Golf Experiment - Single Club Challenge

[foxhole88]

So a few guys at work were talking about playing 9 holes after and none of us are great at golf, a few beginners and a few decent players, when the following challenge came up....

I am going to play 9 holes and I am only allowed to use 1 club for everything (Tee thru Green). I normally shoot between 43-47 for nine holes at this course. It's not very long about 3000-3200 yards. The greens are very, very slow with little break.

The guy I am playing isn't that good, has a big slice off the tee (although there wouldn't be too much trouble on most holes if he slices), doesn't have a great iron game but should be able to putt pretty good on these greens.

Anyway, I was thinking about using either a 4 hybrid or my 7 iron. I am leaning towards the 7 iron in case I need to get out of a greenside bunker or chipping over something. The hybrid would get me closer off the tee, and I would be able to putt better with it and be able to reach the longer par 3's. Since the course isn't that long and the greens are slow and straight, I think the 7 iron may be the play here.

Has anyone ever played a round or 9 holes using just 1 club? How did you do? What club did you use?

I think I could probably break 50 and maybe even get to 48 with 1 club

[GaijinGolfer]

Reminds me of the movie, "Tin Cup" where his caddie wants him hit the 2-iron, but he wants to hit the driver. They get into an arguement, he flips out and breaks every club in the bag except for the 7-iron and has to finish the rest of the holes with the 7-iron (and I think he still makes par).
Ive never done it, never even thought to really. However, if I did, I think the 7-iron would be club I'd choose.

[CPHoya]

Have fun when you put it in a bunker.

Putting isn't really a problem, you just want to blade the ball on purpose instead of chip it when you're on the green. Practice this before you do this little challenge.

Chipping can be kinda okay, actually, with the 7-iron.

Keep in mind, though, that you're basically playing every single hole for bogey, so if you make just 3 mistakes you're at 48.

This could be a tougher challenge than you think.

[GaijinGolfer]

Putting isn't really a problem, you just want to blade the ball on purpose instead of chip it when you're on the green. Practice this before you do this little challenge.

That or you could turn the club around backwards and putt opposite-handed. No one ever said it would be easy. Possible? Yes. Easy? No.

[MunkeyGolfer]

Reminds me of the movie, "Tin Cup" where his caddie wants him hit the 2-iron, but he wants to hit the driver. They get into an arguement, he flips out and breaks every club in the bag except for the 7-iron and has to finish the rest of the holes with the 7-iron (and I think he still makes par).

And then looses his pink Cadillac in a challenge with the 7-iron

[GaijinGolfer]

And then looses his pink Cadillac in a challenge with the 7-iron

LOL...Yeah. I love that movie. Granted, its no, "Caddieshack", but its still a good one.

[foxhole88]

Update: Played yesterday with just a 7iron and I shot a 49 on the front. I beat the guy I was playing. He shot a 51. We then continued on the back to see if we could get in 18 holes. I continued to play with a 7 iron only and shot a 55 on the back.

It wasn't that tough, especially on the front when I was chipping very well and putting well with the 7. On he back, my swing got away from me for a bit on some of the holes and my chipping was not nearly as good.

I found that by just hitting the same club on each hole, I was able to get into a nice grove for a while. I may try this once every few months, (except to add a putter and maybe lob wedge) to practice hitting my irons.

[Franco!]

We played one hole during practice using our 60 degree wedges.
Nothing more sobering than hitting a 80 yard tee shot.

[mellojoe]

As soon as I saw the title, I thought "7 iron".

It would definately force you to get really comfortable with that one club, which would be a good thing for us beginners. If you took out the gimmiky part of it by adding a putter, I'm sure you could find this to be somewhat adventageous. If you add a wedge to your bag, you could probably play one day with a 5-iron and then play another day with the 7-iron and then one day with a hybrid.

That would force you to become really good with those three clubs (plus the putter). Eventually, you'd bring your whole bag with you, and since you've probably figured out some basic distances with those clubs you would know whether to go up a club or down a club from your starting points (hybrid, 5-i, 7-i, wedge).

Actually.... I have nothing to do Thursday afternoons. I wonder if I could try this little experiment myself to work on grooving a swing with some key clubs.

[ERC7.5]

Nothing more sobering than hitting a 80 yard tee shot.

You get used to it..... I have..... LOL

I've played in 3 club tourneys....have thought about going out with one club just for practice....would be fun!

[lordhamster]

Nothing more sobering than hitting a 80 yard tee shot.

Welcome to my world. :)

[BigDaddy_Sean]

i've done it before just for fun .. not 1 club but 3 ..

i chose 5 iron, sand wedge, putter. but boy when you do that you really get a groove going with that one club. it's good practice to just put a good swing on the ball.

[Harry Longshanks]

I have no idea if it is the "right" answer, but I immediately thought "7-iron" as well.

[scottgerweck]

Old thread, I know...

I've recently gotten into one club golf via speedgolf. Many folks may now be somewhat familiar with Speedgolf, since the broadcast of last fall's World Speedgolf Championships (at Bandon Dunes) on CBS right before Saturday's Masters round. In Speedgolf, your score is strokes plus minutes--shoot an 85 in in an hour (60mins) for a score of 145.

In preparing for a Speedgolf tournament, I found I wound up with my best Speedgolf scores by playing with just a 6-iron. While it generally takes me a few strokes more (I'm about 6-7 'cap), I more than make up for it in minutes, less due to the decreased weight, but rather due to the time saved not pulling a club in/out of the bag, being able to walk straight on and off every green, etc.. I suspect it saves me about 8-10 minutes/round, mostly around the greens and tees (no teeing up necessary with a 6-iron!).

I highly recommend trying one club golf. Find a course that'll let you play at dawn and pay when finished--you don't need to play speedgolf, just go out with your favorite mid-iron! Hit the ball, follow, repeat! Putting with the blade is easiest and most consistent on the greens, and the grounds crew won't have fits!

[BugDude]

I played in a 9 hole one-club tournament many years ago and took a 7 wood.  I scored about the same as with a whole sack of clubs.

Where I lived previously I was a member of a club and owned my own cart, so I played a lot of rounds late in the evenings when the course was empty with just irons, or sometimes just 1 club to work on ball striking.  I found that a 5 iron on that particular course I could reach all of the par 3s from the tee, all but a couple par 4s in 2, and all of the par 5s in three.  I once played 9 holes with nothing but a 9 iron just because I was having a little trouble with my short irons.  Problem solved after that 9.

If you're paying green fees to play, it's hard to go out and do stuff like that.  If you're paying the same amount per month regardless of how much or little you play, it makes a difference in trying things like this.  I now have a short 18 hole track near my house that is very cheap to play and I typically play only irons at that course.  It's a lot of fun and makes a big difference in ball striking.  I think a 7 iron would be perfect for that course.

[saevel25]

Hmm, i would probably take my 6 iron and play a round of golf. I might try that one of these weekends in the evening when no one is on the course, see how i do.

[trackster]

I did this once when I first started golfer.  I normally shot about 50 for 9 at the time.  I played with a 6 iron and shot around a 54 I believe.  If I had to do It again I would probably pick a 7 iron.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

I have played single holes with just a single club before, but never a round of 9 or 18 holes. I would certainly go with a 6 iron. I could de-loft the club and hit it almost like a 3 iron off the tee. Open the face and put some loft on it for shorter shots. It's an easy bump and run club and putting wouldn't be that tough. I'm sure I could break 100 on an average course with just a 6 iron.