Equipment
Golf 101: 5 Tips to building your golf bag with CH3 (+ Charles Howell III WITB)
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
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
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Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
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Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
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Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
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!
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.
Randy Allen
Dec 4, 2020 at 5:06 pm
Two drivers in the bag? Why not just build a 2w again?
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).
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!
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.
makaveli
Dec 4, 2020 at 9:42 am
what is CH3’s handle in the forums here?
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 …
Bryant Gumble
Dec 4, 2020 at 1:59 am
Yes, great insight and solid information!
Karsten's Ghost
Dec 3, 2020 at 3:07 pm
One of the best pieces on this site ever. Bravo.
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.
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!