WITB: Eliot Ross
I want to start by saying that in general I hate WITB’s because they are usually too much of an advertisement for some brand and are way too technical for the average golfer. They can unfortunately be one more way to make taking up the game intimidating. My wife is a great skier and I’m just a novice trying not to die on the mountain, but when I hear all the gear talk I feel out of place and out of my league. And then I remind myself that I don’t need to know everything all at once. The process of learning about “gear” in any sport or pastime should be a fun pursuit of knowledge – not a chore. I think so anyway.
Putter: Kenneth Usleton is one of the best putter makers on the planet. His company Xenon Golf produces custom putters using every metal and metal working technique under the sun, and this putter is exactly the shape, weight, and overall look I asked for – it is buttery soft and solid when I need it most. (Copper with a Mokume Game face insert)
Wedges: I was playing some Miura wedges prior to these vintage Ram Tom atson spin groove cobalts, and I’ll be honest, I prefer these by a mile. When it comes to wedges, I believe that more than any other club, a golfer has to love what he sees when he looks down. He/she also should have a golf professional watch them hit 75 yard shots in order to see how the club is interacting with the ground, and if that is not going to happen, trial error will work just fine. The colors of my previous Miura wedges were black and silver with a high gloss chrome finish, and I went in the opposite direction with these. They are a blue PVD finish on some KBS Ctaper shafts which are much less stiff than I had been playing in my wedges – which has been a revelation. My distance control has improved, as has my ability to flight the ball as I want.
Woods: I play the Titleist TS3 driver with Graphite Design Tour AD XC 7x shaft because it performs really well for me. I do own and periodically game a couple different persimmon drivers as well. I also enjoy playing my Dunlop Seve Ballesteros Persimmon woods but that is only a few times a year. My 3 wood is a old 915 model with stock Diamana xstiff shaft. My Hybrid (when I have swapped out my 3 iron) is a Ben Hogan VKTR 18 degree that is perhaps the most reliable club in my bag. It’s the only hybrid I have ever tried that I did not dislike, and that emotion has blossomed into a very potent (yet healthy, I assure you) form of love..
Irons: From age 16 to 31 I played the same set of Mizuno MP 14’s, which became essentially grooveless over time and then finally the 6 iron head flew off during a round in my early 30’s. I was off to the races discovering all many of forged irons. After buying and trading for those irons over the course of the next decade, I slowed down a bit, and figured out what was really working for me and what I wanted. My current set of Mizuno TP 11’s are most certainly built for me, and yet they are not the set I thought I would end up going with at the beginning of the process. The bright chrome was removed and replaced with the matte look you see now. The paint fills and ferrules were altered, and the S300 steel shafts were swapped out for composite UST Mayima Recoil 125g shafts. I can work the ball better than I can with steel shafts, and I do not have the dispersion issues that statistically are supposed to occur with composite iron shafts. The No1 50 Pro Series grips allow me to play without a glove throughout the year. The TP 11 is my favorite Mizuno club head ever forged, and it easily falls within my Top Ten Irons Ever made list
My golf bag was made by Elliot Golf Bags – no relation. Scott, the owner, is a true artisan and has a few base models which you can customize online. I went for waxed canvas plus leather vs. an all leather version. I’ve sent it back once so it could be cleaned and logos added. It’s an expensive bag, but I plan on having it for a very long time.
