My Little Experiment with Casey’s Setup
So, I was watching some golf the other week, saw Paul Casey hitting it pure, like he often does. Got me curious, you know? What’s this guy actually playing? Went online, looked up his ‘what’s in the bag’. Always interesting to see what these top pros rely on.
His setup, especially those irons he often favored, usually Mizunos, always looked so clean. I play blades myself, not Mizunos, but a similar style. So I thought, hey, maybe I can learn something here. Not about getting his exact clubs, mind you, that costs a fortune and probably wouldn’t suit my rusty game anyway. It was more about the idea behind his choices.
I noticed he often mixes his sets. Like, maybe slightly more forgiving long irons and then pure blades in the short irons. I’ve always just played a straight set, 3-iron to pitching wedge, all the same model. So, this got me thinking.
The Practice Session
Next time I went to the range, I decided to mess around with this concept. Didn’t have different iron models to swap in and out, obviously. But I focused on how I hit my long irons versus my short irons.
- Long Irons (3, 4, 5): I really tried to focus on a smoother tempo, less about pure compression and more about just making solid contact. Thinking about how a slightly more forgiving club might help there. Tried hitting lower flighted shots, more controlled.
- Short Irons (8, 9, PW): Here, I felt more comfortable being aggressive, really trying to pinch the ball and get that spin. Like you would with a blade designed for scoring.
It sounds simple, maybe even dumb, but separating the intent based on the iron length, like Casey might do with his mixed set, felt… different. Forcing myself to change the approach mentally for different clubs in the bag, instead of just hitting every iron shot the same way.
What Happened?
Well, hitting the long irons smoother, focusing less on killing it? Actually got better results. More consistent contact, less wild misses. Maybe there’s something to that ‘forgiveness’ idea even if it’s just in your head or swing approach.
The short irons? Being aggressive felt natural, that’s my usual game. But thinking about why I could be aggressive (scoring club, precision needed) added a layer. Didn’t magically turn me into a pro, of course.
Final Thoughts
So, my little ‘Paul Casey WITB’ experiment wasn’t about equipment specs. It was about the philosophy behind the bag setup. Why mix clubs? Why choose certain things? For me, it translated into practicing different feels and intents with different clubs.
It showed me I was kinda hitting all my irons with the same aggressive mindset, which really doesn’t work for a 3-iron like it does for a 9-iron, at least not for me. It’s easy to just look at what clubs pros use. But thinking about why they use them, and trying to apply that logic to your own game, even in a small way like I did on the range? That felt way more useful than just drooling over some thousand-dollar forged irons I can’t hit properly anyway.
Ended up being a decent practice session. Didn’t change my clubs, but definitely changed how I thought about hitting them. Funny how looking into someone else’s bag can make you look at your own game a bit closer.
