This week on Off TRAQ, Charles and Roy break down the biggest mistakes beginners and amateurs make when buying clubs — from $800 “starter kits” to full matching bags that scream marketing. Then they dive into the debate over one-length irons: genius idea or total gimmick? And finally, they asked ChatGPT what it thinks of major golf brands and the golfers that play them; see if AI actually nailed the stereotypes.
Chapters ⛳
1:39 Dad Talk
3:57 Today’s Topics
4:19 Mistakes Beginners Make When Buying Clubs
25:12 One-Length Clubs: Genius or Gimmick?
38:27 ChatGPT Stereotypes Golf Brands
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Club buying mistakes, one-length irons, and AI on golf brands.
Game is already hard enough, but we make it even harder when our bag is built on really bad decisions. Feel like it’s so easy to pick out the beginner. They buy everything from one brand. I am team Bryson. I’ve been team Bryson before Bryson became this lovable figure. We asked Chat GPT to describe the type of golfer who plays each major brand. God, I’m like mildly offended by this. This episode is brought to you by Track Golf, the spray that gives you instant tour level feedback on your ball striking. Spray, hit, improve. With Track, you can even work on tour level drills you might have been hesitant to try before, all with real visual feedback that builds confidence. If you’re serious about practice that actually translates to the course, pre-order the starter kit now at trackgolf.com. That’s trgolf.com. Hey everybody, welcome to OffTrack, the place where we debate, vent, and laugh about everything golf. I’m Charles, that’s Roy. We’re a couple of tech guys turned golf addicts who decided to make a better world for golfers. So, we built our own golf company. But before we dive in, do us a quick favor. Hit subscribe on YouTube and follow the show on Spotify or Apple Podcast so you never miss an episode. If you’re already subscribed, first, you’re amazing. Second, share us with your friends, especially that one golfer who always has an opinion. We all have one, right? We also post clips all week long. Find us at Trackgolf on Instagram, YouTube, and Tik Tok for highlights, drills, and all of our other golf content. All right, let’s get off track. How you doing, Roy? I’m a little tired today. Um, so uh I have the kid by myself this weekend. Um, mom has a very well-deserved girls trip weekend. So, I woke up to him in my bed making this weird noise. So, I I like open my eyes and I look at him. He found a tissue and proceeded to try to eat said tissue. And so, I spent like the first 5 minutes of today wrestling wrestling this child as he’s screaming, deciding that this tissue is what he wants to eat and trying to get him to spit it out. So, that that kind of just set the tone for the day. Man, man, is this is this what life is like with the sun? Uh yeah. Yeah. So, just get ready. And they are so much fun and just so much chaos all at the same time. Yeah. For the listeners, um I have a daughter, but I have a son on the way literally in less than a month. And so, I’ve been used to, you know, the the loving daughter who always wants to snuggle and wants to play with dad. And she’s been so gentle. So, I am like kind of scared for what it’s going to be like to have a boy. Yeah. She’s angel child, right? Like, let’s be clear. She’s like, you know, not that you should ever compare your kids to other kids, but like that’s the one that everybody’s like, why can’t you be like that? So, we’re a little scared. Day is going well. I, you know, you can probably tell I’m decked out in Sunday Red Gear, and that’s to show support for Tiger’s latest surgery. My goodness. I think he had like a a disc replacement, right? I don’t know. I feel like it’s it’s it’s time for him to call it a career. I know. Every every time I get like so excited that he’s going to come back soon and then he just out of nowhere announces another surgery and I’m just like Yeah. Seeing him on TGL is fun, but I don’t know. I think I always kind of have hope that he makes one last major run, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Yeah. Yeah. I wouldn’t I wouldn’t hold my breath. You know, we we we’ll we’ll probably maybe discuss this in a future episode, but man, Tiger’s had some crazy regiments and practices and things that he did. I I’m curious how much of that actually plays into all these injuries. Yeah. I I have heard a lot of speculation on that, but I I think it’s that’s a that’s a really interesting question. Yeah. Well, for today’s episode, we’re going to be going over three topics. The first is what are the biggest mistakes beginners and amateurs make when buying golf clubs. Second is one length irons. Is it genius or just a gimmick? And the last will be what do your clubs say about you according to chat GPT. So let’s get started with the first topic. I mean we’re talking about the biggest mistakes beginners and amateurs make when buying clubs. And honestly, we’ve all done them at some point. I think I did a lot of these when I was first starting out as a golfer. And the game is already hard enough, but we make it even harder when our bag is built on really bad decisions. So, in this segment, uh, we’re going to break down top mistakes that golfers make when buying clubs, why they happen, maybe how to avoid them, so that you can actually spend your money the right way, and maybe save yourselves a few strokes in the process. So, Roy, you have any mistakes that you think a lot of beginners make? Yes. I I feel like it’s so easy to pick out the beginner, right? Just from a few different things that they may may have done. The one that I see a lot is, you know, they buy everything from one brand, right? So, like from the bag itself to everything that’s in the bag, they are just all decked out in one brand, right? And and you know, I I I get it, right? Like they they’re new to the game. Maybe their buddy said that this is a good brand or maybe they just pick that one golfer that they really like or they really admire and they’re just they just want to copy that pro not realizing like they get paid to put these these clubs in their bag, right? And so instead of matching what they need for their game, they’re just like I am all tailorade. No shade to tailor made. Maybe a little bit, but like you know, you’ve seen those bags that it’s like all the matching head covers and you know, I for to me that just like screams like I just I knewish to the game and I didn’t really know what I was looking for when I was buying clubs. Yeah. Um a little ashamed to say that my very first bag was everything tailor made. The bag was tailor made, the drivers, the woods, the irons, even the wedges. And Tailor Made didn’t make good wedges at the time. And even the putter, it was like a blade putter that tailor made. So yeah, I’m I’m a little ashamed of that. But the thing with I think when I was a beginner, it looked kind of cool to have everything matching. Even the head covers from the drivers to the woods were all the same. I think one at one time I had everything M1’s. And so it was kind of, you know, nice. It looks professional. It looks sleek. But obviously very quickly I got out of that after like the first like 5 months. But we still see that a lot when we go to the range, though. Yeah. Yeah. It it to me it just screams like I’m just copying a marketing campaign somewhere. Yes. Well, Tailor Made is very good at that. Yeah. What about you? Um I think the first one for me is that a lot of amateurs will go to the shop, hit at the bay, and they hit one good shot, right? And that’s what they compare instead of all the all the shots that they’ve hit. They don’t look at the dispersion. They look at, oh, I hit this seven iron really well compared to this other set, right? But when you look at everything together, no, you probably shouldn’t buy that club. But they’re like, oh, if I get it right, this is what I want my ball flight to be, they they buy based on one perfect shot that they hit out of the 20 that they hit. Right. Right. So, kind of going along the they buy everything one brand is, and this is no shade to Costco, love Costco, but you see those like all in one sizefits-all box sets, right? Where it’s like everything in just one convenient package. It’s probably like, you know, $149.99 or something. And and you know, that’s what they get. I don’t think anything is $149.99 anymore. Oh, that’s fair. What is it like 300? It tastes like 350. I should probably look this up. Um, you know, and and I can respect and appreciate the golfer who’s like not sure if they want to jump fully into this, right? And and it’s an expensive sport, right? It’s like my second most expensive hobby. We won’t talk about number one, but there’s there’s got to be better ways to spend the 350. Actually, let me just look this up. Cuz I think when I was looking at clubs for my daughter, like junior clubs were $150 and Oh. Oh, you’re right. Yeah. Okay. So, a Wilson all-in-one box is around $500. Oh, wow. And Robin, which is one of the newcomers to the game, and I think they only give you like every other iron. They’re $800. Okay. So, so you’re not even saving that much money. So, so I’m doubling down on this, right? If you think that this is saving you money, right? And you get one of those box sets. Again, maybe you don’t know what you’re doing and this is not a not a rip on trying to save money. I support your journey 100%. There’s better ways to do that. But to me, that’s just like I don’t know what I’m doing. Let me just dabble in this. And that just kind of screams beginner again, right? and like some of the mistakes that that you see them make, there’s a much better investment that you can make for your money in my opinion. Yeah. You know, my my opinion used to be that I’m not against these starter sets. And the reason, like you mentioned, is because you don’t know the commitment level. You know, you don’t know if you’re going to love the game. And also, I have friends who started with the starter kit that just then passed it along to every new beginner, right? So, it’s kind of become this like community club after a while that everyone’s played with. Man, I didn’t know it was that expensive, though. Cuz I guess it makes sense. I mean, drivers are now like $700 when it was like $400 when I started. God. Yeah. Okay. Yes. In my mind, a driver is still like $350. But you’re right. In my mind, it drivers are like $500, but I recently was looking at a driver and I was like, “Oh my gosh, it’s basically $700. It’s like It’s like six It’s like 680.” Wow. Yeah. I used to be a fan of the starter kits, but if it’s $600, $800, I think you can buy used and put together a bag for around the same price that’s probably way better quality. I think so. I think I mean, do you think that you can go into your like local golf store and put together a bag for somebody for, let’s say, $500 or less? Probably. probably not everything at the local golf store because they don’t have used bags, but they have used everything else. The club wise, I think so. They’re not going to be anything from the last 3 years. But, right, I I think you can find a driver that’s like 5 years old, an iron set that is also around 5 years old. Wedges are pretty cheap when they’re used. Putters like Yeah, I think so. I think you can get a bag for like $500 $600 and then you’ll just have to pick up a used bag from Facebook Marketplace, right? Or or just ask your friend who yeah collects things and maybe he’ll donate one to your cause. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, how many bags do you have that I physically own or that are currently in my possession? That are currently in your possession. Wait, you have you have things in your possession that are not yours that you don’t own? Oh, no, no, no. It’s the other way. Like I own it, but somebody else is holding on to it right now. Okay. Um I have three and a half Wow. Is is to have like a Sunday bag? Yeah. Yeah. It’s It’s a range range bag, which to be honest, I don’t love, so I kind of want a new one, but don’t tell my wife. She watches this podcast. I was just kidding on Wow. I I had I used to have three bags and then I gave one to my brother and so I was going to say, “Don’t ask me. I don’t have bags to give away anymore.” But ask Roy. Roy supposedly has So So you’re down to two? I’m down to two now. I have like a regular sandbag and I have a tour bag which is just a storage unit. Yeah, I have like a cart/ semi tour. It’s not a tour bag, right? But it’s like a cart bag. It’s a little bigger and it has turned into my storage bag. Yeah. Although the tour bag I will use on rainy days. Obviously, we live in California, so it rarely rains. But I like having it because it doesn’t absorb any of the rain, but my cart bag or my sandbag does a little bit. This the strange water falling from the sky. Yeah. Okay. Okay, we’re we’re we’re getting a little off track, but yeah, I I feel like you could buy a US set for about the same as the starter kits now. Yeah, I have another mistake and it kind of goes along with my first point. Um, you know, falling in love with that best shot, but a lot of beginners chase distance these days. Your seven iron should not be going 200 yards. And I think maybe it is, you know, there is that modern golf messaging where with Bryson, I think Brooks Kepka said the same thing. DJ at one point where they were like, I don’t care where drives go or my my, you know, keep T-shot goes. As long as the second shot is shorter, I score better was a lot of what they were saying. So maybe that’s why they’re chasing distance. But you don’t have to hit your seven iron that long. If you hit your seven iron like 170, 175, that’s tour average. But I see people just distance chasing and they’ll look at two clubs and whatever hits farthest is the better club. Yeah. And I’ve done that especially with the driver, right? But I I blame that book, Every Shot Counts. And and I think the the guy that wrote it is really the the the creator of the stroke gain metric where they they look at comparative sets and what are you getting? And the big message I remember and I have the book somewhere but I the big thing that I remember is just hit the ball as far as you can. Yeah. And then that will give you benefits in the long run. Uh because you’re you’re short game, you can compensate, it’s easier, whatever. But that also takes into account mostly professional golfers, I believe, if I remember correctly. Yeah. And and most amateurs their recovery in their second shot is not good enough to justify it. So 100% agree with you. I don’t think you should just chase the distance. It’s not going to do the same thing for you. Yeah. And also another thing that people hear a lot, especially from the YouTube instructors, is that you can never teach speed, but they mistaken speed with distance. And so they’re like, “Oh, I need to hit this as far as I can and then I’ll dial it back.” And it’s similar, but there are two different nuances. Yeah, I I agree. Okay, so another one on the other side of uh the Costco crowd is the people that buy really expensive clubs right from the beginning and they’ll get aftermarket everything. Um bag, right? They start with a vessel bag. everything is a premium aftermarket shaft, you know, and and I’ve seen like you go to a club fitter and you have those guys that are there and, you know, maybe they’re really into it and maybe they have a lot of disposable income, but they’re they’re trying out all of these things in the bay and you have the fitter that’s like too polite to say, “Hey, I don’t have anything in the shop that’s going to fix this for you.” And I’m not going to call out the fitter in LA that I’ve seen do this. They’ll still upsell you on the on the most expensive shaft you can buy. And so now all of a sudden you’re walking out with like a seven eight thousand bag and you can’t you can’t repeat the same swing twice, right? So like what is what is that really doing for you? Yeah. Um but that’s definitely I think a beginner mistake that you see. Yeah. And most expensive doesn’t result into best performance. And you know some golfers definitely believe that psychological confidence that you have in the look is is important. Maybe psychological confidence and how much your bag is worth plays a role in it, but it’s very, very little. But kind of along that line, a lot of amateurs underestimate the importance of the right shaft. This is kind of a number that I made up, but I like to think that roughly 70% of your club’s performance is your shaft and not your club head. Recently, I shot my personal lowest score in Arizona and I used my brother’s clubs, but my brother’s clubs had my exact shaft specs and I scored my personal best and when I was swinging it, I felt very familiar with it because it’s the identical shaft. You know, club heads are sexy and that is what you do look at the most. But I do think that the shaft is important and this doesn’t mean you have to buy an aftermarket shaft. There are a lot of shafts that just come standard that fit you really, really well. And so finding that will help you with your performance and also your learning curve. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I play uh Project X shafts right now. Mhm. But I learned on dynamic golds, right? Because that was for for the longest time the majority of irons had dynamic golds in them, right? At least as their stock shaft. And and I think maybe it’s because I learned on those, right? It’s just it feels like home whenever I go back and swing a dynamic old shaft, right? Does it perform the best for me? No, it it does not. Right. And I don’t know. It’s been a few years, so maybe it will now. But uh there is that familiarity with just like the weight where it bends and something about it just feels very comfortable. Yeah, I pro I’ve always played Project X 6.5s. It’s it’s very stout, but that stoutness, especially for irons, makes me feel comfortable. I know there’s going to be consistency and it’s all on me, right? Yeah. Yeah. I swear I’m not trying to pick on people that just like buy expensive things. But but the other thing Yeah. Or or maybe I am, right? Maybe as a beginner, right? My core philosophy is you don’t need to spend a lot of money, but maybe a little bit more than Costco. The other thing that I’ll see sometimes is uh the the beginner that will go and buy a really nice driver first, right? And then they don’t have enough wedges in their bag. They’ve gotten whatever random putter that they found somewhere in a garage sale or from a friend or whatever was the cheapest on the clearance rack. And I think realistically that’s probably the exact opposite of what you need to be doing. I would say go for your wedges first. Understand what that can do for you and your gapping and and how you use them. putter. I have this whole thing where, you know, I I believe it’s a little bit more about how you feel about your putter, like you were saying, like how do you feel about your club on top of the mechanics? And realistically, for for again the average amateur, the driver is probably the last thing you need in your bag. You you can play an entire round realistically and never need your driver and still and still hit par. It it won’t be easy, but you can do it, right? So, I I think that’s probably the the opposite thing of what you should be doing if you’re looking at a driver first. The driver, I think, was my first purchase, too. Uh well, but but for me, I got I got gifted my first irons. A a investor and mentor uh with my first startup was like, “Hey, let’s play golf instead of meeting in the boardroom.” And so, he got me my iron set. And I was like, “Okay, I need but my mentality was I need a driver now.” And so, so a putter, I just played something that was just lying around initially and it happened to be a tailor made, but yeah, I I I bought a driver first. Hey, but guess what? I um I finally pulled the trigger and I bought a lab. Wait, which one? I I got the DF3. For those of you that don’t know, I I put arm lock. And so I’ I’ve been really hesitant on if I want to pull the trigger or not. But my brother, who is just as obsessed about golf as we are, I go over to his house and he had an arm lock DF3 in almost the specs that I was looking for. And so that lowest round that I scored, I played with a lab arm lock and then one one came up. So I just pulled the trigger. Yeah. Yeah, that was absolutely the right call. I am so jealous right now. Putting is quite possibly one of the worst parts of my game. Um, and so it’s like I’ve been eyeing a lab putter for a very long time. But worst part of my game, too. But as soon as I went arm lock, the strokes I’ve gained from putting has increased dramatically. Yeah. And hopefully it’ll do that now with an even stapler head in a lab. Yeah, this is We are not sponsored by Lab. This is not a plug for them. Go check one out. But Lab should sponsor us. Yes. 1,000%. Yeah. And maybe send us some samples. Exactly. Exactly. My final point for beginners is a lot of beginners don’t understand gapping. And so again, everything kind of ties in from from my side. Don’t, you know, don’t go after distance, but you also have to understand the gapping from one club to the other. Especially, I think wedges. A lot of beginners will just look at what the pros have and just blindly buy a 52 5660 and then realize that there is a huge gap or there is no gap between their like 52 and their pitching wedge, right? Uh just just because of their ball striking. And so gapping is really important. You’re really when you buy a bag looking at what clubs will hit certain distances more than how far can each club go. that will really help you with scoring. Um especially as you become better and so I think gapping is very important. Yeah. I I I think that’s that’s the key, right? Like all the marketing messaging is about hit further, right? More stable like you’re going to do amazing things. Um and and it convinces everybody that you know if they practice enough they could make it onto the tour. Uh versus like wait. I mean I’m still No, but but these clubs are designed for accuracy, right? It’s just that that’s not a sexy like, oh, your pitching wedge will always go exactly 130 yard. Like, you know, who’s going to buy into that messaging, right? So, I could see a lot of people being susceptible to that. Okay, so my last point that I see is uh they got all the right clubs. Uh, and and they’re really they’re really dialed in on their gear and they did all the right things. Uh, except they’ll still play noodles. No, I just kidding. No, no shade on noodles, but you know those those guys that like they they’re just like, I’m going to lose a dozen balls anyway, so I’m just going to go get the cheapest ball that I could find. And it’s probably having a material impact on how they play as well. Yeah, noodles. Noodles are okay if you’re a beginner. The the guys that I see are the ones that steal the range balls from the range before and then they just play range balls the entire time. And I understand you’re going to lose them. And so this is like I I remember once I was I was I forget which course I was on, but we’re on like a hole that was very very far from the range and there’s just like a random range ball off to the side. Yeah. So I was like why is how did this get here? And it’s it’s exactly that, right? These guys that are stealing their range ball. They lost one, shanked one off into the woods. Couldn’t find it. Um but it was in the exact same place that I shanked my prob. So I guess I really talking. All right. So, I’ve talked a lot about what you shouldn’t do or the or the mistakes that beginners make. What would you say to somebody that’s starting to get into the game and looking to make their first purchase? I think you and I are like the people that most beginners in our circle of friends call when they’re looking to buy new clubs. But I think that’s usually the right way because you find a friend who is a club junkie or someone that has played golf enough and they will tell you these things that we just mentioned and that will definitely help you pick the right equipment, save some money and especially with used clubs. I also am a huge fan of Facebook Marketplace Offer Up, but do it with a friend because there are a lot of counterfeit teu tailor made QI10s out there. And the other platform that I’m a big fan of is Golf WRX. So, Golf Wrx is a online forum that is all golf and I’ve been a part of that forum for like over a decade now and they have a classified section. The one thing about Golf WRX is there is a little bit of policing where that they make sure that, you know, the items doesn’t look counterfeit in the images and also the people there have been, you know, they they have history there and so they’re not going to, you know, want to ruin that entire profile that they’ve built up and the history that they have just by selling you and to to make a hundred bucks, right? So that is another really good forum for me whenever I looking for used clubs for my friends and and the members will police too, right? like if they see something that they’re like that is outrageous. Like you should not get away with charging that. Um you know they’ll say something. Yeah. And and you won’t find I will say cheap cheap prices because they all know what their clubs are worth but they’re very fair prices. Yeah. That’s a good one. I I fully agree with that and I’ve done that for a lot of friends as I I know you have as well. I would say in addition to that, if you make friends with people like Charles or me, we’ll probably sell you our old clubs just to justify buying new ones and you’ll you’ll get a pretty good price on them. So, you should definitely do that. You should definitely buy my old clubs off of me and then I need new clubs. Yeah. Awesome. All right, moving on to our next question. Um, one length irons. um one length irons just so that people know cuz I I think if you didn’t play golf between like I’m going to call it 2013 to 2018 you may not have come across one length irons right but back back then it was like all of the rage people were talking about it all the time but really what it is it’s uh and made famous by Bryson Dshambo it promises consistency because every iron has the same length the same lie and so you use the same swing plane so the theory is that you learn one swing wing and you can apply it to every club and it simplifies the game and it’s usually the seven iron, right? So, it takes your the seven seven iron specs and just spreads that out across the board. I think what we’ve seen though is in practice there’s a lot of potential issues, but now it’s a it’s a question of do you gain from the simp simplicity and we just haven’t explored it enough or is it a gimmick and it doesn’t really work. What are your thoughts? So, I am team Bryson. I’ve been team Bryson before Bryson became this lovable figure on YouTube. I mentioned earlier I play armlock putter. I actually play the exact same model that Bryson plays. It’s the sick uh blade prototype also with the LA golf shaft and that has drastically drastically improved my putting. And the theory with Bryson is that golf has so many variables in the swing. So let’s try to remove as many of these variables and simplify it as much as possible. Right? So in theory, I was a huge fan of the one length putters. The the main thing is let’s let’s start with like the simplified setup, right? Amateurs are so bad at setting up. You can give them three different clubs of three different lengths and they’ll set it up vastly different. And Golf Digest actually ran a study last year that said that 70% of high handicapped golfers struggle with ball position and and and shaftling. And so if you have one simplified setup that is the same across the board, you literally have a foundation for like nine clubs, 9 10 11 12 clubs, right? and one length just takes that entire problem off the table. So that is kind of the the biggest arguments initially for the one length. And I’m laughing because I’ve been playing for a while, but even I will struggle sometimes. And um I remember you and I were playing around one day and I was getting so mad because I kept pushing everything to the right. And then you stood behind me once and you’re like, “Dude, what are you doing? You’re not pushing the ball. you just don’t know how to aim and set up correctly. So, so can can attest uh most amateurs struggle with that. Yeah, I I so I get the setup thing, right? And I get the simplicity of that, but I think the trade-off that you’re getting for it and what we’ve seen in practice or or what the data has shown in practice is that the longer irons, you start to introduce gapping issues, especially once you get six, five, four, right? And my golf spy tested this. They did a thing back like 3 or 4 years ago. And I think once you get to like the five and the four, the average gap started being three or four yards, right? Versus like the 10 to 12. And then on the flip side of that, it also flattens your trajectory, right? So your carry is not as far either, right? So not only do you have gapping issues now, but they’re arguably actually carrying the same exact distance and just rolling a little bit further. Mhm. and and and I think that just introduces a whole different set of problems especially when it comes to trying to get to the next level of golf and you’re really thinking about course management and what your carry distance is versus your total with roll and and you know it might be simpler but you’ve now in my mind capped yourself. I want to love this theory. I do. And I even played with the idea of getting it mostly because my friend was like, “You should absolutely do it.” And this was when I couldn’t I couldn’t hit a four iron for my life, right? Let alone the three that I carried and and I still have in my bag sometimes. You should never carry a three iron. But I I just I can’t get behind it. I think it just introduces too many other things for the setup uh consistency. M I guess my counter to that would be most amateurs are hitting their four, five, six irons the same distance anyways. Okay, that’s that’s fair. And and I think TXG I might be wrong, but I think I think it was TXG who uh tested this a few years back. It was a one length versus traditional test. And the one length set had 8 to 10% tighter dispersion for long irons for amateurs. And so yes, maybe the distance you’re hitting it marginally longer, but the dispersion was tighter. And so tighter dis dispersion um consistency there. There is an argument for that. And beginners are just thinking so much anyways. There is this cognitive load that we have where we’re thinking of every single thing. That’s why we have friends who spend two minutes on the tea box on top of the ball. Um you know who you are. That reduction has also been helpful for people that uh play the one length. Yeah, I I could see that. You know, it’s it’s funny like I just saw a real of I think it’s Kevin Hart that’s like starting to get into golf, right? And the real was like a minute and a half and only the last like 3 seconds was him actually swinging his club and he literally threw it. Um I great swing, right? But like saying I and I think that’s you’re absolutely right, right? Like there is a lot of um mental stress or or mental load on the beginning and and simplification could actually go a very long way for them. Yeah. But I think the trade-off with simplification is that you don’t ever learn the complexity of the game and how to actually handle that because and I think that TXG uh test was in a um was indoors, right? It was on a simulator. Oh, yeah. It it was in a simulator. Yeah. Right. And and so like I buy it, right, that the dispersion pattern is tighter. Like I I fully see why that could be. At the same time, I’m like, well, there’s so many other variables when you’re actually out on the course that it’s also not taking into account. And even other things like win if you if you get into the shorter clubs of a of a one length set, your wedges, in order to again effectively manage that gapping, right? you’re jacking the lofts like the other way and introducing a lot more spin. So, you get now your your long clubs aren’t carrying as much as you want them to. Your shorter clubs, which arguably most amateurs don’t actually struggle with as much, but now they’re ballooning. So, so that you can actually get that distance control and and you start introducing wind or or whatever else is happening uh for the day. And you know, I I have a hard time seeing how somebody who’s relatively new to the game would actually or or even if they’re a little bit more advanced would actually control effectively what they’re trying to do out on the course. But I think that also kind of does play into that simplification argument. My last point was actually going to be that it simplifies the game and it simplifies practice because if you guys follow us on Instagram, you could see and if you don’t follow us on Instagram, track, but if one of my one of the contents I created, I think a week ago was that as I was preparing for a tournament basically for approach shots, I hit everything at P3, which is arm parallel. And so instead of learning all these different like the clocks, I just wanted to master the nine o’clock position and that was giving me distances between 50 to 100 yards. And so most amateurs don’t have 10 hours a week to practice. So why are they trying to master eight different swings with eight different ball placements? So with a one length club, it turns practice more into refining that one. You become the master of one instead of what’s what’s the what’s the phrasing? Jack of all trades. Jack of all trades. Yes. Exactly. That is that is the argument for a one length club. I mean, as somebody who’s lived their entire life as a jack of all trades in every facet of my life, I do think and you know, Bryson, well, okay, actually, let me let me address that first. Uh, because we brought up Bryson at the beginning. Um, because this works for him, right? But Bryson isn’t the example. He’s the exception in my opinion, right? He is like a freak of nature, swing speed, mad scientist, physicist, um that has the level of support, right? Both from a swing perspective as well as a um equipment perspective to make this work for him. So, if if this helps him overcome whatever the mental or physical hurdle that he’s trying to to get to, I think that’s great. But what you’re not going to see is that same level of support, especially from the OEMs, in terms of being able to actually tweak this to the point that you can get it to work for you, right? And and it’s like this isn’t new. Like the first I think one one length club set was back in the 80s. It was like Tommy Armor when they still made golf clubs. Oh, really? It it it didn’t go anywhere. That’s why you’ve never heard of it. And and it wasn’t until Cobra came out with it. it it like started taking over a lot of the news cycles. A lot of people talk about it, a lot a lot of equipment hype, but they’re downplaying it now, too. Actually, I don’t even know if they still sell it, but but basically, commercially, it’s been a flop, right? And I I could see the argument of like, well, it’s because most people don’t know how to make it work for them. But, you know, I I think if you get to that level of argument, then the counter is probably true, which is they can’t make it work for them. So, so why why try? Okay. So, so one length clubs, I love it in theory and I love all the arguments I made. I don’t play them. And and I just wanted to share because I actually did try one length clubs because I am a little bit more of that analytical Bryson type of golfer that likes to make it a little bit more into science. And so I loved it and I loved all the arguments that I just made. But there are a handful of reasons why I could never play a one- length iron. And number one was that the wedge gapping was really weird. And you touched up on this. Some people make their wedges the same length as well. And and Bryson does this. So Bryson’s wedges are I think all one length. That was really weird for me. You know, hitting at a seven iron length or 56 and 60°ree wedges. And Bryson’s biggest struggles on the course is his short game. I think there was actually a study in an article that came out maybe like six months ago, maybe before the US Open, where they were suggesting the idea that Bryson’s short game would be much better if he just went to a traditional length for the the wedges. But the issue with Bryson is if you go traditional length for the wedges, then he has to jack up the lofts quite a bit to hit those same distances. So that was the biggest deterrent. If Bryson can’t figure out short game and I struggle with short game, am I going to be able to master that? Right. And the second is also the fact that you brought up that there’s not enough OEM support. So I thought when Cobra was 3D printing some of their clubs that maybe there’s going to be a lot more flexibility for them to work with individuals and create a set for them. But all the onel clubs are one-sizefits-all other than Bryson who has an entire team behind him to make those clubs specialized for him. Because of that, for me, it was not an option. And I don’t play the one light even though I love it in theory. Yeah, I I you know, I actually I want to like the theory, right? Like I said, um but I think you need to be able to develop your game, develop your feel, right? Especially for the wedges, right? like you said, instead of learning how to chip with a broomstick effectively. Um, I think that that nuance that you get from experience and, you know, practicing a little bit more. Once you’re within 30 yards, you should be able to develop a feel. I’m all for, you know, whatever mechanical triggers help you get there, right? Like like the P3 position and and everything else, but, you know, inside 30 it’s a little bit harder to do that. So, I I think you you need to get comfortable with, you know, with soft hands and and having a better feel. And one tip that I was given is if you could imagine what it would take with your trail hand to just toss and roll it the exact distance that you’re trying to get. It’s probably the same level of strength and sensitivity that you need to actually chip or putt. That has worked great for me. You know, and you know this, for the longest time, I never even lined up my putters. I would I would never walk it off. I just like I just felt what it was supposed to be. And you know, I’m not a good putter, but you know, it it worked for me. Um, I think people need to develop that versus just being able to say, “Oh, okay. Mechanically, I I can just repeat the same thing over and over again and have it work.” So, one, I like the theory, but I just don’t think the trade-offs are worth it. For me, it’s still a gimmick. And right now on the tour, is Bryson the only I think Bryson’s the only one using one length right now, right? Yeah. The last I I remember it’s like uh Ricky tried it and I don’t think he lasted like more than a season if if even a season if if I remember correctly. I I actually didn’t know that they had them around in the 80s. Obviously my my golf knowledge starts a lot later because I picked up golf in the 2000s but I did not know that. That’s interesting. To be fair, I think I was like four and I actually wasn’t golfing when Tommy Armor came came up with it, but little a little bit of Googling helped me out with that one. Nice, nice, nice. All right, for this last segment, we decided to have a little bit of fun. So, we asked Chat GPT to describe the type of golfer who plays each major brand. And honestly, the results were kind of brutal. So, let’s see what AI really thinks of us and whether it actually nailed the golf stereotype. The first brand that we have is Titalist. And this is what Chat GPT thinks. If you play Tidalist, you’re the purest. You believe in feel, control, and tradition. You’ve got a Scotty Cameron putter that hasn’t seen a birdie since 2022, but you clean it more than you clean your car. You’re disciplined, polished, and secretly terrified of switching golf balls. You’re basically a walking country club brochure, but damn, you hit a pure 10% of the time. God. Okay. I’m like a little bit I’m like mildly offended by this cuz mostly I Okay, so I have a Scotty. I play Vokei Wedges. Currently, I have the T100’s and it’s just if you watched our last episode, I kept mentioning like I might be a traditionalist. I might be a purist. So, I don’t know why this one hits so nailed it. Yeah, this one might hit a little too close to home, but no, I I hear you though, right? It’s the It’s the more like stuffy like what people equate golf to or like that more traditional view of golf where always have the polo tucked in, your shoes are always polished. Yeah. And and God, yes, that is that is actually me. Yeah. I always have my shirt tucked in. But but to be fair, this is how I was like raised on the game, right? Like my parents golf, my whole family golfs. And you know, there was once where um I had gone out to play when my family knew I was out playing golf. And then I went out went out to eat with some friends. So I changed before I went out to dinner. And then I go home and I’m wearing jeans and my mom looks at me and she’s like appalled. She’s like, “You wore jeans at the golf course?” It’s like, okay, first of all, we play at munis. Yes, there’s still a a, you know, a dress code, but like, no, of course, I was like, you know, but that level of like respect for the game and that traditionalist view, like I was kind of just raised that way. So, in my defense, the the snobbyess is inherited, not something that I Yeah. I mean, when I first picked up golf, I didn’t want to wear titleless gear because I felt, you know, I I started in my late 20s and titless gear screamed middle-aged and the the the logo and the brand is a cursive and even though I actually write cursive, but no one else does today, right? So, from even like the branding style, it kind of screamed tradition. So, I actually tried to avoid titleless clubs. And also going back to mistakes beginners make, I made the mistake of wanting to hit distance and Titalist was not distance. Although their latest drivers, yeah, I like them. Yeah, I like them. But 10, 15 years ago, their drivers were known to be tight dispersions, but it’s not the longest out there. And so I think the Vokis were the only titleless branded products I played for a while until so this is before I got married. I had a Scotty Cameron 009 collection. Yeah. And I am a little bit sad that I so obviously when I got married and then when I was getting ready to have a kid I sold that collection and I was crazy enough that I actually gained two of those putters. And for for most people that’s just a collection item, right? But I am so sad I sold it because at the time um hopefully my wife doesn’t hear this, but at the time those putters were ranging from like 1,600 to four grand depending, you know, those putters are now like 8 to 10 grand. The ROI I could have made if I just held on to them. I was I was going to say like I would have held on to them just for the appreciation, right? Cuz in in another 10 years, like they’re getting harder and harder to find, right? Like it and nobody and people do that do have them aren’t willing to let them go. Right. So and the part that I am really sad about is that so they had the 009’s and then they had the 009 m which are machine. So the original 009’s are much more coveted cuz everything was like hand grinding and manual and most of mine were 009’s and so I I am so sad that I sold them. Man, should have held on to those. I know. I know. Luckily, luckily I have pictures, so I still reminisce just by looking at the pictures. All right, jumping on to the next brand, Tailor Made. So, if you play Tailor Made, ChachiPT believes you live for new releases. Stealth, QY10, Sims, the M series, you’ve owned them all, and somehow you still think the newest driver is the one. You talk about twistfaced like it’s a religious awakening. You are basically in a long-term relationship with marketing copy. You play Hale just again like Chad GPT is just like coming after me. Yeah. Okay. So, so this one I agree with, right? And I have I I’ve played every major manufacturer driver, not not so much the Irons, but for the driver for sure. And I keep coming back to Tailor Mate. Um, is it always the best? No. Maybe there’s a little comfort there, but I I I mean I like Twist Face and like I I’ll say this to you sometimes, right? Like I’ll grossly miss a ball and it’ll somehow find its way back to the fairway and I’ll just be like that’s Twist Face, right? So So it’s definitely something that I do. But but you know this we’ve all seen this person on the range. They’re um they wear the flatbrim hats. They have like golf joggers on and you know their bag is all black and very like hype beast kind of modern younger crowd like you know loves filming their warm-up routine and probably tags good good and just not that anybody cares but I get it. I I’ve definitely been this person may maybe when I was a little younger but oh god it’s I’m a little cringe just just thinking about younger Roy and all of my tailor made gear. I mean, but you know, they are definitely on top of their marketing. And Tailor Made was the first brand to sponsor influencers before anyone else. And so maybe some of that also has to do with their their marketing strategy, but all the guys were playing Tailor Made. And when Stealth came out, they started just giving them away to influencers. And all the influencers were doing unboxing and and most of them didn’t even golf or they sucked. Yeah. Yeah. But I will say that I am not as offended because I was the tailor made fanboy. At least for drivers. For drivers, starting from the R1S, I literally had every model up until they got to carbon face. The moment they went to carbon face, I didn’t like the feel. I didn’t like the sound. and and Tailor Made also I always felt had the best shapes and they were always ahead of the game when it came to innovation cuz the R1S was really the first like major major adjustable club and then with the M1 where they had that T sliding bar like I was able to tinker with my club so much to a degree that I’d never been able to do before. I even bought like aftermarket weights and played around with waiting and see how that would mess with my MOI and make me a better driver. But yeah, I was I was that tailor made guy until recently when I became a Callaway guy for driver. And that I think will be a good transition to see what ChachiPT says about Callaway. So for Callaway, ChachiPT says, “You love technology, just not enough to understand it. You read AI once in their ads and figured, hey, that sounds really smart. You’re the nicest guy in a foresome, quick to compliment, quicker to reti, and you love saying it’s forgiving.” Like that’s your swing philosophy. You’ll hit one OB, smile, and say, “Still love this club though.” You’re the golden retriever of golf. loyal, lovable, and a little lost. Oh, I love that. Uh, golden retriever energy. Yeah, I I I I agree with that. And I I see this as like the friendly neighborhood dad. So, it’s just like that guy that, you know, has a quarter zip that has Callaway on it, even though he’s not out golfing, standing over his Trager, barbecuing on the weekends, handing out beers, telling every golf that you’ve already heard like 300 times. um and and like tells you stories about like that one time he played at Pebble, right? And just recycles the same like 10 stories. Friendly guy though, right? Like maybe not the best golfer, but you would never complain about having him in your foresome. Yeah, right. Like to me to me that’s that’s this guy, right? I fully buy into it. I I love this guy, right? Maybe maybe now that I have a kid, I I turn into this guy. Maybe maybe you’re also buying into it because you have zero Callaway clubs in your bag. That’s That’s true. So there’s nothing to offend me for this one. Yeah. But for me, once again, they’ve kind of nailed it cuz I transitioned to Callaway Drivers the moment I had my daughter and I was like, I don’t get to play as often. I need forgiveness. And so, I am going to get rid of my Tailor Made and go to the Callaway. And and obviously, I still play the Triple Diamond, which is the low spinning, most unforgiving driver in their line, but hey, it’s it’s it’s more forgiving than the alternative at Tailor Made. But do you notice I mean you know you you work with a lot of consultants. Whenever I run into consultants and they want to wear something more comfortable they wear Callaway polos. Yes. Okay. Not only consultants for a many number of years I traveled a lot and went to a lot of different corporate offices. Yeah. And like every casual Friday and this is obviously pre- pandemic when people actually dressed up for work a lot more. Yeah. It was always Callaway Polos. Always. Not only the consultants, but but even like the corporate workers. And you know, this is like I lived in New York where most people don’t even get out to Yeah. I am always like so surprised when I walk into an office and I have a meeting and the guy’s just wearing a polo that says Callaway on it. I’m like, “Did you just go golf?” And he’s like, “No, it’s comfortable.” Especially in Texas. I don’t know why I’m calling this out, but in Texas, I guess cuz it’s hot, right? Like it’s really hot in the summer. So it’s like socially acceptable to go to work in a dry fit or like moisture wicking polo. They’re all Callaway. Yes. Yes. Um my my brother lives in Phoenix and you know he he’s he’s kind of in that consulting world and I see him in a work meeting and he has like it’s it’s obviously a more like professional looking but he has like an Under Armour shirt like polo shirt and I’m like are you allowed to wear that? He’s like yeah like that’s what everyone does here. But I think it definitely has to do with that. Yeah, that that wicking technology make it cooler. Um, but I’m whenever I see Callaway shirts, I I always laugh inside. All right, let’s let’s do the last brand of the day, and that is Ping. And chat GPT says, “If you’re a Ping person, you care about numbers, MOI, lie angles, spin axis. These are your love languages. Your driver’s sound could startle wildlife. But you’ve never cared about looks. You care about results and you keep a you keep your stats in a spreadsheet and your personality is a mid layer quarter zip. You tinker, you test, and you probably check your lie angles multiple times. You’re not flashy. You’re just ruthless, efficient. You’re basically the Tesla of golf. God, this is like this one. Okay, again, I don’t know what Chad GPT has out for me. Okay, so I used to play the the Ping G25. Love that. Love that driver. Uh I think I gave it to my dad and I I told him again never to sell it. I do that a lot. I give away my clubs and I’m like I still own this. Don’t sell it. Like give it back to me one day. So, but I’ve lost track of who has all my clubs. And then I went to the Ping G30, which was the most obnoxious sounding club on the driving range, right? Like literally whenever I hit it, people would like be like, “Who the what are they hitting?” Uh, and my my friends would be like embarrassed to hit in the stall next to me because it it was so loud, right? Like you’re you’re literally startling everything in a mile radius. Um, except for the Sasquatch. The Sasquatch was the most annoying sound in the club uh ever. Uh, but second to that, I think was the the Ping G3. Sasquatch was also square. Yeah, that that’s fair. But okay, so this is why I I don’t know why uh Chad GPT knows this about people. When I was playing those clubs, I kept a spreadsheet of all of the clubs that I actually had, including the length, the lie, the loft that I bought it at. And and my logic was if I ever needed something adjusted or tweaked or whatever, like I would just have it handy that I can go back to uh you know, whatever. But like, why why am I being called out for for having spreadsheets? And and also like is this a thing? Did other people do this that it’s it’s like a known stereotype? It must be. It must be right. Hey, and and you drive a Tesla, too. Okay. To be fair, my wife drives the Tesla. It’s her car. Um I I see I see the Ping person as like a Volvo driver. You know, I I like that a little better than Tesla. Yeah. It’s it’s like always talk about how safe and stable it is and like slightly smug about it, but not like in your face because they’re talking about safety. So, what is to brag about? But, you know, just like a little bit like judging you that you’re not as like safe uh about your car as they are. No, but but I really like that because I feel like the pings are kind of the safe almost neutral option. So, when I when I stopped playing Blades and I was in the market for like a like a tour cavity back type of club, it came down to the JPX Tour 919s, which is what I ended up choosing, or I think it was the Ping Blueprint. And it came down to those two. And the reason why I didn’t like the Ping and and eventually went with the Mazuno is because it’s it was a little boxy, kind of like a Volvo. It it performed fine and I knew it was going to be reliable, but it didn’t quite have that little especially coming from a blade. You still want a little bit of that sexiness and it didn’t have that. And so I ended up choosing the Mazudo over the Ping. I I think that was that was a good call. Um, no offense against Ping. Uh, great clubs. You know, this has been great. We should probably do more. Um, yeah. I’m curious what Chachi PT thinks of all the other brands out there. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, drop a like, drop a comment if you, uh, want to hear more of these golf stereotypes. Uh, and just in general, don’t forget to like, subscribe, follow on your favorite podcast platform, and check out our Instagram, Tik Tok, and YouTube. Trackolf. And we’re out. And as always, may your mulligans be many, and your three putts be you. Thanks for getting off track with us. [Music]
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