Less than 14 clubs?

[pjsnyc]

  mirv said:

i saw a guy maybe two months ago coming onto the course late in the afternoon when the place was pretty quiet. he didn't even have his bag with him, he just had four clubs in his hand and some balls and tees in his pocket. i was at a bit of a distance, but it looked like he had a fairway wood, a putter, and two irons. i thought that was pretty neat.

Seems like a true twilight golfer! A little different than what I was originally talking about, but I see it all the time too. Just this past weekend I got paired up with a guy that had only 5 clubs on him with just one iron (7 iron).

[right handed phil mickelson]

I think that for beginners, using less clubs is easier. It reduces the confusion of which clubs to use, ball positions, and sometimes different swings to compensate for the different lofts. As they progress though, keep adding clubs. I have 13 clubs in my bag- Driver, 2 hyrbid, 5 hybrid, 4,5,6,7,8,9 Iron, PW, GW, 58º, Putter. I'm thinking of taking out the 4 iron, and 5 iron since those are replaced by the 5 hybrid, and there's only about a 10-20 yard difference between my 6 iron and my 5-hybrid.

I think it doesn't really matter how many clubs you have in your bag, just as long as you get the job done. If you can shoot a 75 with 12 clubs, then use that. But, if you shoot a 72 with 14 clubs, then by all means carry those extra two. Have fun golfing!

~RHPM

[pjsnyc]

  right handed phil mickelson said:

I think that for beginners, using less clubs is easier. It reduces the confusion of which clubs to use, ball positions, and sometimes different swings to compensate for the different lofts. As they progress though, keep adding clubs. I have 13 clubs in my bag- Driver, 2 hyrbid, 5 hybrid, 4,5,6,7,8,9 Iron, PW, GW, 58º, Putter. I'm thinking of taking out the 4 iron, and 5 iron since those are replaced by the 5 hybrid, and there's only about a 10-20 yard difference between my 6 iron and my 5-hybrid.

Interesting take. I wouldn't say its easier though. And I certainly don't get confused as to which club I should hit, ball position, etc if I'm carrying 14. In fact, I used to always carry 14 until recently.

If anything, it sorta gives me peace of mind knowing that I did the best I could with fewer than the allowed # of clubs. (if I'm long with my 5 iron on a par 3 for example). I've been alternating my 'every other' irons. So one day I might bring my 5, 7, 9 irons. The next day I'll bring 4, 6, 8. Another day I'll bring 6,8,50*. You get the idea. And don't worry about the 'have fun' part. I have fun just daydreaming about playing golf!

[right handed phil mickelson]

Looks like we have a golf fanatic like me ;). Well, whatever works I guess. I usually go by the standard "More options gives you more opportunities to fail." That's not really as pessimistic as you might think; as it's optimistic towards the basics. Have fun daydreaming!

~RHPM

[lobsterzilla]

ok slightly different question ... why ?

are you building confidence .. are you trying to enhance your game?

im just curious the mindset by intentionally leaving out clubs ( if you just dont have them that's a different situation all together). Say i leave my 9i at home that i hit 140ish , my 8i goes 150 165 or so ...

why -not- have a 9i to shoot at green that's maybe 135-140 out instead of trying to choke down on an 8i by 20 yards?

[pjsnyc]

  lobsterzilla said:

ok slightly different question ... why ?

Definitely building confidence when it comes to shotmaking. Like I said, I'm not carrying the same 10 clubs. I mix and match every time I go out to get a different 18 hole experience on the same course.

[jrm1493]

A couple friends of mine got paired up with a senior that carried 5 clubs (Driver, 3 hybrid-type clubs and a putter). He shot 76 - this is an easy course but still a par 72, maybe 6000-6100 yards. Pretty impressive.

They said one of the hybrids was relatively high loft and he chipped with it and even used it out of the sand with good effect. It wouldn't work on every course but it got it done on this one.

[ApocG10]

I carry them all, some are barely ever used, some are used tons in a round. My 52 and 56 are priceless. I Barely use the 5i or PW. my hybrids and woods are precious. Im accurate with my woods off the tee. And my hybrids saved me often enough when i's completely mishit a drive all the way to front of the womens tees, lol.

Sometimes i wish i didnt have to carry a putter.

[microcrayfish]

I carry 13, 3 wood, 3 and 4 hybrid, 5 iron - LW, putter.

I've only recently added the gap and loft wedges though so I used to get by on 11. The driver I leave out because I can't hit it well but I didn't have the wedges before so that's why they weren't there. Can't say my scores have got any lower since I added the wedges.

[Ath]

Well, I've been playing only for two years, but I would be helpless without my 6 and 8 irons. There are a couple of par 3s on my homecourse that just require a certain iron for me, I couldn't hit the same distance with another club.

So I play with 1W,3W,3H,5I-9I,PW,SW,putter. So that's only 11.

Although I could probably use another wedge I think.

[Leftygolfer]

  lobsterzilla said:

ok slightly different question ... why ?

The reason I used to carry less was because of wieght. I walked 36 and the extra 3 clubs would make a difference to me. But I would never not carry my short irons because those I could actually hit how far I wanted. But it would make no difference in score if I didn't carry a couple of long irons unless you are one of the few are accurate enough to hit a 190 shot a 190 yards. That is why some believe that you should carry more wedges because the error is greater the farther the ball goes (as with long clubs). How many birdie's do I make with a 5 iron? Not many. With a SW, hopefully lots.

[pjsnyc]

  microcrayfish said:

I carry 13, 3 wood, 3 and 4 hybrid, 5 iron - LW, putter.

Don't you worry - once you get comfy with your new wedges your scores have nowhere to go but down.

I also forgot to mention that in addition to building confidence with regards to shotmaking, I also find that it forces you to manage the course a lot more than you normally do - making sure you hit your favorite layup distances especially.

[TomK82]

i always carry 10 clubs for a few different reasons but mainly because i shoot better with a lighter bag.

[Dave2512]

Zombie thread! I'll play along. Currently at 13 but getting ready to reconfig to 12. 3w 4-9i, four wedges and the putter. I think that's 12, too lazy to count.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Driver

2- and 4-hybrid

7-iron

PW and SW

putter

This set makes you think about shots, not clubs. I shoot good scores with it, too.

[nicoy3k]

Driver

3 hybrid

5 iron

7 iron

9 iron

PW

SW

LW

Putter

[Tuflehundon]

I did carry less than 14 clubs for a while. Wanted to add more wedges, but wanted to make sure carrying less irons wouldn't hurt my game. So I took some of the irons out for several games. Then once I was used to it, I added a approach wedge (gap), and lob wedge. I found that I never used those irons, but I do use the wedges more often. It's nice having 4 wedges.

[GaijinGolfer]

Im currently playing 13 clubs but thats because I bought my iron set used and it came as a 5-PW.  One of these days I'll pick up either an MP-32 4-iron or an MP Fli-Hi 4-hybrid, just havent gotten around to it yet.