A friend of mine invited me to play in a casual five-club challenge a few weeks ago. By “five-club challenge,” she meant that you could only carry five clubs (not that there were five different clubs competing). As it turned out, I wasn’t able to play because of a little thing called a job (my early retirement plan hasn’t yet come to fruition… come on Super Lotto!), but I did go so far as to start planning out my strategy.
I was a little disappointed in not being able to participate. Playing a round with fewer clubs is good for your game. You have to learn to make shots with clubs that are designed to make other shots. For instance, you may need to hit a pitching wedge 150 yards or 80. It’s good for your versatility. Plus, it sounded like fun.
I’ve mentioned in the forum before that I think the 14-club limit is brilliant. I know what you’re saying: if it was a 15-club limit, I would probably still have a 16th club that I’d wish I could get in the bag. You’re probably right, but there’s something about that 14-club limit that just seems diabolically ingenious. It’s enough to give you an option for most yardages, but you always wind up with some gaps, generally at the upper and lower ends of your yardage range.
So, just what would I carry if I hoped to shoot a decent score with only five clubs. What five would give me the best chance of getting around the course?
I’d need to get off the tee, to advance the ball at least close to the green on second shots, and to have a chance at getting up and down on occasion, at least. Then there’s the added problem of par threes and long par fours.
Here’s what I came up with as my five-club set. Comment below to share your five-club composition.
Number Five: The Hybrid
While some folks still like to hit the long irons, a lot of people are switching to hybrids because they are so easy to hit. I currently have two. An 18.5° that I use in place of a five wood and a 23° that replaces my 3-iron. I’ve chosen this club to make my five-club bag because it’s simply one of the most versatile clubs I own.
I can hit it off the tee, off the fairway, or out of the rough with equal success. I can even chip with it in some situations. Though it gives me a reliable 210 yards off the fairway, on days when I’m not carrying my 4-iron, I can just choke up a little and get 195 or 200 yards pretty easily.
Number Four: The 52° Wedge
Easy decision here… I can hit a full 52 about 125 if I stand on it, but I can also choke down and hit it 110, or open it up and hit a lob shot if the situation requires. It’s also my favorite chipping weapon.
Number Three: The Driver
Oh, I could get by with a 3-wood, and that would give me a long club for potentially reaching par fives in two, but the distance and forgiveness of my driver off the tee makes it well worth the limited uses for it. And if I do feel the need to try to reach a par five in two, there’s always the hero shot: driver off the deck.
Number Two: Everyone Loves the Seven-iron
Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy may have said it best:
Sometimes I fan that two iron.
[snap] Better gimme the three.
[snap] Sometimes I catch that three a little thin…
And I’ve hooked my four iron… [snap]
… and hit flyers with the five… [snap]
… and shanked the six… [snap]
… and skulled the eight… [snap]
… and fatted the nine… [snap]
… and chili-dipped the wedge… [snap]
… and bladed the sand wedge… [snap]
… and then there’s Mister Three-putt… [snap]
But the seven iron… I never miss the seven iron. It’s the only truly safe club in my bag.
I have missed with my seven iron, but it is overall probably about the surest thing in my bag as well. In addition, you can chip with a seven, and even open it up and hit something approaching wedge shots with it. I figure with a driver (270 yards) and seven (164), I can reach most par fours up to 434 yards or even a little more. And driver-seven-seven will get me to most par fives, even if I didn’t have the hybrid. There are also an awful lot of par threes that play between 150 yards (choke up on the seven) and 170 (smoke it).
Number One: The Putter
Yes, I could putt with the blade of my wedge or seven iron, but why? I’m going to have about 30-35 putts per round, far more shots than I’m likely to have with any other club. So why not bring along a specialist for the greens? In addition, it will be useful for those Texas-wedge situations where you can putt from off the green.
What are Your Picks?
So, those are my five picks. What would you do if faced with the same situation? You can only have five clubs to play a full 18 holes on a reasonably difficult course. What are you going to pick? Post your answers in the comments below or, if you’re a member of our forum, in this thread.
Now, what if I could only use three clubs? Hmmm…
Driver
Putter
Pitching Wedge
24 degree hybrid
7 iron
I have played in a few of these when I belonged to the golf association at my local muni course. We were only allowed 3 clubs plus your putter. It is a lot of fun and very challenging. I would agree with most of your picks, except I would probably replace the driver with a 4 or 5 Wood, and my hybrid would be a 4 Hybrid.
Driver
Sand iron
Putter
6 iron
3 hybrid.
But George, 5 clubs is too easy.
How about 3? Or even 2?
Driver, six iron, wedge.
Two clubs? Six iron, wedge.
I’m surprised how well you can actually putt with a 6 iron or wedge.
The five clubs I would take are:
1) Putter
2) 56* sand wedge
3) 8 iron
4) 3 iron
5) Driver
Wost case scenario, I’m left with a 120 – 135 yard carry over something and the 8 iron flies too far and the wedge too short. But, I suppose I would do a good bit of positioning during the round to avoid that yardage / situation.
Three wood, four iron, seven iron, pitching wedge and putter. Coming up is a tournement in which you and a partner can carry 2 clubs each. You can share clubs. Since we play clubs with different lies this could be tough.
3 wood – Can hit it 270 or back off it and hit it 220 if need be, will get me inside 150 on most par 4’s
5 iron – hit it 200
9 iron – 150
SW 100 +/- which along with the 9 iron has me covered in the scoring range
Putter – obviously
As a Jr. we actually used to do this with 2 clubs, putter and whatever else we chose. We got good at avoiding sand traps and playing the angles to make approaches easier, it was not uncommon for two or three of us to come in at par or better when we did. Club of choice for me was always the 7 iron because I could chip with it and when I ripped at it could get it down the the fairway quite a ways. The best tip I was ever given by one of our pros was to hit it in the first cut of rough on longer holes so that you could get some topspin on the ball to get it to roll further.
Was a great way to develop course management skills.
5 – 4 iron
4 – 52 degree
3 -Driver
2 – 8 iron
1 – Putter
Interesting. After much thought (and a Moulson) my clubs would be:
3 wood. Off the tee and off the deck.
21 degree hybrid.
6 iron.
9 iron.
Putter.
I’d still suck, but I wouldn’t have to make as many decisions on the course. Less thinking is good.
Putter
3 wood
5 rescue
7 iron
sand wege
With only five clubs I would look for accuracy and versatility rather than for maximum distance.
Nevertheless, these clubs would be long enough to reach par fours up to 410 yards and par fives up to 580 yards with less than perfect shots:
5 wood (18 degree) – 200 yards off the deck, 220 off the tee
5 hybrid (26 degree) – 170 yards
8 iron (38 degree) – 135 yards
sand wedge (56 degree) – 85 yards
putter (4 degrees)
putter
gap wedge
6 iron
driver
7 wood
3 wood – distance and for me more accurate than the Driver. Distance – 220 to 240 yards.
5 hybrid – accurate and gets the ball UP. Distance – 170 yards.
7 iron – my favorite club. Distance – 145 yardss.
Pitching wedge – most versatile club. Love to use it around the green, with ball placed well back in my stance. Distance – 30 to 115 yards.
Putter
5 wood (I can hit flagsticks with it) – 240 yds
5 hybrid – 200 yds
8 iron (it’s my tincup 7) – 155 yds
56.14 wedge – most versatile club in my bag from 90 on in.
putter (I’m going to hit it 35 times)
I’ll give up trying for par 5’s in two and play as best as I can to an 8 iron or SW.
Now, if it was just three? 5 wood, 8 iron, putter
5 Clubs – this is WAY too easy…..plus the fact that most 15+ handicappers would play better with 5 rather than 14.
My choices:
Driver – get me as close as possible as soon as possible. Plus I actually hit it pretty well from the fairway when needed.
4 Iron – might come up short on some long par 3s, but I can range this baby down to 6 iron length no problem.
7 iron – if you didn’t pick this club you’re crazy. Need a punch through the wind, check. Need a high floppy 9-iron-like fade, check. Need an 8 iron…choke up.
PW – Anything from 90-135 is waiting with this baby. Plus it can be pitched-with no problem.
Putter – Duh.
The great “impart topspin” myth. Only skulled shots have a chance at topspin. Any ball hit with anything resembling a golf club will produce backspin. It’s about less backspin from the rough. But a good tip nonetheless.
I’ve been exclusively using my driver, 21 degree 585h, my 53 Cleveland gunmetal wedge and my 58 degree TM Rac black TP, and my Yes Sophia putter for my last few rounds as I sold my irons. My best 9 hole score has been 42. It’s a great way to be creative.
Driver
3 hybrid
7 iron
56° SW
Putter
putter, 56 degree wedge, 7 iron, 5 fairway metal, driver.
I dropped the 5W, 4, 6, 8 irons & GW last year and now am down about 6 strokes on my handicap.
Driver, 3W, 3H, 5I, 7I, 9I, PW, SW, Putter all the time.
If I drop Driver, 3H 7I and PW i might drop another 5 strokes, temping. Unfortunitly I don’t have enough clubs to get to a scratch golfer.
I would yake a driver for the tees
a 4 iron (covers the 3 and 5 iron)
7 iron (covers the 6 and 8)
Pitching wedge (covers the 9 and sand wedge)
and a putter
How about a three club challenge? I need some imput!
Driver
5 wood
7 iron
SW
Putter
Hi
After playing a few years now, I class myself as intermediate. Adaptability will be key for each club to compensate distances as necessary.
My choice is:
Driver : you need the distance
3 Hybrid : you need the distance again before chipping on green
9 : Versatile if your in trouble or short before chipping on green
SW : Again a versatile wedge
Putter : A Must for final close out