An "I don't care about it" club?

[mdbuschsr]

Do you have an I don't care about it club? As a higher handicapper, I still blow one into the rough or the woods. The course I play also has some sandy pebbley lies here and there (in and on the edges of fairways). Because I hate moving my ball for any reason other than a truly unplayable lie, & since I had room in the bag to throw in an old club I added my old reliable 3w. When I was playing it, it was one of my favorite clubs.

Playing today, as usual, I stroked my tee shot into the woods on 9/18 (9 hole course). The lie was playable but my follow through was closer to a tree than I was comfortable taking a full swing with. So I pulled old trusty, played it back in my stance slightly with a hacked off follow through, and was able to punch it out of the woods without worry of breaking a "good" club. I didn't get the carry I was hoping for and landed in an aforementioned sandy/pebbely area, but with a beautiful line to the flag. Out comes the old 3w again from about 225-yards. This time I hit it clean, straight onto the green and off the back. Took a bogey on the par-5 that previously would have been a triple at least.

For me, it was nice to have an "I don't care about it club" in the bag. Had I been forced to swing one of my new clubs in either of those messes I know the outcome would have been much worse. Do you carry an IDCAC?

[Dave H]

To be perfectly honest, I feel that way about all my clubs with the exception of my 56 degree wedge. I would be sad if I broke that club. As for the rest of them, I just play as I need to and if one broke, that would be that. That being said, I've never broken club before...

[Zeph]

On my local course I carry two of those clubs. The "new" fairway they made is so full of rocks I don't dare hit anything but the PW or 4i from my old cast set of clubs. No way the soft Mizunos or woods/hybrid is allowed to hit on that stuff.

[meenman]

I used to carry one of these clubs in my bag ( a 3 hybrid with a huge offset) until I got to a point where I felt that I really needed 14 clubs in the bag

[zeg]

I do not. I had a 60 degree tank of a wedge that I used for that purpose, but there aren't enough places like that near here. I'd just take an unplayable penalty if the ground was going to do real damage. Otherwise, if I ding up a club hitting from rocky stuff, so be it. It's more a matter of not hurting myself. If the lie is like that, I'm probably using an iron or wedge, so I'm unlikely to actually do material harm to the club, just ding it up. That's ok with me.

[Fourputt]

Nope. I play each shot as required, and don't worry about it. Sometimes you have to abuse a club to use it properly... that's just the nature of the game. That said, I've never broken a club in my life, and I hit a lot of shots from nasty places. I played a shot out of a rock pile last month and somehow didn't even put a ding in the sole, but if I had I'd have shrugged it off as just the penalty for being in the wrong place. I've learned how to sweep a PW off such lies, or I'll play a longer iron with a half swing so that any contact with the rocks is minimized.

I play from tree roots, from behind trees where the trunk or a branch is in my follow through... things like that all the time. I've played many shots from cart paths when the so-called free drop would result in trying to play an impossible shot from deep (12" and taller) rough. Some of my best shots come on those situations, so I'm certainly not going out of my way to do anything different from what I normally would.

I see my clubs as tools, and as such I take care of them just as I did my tools when I was a machinist. However, they sometimes become damaged in normal use, and I've learned to accept that as part of the game. That's just the nature of the beast.

[tulefog]

I used to try to save my clubs. However, my attitude these days is that I would rather have a piece of equipment be retired because it was used and abused rather than rusting in the garage. I bought golf clubs to use them. When they die, I will replace them and do it all over again!

[3 wiggle]

I dont have any emotional attachment to any of my clubs. Esp. since i realized that there were company's that re-finished metal woods, forged irons, and cast irons. Use them till there no longer usable than get them rebuilt. Half the cost of re buying and you never have to get used to new crap. People wonder how i have a mint set of staff tour blades and macgregor VIPS from the 70s for decoration...

[GaijinGolfer]

All my clubs are, "I dont care about it" clubs to a certain extent. I use a club as needed and if I scuff the sole or get a rock chip in it, so be it. That just gives me an excuse to buy a new club/clubs.

[SouthernILGolfer]

i bought an old 7 iron at a pawn shop for like 5 bucks, i recently saw a bunch of demo 6 irons and a few 7 irons at rend lake golf store in mt vernon for sale, those would make great "i dont care" clubs. My 56 deg sw was a free throw in with my irons and i pretty much only hit it when in a bunker so sometimes i use it as an i dont care club. As far as hitting from cart paths, tree roots, rock piles etc, forget that crap, give yourself a free drop where there is grass and save your clubs, thats just plain stupid. You may not only damage your club, but you might hurt yourself as well. If its just a casual round, ive never played with anyone who didnt care if you just simply dropped the ball to give yourself relief from those kinds of thing.

[mdbuschsr]

I suppose if I could pick the ball I wouldn't be as concerned. Unfortunately, I tend to take pretty deep divots. So, slamming my club into hard-pan or hitting off from particularly nasty ground is no fun. I realize that my clubs are tools, but I don't want to have to replace them every few years because I beat the crap out of them.

[Fourputt]

  SouthernILGolfer said:

As far as hitting from cart paths, tree roots, rock piles etc, forget that crap, give yourself a free drop where there is grass and save your clubs,

Say what???? Obviously you play a different game from me. That's fine by me, but don't call ME stupid for playing the came correctly. My golf is played by the rules, and everyone I play with plays the same way. We all post our rounds for handicap or we play in tournaments. We often have wagers on the line, and we simply have too much respect for the game to play it any other way. I've never injured myself when playing from such lies because I don't take a full normal swing when doing so if there is any doubt.... that WOULD actually be a mistake. If you've never played with anyone who plays real golf then that just shows off your lack of experience.

I see your comment as being both rude and ignorant.

[zeg]

  Fourputt said:

I see your comment as being both rude and ignorant.

Specifically, ignorant of the "unplayable lie" rule. There's no reason for a free drop from any of the conditions he described. I can sympathize with those who might take one from a crap lie on the green or fairway, but from a cart path, tree root, etc? Sorry, you hit it in the crap, take your penalty.

[Zeph]

If I can't hit the ball, I drop it, but I don't take relief if I'm not entitled to. My clubs are more important than saving one shot, so I don't go around hitting the ball off rocks.

[B-Con]

  zeg said:

Specifically, ignorant of the "unplayable lie" rule. There's no reason for a free drop from any of the conditions he described. I can sympathize with those who might take one from a crap lie on the green or fairway, but from a cart path, tree root, etc? Sorry, you hit it in the crap, take your penalty.

You are entitled to relief from a man-made cart path under Unmovable Obstructions.

[mdbuschsr]

  B-Con said:

You are entitled to relief from a man-made cart path under Unmovable Obstructions.

That's what I thought. However, the "cart paths" at my course are a combination dirt-sand-roots-rocks. So I choose not to hit my good clubs off from them. I also choose not to take a penalty for hitting onto them, hence the "I don't care about it" club.

[pup]

I have an old 3 hybrid that I keep for that purpose because A) I have upgraded and no longer technically need it, and B) I hate that damn club. It works out good, though, because it's good for punching, and the heel of it is sharply angled enough to cut through the rough stuff pretty well.

[zeg]

  B-Con said:

You are entitled to relief from a man-made cart path under Unmovable Obstructions.

Yeah, sorry, was in a hurry posting. In that situation, yes of course, if they're paved (or it's declared that unpaved cart paths are entitled to relief, which I believe must be done by local rule, not 100% on this).