Has anyone played a round only using their "money" club(s) or played one taking out their money clubs

[Valleygolfer]

I have been wondering what would happen if I played a round with just the few clubs I have been hot with. As I have improved I know it is my swing that is cause but there are some clubs I just rarely miss hit. For example playing a whole round with my hybrid, 7 iron, 60 wedge and putter. My Hybrid can get me 210-220 off the tee and the 7 can do 160+ off the turf and about 135 with a choked half swing. 60 can do around 90 full swing. All this should be good enough for par golf on all holes.

Any experience here?

[David in FL]

My buddies and I will occasionally play a round of 3 club.  It's a great game for an impromptu "emergency nine" if you haven't had enough after a full round, or just want to goof off after work.

Pick any 3 clubs and go.  Lots of fun and a great way to tighten up distance control and ball flight.  And yes, if you choose it, the putter counts as a club.

Better players will tend to shoot pretty close to the norm.....within a few stokes.  Newer, less accomplished players seem to struggle at first but they tend to gain the most from the drill in their overall game.

[bplewis24]

I would never try it, because I'm pretty sure I know what the outcome would be.  But if you're truly curious about it, you might as well play a round this way and report the result vs what you expected.

Brandon

[Aging Boomer]

When the course is wet, we're required to stay on the cart paths so as to protect the fairways.  That's reasonable enough, but it makes for slow play, so those are the days when this old timer decides to suck it up and walk.

I've got an ancient canvas and leather thing that looks as if it's from the previous turn of the century, not the one recently past.  It holds about five clubs comfortably, and I play with just a 4-wood, a 27° hybrid, an 8-iron, a sand wedge, and a putter.  I certainly won't say that I can score the same as with a full set, but it's probably a little closer than I might have thought.

[skates]

There are a lot of places that do a 3 club tournament, some counting the putter some not. You learn quickly to be able to putt with a wedge. But I remember in high school our coach would make us use a 5 iron as our longest club. It pretty much just causes you to think differently about how to get around the course. I think it would be beneficial if you play the same course a lot and you want some different looks.

[lumpuckeroo]

We use to do a 3 club round in our golf league, the course is pretty short so it set up pretty nice for using only 3 clubs.  I actually shot worse, a 45, but I 3 putted all but 1 hole.  I did not chose a putter and tried to putt with my hybrid and the edge of my wedge but neither one worked very well.  If it would have been 3 clubs plus a putter, I think I could have shot even par for the 9 holes.

I hit all the fairways and all the greens but one, which I was not expecting.  The previous week playing with a full set I missed most of the greens and then chipped/pitched to gimme distance, which I was expecting to happen, so I figured I wouldn't need a putter.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Our men's club has a 3 clubs and putter day every year.

I commonly play with seven.

[MisterE]

I've always wanted to try a "Tin Cup" round using only my 7 iron

[David in FL]

  lumpuckeroo said:

Originally Posted by lumpuckeroo

We use to do a 3 club round in our golf league, the course is pretty short so it set up pretty nice for using only 3 clubs.  I actually shot worse, a 45, but I 3 putted all but 1 hole.  I did not chose a putter and tried to putt with my hybrid and the edge of my wedge but neither one worked very well.  If it would have been 3 clubs plus a putter, I think I could have shot even par for the 9 holes.

I hit all the fairways and all the greens but one, which I was not expecting.  The previous week playing with a full set I missed most of the greens and then chipped/pitched to gimme distance, which I was expecting to happen, so I figured I wouldn't need a putter.

It's always interesting to see what clubs someone chooses in these things.  I learned a long time ago to include the putter.  A putt counts the same as any other stroke and the handful of strokes I tend to give up by not using a putter tend to more than offset any slight gain I gain by adding another club.  I tend to play a hybrid and usually a 7 iron along with my putter.  The only holes I can't really reach in regulation are par 4's over 420 or so......

Really makes you think your way around too.  The first thought on a par 5 might be to hit hybrid, hybrid, and then some kind of funky partial 7 iron.  In reality, a hybrid off the tee followed by 2 stock 7 irons may give you a lot better shot at a birdie putt...

Fun game.

[JoelCochran]

When i was in golf school we would go play nine with just a 5 iron.  The goal was to be creativity about shot making.  I will occasionally walk a few holes with just a 5-wood and sand wedge, it's amazing how well you can score that way.  And as @skates said, you can putt pretty well with a sand wedge!

[phillyk]

It also depends on the course.  My home course in the Chicago area is 5600yds, and I can hit every par 4 green in 2 with a 7-iron.  I've actually played a couple holes with only my 7-iron and got a par and bogey.  it definitely teaches you how to hit knockdowns and more controlled shots.  Playing a longer course would suck with just a 7-iron, but thats where the 3 clubs come in, which I have yet to try.

[Dan Garcia]

  phillyk said:

Originally Posted by phillyk

It also depends on the course.  My home course in the Chicago area is 5600yds, and I can hit every par 4 green in 2 with a 7-iron.  I've actually played a couple holes with only my 7-iron and got a par and bogey.  it definitely teaches you how to hit knockdowns and more controlled shots.  Playing a longer course would suck with just a 7-iron, but thats where the 3 clubs come in, which I have yet to try.

Philly - If I may ask, which course is this? I usually play Eaglewood which runs 6017 yards.

In response to the post - I have not, but I saw a course here in Chicago which was going to have a 2 club 2 player tournament where you were only allowed to use the 2 clubs you brought with you to the course. This caught my attention. I think it would definitely help refine your skills.

[phillyk]

  Dan Garcia said:

Originally Posted by Dan Garcia

Philly - If I may ask, which course is this? I usually play Eaglewood which runs 6017 yards.

In response to the post - I have not, but I saw a course here in Chicago which was going to have a 2 club 2 player tournament where you were only allowed to use the 2 clubs you brought with you to the course. This caught my attention. I think it would definitely help refine your skills.

Chick Evans GC, a lot of the Billy Casper Managed courses have lots of cool tournaments in the Chicago area, and definitely some of them are shorter courses like Chick Evans.

[School Yard Pro]

My pro asked me to play the next round with only a 6, SW and P.  Should be fun.

[bplewis24]

  School Yard Pro said:

Originally Posted by School Yard Pro

My pro asked me to play the next round with only a 6, SW and P.  Should be fun.

Is there something specific he wanted you to accomplish/work on?

Brandon

[School Yard Pro]

Course management and different swing speeds for my 6 and SW.  I'm fairly new to the game and we've worked hard on creating repeatable consistent swing.  Now I'm able to carry my 6 iron 150-185 yards he wants to me to learn how to adjust my swing speed in relation to shot selection throughout the course.

[GJBenn85]

  MisterE said:

Originally Posted by MisterE

I've always wanted to try a "Tin Cup" round using only my 7 iron

Best club in my bag...I bet I could do an entire round with my 7-iron with a score about equal to when I use all clubs in my bag.

[ctyankee]

At an old job, we had a Corporate league and each year we had a two-club tournament (Putter counted as a club).

I used an 8 iron and a 4 iron and putted with the back of the club lefty.

The more interesting thing was they guy that kept the league records got curious and checked the stats.  He found (over several years) that MOST golfers significantly improved their average that week.  The only ones that did not were the single digit golfers (as a group).

Obviously, you can't take that idea too far ... but it is amazing how many people try to run the ball up toward a par 5 so that they are stuck with an awkward 35 yard 'feel' shot rather than be back farther and have a full wedge in from a distance they know they're good at.  How basic is that?