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Golf 101: 5 Tips to building your golf bag with CH3 (+ Charles Howell III WITB)

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I think at this point it’s safe to say that Charles Howell III is the adopted son and patron saint of WRX.

Not only is he a member of the site and visits regularly, but he’s also an avid club nerd and tester. I’ve become friends with CH3 over the past couple of years and have had some fun gear geek sessions with him. Want to know the coolest thing of all? He’s still as passionate and curious about gear as we are and not just Titleist (who he is on staff with) he’s curious about it all.

So who better to ask about how to build a great golf bag than with a man who knows it, does, and plays for his livelihood week in and week out?

These are 5 Charles Howell III golden nuggets that any golfer can learn from—and oh yeah, his take on the future is spot on.

Rule #1: Stability over speed no matter what

“Even for the guys on tour, stabilizing the clubface is paramount to good driving. One of the reasons I love testing shafts so often is to see if there is that magic combo of speed and control. However, the stability of the clubhead and shaft have to be there—I could find a combo that’s 20 yards longer, but if it’s something I can’t control, it doesn’t have a place in my bag. Extra yardage is fun until it isn’t.”

Rule #2: Find wedges that can do it all

“I chose the Vokey SM8 M Grind in the 56 and 60, because as the grind spectrum goes, they fall dead in the middle for me but everyone is different. I discovered that finding a middle ground grind wise solves the “different wedges for different grass problems” some players find themselves in. Even at Augusta, there was more Bermuda sticking out than normal which made shots from behind 15 different for example a little trickier. Not only are you chipping back towards a downslope with water behind, but it’s also now into the grain. Knowing I had wedges to combat either scenario made it that much easier. As a player, you have to put all the grinds through the paces and see what one checks off the most boxes. It might be something you never considered.”

Rule #3 Forgiveness looks different for every player

“Iron set makeups have changed so much in recent years. Pay attention to the soles when choosing your irons, even in the longer irons. It would be easy to think that bigger heads wider soles would be a no-brainer to hit, but to be honest, it’s not that simple. Sometimes finding a sole that will help the club get in and out of the ground easily will get you that center contact you were looking for. Although guys on tour may choose beefier long irons, it’s pretty rare to find one with a really wide sole. Soles that large encourage a player to try and sweep it off the turf which is counter-intuitive with an iron in your hand. When getting fit, pay attention to attack angles and center contact with your longer clubs; you may find that thinner soles help you more than anything else.”

Rule #4 Enjoy the process of learning and testing

“Obviously playing for a living gives me the advantage of testing a ton of stuff, but it’s just as fun doing the research at home (online) and understanding what certain equipment can do and the idea behind it. I still rely on testing as much as I can to see what works but it’s the pursuit of knowledge that keeps it all fresh week in and week out. Technology is so good these days but like anything you have to ask questions, look around try some stuff and then make a decision. Remember it’s your golf bag, take some pride in demanding that every inch of it works for you.

Eyes on the future…

“I think as we go down this Bryson/distance chase, the ultimate result on tour will be a lot of two driver bags. Look at it this way, having a 47-inch driver for long bombs, and a 44.5 inch for tighter drives, and a 4-wood isn’t all that hard to imagine. Players can tweak lofts in the irons and wedges easily to adjust to gapping. It’s not rocket science, and I don’t think we are that far from seeing multiple players on tour doing it that way.”

Charles Howell III WITB

Driver: Titleist TSI3 (10.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)

Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD XC 6 TX

3-wood: Ping G425 LST (14.5 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Atmos Black Tour Spec 8 X

7-wood: Ping G425 Max (20.5 degrees @20)

Shaft: Fujikura Atmos Black Tour Spec 9 X

Irons: Titleist T100 (4-6) 620 MB (7-9)

Shafts: Project X LZ 6.5 (hard stepped)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M, 60-08M)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron 009M

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align

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18 Comments

18 Comments

  1. Benny

    Dec 5, 2020 at 7:21 am

    JW- thanks for this article. Love it and love Chucky Hockey Sticks!

    Few things that I learned here and couple I had been thinking. Like the wide sole mention. I am not a high ball hitter but have had a few sets that allowed me to hit high (for me). All those previous sets that allowed a higher ball flight had more player standard soles. Thin soles.

    So while I went and found some longer irons this year to be like all these other guys hitting 190y 7i, I found it hurt me with flight and added length made things much harder.

    Awesome as always JW, thank you!

  2. ChpNRun

    Dec 4, 2020 at 7:47 pm

    On Forgiveness:
    “It would be easy to think that bigger heads wider soles would be a no-brainer to hit, but to be honest, it’s not that simple. Sometimes finding a sole that will help the club get in and out of the ground easily…”

    My Tour Edge CB Pro Tungstens do this. Due to heavy tungsten sole weighting to aid launch, the soles themselves are not all that wide. And, the beveled leading edges lessen chances club will hang up in turf.

  3. Randy Allen

    Dec 4, 2020 at 5:06 pm

    Two drivers in the bag? Why not just build a 2w again?

  4. Pelling

    Dec 4, 2020 at 4:58 pm

    Charles is so good he has one career top ten finish in a major. One.

    • Joe

      Dec 5, 2020 at 9:50 am

      Well he’s maintained a Tour Card for damn near two decades. I’m sure that’s better than most people have done in the game (yourself included).

  5. Frank Crowe

    Dec 4, 2020 at 11:28 am

    Great comments from CH3. His bag is different with a 7 wood and no low irons. I agree chunky soles just don’t cut it!

  6. steve

    Dec 4, 2020 at 11:19 am

    Howell seems like a good guy and I know this article has the best of intentions. However, I find it difficult to believe a local shop is going to take the time to allow an individual consumer to come in to demo numerous shafts, club heads, combo’s etc. Heck, even the “Super Shop” in Sacramento, California, allows only one club to be taken out for demo at a time. And the only way they will put you on any kind of monitor is if you are willing to pay an additional fee. Even with that, I’m sure they are trying to get you in and out as quick as possible. Oddly enough, We don’t all have unlimited access to manufactures tour truck. CH3’s advice just doesn’t really apply to the general public.

    • Jacob

      Dec 4, 2020 at 11:26 am

      That’s a shame – I’m in the middle of north central Iowa. You would assume there would be a lack of fitters and folks who would allow demos out. Quite the contrary. Great golf around us, plus we have a few local options for fitters (one particular-Hanson’s Golf) that have no problem letting you take a club out to the course or come in and hit several different options depending on what’s available.

    • Matthew

      Dec 4, 2020 at 11:30 am

      You’re right, most will not. It’s something most pro shops at private clubs will allow you to do though. Another option is finding a ‘demo day’ near you where multiple oem’s will show up with all the components as well as launch monitors and allow you to try whatever you want in any combination you desire.

    • ChipNRun

      Dec 4, 2020 at 7:44 pm

      I know two shops where you can do this. You just have to schedule a fitting, rather than show up at noon on Saturday. They’ll let you try all the stock shafts.

  7. makaveli

    Dec 4, 2020 at 9:42 am

    what is CH3’s handle in the forums here?

  8. Kyle EricSon

    Dec 4, 2020 at 3:27 am

    And yet another pro who’s longest iron is a 4 iron and carries a 7 wood, yet I continually see comments and YouTube reviewers talking about how good they are and how they can’t play hybrids and/or 7 woods but “prefer a 2 iron instead”. A lot of ego involved in this game …

  9. Bryant Gumble

    Dec 4, 2020 at 1:59 am

    Yes, great insight and solid information!

  10. Karsten's Ghost

    Dec 3, 2020 at 3:07 pm

    One of the best pieces on this site ever. Bravo.

  11. Sam Larson

    Dec 3, 2020 at 2:21 pm

    I tested TSI fairway woods….they were forgiving, hot and straight. Wunder why he chose Pings over the TSI? TSI reminds me of the old Cally
    Steelheads which CH3 played for years.

  12. DukeOfChinoHills

    Dec 3, 2020 at 1:26 pm

    Rule #1: Stability over Speed is VASTLY underrated. Wise man.

    • Paulo

      Dec 3, 2020 at 2:06 pm

      Almost like he makes a living playing this game ? Very wise man

    • Craig

      Dec 4, 2020 at 1:52 pm

      Absolutely agree! So much for longer, faster, lighter BS!

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Whats in the Bag

Chesson Hadley WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX

3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4, 5), Titleist 620 MB (6-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball
Grip: Odyssey

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos Chesson Hadley’s clubs here.

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Whats in the Bag

Gary Woodland WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Cobra Darkspeed X (8 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 70 M5

  • The white circle that appears at the top of the face a removable sticker that’s used for launch monitor tracking, and Woodland removes it for competition!

3-wood: Cobra Darkspeed X (14 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

7-wood: Cobra LTDx LS prototype (20 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

Irons: Wilson Staff (18 degrees), Cobra King MB (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X

Wedges: Cobra SB (48), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-14F), Cobra King (60)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X (48 degrees), KBS Tour V-Ten 125

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0P

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

See more in-hand photos of Gary Woodland’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

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As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

 

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I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons? 

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that? 

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man. 

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

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