Would you be better with just a couple clubs? - I think I might be.

[AbsoluteZero]

A couple years ago I was at my father-in-law's house.  He lived on a course that we played together quite a bit.  The specific hole he lived on is reasonably difficult hole with a dogleg, water, sand, trees, OOB, etc.  If you took my average on that hole it was almost certainly a bogey or worse.  I rarely parred the hole.

One day we were hitting balls out of his back yard at the green and he suggested we go play the hole.  So I took the 7 iron in my hand and he took whatever he had and we teed off and played the hole.  I easily parred the hole.  I actually had a put for birdie.  Now you could say that was a one time fluke, but I almost always struggled with this hole, but using just my 7 iron made it easy.  (I usually hit my 7 iron pretty well)

I've often wondered how well I would shoot if I just took a couple clubs to the course.  Like a 3 iron, 7 iron and putter.  I think i may be able to shoot lower.  I've never been willing to try because it drives me nuts to think of "wasting" a round like that, but this year I bought a pass and I'm considering trying.

So my question is, have you ever tried to just use a couple clubs to see how you would do?  How did it affect your score?

[Meddle]

Actually, that concept has totally changed my game for the better. I'll play with a few clubs and try to hit different shots with my 7 iron or hybrid that I wouldn't normally hit, and it has opened up my mind to a ton of creative shots. But to answer your question, I don't score better with fewer clubs. I like having an assortment of irons so I can dial in distance on approach shots. When I have 100 yards to the hole and a 7 iron for that shot, I have a hard time getting the ball to hold on the green with a half swing.

[awmgolfer]

I tend to play a round or two each month using one club for everything and each time I choose a different club. It really forces you to get creative, even with the putting..lol. It's a lot of fun and I tend to shoot fairly well. A lot of time the club pro and I will go out and play quarters for each hole.

[Shorty]

The concept works fine for shortish par 5s and really short par 4s but only works for longish par 4s if you are happy with a bogey or a chance at par with a 1 putt.

[WWBDD]

Your 7 iron par sounds like you stumbled onto efficient hole management.

Rather than ditching clubs from the bag, it's enough to know it's not always best to pull out the driver on the box, and sometimes laying up is the smartest shot.

[Roblar]

I've played one round with the 'evens' and another with the 'odds' (and I kept a putter for both).  My scoring didn't really change.  I think I would enjoy a round with only four clubs (putter, PW, 7, 5w) -- and maybe I'll try that out this Spring.

[bobby14HC]

All depends on your handicap. If you have trouble breaking 100, you do not need 14 clubs. Eliminate any club you have trouble with. Most likely you will be better off with

a 4W, 7W, 4 Hybrid, 6, 8, PW, SW, putter = 7 clubs.

At the other end if you are a near scratch player, you can still break 80 with just 2 or 3

clubs total.

For mid-handicappers like me, I use driver (the 460cc heads are easy to hit), 4W, 7W,

4H,5H, 6-PW, SW & putter = 12 clubs. I can shoot low 80's with this set. By the way my

good drive will be about 200 yds. Most drives will be about 185. But I rarely miss the short grass.

Golf is tough as it is. Why use too few or too many clubs?

[Tomboys]

IMO, the long term solution to shooting better scores lies in improving the weaknesses in your overall game (ballstriking, course management, etc) not in the number of clubs you use (or don't use as the case may be).

[k-troop]

It's a good concept I think for people who aren't consistent ballstrikers.

If you are, in order to shoot really good scores (other than simply making every putt) you have to control your distance.  It's hard to do that when your distance gaps are 20-30 yards between clubs.

It would be an interesting thing to do a few times a month for a practice round, if you're someone who "practices" a lot on the course.  Forces you to try some shots you might not otherwise, and you know you'll be working on short game that day--because you probably won't hit nearly as many greens.

[WWBDD]

Quote:

All depends on your handicap. If you have trouble breaking 100, you do not need 14 clubs. Eliminate any club you have trouble with. Most likely you will be better off with

a 4W, 7W, 4 Hybrid, 6, 8, PW, SW, putter = 7 clubs.

IIRC, a few years ago Nancy Lopez was selling a beginners set with something like 8 specifically chosen clubs.

[AbsoluteZero]

Originally Posted by WWBDD

Your 7 iron par sounds like you stumbled onto efficient hole management.

Rather than ditching clubs from the bag, it's enough to know it's not always best to pull out the driver on the box, and sometimes laying up is the smartest shot.

If by hole management you mean hitting the fairway and playing a club that is comfortable from the fairway (instead of behind trees or from rough), then I would agree.

[JayMc]

I often drop evens or odds.  My home course is pretty long from my tees (~7K) so I don't drop driver, but I'll pull 8-10 clubs out of my stand bag and thrown them in a sunday bag for a quick 9.  I've found that my scores are pretty close to "normal".  It's fun and encourages creativity.

[kcgolfa1]

In High School our coach made made us take our drivers out of the bag in a 9 hole practice round. So we were forced to take 3 wood or long iron off the tee. Needless to say we all shot better than we normally did. He got to tired of us not taking practice rounds seriously by being careless with our drivers. Point Proven though. So, yes less clubs could help especially with ball striking and making irons go a few extra yards.

[WWBDD]

I occasionally play with a friend at his home course. On one of the par 5s, he pointed out the optimum area to hit your drive, about 150 yards from the box. On one of the club's mens' nights, the pro put a marker in the middle of this area and put up a prize for closest to the marker. Everyone left their drivers in the bag and pulled out the appropriate iron to play into that area, and they subsequently recorded the most pars and birdies for a mens' night.

After hearing this story, I immediately pulled out my driver and sprayed my ball into trees on the inside corner of the dogleg and had to waste a stroke to play back onto the fairway.

[jmanbooyaa]

This upcoming season will be year 2 and i already said I would not buy any new clubs. After reading this thread and well playing over the last few months I think taking out a few clubs wouldn't hurt. Would keep the driver because I plan on playing some longer courses this year and really do need to learn to hit it with confidence. Can take out the 2 hybrid and 60 degree and 52 degree and 5 iron if need be.

[The Recreational Golfer]

The first time I broke 40 in the front nine of my home course was on or three clubs + putter day (2h, 7i, 54*, + putter).

Last summer I shot 81 on a course I had never played with seven clubs (D, 2h, 4h, 7i, PW, 56*, putter), and I shot 39 from the red tees with my grandson with just a 7i, 56*, and putter.

I wouldn't take a steady diet of a smaller set, but it makes you think differently about how to get the ball around the patch.

[SamW]

I've played the odd round with 2 clubs, usually 2hy/8iron (+putter) and it's always had a good effect on my game and course management. See a lot more fairway on those days and shoot ballpark similar scores overall.

Trouble is despite it forcing creative shot making, the problem with it is that outside the 2-3 holes that that club combo fit's perfectly, on the other hole's you are teeing off with little prospect of playing the hole your best.. once you get that out of your head it doesn't matter, you just play those holes the best you can with those clubs.

The nice thing is that you get more tactical, and in doing that you put your ball in some good considered positions... e.g. you make some very considered layups rather than forcing difficult shots into greens and with that you make much more solid up-and-down opportunities and convert more of them. It's a good way to play golf once in a while. Hybrid is also a really good choice for one of the clubs because they are clubs you can get really creative with and play a lot of different styles of shots with.

[sean_miller]

My brother carries about 6 clubs to my bag of 14. I do have a club for every shot, but he leaves himself shots for the clubs he has in the bag. I play more often so my swing it a little more consistent, but he doesn't carry a driver and keeps the ball in play. If a club never gets used, it stays home. I don't recall ever beating him by more than a handful of strokes over 9 holes (he finds 18 holes repetitive, boring, and a waste of at least 2 hours), but we don't keep score anyway, so maybe he beats me?!?