What’s In My Bag Now?

Not too long ago, a pretty big box arrived to the Golf Shop at La Paloma. It was from Callaway and it was addressed to me, but I hadn’t ordered anything. Turned out it was a new Rogue Staff Bag with my name and the La Paloma logo on it. Wow! This is what I mean about being on staff with Callaway. They take really good care of their staffers!

Callaway has come out with a lot of new, innovative products this year from the Rogue driver, Rogue fairway woods, and Rogue hybrids to the new MD4 wedges and Chrome Soft golf balls. Here’s what was in my bag over the summer. Here’s what in my bag now:

Irons
Specs: Callaway Apex CF 16 (4-iron through PW bent one degree strong, True Temper XP 95 S300, standard length and lie angle, Golf Pride New Decade MultiCompound blue grips).

No change here. I still love the feel of these irons, and because they’re bent one degree strong, I find I get a little more distance out of them without having to swing harder.

Driver
Specs: Callaway Rogue Sub Zero (9.0 degrees, +1 degree, draw bias, 45.5 inches, Aldila Synergy Blue 50 60g S-flex).

I started with the Project X EvenFlow Blue 67g before transitioning to the Aldila Synergy Blue 60 (68g) and eventually settling on the 60g because it felt just a little lighter.

Here’s a little club fitting tip for you: when you add loft to your driver, it slightly closes the face, making for a even more draw bias. Taking loft away has the opposite affect, slightly opening face.

Fairway Woods
Specs: Callaway Rogue Sub Zero 3-wood (15.0 degrees, 43 inches, Aldila Synergy 60 68g S-flex) Callaway Rogue Sub Zero 5-wood (18.0 degrees, 41.75 inches (3/4″ short), Aldila Synergy Blue 60 68g S-flex).

I started with the same Aldila Rogue MAX 75g S-flex that I had in my GBB Epic fairway woods before finally switching to the Aldila Synergy shaft that’s in my driver. I also elected to move away from the strong, 3+ wood (13.5 degrees) so I could get a little higher trajectory. It’s much easier to hit off the deck.

Wedges
Specs: Callaway MD4 Matte Black (50 degree bent one degree strong to 49, 10 degrees bounce, S-grind; 54 degree, 10 degrees bounce, S-grind; 60 degree, 8 degrees bounce, C-grind; True Temper Dynamic Gold S200 Tour Issue, standard length and lie angle).

Originally, I started out playing the Mack Daddy 3 Forged Slate wedges but ended up making a change because I didn’t like the straighter leading edge after having been used to playing the Titleist Vokey series.

I wasn’t sure I was going to like the matte black because the faces always seem to scratch when you hit them out of the sand. So far, they’re holding up. And the black finish does cut down on the glare, which is nice. The new MD4s also have bright red Lamkin UTx cord grips to match the red dot fill on the back of the club.

Putter
Specs: Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2 (33.25 inches, 4 degrees of loft, 70-degree lie angle).

As a Callaway Professional Staffer, I’m contractually obligated to play at least 12 Callaway clubs. That hasn’t been an issue. This putter is the one club I simply couldn’t swap out. When I went through my fitting, we settled on an Odyssey O-Works V-Line Fang CH, but again, when I rolled it back home, it just didn’t fit my eye.

Turns out it didn’t really match my stroke either. Switching to a fang-style head would have been a major departure for me as I’ve always played a Scotty Cameron Newport or other blade-style model.

Ball
I play the new Callaway Chrome Soft. I used to play the Titleist Pro V1, but I find the Chrome Soft to be exceptionally soft around the green and into the green. It really bites! It’s also costs about $3 less per dozen. Oh, and I prefer to go unmarked if at all possible.