Number of Clubs for Casual Golfer?

[Jack50]

How many clubs does casual golfer need? Currently I don't know the yardages for each club and haven't been on course in a couple of years. I am thinking of starting playing again. What is a good number of clubs in bag to start with?

[boogielicious]

43 minutes ago, Jack50 said:

How many clubs does casual golfer need? Currently I don't know the yardages for each club and haven't been on course in a couple of years. I am thinking of starting playing again. What is a good number of clubs in bag to start with?

Welcome to The Sand Trap. It depends on the courses you play, but you could probably get away with driver, one FW or long hybrid, 5 - PW irons, a wedge and putter, so ten clubs. 

[dennyjones]

Welcome to TST.    We're glad you've joined.

I can't give you a definitive answer but will give you my perspective.   It's very important that you know the distances of each club.   Without that information, it would be very difficult to tell you how many clubs to carry.   

You could start with the odd number clubs and work from there.    

[iacas]

11 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Welcome to The Sand Trap. It depends on the courses you play, but you could probably get away with driver, one FW or long hybrid, 5 - PW irons, a wedge and putter, so ten clubs. 

You can get away with 5, 7, 9, SW. Driver. Hybrid. Putter.

Seven.

Hell, @NatalieB played her freshman year at high school (as the #1 girl on the team) with a 7-club junior set.

[boogielicious]

4 minutes ago, iacas said:

You can get away with 5, 7, 9, SW. Driver. Hybrid. Putter.

Seven.

Hell, @NatalieB played her freshman year at high school (as the #1 girl on the team) with a 7-club junior set.

Agree. My wife’s starter set was basically every other club.

[Jack50]

I do have enough clubs for a set. I just think less might be better for me. Interesting suggestions. The 7 club suggestion might be the most appealing. I was thinking something like Driver, 5 iron, 7 iron, 9 iron, 11 iron, Sand wedge, Putter. I do have a lofted putter I might put into the bag too, so maybe 8 clubs. Less clubs means less to carry. Which is good, as I don't particularly like using a push or electric trolley, though I might change my mind about that who knows.

Edited July 12, 2021 by Jack50

[mcanadiens]

Go to the range and try them out. Find the ones you have the most confidence in and get those distances dialed in. 

I got all my clubs in the bag, but that doesn't mean I use them. 

 

[Shindig]

Also worth noting:  depending on your swing speed and contact quality, there might not be a meaningful difference for you between consecutive numbered irons.  And when you're first starting out, aiming to get the ball safely on the green is even more important (both for the round being played and the skills you develop by doing so), so having 15-yard gaps (or whatever they end up being) isn't a big problem.

[rebelrob]

Welcome,

I'd say you could most likely get away with driver, 5, 7, 9, pw, sw and a putter. 

I played a course for the first time in a long time and only used those with 1 shot with my fairway hybrid in addition to them. 

[RWC]

I've been playing a short set of clubs for 10 years or so. As I've gotten older (69 now) my swing speed had slowed and as a result the yardage gap between clubs has dropped so that the 10 yard difference between clubs is now maybe 3 yards at most. I mix and match the clubs for each round based on the par 3 holes - I like to avoid a partial club for tee shot on those holes. Another nice benefit of short set is the bag is lighter and easier to carry.

Bob

[pganapathy]

My bag is currently 11 clubs with one more on the way. Driver, 4h, 5-9, PW, SW and LW.  A 2h is on the way and will take up the slot in between driver and 4h for longer 2nd shots from the fairway.  Both the SW and LW are specialist clubs only when I need the additional loft or bounce/lack of bounce to get out of difficult lies.  I would say if I your distance between the clubs is close, pick every other iron in your bag (odd or even is your choice) and then a PW and SW/LW depending on which you prefer out of bunkers and your wedge swing/lies on your course.  Probably around 8 or 9 clubs - Driver, 5 wood, 4 hybrid, 5/7/9 or 6/8, PW and SW/LW

[ncates00]

On 7/12/2021 at 7:32 AM, boogielicious said:

Agree. My wife’s starter set was basically every other club.

That certainly makes sense for beginners because there's less of an issue in deciding between clubs. 

2 hours ago, RWC said:

As I've gotten older (69 now) my swing speed had slowed and as a result the yardage gap between clubs has dropped so that the 10 yard difference between clubs is now maybe 3 yards at most.

You may consider looking into higher lofted fairway woods or hybrids. These clubs will help you get more ball speed and launch. Both of which will help you maintain proper gapping throughout the bag. An older guy at the club in which I used to be a member had woods all the way to a 13 wood. Those clubs are very helpful as you age or slow down. No shame at all.