Playing with 15 clubs

[boodaboy16]

I'm finally settled on putting a 2-iron in my bag and getting a 3-wood. But, I don't want to lose the 5-wood play out of the rough or if I need to carry 220. The 3-wood would give me another option off the tee and better opportunities to reach long par fives. I can't lost any of my wedges, and I bomb my driver when I hit it straight. Now, playing with 15 clubs is against the rules. But, I don't play competitively and I'm interested in learning how I can utilize all of my clubs on the course. I play about twice a month and go to the range about 3 times per month.

Do any of you guys play non-competitively with more than 14 clubs, or would I be committing a cardinal sin by playing with more than 14 clubs?

[Everardo]

Do any of you guys play non-competitively with more than 14 clubs, or would I be committing a cardinal sin by playing with more than 14 clubs?

I think it is...if you play competative golf and/or play for money. If you just play with the guys and all of you rounds are casual then go for it.

What I do to avoid the 14+ clubs is really evaluate what clubs I use more at different courses. At my home course the par-3's and par-4's are longer so I use my long irons and hybrid more. Since the par-5's are a little shorter and the course is pretty open it means I can lose my 3-wood since a good drive and 4-wood can sometimes get me home in two. For example here are two different setups I might use. 1 | Driver |Driver 2 | 4-wood |3-wood 3 | Hybrid |5-wood 4 | 4 |Hybrid 5 | 5 |5 6 | 6 |6 7 | 7 |7 8 | 8 |8 9 | 9 |9 10 | P |P 11 | G |G 12 | S |S 13 | L |L 14 | Putter |Putter So take a look at the courses you play most often and keep track of how many times you use certain clubs. If you find that you never or rarely use say your 4-iron then ditch it. If you ever need that shot you can always back off on a 3-iron or hit a harder 5, so don't pigeon hole yourself into thinking there is only one club to hit that shot. In reading this and your other post about the 2-iron. I still think a hybrid would be a good move for you. You say you like the versatility of the 5-wood and the feel of a 2-iron. There are many hybrids and shafts out in the market that can fit what you're looking for.

[eyevan]

So take a look at the courses you play most often and keep track of how many times you use certain clubs. If you find that you never or rarely use say your 4-iron then ditch it. If you ever need that shot you can always back off on a 3-iron or hit a harder 5, so don't pigeon hole yourself into thinking there is only one club to hit that shot.

Evarardo, is so on the money with this. I say if you are trying to figure out your game and different equipment play 20 if you like, but if you want to stay with 14 maybe take out your 3 iron or a wedge. I took out my 3 iron, because I rarely ever used it unless I was on a log par 3. Just on Friday I had 207 on a par 3 (perfect 3 iron) and I was thinking hard 4 iron, but I ended up hitting a softer hybrid and was center green. I say pull the 3 iron, because I think for most 3 iron off the deck puts you in more trouble than its worth.

[DBake]

If want the 3 wood because you kill it, and want to feel like a mucho man for having the 2 iron in the bag, and dont want to get ride of the 5 because it is a go to club, than......look at taking the driver out of the bag.

I like playing the 2 iron, but the thing that I do is carry a 15* 3wood and when ever I want to take some distance off is choke down an inch.

I have heard of guys adding a inch on their 4 or 5woods and grip it normal but when they want a little more distance thay place their hands on the butt of the grip.

[SubPar]

If you play with 15 clubs, you can't post your scores. I am always experimenting with different clubs, but I keep it to 14 on the course.

[boodaboy16]

I could live with not posting my scores. Although, I just tested out various 3-woods this weekend and they did not go appreciably further than my 5-wood. So, I decided to keep both the 2I and 5W in my bag and just to have only 14 clubs. I might have the 18 degree 5W bent a degree or two, but I don't think I'll get a second fairway wood, especially since I always hit driver off the tee (or 2-iron now if I need to keep it shorter or more accurate).

[SubPar]

I could live with not posting my scores. Although, I just tested out various 3-woods this weekend and they did not go appreciably further than my 5-wood. So, I decided to keep both the 2I and 5W in my bag and just to have only 14 clubs. I might have the 18 degree 5W bent a degree or two, but I don't think I'll get a second fairway wood, especially since I always hit driver off the tee (or 2-iron now if I need to keep it shorter or more accurate).

That area in the bag seems to be a common concern. I am always debating about 4 iron, 4i Hybrid or 7 wood. I hit them all about the same yardage but with a different trajectory. I like to have the 4 iron for low running shots out of trouble, but the hybrid is easier to hit high and long when I need that. The 7 wood is easier to hit from certain lies but offers limited ball flight options and when really well struck can go a lot farther.

I have started adjusting my club selection based on the specific course I am playing, but always 14.

[SubPar]

If your not playing competitively then throw as many clubs as you want in there.

The problem with this attitude is that you get used to having more clubs, therefore more options than you will have when it really matters. I won't let myself carry more because I have to be able to play the game with the legal number of clubs. If I carry one or two more clubs then I won't be forced to learn how to play certain difficult shots with the specific clubs I would carry in a tourney.

If you want to bend the rules to suit your mood, then you should also allow yourself to move the ball when you don't like your lie, give yourself four foot putts, take mulligans for your ego and add strokes to sandbag your handicap. I suggest that anyone who thinks it is fine to carry 15 clubs would have no problem with numerous other infractions as well. You either respect the rules of the game or you don't. You are not doing yourself any favors cherry picking the rules you will abide by.

[eyevan]

You either respect the rules of the game or you don't. You are not doing yourself any favors cherry picking the rules you will abide by.

I totally agree with SubPar, but I think that it is taken out of context about playing 15 clubs. I think that he is looking more from a practice round kind of approach, and while testing and figuring out the best setup its ok. I think that I did that for 2 rounds deciding between 2 iron and my 18 degree driving iron, but then again that’s coming from someone that moves his balls out of divots. Because after Tiger said that it’s a retarded rule, I started thinking that good shots shouldn’t be penalized either (unless I’m playing for something I’ll leave it in).

FYI I'm only playing 12 clubs now (because of lack of $ and options)

[knock-down]

15 clubs???

HA- why not play winter rules are year long too!


J/K!

[SubPar]

I would bet money that you have taken a mulligan one time in your life! I know before I joined the USGA I had a few in my early days when I was around 12 years old or so.

When I first started playing an knew nothing about the game I took a few mulligans. But at the point I started caring about my game and establishing a handicap, I decided to play the game straight up, by the book. If you are a + handicap, I assume you do the same.

I am assuming most people who frequent this forum take their game seriously and hope to improve. I would be concerned that if you tell people it is okay to play with more than 14 clubs then some will just play with an illegal set and post inaccurate scores. Their game will suffer as a result. I am taking the position of a bit of a purist here, but if you want to analyze the differences between clubs, there's a place called the driving range. If you want to play the game, play fair and legal.

[iacas]

I am assuming most people who frequent this forum take their game seriously and hope to improve. I would be concerned that if you tell people it is okay to play with more than 14 clubs then some will just play with an illegal set and post inaccurate scores. Their game will suffer as a result.

I'm as hard-core on the rules as you may find, but I've played with 15 clubs. For example, I have both a 17 and a 19 degree 585.H. I threw them both in the bag once so I could review them. I'd play my normal round of golf and, when play was backed up, I'd drop four balls and hit a bunch. In that instance, necessity (hitting shots and giving a thorough review) beat out the strictest of adherance to the rules.

I am taking the position of a bit of a purist here, but if you want to analyze the differences between clubs, there's a place called the driving range. If you want to play the game, play fair and legal.

I'm a purist too, and I've yet to find a range ball that really very accurately behaves close enough to my Pro V1x to allow me to determine the subtle differences between two similar 3-woods.

C'mon, people, lighten up. Sometimes necessity overrides the rules. I don't think he's suggesting he's going to carry 15 clubs forever.

[boodaboy16]

For me it is very difficult to rely on the practice range to understand how a club will play for me, particularly for longer clubs. It might be easier to do with wedges. First, it's hard to tell at the range exactly how far certain clubs hit since the range balls are usually beat up balls in varying conditions. I also can't tell how the ball will react when it hits the green. There is also a liveliness factor to playing on the course. We create shots on the course. The good ones become very memorable and I get a lot of confidence of these shots which stays with me for the next time. I still remember a 5-iron I hit out of the rough in high school 12 years ago. It was the first 5-iron that I really nutted. I was playing with blades back then and it felt like I whiffed at the ball. I still think about sometimes when I hit a mid iron out of the rough. I've hit thousands of beautiful 5-iron shots at the range since that time in high school and I remember none of them.