15th club...

[Crafty]

I was hitting balls the other day with my dad and noticed that he had 15 clubs in his bag. I jabbed him about it and told him he had no excuse for not beating me now. As we continued talking, we started to debate how much a 15th club would help the average player. My dad argued that a 20 handicap could become a 15 or 16 with the help of one more club. I disagreed. I feel that it would help less because it is the ability to hit the ball consistently and feel your way around the greens. Thus, I would like to pose a couple of questions:

How much help would a 15th club help you(__ shots a round)?

What would you add if you could add another club?

[joseywales]

I would add another wedge (probably a 58*) just to have it in the bag as another option.

[nykfan4life]

I'm not sure it would produce such a drop in handicap, although, for single digit handicappers, an extra wedge would problably help them get down to scratch. It wouldn't really help high handicappers that much because they usually don't use as much clubs(I really only use my 3-5-7-9 irons)

[immts007]

Since I just added a 5 wood to my mix, I'm faced with abandoning my beloved antique 'chipper'.

I'd keep the chipper as my 15th club.

[Crafty]

I know I would change my wedges setup to 48-52-56-60. That way I could be more aggresive with the 95 yard shot, a place where I often find myself, but is somewhat between a 9 o clock 54 and a hard 60.

[Dent]

I'd add a hybrid seeing as i dont have one. If i could hi t it well I'd prob take off 1 stroke a game.

[Q.Q.Quillume]

How much help would a 15th club help you(__ shots a round)?

Q1 -- the 15th club would help me ZERO shots per round.

Q2 -- I would not add a 15th club; I have enough trouble with the 14 I carry now.

[MGP]

I voted fairway wood because if I added a 15th club it would probably be a 3+ wood, although I'd really use it as a 2nd higher lofted driver. It wouldn't get used but for maybe 2 or 3 shots a round at most. Otherwise I've got all the clubs I need in my bag for pretty much every shot I need to make.

I doubt if adding a 15th club would help most golfers. According to the USGA statistics I've seen the average handicap hasn't changed much in about 25 years and we all know clubs and balls have gotten much better in that time period.

Crappy hacker golfers (like most of us are) are still crappy hacker golfers even with all the great equipment we can afford.

[ezmoney5150]

I haven't had a lob wedge for quite a while now. I was thinking of dumping my 19 degree hybrid and putting my lob back in the bag.

[Shindig]

Sometimes, I wonder if I'd play better with ten clubs instead of fourteen. But I don't wonder enough to try it.

If I were to add a 15th club, it would only be on courses where I'm playing for the first time, and then I'd take a high-bounce sand wedge. The courses I play, low-bounce seems to work better for the sand. Alternately, I'd try a belly putter for short putts. Or is it long putts they work better on? Either way, I'd consider two putters, one for long shots and one for short ones.

[JSC924]

I would carry an extra 56 degree wedge (full swing 80 yards, more to fill the 70 yard 3/4 swing). I probably would shave 1 stroke every 4 rounds. I rarely find myself in the 70 yard range, probably once every 10 rounds. If I need to hit an 80 yard shot, I would just use a 3/4 swing on my 51 degree wedge.

I use a 60 degree lob wedge around the greens. Short pitch/chip with little green to work with. Hit all shots out of green-side bunkers with my 60 degree.

[hawkeye]

i voted wedge - I only have 3 (47, 54, 58). Like you Crafty - i'd change to 52, 56 and 60 and stick with my 47 in the set.

Whether it would reduce my handicap is a different story!

[mn723]

I think the rules should be changed so we could only carry maybe 12 clubs. However, if we could have 15 I'd add a 5 or maybe 7 wood.

[redi630]

I have a pretty big distance gap between my 3-wood and 3 hybrid. So if I were to add an additional club, it would be a 2 hybrid.

I don't think it would help my handicap that much. For the courses I play at every year, it may only help 3-4 times a year on a couple of long par 3's.

[azflying]

My 15th club would be a cut-down 13-deg driver to use off the tee when hitting the driver brings trouble into play.

I think taking one of those high-lofted drivers will allow the player to take advantage of all the technology and that huge 460cc head in the 3-wood type club.

[meenman]

i'd put my 9 wood back in my bag - just because when i had it everyone wanted to try it and loved it - i still hate it - thats why it got the quick boot when i got my hybrid.