WHAT'S IN MY BAG : CAM YOUNG

Driver

SPECS Titleist TSR3, 9°, Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro White 70 TX shaft, 45 inches.

This driver went in the bag at the Scottish Open last year. It’s standard length and neutral settings. It’s as vanilla as it gets. I can hit a variety of drives with it, but I’m usually going full bore, trying to hit a little draw.

Fairway Woods

SPECS Titleist TSR2+, 15°, Fujikura Ventus Black 80X shaft.

I had a 16.5 degree 3-wood in the bag, but that left too big a yardage gap between my driver and 3-wood — probably a good 50 yards. I can hit this 15-degree fairway wood something like 275 yards in the air easily.

Irons

SPECS Titleist T200 (2-iron), Titleist T100 (4-, 5-iron), Titleist 620 MB (6- through 9-iron), Nippon NS Pro Modus3 Tour 130X shafts, Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align grips.

I sometimes use an 18-degree 5-wood, but I’m mostly playing the 2-iron. It’s more consistent o the tee. The short irons are blades, and when I hit one correctly, it does what I want it to.

Wedges

SPECS Titleist Vokey SM9 (48°, 53°, 58°), Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks (62°), Nippon NS Pro Modus3 Tour 130X shafts.

I have four wedges but only two lengths. The 48 and 53 are the same, and the 58 and 62 are, too. It helps me control my yardages. I like the muted-colour shafts on the wedges I use around the greens. It puts my focus on the clubhead.

Putter

SPECS Scotty Cameron Phantom X5 tour prototype, 34.75 inches, SuperStroke Flatso 2.0 Zenergy grip.

This putter has a head shape that is fairly popular on tour, but it’s uniquely mine. It has a long knuckle neck that makes it face-balanced instead of having toe hang. I like the look of it because everything is 90-degree angles.

EASY ON THE EYES

I always mark with a quarter. There’s no real significance. I use one because anything smaller is tough to get out of your pocket, and anything bigger is annoying to look at on the green.

NO COMPLICATIONS I keep it simple in the bag: alignment sticks, range finder, tees, balls, etc. I’m also anti-superstitious. If I park in a spot and shoot make it a point to

I wanted a little more height on approaches. The spin’s about the same, maybe 100 revolutions-perminute difference.

TODAY’S WEDGES BRING OUT THE SHORT-GAME WIZARD IN ALL OF US

PLAYER COMMENT

Callaway

JAWS RAW/FULL TOE

RRP AED 850

WHAT IT DOES: The raw face and 37-degree wall angle on the grooves enhance the sharpness for increased grab, particularly on shots from 80 yards and in where players want a shot that stops after one hop. The new groove design gets help from micro-milled grooves between the grooves. These are milled at a 20-degree angle, helping spin on even shorter shots, specifically chips and pitches. The result is the most aggressive grooves in company history

WHY WE LIKE IT: Callaway uses tungsten for the first time in a wedge (sand and lob wedges only) to position the centre of gravity in line with the middle of the face for maximum control and feel. The new Z grind — a more forgiving, low-bounce option — is an excellent addition to an already impressive line-up.

Cleveland

CBX ZIPCORE/FULL FACE 2

RRP AED 745

WHAT IT DOES: A thoughtful mixture of technology good enough for tour players yet designed to mask the flaws of those less skilled. A low-density material inside the lower hosel, neck and sole areas moves the centre of gravity in line with the sweet spot and increases forgiveness by 26 per cent vertically and 10 per cent horizontally. That helps shots come off more consistently.

WHY WE LIKE IT: The sole design smartly changes through the lofts, which takes the agonising task of knowing what grind to use out of the equation. The C-shaped sole on the highest lofts boasts the most heel-and-toe relief for maximum versatility. The revamped Full Face model features a larger face and is designed for the player looking for even more forgiveness.

PLAYER

Cleveland

RTX 6 ZIPCORE/FULL FACE

RRP AED 745

WHAT IT DOES: Cleveland’s innovative ZipCore technology involves removing weight from the lower heel area and using it elsewhere. In this latest update, 21 grams are redistributed to increase the moment of inertia (forgiveness) to mitigate the loss of distance on mishits, particularly on shots struck high on the face.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Although ZipCore is a true game changer, it would be criminal to overlook the new face finish that uses blast media and laser patterns. It is applied differently for low lofts (46 and 48 degrees), middle lofts (50 and 52) and high lofts (54 through 60). The idea behind the varying applications is to produce consistent spin between the wet and dry conditions — something all you dew-sweepers out there can benefit from.

RRP AED 795

WHAT IT DOES: There are plenty of subtle features that better players will appreciate. As usual with Mizuno, it starts with the grainflow forging process that has been refined over the past 50 years at its facility in Hiroshima, Japan, to deliver a soft feel. The upper portion of the clubhead is flared to produce the high spin and penetrating flight that provide control on shots into the green.

WHY WE LIKE IT : The T22 is one of the few forged models in this category. Mizuno takes pride in off ering a variety of options in wedges just like it does with irons. Those include four finishes and four sole grinds in which the heel and toe relief increases as the lofts increase. Also, the X grind has extreme heel, toe and trailing-edge relief to bring out the short-game artist in you.

PING GLIDE 4.0

RRP AED 1,110

WHAT IT DOES: From full shots to nip spinners around the green, one groove shape doesn’t fit all. The Glide’s lower lofts have grooves with a 20-degree sidewall to optimise volume on full shots where more turf is taken. On the higher lofts, the sidewall increases to 28 degrees with a sharper groove edge to maximise grab. One additional spin tactic: A new face blast adds texture to the hitting surface for additional friction.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Getting golfers into the proper fit has been Ping’s mission almost since the company’s inception. That extends to the short game. Four swing-specific options range from a thin sole S-grind for players who take shallow divots to the bunker-friendly E-grind that is based on the iconic Eye2 lob wedge.

TAYLORMADE

MILLED GRIND 3

RRP AED 795

WHAT IT DOES: The challenge for the third iteration of this wedge was straightforward: produce a club that appeals to tour players and add the aggressive spin all golfers seek. To achieve this, the sole has undergone changes. The standard bounce has a slightly wider sole, the low bounce sits closer to the ground with more camber, and the high bounce is wider than the MG2 and features increased camber.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Elite players have no trouble generating tour sauce with wedge shots, but average golfers need all the spin they can get. This wedge maintains groove-edge sharpness through a process that leaves the face and grooves unplated. In addition, the face has tiny, raised ribs between the grooves to add surface roughness to increase spin on short shots.

PLAYER COMMENT

“The

WHAT IT DOES: The SM9 builds on the SM8’s centre-of-gravity position in front of the face that assists squaring the club at impact. This version slightly raises the CG vertically by adding weight higher in the clubhead. Progressive hosel lengths also raise the CG, which promotes a lower, more controllable flight.

WHY WE LIKE IT: The SM9 features the first groove revision in a Vokey wedge since the SM6. A new “spin milled” cutting process creates the entire scoreline instead of just part of it. The result is a more consistent scoreline edge radius, allowing the grooves to be sharper and closer to the USGA limit. Confused by all the options? Here’s some advice from designer Bob Vokey: Go with more bounce in the sand wedge and less bounce in the lob wedge.

PLAYER specs 11 options (48-60 degrees); 2 sole grinds; 2 finishes

WHAT IT DOES: Milling is Bettinardi’s bailiwick, and that extends into its wedges. The forged carbon-steel head features a milled sole and machined grooves along with a new ladder-milling technique high on the back flange. This process removes less material compared to the company’s classic honeycomb pattern that ran the entire area of the back flange. The result is a higher center of gravity, allowing for a lower trajectory with higher spin on full shots.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Yes, Bettinardi makes more than putters. In fact, this is the fourth version of its HLX wedge, but this model is more user-friendly. A new RJ grind, named for company founder Robert J Bettinardi, has higher bounce with more heel and toe relief for players looking to manipulate the wedge on shorter shots.

PXG 0311 3X

RRP AED 799 what it does: The 3X stands for the three-step forging of the 8620-carbon-steel clubhead. A taper from heel to toe allows the clubhead to open easily and keeps the leading edge closer to the ground. A slight camber from front to back allows the bounce to be effective on full swings with plenty of relief on flop shots. The hightoe design positions the center of gravity in line with where the ball is struck on open-face shots. The grooves are milled and extend across the face, providing grip on shots struck out on the toe. why we like it: Sometimes simplicity can be an asset. The seven lofts with one sole grind avoid any consumer confusion and cover just enough bases — not an unimportant consideration for a product often sold direct to the consumer.