What’s In Stan’s Bag
Submitted by Stan Utley on 09/28/2009 – 3:20 PM26 Comments
For the most part I’m a Titleist brand guy, with the exception of my two hybrid clubs from Titleist’s Cobra Division. The way that I choose my clubs is the same way that I teach golf – it’s all about feel. I feel most comfortable with Titleist woods, irons, wedges and putters (Scotty Cameron) in my bag. In case you were curious, I listed below the clubs in my bag that I play on a day-to-day basis.
Driver: Titleist D3, 8.5° loft
3-wood: Titleist 904F, 13° loft
Hybrids: Cobra Baffler, 18° loft
Cobra Baffler, 20° loft
Irons: Titleist AP2, 4-iron – PW
Wedges: Titleist Vokey, 54° bent to 52° loft with 14° bounce
Titleist Vokey, 58° M-Grind with 12° bounce
Putter: Scotty Cameron – Newport, 36″ long, 5° loft, 68° lie angle and a D2 swing weight
Steve,
The AP2’s are fine irons, but I play the Titleist MB “blade” irons…4-PW. I use the KBS 120 iron shafts. I do have the new Titleist 910 D3 driver, the new 3W fairway metal and a couple of Titleist hybrids in the bag as well…17 and 20 degree lofts. As you know, I play Vokey wedges and a Scotty putter.
Best,
Stan
Kevin…thanks for dropping me a note on the website. I really appreciate hearing from you.
Standard lie angle for wedges is 64 degrees. I have 58 ,52 and PW all set to 62 degrees. Be careful though. I want you to have your putter and wedges fit to you, not have them fit to my specs. When I write what I do in my books, I am simply saying that I have made the effort so that my clubs fit me.
To have your clubs fit properly for you, you may need to have a good teacher help you, or someone who is a trained club fitter.
Thanks again,
Stan
Hello Stan ,
I m from Malaysia and currently resident in China.
I m a big fan all of your 3 books “Art Of Putting / Short Game / Scoring ”
I watch your video in the youtube to learn your putting method.
Being a Single Handicapper , putting is the weakest of my game . After reading your book and your video , i got myself a SC California Monterey , have it adjusted to 68 deg , just as mentioned in your book .
My putting improved but i still have a lot of practice to make it better.
I just bought a Vokey 58degwith 12deg Bounds , it is 0.5″ shorter than my Vokey 52deg08.
As mentioned in you book , you did adjust the wedge to be a few degree flatter .
How many degrees flatter do you adjust ? Is the lie is at 66deg now ?
Thanks .
Kevin
Stan,
Are you still gaming the AP2’s?
Thaks,
Steve
Jeff:
Thanks for the kind words. I learned a long time ago that my passion in life is to encourage people to get better and shoot lower scores. I’m glad you enjoyed the books and happy that you are getting better. My next book is in the works and will even provide video clips through Microsoft Tag Reader that go along with the tips. Hope you enjoy it.
Stan
Stan,
I bought all three of your “Art of …” books and studied them daily. Your methods turned the worst part of my game into the best. I bought a better putter, got it adjusted and practiced. My first time out I had 6 one putts in 9 holes. It took me a little longer to understand your sand method, but I kept working on it and once I got it, I started hitting very predictable bunker shots. My direction is much better. I couldn’t be happier with the results and I now have an absolute blast working on my short game. I’ve been your biggest proponent at my club and to all of my golf buddies.
Keep up the good work. I look forward to buying your future books.
Jeff Borders
Westerville, Ohio
Roger,
You have it correct that changing loft effects the bounce. Adding loft adds bounce and taking loft off reduces bounce. The other factor that I personally consider is how adding or taking loft away effects the leading edge. I prefer offset on my wedges. When you add loft the leading edge moves forward of more in line with the shaft.
When you take loft away the leading edge moves back away from the shaft or hosel which gives the wedge an offset look. For example my set has a 54 degree wedge with 12 degree of bounce. I change the loft to 52 degrees which creates the offset look and reduced the bounce to 10.
All the best,
Stan
Is there a difference bending a 54 to 56 versus bending a 58 to 56? I know increasing loft will increase the bounce and vice versa, but is there any other advantage/disadvantage?
Dear Stan,
thank you a lot for your response and i will go this WE to buy those new wedges.
I am waiting for your 3 book i ordered and will read them carefully.
Thanks again
Martin
Martin,
If you are practicing, then you WILL improve your pitching and chipping. It’s all about commitment, patience and a dedicated drive to work on the short game. I commend you for your efforts. Many of my students are using the multi-wedge approach in their bags, realizing that some longer irons or hybrids may not get used at all in some game conditions. On the other hand, the majority of your golf shots are from 100 yards and in, and the 52, 56 and 60 degree strategy with the bounce characteristics you mention are very good choices. You, of course, will also have a pitching wedge in your bag…something in the 48 degree range I suspect. The 4-wedge approach to the game gives you a lot of flexibility in club selection depending on the situation you find yourself in during the round. Good luck.
Stan
Dear Stan,
A pro in south of France explain me your method and today i am practising with excellent results. My handicap is around 20 and hope i will decrease. I would like to change my wedges and buy a Titlest Vokey 60° and 56° with 11 bounce and 52 with 8 bounce.
What do you think and can you recommand me what is the most practical for my handicap?
Thanks
Martin F
I am now confused on proper bounce for 52 degree wedge. Your book suggests 8 degrees for the 52. Your last post says no more than 10 degrees of bounce. But, your specs at the top suggest a 12 degree bounce once your 54 is bent to be a 52. What am I missing? Please help – I’m 100% in on your methods, so want to get it right.
Mort…Peter is a great friend, so I appreciate you sending along his comment. My 58 degree wedge does have 12 degrees of bounce. For a 54 degree wedge, I’d recommend no more than 10 degrees of bounce. Remember, with a 54 degree wedge you’ll mostly using this from the fairway near the green (probably 80 yards or less from the hole), or short rough around the green vs. hitting with it out of the sand. So, 10 degree bounce should be all you’ll need for a shot of this type.
Stan
Stan: my good friend and patient Peter Jacobsen just gave me a great lesson this past weekend. He said you are not using the bounce on the wedge as you should. After the lesson I went back and looked at your book, now I get it. I am very excited about this, because as a scratch player I still have the short game of a 10 handicap. One question: Is your 58 degree wedge with 12 degrees of bounce still 12 degrees of bounce after you have bent it? I want to run out and get this club, and as I understand it, you recommend as much bounce as you can get with a gap wedge, say 54/14. Thanks for clarifying this, and I look forward to coming out to Arizona some day and getting a lesson. Peter says hello.
Mort Bertram
Naples, FL
Kevin…I’ve put my toe in the water with short game video training on a web site called MyContent.com. My team has put together 4 short videos that will introduce key topics in the short game. When I can set aside enough time on the busy calendar, we’ll proceed to film, edit and post more “chapters” for each of the key components of the game…putting, pitching, chipping and bunker play. In the meantime, I hope you’ll check out the 4 videos already on MyContent.com.
Stan
Stan
Do you have plans on developing your own short game training videos?
Stan,
You’re the best!
When will you be eligible for the Sr. PGA Tour? I believe your game is extremely well suited for it. We would enjoy seeing you out there.
Go Zizzers!
Thanks,
Bill
Houston, TX
Hey Mr. Utley, just bought your Short Game book and it has helped my chipping and sand play so much. Thanks for some great instruction! I have an equipment question..
Could you post the lofts on your irons? I’m not sure what kind of spacing I should use with set. I have a 20 & 23 hybrid, and then go to a 4 iron. What loft should the four iron be?
Jared,
Thanks for the questions. Putter length and swing weight are both very personal issues based on what feels right to you.
I believe a large part of why I use my particular swing weight specs is because that is what I grew up with and I feel really comfortable, whether I’m hitting with an iron, or on the green stroking a putt. I do know my putter and iron swing weight are the same for me, so light or heavy are relative terms depending on what feels good for you.
As far as length of your putter is concerned, once a comfortable address position has been taken over the ball, I simply want to be able to have “soft elbows,” or slightly bent elbows, versus having them straight or locked.
All the best,
Stan
Stan,
It seems like putters these days are manufactured to be way heavier than what you putt with. Even a scotty cameron right off the rack comes in anywhere between D5-as heavy as D7? Tiger Woods himself rolls a putter at D7. Can you speak to why you prefer something so light? It would seem that a heavier putter would be easier to keep on line? Lastly, how do you know if you are putting with a putter that is too short. At 6′3 I have always used a 34.5″ putter it is just what feels right however after reading your book I am thinking this is too short.
Your thoughts would be appreciated,
Jared
Al…I’m delighted the book has helped you improve your sand game. Now that you have the mechanics down, you can practice a variety of shots out of the sand…fried-egg lies, uphill lies, downhill lies, longer shots with lots of green between you and the pin, to shorter shots with the pin tucked closer to the bunker. The key to remember is that, just as in the fairway and the rough, the sand shots may not all be flat lies with the ball sitting up nicely. Anticipate the things that may go wrong if your ball lands in the sand, work on those shots, and that will improve your confidence regardless of the shot you face in the bunker. Having no fear of a sand shot is vitally important in scoring better!
Stan
Read your short game book and have found my results, especially from the sand, have improved markedly. Was not a bad sand player before, but with your instruction, have been more consistent and over a 5 or 6 round stretch about 2 feet closer on average.
Al
Eric,
Appreciate the kind comments about the web site. We are really proud of how it is helping golfers of all types find ways to improve their games. The putter is my bread-and-butter, but my wedges sometimes enable me to keep the putter in the bag
Best,
Stan
I bet your favorite club is your putter. lol I love the new website.
Eric G.
Michael,
Truth is I have always had a little off-set on my wedges and I bend both my 58 and 52 degree so I can see a little set back of the face. This off-set is a natural by-product of bending the wedge. This is about the maximum a wedge should be bent.
Starting with a more lofted club, and then bending it to less loft, pushes the leading end of the face back slightly, therefore there is very little work to do to get the look I am after. the key is to start with enough bounce to end up with what you prefer because as the loft come off the club the bounce angle gets reduced as well.
Once again, this is mostly just for getting the look on the club that I am used to. Your local pro shop or retailer may be able to add a bit to my short reply.
Stan
Hey Stan,
Why bend a 54 degree wedge to 52? Why not buy a 52 – what’s the advantage?
Thanks,
Michael