srixon ZX Mark II Utility Iron.
04:04 I like, and I've tested it in two iron,
04:06 and I really like having a longer iron in the bag.
04:08 Really suits my game, and helps me on tight aisles
04:11 off the T.
04:11 Of the clubs of that particular ilk,
04:14 that's comfortably my favorite.
04:15 Love the look, love the feel,
04:17 and give me a really good, strong flight.
04:19 But, that said, for the ultimate bag that I've got here,
04:22 I am going for the all-new Callaway Apex UW.
04:27 I just love the combination of, as you know,
04:30 I think you've discussed this before,
04:31 I think you tested the previous model,
04:34 blend between fairway woods and hybrids.
04:35 Gives you kind of the launch characteristics of a hybrid,
04:38 but takes away some of that left bias
04:40 that you can sometimes see in a hybrid.
04:42 And for me, this has been a really important club
04:45 that fills in a nice gap in my bag.
04:47 So, yeah, tough to beat, I think.
04:48 - Very good choice.
04:49 For me, in the hybrid category,
04:52 I've gone for the Cobra King Tech.
04:54 This is the latest version.
04:56 I mean, there's so much I love about this club.
04:58 The looks are fantastic.
05:00 Got a matte finish on the crown, clean, classic shape.
05:03 That kind of carbon effect looks amazing.
05:06 So, it looks really premium.
05:07 But, you've got oodles of adjustability on this club, Joe.
05:10 - Oodles?
05:11 - Yeah, you don't hear that word very often,
05:12 but it's applicable here,
05:13 'cause you've got movable weights on the sole,
05:15 so you can have them split for a bit more forgiveness.
05:18 You can kind of move them around for draw or fade bias.
05:21 You've also got adjustability for loft in the hosel,
05:23 which isn't that commonplace among hybrids.
05:25 Yours is a fixed hole, worth pointing out.
05:28 But with this particular club,
05:30 in its standard loft, it goes like an absolute rocket.
05:33 In fact, for most golfers,
05:34 especially high-spring speed players,
05:35 it might even go too far.
05:37 And that's why being able to tweak the loft,
05:40 especially adding a bit,
05:41 would give you probably more playable distance
05:42 in that area of the bag.
05:43 And the added benefit of that is
05:45 you get a bit more height and stopping power
05:46 when you're hitting into greens.
05:47 So, a really versatile club, powerful, playable,
05:51 just absolutely fantastic,
05:53 and definitely, I think,
05:54 one of the standout choices in the hybrid category.
05:55 - A lovely choice, it's just not as good as mine.
05:58 - We'll see.
05:59 - Right, so that's hybrids done.
06:05 So what have you got for me in irons to compete with?
06:07 - Right, Joe, I've gone for the Titleist T150.
06:11 It's obviously a relatively new iron to the market,
06:14 and this iron launch came at the perfect time for me.
06:17 I was struggling with my iron play,
06:18 had a relatively kind of chunky head in there,
06:21 looking for a bit more forgiveness.
06:22 I wasn't pleased with the looks,
06:23 but what Titleist have done here
06:25 is they've created a player's feeling club,
06:28 but one that's slimmed down a lot.
06:30 So you get forgiveness with the tungsten weighting,
06:33 but you get that compact look that, you know,
06:35 I'm a three-handicap,
06:35 I want something relatively small behind the ball.
06:38 This has it all.
06:39 The thing I really love about these irons
06:40 is the kind of heavy hit you get impact.
06:42 It's a really dense sensation impact,
06:45 close to what you would get from a muscle back,
06:47 to be honest with you.
06:48 So it kind of ticks all those boxes.
06:50 You get stability, you get good height,
06:51 you get a good feel,
06:53 but you also get a nice compact look as well.
06:55 So I've gone for the Titleist T150.
06:57 How about yourself?
06:58 - Not bad, but I'm very confident in my Apex,
07:01 my Callaway Apex CBs.
07:03 - They do look nice.
07:04 - They are one of the cleanest looking irons,
07:06 the whole range, the whole new Apex range.
07:09 Tested them all, loved the cohesion from the MB
07:12 to the CB that I've selected,
07:13 all the way through to the Pro.
07:15 From the back in the bag,
07:16 I think they've done a really good job
07:17 of blending the models.
07:19 If you want to combo anything,
07:21 you don't get that kind of sticking out
07:23 like a sore thumb iron where you can see the transitions.
07:25 They've done a really good job there.
07:26 But the CB in particular for me,
07:29 down behind the ball, I love the really soft lines.
07:32 The toe is very rounded,
07:34 whereas the MB will suit some people
07:36 who prefer a more angular look.
07:37 The CB to my eyes, just absolutely perfect.
07:39 You get all the benefits of the workability of the CB
07:43 and a slightly different feel if I'm honest.
07:45 It's equally as soft,
07:47 but there's just a little bit more liveliness to it
07:49 that I really, really liked.
07:50 And when you're just missing the middle fraction,
07:52 you're just a little bit more insurance.
07:54 And quite frankly, the look is what does it for me.
07:57 I just think they're some of the best looking irons
07:59 I've seen in years.
08:00 (upbeat music)
08:04 - Right Joe, we're moving into the short game now,
08:06 the wedges.
08:07 I think my choice is going to be extremely hard to beat,
08:09 but let's have a look what you've gone for.
08:11 - Well, I've gone a little bit different for me.
08:12 So I've traditionally been a Vokey guy,
08:14 but I have selected the Ping Glide 4.0 wedge rather.
08:19 Now I'm getting playing less
08:21 and maybe not as sharp as I once was with the wedges.
08:25 I really like just seeing a little bit more.
08:27 There's a little bit more surface area.
08:28 The head's fractionally larger than with the Vokeys.
08:31 There's a little bit of a thicker top line,
08:32 which gives me the feeling
08:33 I've got a little bit more meat behind strike.
08:36 And on some of those fuller shots,
08:38 I think we spend a lot of time with wedges
08:39 thinking about grinds
08:41 and thinking about the versatility around the greens.
08:43 But I think we forget sometimes
08:45 a lot of the scoring of these clubs
08:47 comes from your fuller shots
08:47 and your pitch shots into the green.
08:49 So having just a little bit more mass
08:51 behind the ball for me at the moment
08:54 feels really comfortable.
08:55 And that's what these do, but it doesn't look cumbersome.
08:58 It's still really sleek and they feel fantastic.
09:00 So I'm really pleased with this choice.
09:02 - Very good choice, Joe.
09:03 It's hard to argue with that.
09:04 But my choice in the wedge category
09:06 is the Cleveland RTX6.
09:09 Now, this is a wedge that I think
09:11 has a lot of technology packed into it,
09:13 arguably more than most,
09:14 especially for what is a muscle-back style wedge
09:17 designed for the slightly better play.
09:18 See a lot of these out on tour.
09:20 The thing I like most about this is the face technology.
09:22 So you've got deeper, sharper grooves.
09:24 You've got milling on the face.
09:25 And as a result, I found this to be
09:27 really spinny around the greens,
09:28 not just in clean, tight lies,
09:30 but also in the rough
09:31 and also when the conditions are quite wet,
09:33 I felt like it's really effective
09:34 at negating the moisture that can often get into the way
09:38 of the contact between the ball and the club face.
09:40 And that's going to help you get up and down
09:41 in more situations more often, essentially.
09:43 So really good spin control.
09:46 You also get the added benefit
09:47 of a little bit of forgiveness from a muscle-back wedge
09:49 with that ZipClaw technology.
09:51 I feel like it's probably one of the most stable
09:53 muscle-back wedges you can buy.
09:55 And you get the versatility from the different bounce
09:57 and the different sole options.
09:58 This is the mid sole.
10:00 It's got a little bit of heel and toe relief.
10:01 Perfectly versatile for opening the face
10:03 if you want to play some high shots
10:05 or punch one in low.
10:06 So a really versatile wedge,
10:07 playable, forgiving, great feel,
10:10 nice and soft and crisp, and looks great too.
10:12 So that's my choice in the wedge.
10:13 - A fine choice.
10:14 (upbeat music)
10:17 - Right, well putters.
10:19 And I am super confident in this area.
10:22 I've got a real classic for you.
10:23 So I think I'd like to have a look at yours
10:26 before I counter it with the winning putter.
10:28 - I've seen your choice, and it's a good choice,
10:29 but this is kind of, my choice,
10:31 is a bit of a rival to your choice.
10:32 This is the TaylorMade TP Reserve.
10:35 So it's basically TaylorMade's answer to Scotty Cameron.
10:39 Not giving away your choice too much there.
10:42 There's, you know, what I love about this,
10:44 you know, the attention to detail is fantastic.
10:46 I think this is, you know, arguably one of
10:48 the better looking putters you can buy
10:50 on the market at the moment.
10:51 Really clean lines, some decent alignment help on it.
10:55 Just looks super, super premium.
10:57 You have got a decent amount of forgiveness
10:58 from these weights in the heel and toe.
11:00 There's some grooves on there
11:02 which really dampen the sound quite effectively, actually.
11:05 It has a really soft, buttery feel to it.
11:07 A really good competitive option in that premium market.
11:11 The stock grip isn't my favorite choice.
11:12 I'd probably change the grip, but that aside,
11:14 I think it ticks all the boxes for someone
11:16 who wants like a more of a traditional
11:17 looking feel to their putter.
11:19 - Right, onto the winning putter.
11:21 So I have gone for, as Joel teased,
11:24 I've gone for a Scotty Cameron model,
11:26 and it is the Super Select Newport II.
11:30 A real classic.
11:31 Every time I look down on this,
11:32 and I put it down behind the ball, I just see that.
11:35 The different contouring Scotty Cameron's used this year,
11:38 slightly thinner top line,
11:39 and everything's just a little bit more angular.
11:42 It could just be the Ping Answer II
11:44 that Marco Mirra had in 1998.
11:46 So it is a nostalgic choice to me,
11:48 but also within that, you get all the premium features
11:51 of the Scotty Cameron.
11:51 It's just beautifully milled.
11:53 The face detail is exceptional.
11:55 It sits beautifully square behind the ball.
11:58 The alignment aid's subtle, but really helpful.
12:01 Looks, feels great.
12:02 And it's a Scotty Cameron Newport II.
12:04 What else do I need to say?
12:05 - Yeah, fair point.
12:06 Very hard to argue with that, Joe.
12:07 So maybe you win the putter category,
12:08 but perhaps I've won some of the others,
12:10 and we'd love to hear from you in this video.
12:12 Do let us know in the comments.
12:13 I'll put a list of all the clubs that we've chosen
12:15 in our ultimate bags.
12:17 Mine versus Joe's.
12:18 Which bag would you pick?
12:19 We'd love to hear from you.
12:20 I think you'll agree, mine is best.
12:22 But that completes our look at the ultimate bag in 2023.
12:24 Hopefully you've enjoyed this video,
12:26 and it's given you some ideas,
12:27 so areas of the bag that you might want to upgrade,
12:29 and these are some of the standout products within that.
12:31 And when a new product gets launched next year,
12:33 you might be able to find some bargains.
12:35 And in the description of this video,
12:37 there'll be some links.
12:38 If you are interested in purchasing any of these clubs,
12:40 you should be able to find the best price
12:41 in your area with those links.
12:43 So do check that out if you're interested
12:44 in upgrading some of your equipment.
12:46 But that's all from us here
12:47 at Northamptonshire County Golf Club.
12:49 Joe, it's been a pleasure.
12:50 Have you enjoyed it?
12:51 - Well played, see you next year.
12:52 - We'll see you next time.
12:53 And we'll catch you on the golf course again soon.
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