"Three (3) Clubs Only" Master Thread

[9wood]

1 minute ago, iacas said:

So don't play in them.

I don't, I was merely sharing my own opinion of them 

[SavvySwede]

10 minutes ago, 9wood said:

Personally I dislike the whole concept of a three club tournament. They didn't design courses for only three clubs. But hey, each to their own.

The point is to challenge yourself. Not sure why you would shy away from this particular sort of challenge considering you have often wrote that you play to challenge yourself and don't focus too heavily on score.

[9wood]

2 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

The point is to challenge yourself. Not sure why you would shy away from this particular sort of challenge considering you have often wrote that you play to challenge yourself and don't focus too heavily on score.

Sure, there is the element of challenge there, just not the sort that appeals to me. To each their own ---- right?

[SavvySwede]

5 minutes ago, 9wood said:

Sure, there is the element of challenge there, just not the sort that appeals to me. To each their own ---- right?

Of course. I was just hoping for a little more explanation beyond "I don't like it". I've enjoyed playing with only one club. The added benefit being I don't need to have a bag, a cart or anything to take along, only a tee and a spare ball in my pocket.

[9wood]

Just now, SavvySwede said:

Of course. I was just hoping for a little more explanation beyond "I don't like it". I've enjoyed playing with only one club. The added benefit being I don't need to have a bag, a cart or anything to take along, only a tee and a spare ball in my pocket.

OK, lets say I'm in a three club tournament. I would probably choose my 3 hybrid, my 7 iron and my 56 degree wedge as my preferred clubs. Lets say, I'm left with a 100 yd shot to the green. I don't like the limited club selection I have for that shot, nor do I like not having a putter. In fact, I don't like being limited to what club options I am left with on any shot. Golf is designed for a full set of clubs not three. Why would I want to limit my options? Part of the fun of golf is trying to select the right club for the shot at hand rather than being limited to what club I have available simply because I left the other 11 clubs in my car.

[iacas]

2 minutes ago, 9wood said:

Golf is designed for a full set of clubs not three. Why would I want to limit my options?

That's not really true. My kid plays with five clubs. Errr, six now. Golf was not "designed" for a full set of clubs. Heck, back in the day, golfers played with 30 or more clubs! The number 14 is almost arbitrary. What if the ruling bodies had decided that 8 clubs was enough?

In fact, my scores wouldn't change much if you took two or three clubs out of my bag (3I, 5I… 48° wedge…).

You like the challenge of golf, but find three clubs limiting? Others like the creativity required. Simple as that. You get to have your opinion, but your reasoning is a bit weak, IMO. There's nothing otherwise special about 14. Some of my college players only have 12 or 13 clubs.

[Fourputt]

44 minutes ago, 9wood said:

Personally I dislike the whole concept of a three club tournament. They didn't design courses for only three clubs. But hey, each to their own.

You say you like a challenge... there's not much about golf that's more challenging than learning how to create shots with different clubs.  Anyone can just pick a club and make a full swing every time.  It's making adjustments, using your imagination to get the job done that makes golf fun.  I find that playing in such competitions in the past has made me a better player overall.  When I get myself in to a weird situation, I just figure heck, I've been here before and managed to find a way to make it work, so lets do it.  

Things like playing driver off the deck, or punching a 100 yard 5I to keep the ball under tree limbs and roll it up on the green, playing a 40 yard 8I explosion from a greenside bunker.   I learned to do all of those just playing around with different ideas.  I used to regularly take half the clubs out of my bag, put 3 balls in my pocket and go out and walk a minimalized 18 holes.  Lots of fun and plenty of challenge.

You can make any course or hole challenging by limiting the clubs you can use, rather than seeking out unusual or gimmicky holes.

[dave s]

3 hours ago, disaster said:

 

That was kinda how it went today ;) I did play the tournament, I went with 3w, 6i, 50° as planned and I shot +9. I missed alone 5 shots on the green which I would have surely saved with a putter (not even talking about the 5-10 feet putts which you also would hole a significant amount).

Still, it was a lot of fun. My shot of the day was a 3w from 190yds. 6i was not an option, as there was a bunker in front of the green (and I wanted to avoid bunkers as much as possible, due to not having the appropriate club with me)

I usually carry my 3w approx. 230yds, so I had to take off quite a bit. Hit a huge swinging slice with a shortened swing to take enough distance off and hit it to about 10 feet.

Sorry it didn't go so well for you.  Same here.  Trying to putt with a wedge is brutal.  Hit putt, ball moves 1 foot.  We played a 3-club deal after league round with 6 guys.  Low man on each hole dropped.  I dropped on 2nd hole when I THREE-PUTTED from about 10 feet!  Ugh.

Hope you at least had fun!  Sounds like a great 3-wood shot you hit.

[Fourputt]

1 minute ago, dave s said:

Sorry it didn't go so well for you.  Same here.  Trying to putt with a wedge is brutal.  Hit putt, ball moves 1 foot.  We played a 3-club deal after league round with 6 guys.  Low man on each hole dropped.  I dropped on 2nd hole when I THREE-PUTTED from about 10 feet!  Ugh.

Hope you at least had fun!  Sounds like a great 3-wood shot you hit.

That's why when I played in that type of competition, I used either a 5 wood or a hybrid for putting.  It's much more a normal putting stroke, without as much worry about hitting above or below the centerline of the ball.  If I did it today, it would be 5W all the way for the longer tee shots and for finishing on the green.  

[iacas]

13 minutes ago, Fourputt said:

That's why when I played in that type of competition, I used either a 5 wood or a hybrid for putting.  It's much more a normal putting stroke, without as much worry about hitting above or below the centerline of the ball.  If I did it today, it would be 5W all the way for the longer tee shots and for finishing on the green.  

Really?

Just blade the ball. How much are you moving around if you can't blade a ball with a wedge?

Hybrids and 5I have too much loft. Putting the ball well back in your stance is weirder than just making a putting motion with the blade at the equator (or just above) of the ball.

[saevel25]

When I play one club golf, I just either putt blading the ball or I will putt with the back of my iron. Either way has worked out pretty well. 

[Fourputt]

21 minutes ago, iacas said:

Really?

Just blade the ball. How much are you moving around if you can't blade a ball with a wedge?

Hybrids and 5I have too much loft. Putting the ball well back in your stance is weirder than just making a putting motion with the blade at the equator (or just above) of the ball.

Not for me.  I putt almost as well with my 5W as I do with my putter.  And I'm not bad with my putter.  I normally putt with an open stance, so I don't really have to change much to putt with the longer club.

Blading a wedge is an unnatural and uncomfortable stroke for me.

[9wood]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Golf was not "designed" for a full set of clubs.

Golf certainly isn't designed for only 3 clubs. Nevertheless, to those who enjoy playing with a limited club selection of only three clubs, I say, have at it. 

[iacas]

Just now, 9wood said:

Golf certainly isn't designed for only 3 clubs.

Again, there's nothing that says it's designed for 14 clubs, either.

[saevel25]

Just now, 9wood said:

Golf certainly isn't designed for only 3 clubs. Nevertheless, to those who enjoy playing with a limited club selection of only three clubs, I say, have at it. 

I play golf with only the 7 iron from time to time. It's a blast. I love the shot making. You always keep the ball in play. You have to be creative. You learn how to hit partial shots, or shape the ball to take off distance. 

I recommend to anyone to play golf with one to only a few clubs. 

[9wood]

Just now, iacas said:

Again, there's nothing that says it's designed for 14 clubs, either.

But 14 is more logical than three

[iacas]

9 minutes ago, 9wood said:

But 14 is more logical than three

It really isn't. 14 is simply the maximum allowed, and even that was chosen somewhat arbitrarily.

It's fine. Next time just say "get off my lawn" like a true old fart and move on.

Oh, and don't ever play Battle Golf where your opponent can tell you which clubs you can't use every time they win a hole…

[Fourputt]

12 minutes ago, 9wood said:

But 14 is more logical than three

Not really.  14 is just an arbitrary number that was chosen by the ruling associations as a limit under the rules.  Back in the 1930's after the steel shaft became popular and made clubs a lot cheaper than they were with the old hickory shafts, players were getting carried away, often dragging more than 30 clubs around the course.  The ruling bodies felt that this was detracting from the traditional skills of shotmaking, so they set a limit of 14 clubs.  

No logic or intent was behind it other than simply bringing those shotmaking skills back into the game.  When it comes right down to it, we are already playing with a limited set, so cutting out a few more just raises the bar a little higher.