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Just an Average Golfer giving unbiased opinions on all things golf, product tests, Golf travel vlogs and golf news!
Golf’s a tough game, and for most of us, it’s not about hitting perfect shots. It’s about hitting better shots more often. This series is all about you, the average golfer, and helping you build the most forgiving bag in 2025. Clubs that make golf easier, more consistent, and a whole lot more fun. So far in this series, we’ve looked at drivers, we’ve looked at fairways, we’ve looked at hybrids, and we’ve looked at irons. And finally, we’ve come up what is the most forgiving golf bag for average golfers in 2026. It’s going to help you find more fairways, find more greens, and finally bring that handicap down. Now, this is not just about choosing the right gear because of its performance. It’s about choosing the right gear and what impact it has on your mentality. Because often if you stand over a shot and you’ve got a club in hand that you’ve got confidence in, that can make a massive difference as well. As we know, confidence breeds confidence. We love to stand over the tea. We love to feel like we’ve got the right club in hand. And ultimately what that will do is breed consistency. And that is ultimately again what we’re trying to do when we’re reducing scores. The more consistent you can get, finding fairways, finding greens, the idea is that you will therefore start to lower your handicap. So choosing the right gear has many more implications than just the performance of the club. So the question is what is in this bag and what makes it so forgiving? Nice easy swing into the middle of the green. Two put in regs and we walk off with a par three. One of the key things I’ve learned throughout this series is that forgiveness is not about necessarily hitting better shots. It’s about reducing bad ones. And when you find a heel or toe of an iron that’s perhaps a a better iron, a better player’s iron than you should be uh should be in your hands, then you’re perhaps going to suffer. And that’s not what happens with, let’s call them game improvement irons, or in this case maybe players distance irons because what you’re looking for from your irons, you want help in that both heel and toe region because that’s where you’re going to hit more often than not as an average golfer, as a real golfer. And what we’ve looked at in this series is identifying the fact that game improvement irons help in those strikes significantly. If you’re hitting more balls onto greens into more fairways, then they might always be perfect, but you’re certainly going to get away with it more often than not with this type of iron. And over a course of a round, three or four bad shots that you still get away with are going to start to help reduce that handicap. So, you’ve really got to choose that iron carefully and making sure you’re getting all the forgiveness possible in that iron set and making golf just that little bit easier. So, if you didn’t catch the episode that covered irons, then I suggest you go back and watch it. But in brief, the principle was very simple. If you’re choosing an iron, the first thing you need to do perhaps with all these products is drop the ego and select something that’s best suited to your game. And what that probably means is a thicker sole, a thicker top line, and an overall profile that is just uh not as easy on the eye as perhaps you might like. But I got to say yet again, there’s been massive improvements in this genre in terms of the style, in terms of the look, in terms of the finish. So, those things are going to help you. The bigger mass, the wider sole allows CG to be a little bit further back, helps you launch the ball. Great ball speeds across the club face from these kind of clubs. Again, those left and right of center misses are going to be helped out substantially. So, drop the ego, have a look into that game improvement uh genre, have a look at the looks on the likes of this Vice Golf uh O2 iron, and I’m sure you can come up with something that looks good, sounds good, feels good, but perhaps overall performs really good. Roll out. Roll out. Wow. I wouldn’t do that in a medal on a Saturday. The one good thing about these irons as well, and I’m talking about game improvements as a genre now, is that idea that there’s a uh well, a compromise being made in terms of sound and in terms of feel. And I definitely think that is something again that is something of the past. These modern irons, these modern game improvement irons have overcome that issue. And as you can see, sort of feel around these greens with a pitching wedge in hand is plentiful. So, not a reason for you to ignore these irons any longer. So, that’s irons done with. But what you’ve got to do is make sure you end with an iron that you’re comfortable with and you can get the best performance out of. Again, go and watch the other video. We talk about that in detail. But for me, the longest iron in the bag that I carry is a six iron. Where do I go next? Well, it’s hybrids. Hybrids offer so much versatility, so many benefits to average golfers that they’ve got to be the next club in the bag. Oh, that’s just so nice and so easy. Yeah, couldn’t have placed that any better. Hybrids for me are the most underrated, undervalued club in anyone’s golf bag. First of all, if you go in the route I’ve gone, which is a four and five, five hybrid in the bag, they offer loft. They al also offer a lot of mass in the head profile. Those two things combined mean that the ball launches very easily. And for slower swing speeds, and certainly you seen from there, that was as easy as it gets, they’re going to help with launch. They’re going to help with spin, and they’re going to carry the ball a lot further than you would with the equivalent iron. All those attributes of the way in which a hybrid is put together are there to help golfers, not to hinder them. And they will act very differently than the iron equivalent in my opinion. They’re generally coupled with a graphite shaft, which again is hugely important that you get correct when selecting your hybrid or any of these clubs you see in this video. But everything that’s packed into this hybrid is helping me. Like I said, that loft element. I’ve gone with a five hybrid and a four hybrid. I could quite easily go into sort of sixes, maybe seven, maybe even eight hybrid because they make the game so easy. So, when you’re putting your next bag together, make sure that that iron is uh stopping at a point where you’re getting the benefits from it. Don’t duplicate. Four, five, and six irons generally perform very similar for a lot of average golfers with relatively slow or medium to average swing speeds. Make sure you identify that and get yourself stepped up into a club that’s going to help the gapping into that next one into the bag. And generally for me, I find that’s going to be hybrids. There is of course that kind of versatility element that you will get from hybrids that you wouldn’t necessarily get from the same equivalent lofted iron. So for in and around the greens, it just adds a little extra dimension that you might make use of. All products in this series are from Vice Golf and they have done an incredible job of making highquality products at affordable prices for average golfers. Vice Golf aims to make golf accessible, injecting tour quality golf gear into every golfer’s game. Visit the Vice Golf website now and make the most of their Black Friday deals. They tell me now is the best time to buy. Oh, how nice is that? That’s a golf shot. I’m even watching that one down, admiring it. So, we’ve got hybrids in the bag. Where do we go next? Well, a lot of people will jump into that 3-wood, and everybody knows I’m not overly keen on a 3-wood. Uh, the reasons being, I want loft. Loft is always your friend throughout all of this video. It can help massively. So, when I’m choosing fairway woods, I’m really leaning towards those four. In this case, that was a fivewood and then into a sevenwood. Five and seven is a great combination because they offer, in my opinion, again, a great deal of versatility in the bag and a great deal of help. What you’re seeing there was a very high launching ball for a uh a fivewood. Again, that’s because this club has been designed to do exactly that. It’s helping out with the slower swing speed. Again, its whole mass and the way it’s been put together will be a lot of weight at the back of the club to help launch the ball to help spin the ball. Don’t be afraid of spin. It can also help you a lot, particularly with that slower swing speed in getting that ball airborne for longer. It’s going to improve your carry distances, but more importantly, it’s going to help with that slower swing speed. Do things that quite honestly you can’t do with 3-wood. You’re not going to get that ball flight. You’re not going to get the carry distance. And overall, in my opinion, most golfers struggle with that lack of loft. So, once again, it’s pretty much the same principles. You’re looking at graphite shafts, you’re looking at slightly shorter shafts than a 3-wood as well. These offer versatility in the bag. They offer plenty of forgiveness and they launch the ball high. The principles are exactly the same. Getting the ball down fairway onto that short grass in my opinion is ultimately going to lead to lowering your scores and lowering your handicap. Now, one thing that’s been interesting throughout this series is I generally ask for comments from you and what kind of bag you’ve got made up. And uh a lot of you are suggesting that you’ve kind of made these changes this year. So, a lot of lofted fairways, a lot of lofted hybrids. And again, either mini driver or shorter driver shafts, all the kind of things we’ve suggested over the perhaps last 2 years that could be of real help. So, it’s it’s great to see that and I I love reading when kind of a bag has been impacted by anything you might have seen on the channel in terms of your setup and particularly when you’ve had success with it. But I also think it’s good for your fellow golfer. They kind of read it and say, “You know what? This clown might be actually making some sense here and it could apply to my game as well.” So, the clown being me, by the way, not the person who makes the comment. I should clarify that. So, get in that comment section as ever and uh let me know. Always when you get involved in that uh interaction, it’s greatly appreciated uh for you taking your time out to do that. So, anyway, let’s get back on the course and see what’s next. So, the final club in the bag is, in my opinion, what could be the most important that you get right because ultimately it can be the most detrimental. That’s some drive. This club is uh extremely impressive. And I won’t talk about the specific driver because I want to talk about the specific loft of the driver because that is what is key. Ultimately throughout this whole series, one thing that sort of springs to mind is about the speed and tempo of your swing. And it’s not about swinging harder or faster. It’s perhaps just being a little bit smarter and choosing the right club with the right loft has been a sort of a theme throughout all of these uh selections. And it’s no different with driver. In fact, like I have to say, I think it’s imperative that you get this choice right. This driver is 12 1/2°. That doesn’t mean the ball is going to launch into orbit, but it does mean that it’s perhaps going to help us launch the ball higher than we would with perhaps the sort of 90° 10° driver that uh is normally in most people’s bags. And I think again it’s that idea of dropping ego and having a realization that this kind of loft was often aimed towards uh almost a senior golfer. Maybe a ladies golfer would be a 12 degree driver head. That idea has got to pass. You’ve really got to change the attitude and I think manufacturers have as well because this type of driver, no it’s not the longest, but distance isn’t everything. It’s by far from it. You’ve got to find fairways and you’ve got to help you get that ball up in the air and down range. And to do that, you need this kind of loft on your driver. I do think that um we as golfers have got some major issues in that we follow what tour players do. 90° drivers would be the norm for them. They swing it probably twice as fast as what you or I do. It has no bearing on golf. For real golfers that play every day, high handicap golfers, mid- handicap golfers, even that low area, again, generally speaking, this kind of driver with this kind of loft is going to help. So that’s me. We’ve gone from irons into hybrids into fairway woods into driver. All with similar concepts, similar themes, building what is the most forgiving golf bag for 2026. And if you really want to uh drop that handicap, drop the ego to go with it and start choosing some of these clubs and I reckon you might have some success. Finally, just a massive thank you to Vice Golf for sponsoring this series. Their product is featured throughout. You’ve seen a little advert that we’ve run in between it all. If you want to check out some of their product, the link will be in the description below. That’s me. I’m done because yet again, it looks like the rain is about to appear over Hollywood Hill. I’ll see you soon.
28 Comments
I've definitely taken your advice this year and it's paying dividends. I've got rid of the driver and replaced it with a mini driver, with no real loss in distance. I've played around with different variations of fairway woods and settled on a 5 wood and a 9 wood. I've gone back to an old faithful Mizuno MX700 hybrid with 26 degree loft – it's got a great lower ball flight for windy days and it's fantastic out of the thick rough. My irons are JPX923 HM and I play 7-PW. Wedges are all Cleveland CBX4's I play a 48 then either a 54 or a 52 and a 56, I'll probably settle on the 52 and 56. Putter is an Odyssey Toulon Las Vegas with heavier sole weights. I put the heavier weights in for winter greens last year but I loved the feel so I kept them in all summer. Not sure my handicap is coming down yet but I've definitely made the game easier, every club has a specific job/specific distance and I'm only carrying 11 or 12 clubs.
You mention "slow swing speed" a lot, but I'm not sure what that means. Can you give it some numbers so I can understand how it applies to me? I've got a launch monitor and can measure my swing speeds. I'm sure my speeds aren't "fast", but I also don't know if they're "slow." A speed range to go along with the description, could be helpful. Love the series and am working on building a new bag and it has been very educational.
Excellent advice, I believe most golfers would benefit from this advice.
What are your thoughts on the PXG 0311XP irons . I know you were a fan and I love a ‘ping ‘ iron without constraints
If you play on a seaside course loft is not necessarily your friend. A 15 degree 3 wood can then be a useful tool keeping the ball low.
I'm now a 25HCP, but that's slowly heading the right way again since I've stopped using my driver (mostly) and use my Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke 5 wood off the tee using a shoulder to shoulder swing, it nearly goes the same distance as the driver and straighter… It's a fantastic club! If I'm on a par 4 or 5, I then use the same club again for my second shot, if possible, with the same swing to get to the green and if I get to within 100 metres, I use my 5 hybrid to bump it down onto the green or, if it's within 50 metres, I use my PW. I have a 56 degree wedge but only use that for bunkers or getting over an obstacle near the green. I'm never going to be able to hit it long because of injury and I realised recently that just using a good tempo swing, without trying to bash the cover off the ball, I find the fairway more often than not. I'm enjoying my golf more because of that acceptance.
All in all, I probably only use 5 or 6 clubs out of 14 in the bag 😁
This series is about Vice….. 🙄 Good products… we know.
A few changes this year:
3 wood, 4&5 irons are out.
3 & 4 Callaway Rogue ST MAX hybrids and 5 Cobra Rad Speed One Length hybrid are in.
First round with the new set up saved 8 shots (18 HCP), mainly due to playing second shots from the fairway instead of the rough. The bonus was no lost balls.
As my dad used to say, the best advice in the world is no good if you don't take it. Cheers Andy 👍🏻
“Dropping the ego” has genuine merit. Two years ago I was a 12 handicapper and I convinced myself that I could play better players irons and get myself down to single figures. It was a disaster. I’ve spent the past two years watching my handicap consistently going the wrong way. Earlier this summer, I was almost at 21 and more importantly, I was really starting to dislike the game.
I decided to drop the ego and ordered myself the Mizuno ST 230 Max hybrids…FOUR of them and increased the loft in them all. I only have 8-PW irons and even those are ultra forgiving (JPX 925 HL) and finished the bag off with Cleveland Smart Sole wedges, for even more forgiveness.
Since the change, I’ve knocked nearly 6 shots off my handicap and I’m actually enjoying the game again.
What’s the point in having lovely players irons in the bag, if you can’t hit them? I’d rather have a little clunkier bag and not have steam coming out of my ears every round.
Drop the ego…enjoy the game.
I play game improvement irons. I have 7 and 9 woods, mini driver and 11 degree driver and broke 80 this weekend. It wasn't perfect golf, but very controlled misses that allowed me to get up and down when I didn't hit the green in regulation.
I agree with ego-free golf Andy! I am re-working my bag still, but here is where it sits: I have a 12.5 deg driver (Stealth), 5W (Cobra Dark Speed), 4H (Ping G425). I want to add maybe a 6H (thinking I'll try Eleven). My irons are 7-PW (Takomo 101s). 50 deg (Cleveland CBX Zipcore), 58 deg SW (Cleveland SmartSole). Cleveland mallet putter. Cheers.
With my age and ability(swing speed), my driver through 7 wood all tend to go the same distance. So starting two rounds ago, I am using a 7 wood off the tee, then 6 hybrid, or 7 iron. Not trying for pars and birdies, trying to reduce doubles and the hated triple bogeys. We are at the end of our season, but I have a plan for club selection and practice over our winter. Thank you for the equipment videos you put out, I really like them.
In my bag, 56 thru 6 iron, 5 hybrid, 3 hybrid, 5 wood, and a Eleven driver 13 degree loft and shaft cut down to a mini driver.
Dropping the ego definitely has merit. However, that doesn't mean everyone will be better off with a bag full of hybrids and a 10K driver. Dropping the ego to me means being honest about what works both with your clubs and how you play the game. Is it always your equipment or do you sometimes just need to acknowledge that even when you hit a certain club really well there are just shots you can not make with it so don't try. I have never had an issue hitting any type of iron down to about 24 degrees of loft but I settled on what would be called a players cavity back by most simply because I liked the feel and the performance together. So mishits were never the issue. What the problem was is that I poorly managed the course. So no matter what type of iron I played I made the same dumb mistakes. About ten years ago I changed my course management style and today I could play the most unsuited clubs for my game and still score better than I did with poor course management and better suited clubs. Where clubs really helped me was realizing that I will always (because I don't care enough to change my entire swing to suit one club) hit a 3 wood too thin. So I ditched it for an 18 degree 5 wood and then shortened the shaft to 41" and swing weighted to D3 with an 85 gram shaft. And just like that I had a club I could consistently hit 230 off the ground. Sure, there's a big gap between it and my driver but people wildly overestimate the importance of the gap between their driver and the next longest club in their bag. Unless you play professionally or could make folks think you do it doesn't matter. That 5 wood plus a really wide sole 58 degree wedge for sand or fluff around the green and a 44" driver are the three clubs that actually made a significant difference for me.
Im sure drop the ego is true in a lot of circumstances.. but I have a wrist injury that just won't go away and fingers riddled with arthritis, i tried game improvement and they are just too heavy.. all though im a high handicap, cavity backs with graphite shaft is a way better option..
It's not always an ego thing..
My bag: When I carry a driver its a Firesole 12 degree on a senior 42" graphite shaft. When the driver is out of the bag, It's a Ping Strong 3 15Degree. Longer courses the driver gets the nod and the 3 stays home. Next up are Great Big Bertha 5 and 5 woods. Then the Nickent Hybrids, 4 and 5. Then 5, 7, 9 and Wedge Tour Edge Jmax Ironwoods. Then an Adams Sand wedge and an Adams chipper. And finally a Mallet long putter.
Love the channel.
I think loosing the ego is a good thing for a lot of golfers. Me on the other hand never had an ego about golf to begin with.
I used a full set of hybrids off and on for about a year and went to the Callaway X20 for about 1.5 years. This year I moved to the Cleveland Halo XL full faced irons. I also built a half set of hybrids, the odds.
I don’t care who thinks either set is ugly or amateurish. I would rather play these, drive 200-225 and shoot 85-90 and enjoy the game.
Don't forget to up-grade your grips to ones that truly fit your hands to best advantage. I have seen John Daly say that getting fitted for the correct grip is critical for proper swing execution, which I have found to be totally true. Having the correct fitting grips for your hand size and shape is super important and pays BIG Dividends in your performance. Plus, it is relatively inexpensive to do. It makes your existing clubs perform to their full potential. >>> Enjoy !!!
Only been taking lessons since August and purchased a full second hand set of Wilson 1200 low gravity clubs (D, 3W, 5W,3-P and putter), I have taken the 3/4 irons out and replaced with a 4 hybrid, I’m thinking of getting a fitting done in the next month or so even if it’s just to see what updated clubs would do and get line and length measurements for new clubs.
I carry only 8 clubs. A high loft 3W (15*) a 7 wood, an 11 wood. A 7 and 9 iron. A 52/58 wedge and a putter. I’m shooting better, playing fast, and enjoying it more.
Hi Andy. Always look forward to your common sense “lightbulb” videos. I remember from a previous video that you tend to just use one wedge in multiple ways rather than numerous different clubs into and around the green but as a high handicapper with the touch of a freight train I’m unable to be so versatile with just one or two wedges in my bag (though not for a lack of trying) so carry a full suite of different lofted wedges. Would like to hear your thoughts on some of the shorter clubs as I find that’s where I leak a lot of strokes. Thanks for the video!
When I was a teenager, I used to shoot in the low 80s regularly. I never regularly got into the 70s that was more of a one every 20 rounds kind of thing and it would be 78 or 79. I’m now 60 and I still work so I don’t play golf as as much as I want plus I live in the northern climate here in Michigan which dramatically limits the golf season
as I’m getting closer to retirement I have had a club fitting for my putter and switched to a mallet head with some better results and have played with my grip size and how I hold the putter.
In the last few years, I’ve also switched to a seven and six hybrid to get rid of my five 6 and seven iron. I’ve always done well with Fairway woods, but find it harder with a bit of a slower swing speed and not playing as much as I did when I played in Florida thru may late 20,s so after watching your show and a couple of others, I have switched just recently to a four and five hybrid of the same as my six and seven for Maverick 22 by Callaway and I’m getting much more consistency off the driving mats (it’s effectively winter here right now so there’s no outdoor golf) with more accuracy in addition to beret loft and ball strike consistency on them which I’m not surprised by because I hit the seven and six hybrids well.
I’ve also about four years ago switch switched to a driver with a 12° loft, which has given me more height, and therefore more accuracy in the fairway, reducing the extent of slices or hooks.
Shows like yours, provide the insight and real world experience to see what checking the ego can do. At this point with the amount of play I do it’s not like I’m dramatically throwing my scores, but this past summer I did start to dip into the very high 80s more often. I’m a typically a low 90 golfer and struggled to crack 90 for a long time. i’m avoiding a lot of the left right spread of my shots, adjusting my grip to avoid a more natural hook that I have occasionally and overall looking at the game from a how do I avoid blowup shots? How do I manage the golf course and when I keep my head, I do have those days where I’m at 89 or perhaps a few strokes lower.
I am currently trying to run through a regular consistent swing drill to try and pace my swing with sort of a 123 beat it because when I let myself overs swing, that’s when the trouble starts. As I head toward retirement, I wanna play more golf and I wanna enjoy it moreand club grip size selection and thinking through my swing more will hopefully allow me to more happily play golf in the future.
Andy, really enjoy your content on US side of the pond. I'm currently shuffling what is in my bag and fairway woods and hybrids are now a main feature. I was wondering what you think of these newer combination woods where the head is the size of a 3 wood, the loft is about 7 wood and the shaft is 5 wood length. Do you think this is a gimmick and would you ever test this type of club?
Started playing this year again after20 years. Lots of advice here Ill be using next year. Been using clubs I got at thrift stores but buying a set from Maltby in spring. Going 5, 7, 9 wood, 6 hybrid, 7 and 9 iron, pw and 56 degree. Have a 3 hybrid Ill take out as well. Love the channel
I've a 12-degree driver that I've shortened by 2 inches, a 5 wood and a 9 wood.
9 wood is incredibly versatile–choke up and it's practically a hybrid.
Then 7, 8, 9 irons and three wedges. With the putter that's 10 clubs.
I try to carry as few clubs as possible (I walk), and I feel I have no gaps.
I'm a 17 handicap, 69 years old, started golfing 8 years ago.
Andy, you comment a lot about a Mini driver, on tight driving holes I choke down 2 inches on my 12 degree Callaway driver and it goes straighter but not quite as far. I also play 4 hybrids. Not sure why we need to spend a lot more on a mini driver? Your thoughts?
There is something to be said for liking the look of clubs and the enjoyment of feel, etc. Subjective of course. I see more ego in play with men choosing the wrong tees to play or how they behave as a playing partner for 4 hours. But I can see how equipment could have its ego too, with shaft flex and maybe distances they think they hit things. But honestly if a person is an enjoyable and courteous playing partner and gets on with it…they can play Mizzy blades and persimmons and shoot 100, fine with me. 😂
Freddie couples has similar set up,he's pretty good lol