"Three (3) Clubs Only" Master Thread

[billchao]

On 8/24/2018 at 10:17 AM, easyjay39402 said:

A 3 club tournament is coming up soon at my home course. I’m thinking maybe 6i, PW, and Putter.

Suggestions?

Drop the putter and bring something longer along for tee shots and long approaches. A 5w or long hybrid would work, whatever you're more comfortable with and have in your bag.

[amished]

On 8/25/2018 at 9:27 AM, Zekez said:

What about people choosing a 6 iron as their longest club?  They would have the same problem, except off the tee.

I agree.  Seems like a mistake to be "too long" or "too short" in your club selection.  It seems easier to get good distance with a 3w/5w for the tee, from the fairway, and be able to half swing to get down to a reasonable iron distance.  That's the iron you should then pick, in my opinion, and then have that with a half swing go down to the distance that you would hit a wedge and that would be my third club.  

At least, this approach seems optimal from a theoretical standpoint, but I don't know how well you'd be able to control certain half shots, or the course isn't generally all that long so maybe a 4h would be all you need for a long club instead of a 3w.  Honestly, I probably could score reasonably close to my normal score on my home course with just a 4i (I don't like hybrids much) as my longest club, but there's a lot of doglegs and target golf if you're not accurate with a driver on many holes.  A different course would make me want to go with a 3w or something more than likely so there are a fair few factors that would go into that decision.

[Big C]

The "best" choices are going to be situational based on the length of the course and the par 3's specifically. But in reality, you are going to have 2 choices because a greenside wedge is a must. Anything from a 52-58 is usable. This club will double as your putter and will come in handy as you will be missing GIR's with regularity. Trust me, you don't want to be trying to get up and down from a delicate spot with a pitching wedge.

If the course is playing short'ish, then a hybrid or long iron off the tee is reasonable. If it's playing longer then I would go with 3 wood. But that's a personal call based on how well you hit each club and what the course set up is. 

For the 3rd club, I would base my selection on the par 3 lengths, and choose a club that would play reasonably well into each of the par 3's. Sometimes the choice is obvious. If it's not, I would personally default to something like an 8 iron.

[easyjay39402]

Much to think about in these comments. 

1. My strength right now is mid-irons. A 5 (maybe 6) iron would give me the possibility of reaching every par 3 and  par 5.  I carry my 5 about 175 max, so it could put me in good position off the tee.

2. I’m thinking my 50 or 54 wedge to take care of business from 100 yards in.

3. I’ve tried putting with a wood and with a wedge. It’s not going well, so I’m thinking of putter for the third club.

[chilepepper]

Hybrid 7i gw. Hybrid for putter

[Fourputt]

On 8/24/2018 at 8:17 AM, easyjay39402 said:

A 3 club tournament is coming up soon at my home course. I’m thinking maybe 6i, PW, and Putter.

Suggestions?

I never take a putter for these tournaments because it's too limiting.  My general choice is 5W, 7I, and PW.  That can change somewhat depending on how long the course is set up to play.  Usually when I've played in that sort of tournament, they play a shorter tee, so depending on that, I might modify the last 2 clubs to 8 iron and gap wedge.  The 5W is a constant for me since it replaces driver, fairway wood, and putter. 

I don't think that I've ever been beaten by anyone who selected a putter for this sort of competition, because that leaves too many holes in their arsenal - too limiting for me.

Edited September 1, 2018 by Fourputt

[dagolfer18]

Let’s say your home club is hosting a three club challenge. They say you can pick any three clubs, with one catch: the putter cannot be one of them. Oh, and you're playing the regular tees in the challenge, whichever those may be. Which three do you choose and why? For me, my choices would be, from longest to shortest:

1) My 4H. My course isn’t terribly long from the white tees, and because I hit this about 185 on a well-struck shot, I could reach even the longest holes comfortably in at worst one stroke over regulation and still have a par putt. This is also the club I would putt with (I had to putt with this one day because I left my putter at home, and did almost as well as I do with my putter).

2) The 7I. This would cover me from about 150 into the green. This would probably be the most-used club for me on my course, because given the fact that I probably won’t reach many holes in regulation anyway (mainly the longer par-4s), I would simply lay up with the 7I so I can have a comfortable chip shot. This would also be a good chipping club, because I’ve recently put the mid-iron bump-and-run in my arsenal. 

3) PW. From about 115 in, this is the club I would probably use. It’s recently become one of the most reliable clubs in my bag, along with the two I’ve mentioned above. This would also cover me on greenside bunkers. The greenside bunkers at my course, with the exception of one or two of them, are not very deep at all. It may not get me close, but I’ll get out in one shot and, most of the time, have a par putt. 
 

With these three clubs, I’ll feel confident about playing well in the challenge. Which clubs would you choose?

[bwdial]

As boring as this sounds, I would probably select the exact same clubs as you.  I tend to stripe the hell out of my 4 hybrid, so it would be great off the tee, and I could rip it off the fairway.  I am very comfortable with my 7 iron in a variety of situations, so it would be very versatile.  Of course, my pitching wedge is a go to club that I can also putt with.

[David in FL]

The last time I did this I used a 3-hybrid, 6-iron, and PW.   Shot a rather pedestrian 83.  
 

Best shot of the day was a choked down, chippy hybrid to about 4’ on a 175 yard par-3.  Missed the putt.  

[CarlSpackler]

I would pick 0 clubs and sit in the bar enjoying some drinks.

[iacas]

@dagolfer18, please find existing topics to bump rather than starting new ones, often with the nearly the same title.

[woodzie264]

1 hour ago, David in FL said:

The last time I did this I used a 3-hybrid, 6-iron, and PW.   Shot a rather pedestrian 83.  
 

Best shot of the day was a choked down, chippy hybrid to about 4’ on a 175 yard par-3.  Missed the putt.  

That’s an average score for me using all the clubs at my disposal 

[bwdial]

That's a career best for me.

[NM Golf]

At my home course I would take Driver, 7 iron, gap wedge. Tighter shorter courses I might go with a 3 hybrid instead of the driver. 

[Canderson]

I see this is an old post; however, does anyone know how the tourney format was run?  How did they do handicaps?  Was it run individually or as a team?  If teams, 2,3,4 person teams?  I want to do a tourney like this, but don't know any details besides the 3 Club Monte.  Any advice is appreciated!