It looks like the powers that be are intent on rolling back the golf ball, though it appears that will have little effect on recreational golfers. This bit from Tom Miranda at Golf Business Review tells the story.

“Announced in December 2023, the new regulations will apply to elite professionals from January 2028 and to recreational golfers by 2030. The new rule mandates that balls must conform to a maximum distance of 317 yards (plus 3-yard tolerance) when tested at a clubhead speed of 125 mph—up from the previous 120 mph limit, CBSSports.

“The average PGA Tour pro is expected to lose between 9 and 11 yards. For the longest hitters, it could be 13 to 15 yards. LPGA players may lose 5 to 7 yards, NBCSports.

“The rollback is being driven by sustainability concerns. Courses are getting longer, maintenance costs are rising, and the environmental toll of mowing, watering, and managing larger layouts is growing. There is also a desire to maintain the challenge posed by classic course designs without stretching them beyond their original intent…”

The LPGA hits the ball a lot farther than you might think they do, so a 5 to 7 yard rollback for them might mean a 3 to 4 yard rollback for the rest of us.

IOW, don’t sweat it. If you hit it straight, and you can chip and putt, you won’t notice a thing.

Every year I change up my bag. Golf is for having fun. This is it for 2024.

Full bag:
Driver – Titleist 975D, 12.5
Fwy wood: Titleist 975F, 20.5
Irons: Ben Hogan 1999 Apex, 2*, 5-E; Ben Hogan Producer, 9 (left-handed)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey 52-8, 56-8, 60-4
Putter: Ping G3 Tess

Short bag:
Driver – Titleist 975D, 12.5
Fwy wood: Titleist 975F, 20.5
Irons: Ben Hogan 1999 Apex, 5, 7, 9
Wedges: Titleist Vokey 56-8
Putter: Ping G3 Tess

* Specialty shots only

Driver – Titleist 975D, 12.5*
FW – Titleist 975F, 20.5*
1-iron – Ben Hogan Red Line
Hybrid – Ben Hogan Edge CFT, 24*
Irons – Ben Hogan 1999 Apex, 6, 7, 8, 9, E
Wedge – Titleist Vokey 56/08
Putter – Ping G3 Tess

The E iron is the pitching wedge in the Hogan set. He called his pitching wedge his equalizer.

There was a time, up until yesterday, to be precise, when I carried four wedges: PW, GW, SW, and LW. I got into the Dave Pelz method of pitching, which uses four wedges and three swings, and used them all for chipping, too.

I must say I did very well with that approach. But no more.

For the past few rounds I tried pitching with my PW, 9-, and 8-irons. I found that method to be every bit as accurate distance-wise as with the wedges, and easier to get a good shot out of, mainly because you can hit the the shot with a shorter, and thus more controlled, swing. I was very happy with the result each time.

And doesn’t the shape of those clubheads, at least with the blades I play, say, “Pitch with me?”

So out of the bag went the GW and LW. I hardly ever used those clubs anyway.

Next time you go to the range, try pitching with the three clubs I mentioned and see what you think.

I carry a 1-iron. Really, I do. It’s a pretty versatile club, and I’m going to tell about a couple of things I do with it.

On courses that have a lot of trees, it is ideal for punching out of the trees and down the fairway. The ball doesn’t get more that three feet off the ground and it runs forever. I can get 60 yards without trying hard.

Grip down the metal for control. Set up with the ball opposite your left instep. Take the club back only about five feet or so. The clubhead doesn’t get very far off the ground.

Swing through with your right side, thinking of punching the ball forward. Do not try to put a hit on it or you will mess up the whole thing. The follow-through is short–the shaft won’t get above horizontal.

I also use it around the green for chipping. The club has about 17 degrees of loft so you can think of it as a lofted putter.

For short chips where the ball is lying in grass too high to putt from, but is too close to chip with one of your usual chipping clubs, again grip all the way down and use a putting-like stroke to get the ball off the ground and rolling to the hole.

The ball comes off the clubface kind of hot, so it doesn’t take much of a hit to get the job done.

(Just to say I did it, I tried swinging the 1-iron at a ball. That was sitting on a tee. I learned that there is no point in ever trying that again.)

I made room for it taking out my 5-iron. I’m sure more uses will make themselves known as time goes by.

[Update] Chipping off a tight downhill lie.

[Update} Now it’s a 2-iron. Much better.

Before you got to the course to play, rinse off the grips on your clubs to get the dirt and oil off them, and to restore the tacky feel.

(But I know you always do that, don’t you?)

Take care of them during the round, too. Periodically you should take out clubs that you have been hitting more than a few times (driver, for example), and wet down the grip with just a few drops of water from the water bottle you carry.

(You do carry a water bottle, don’t you?)

Give the wet grip a good rubdown with your hand and wipe it off with the towel you carry.

(You do carry a towel, don’t you?)

All that should take only a few seconds. Doing that will make your grips feel, well, grippy, throughout the round.

The next time you watch a professional golf tournament on TV, you will notice the players wiping down the grip, especially late in the round.

It’s a little thing that could make a big difference.

Every year I put up a WITB post. I skipped last year because I stayed home and didn’t go out to get myself exposed to you-know-what.

In my 2019 post, I had a set that starts with a driver, then a 16.5* FW and a club for every 4* of loft down to a 60* wedge. And a putter.

This year, I took out the FW and added second putter. One is a face-balanced putter for putts of up to about 12 feet. The other is a toe-balanced putter for the rest.

This post goes into detail about the two putters.

Blades vs. cavity backs=”game improvement” irons.

There is an article on the GolfWRX site by Terry Kohler about the matter. I was going to write a response, but some guy in the Comments column beat me to it.

What he said is exactly my story. Every word. EVERY WORD.

“I have found that my scores with blade irons are the same or better as cavity backs. Could be because I learned to play with blades nearly 60 years ago because that was my only option. Could be that they just plain look better to my eye because of that old historical tie. Or it could be because I get sloppy with a cavity back relying on that supposed forgiveness. So at this point I simply select a blade because it makes me happy. It makes me think about all the things I need to do to hit a pure shot, and when I don’t I only blame myself. Handicap 9.”

As you know, I play Hogans. Either 1999 Apex or 1989 Apex Red Line.

You might want to get educated on golf balls. This video by Dean Snell, of Snell Golf, explains it all for you.

Who is Dean Snell? Check this out. He knows what he’s talking about.

Pay close attention to his discussion of golf balls and distance at 13:02.