Carrying the right clubs in your bag

[Elmer]

My bag current has: Driver 3w, 5w, 4H, 5i -gw, 56, 60 Putter This is 14 clubs. The issue I have is carrying clubs I don't use. When my drivers working correctly I can usually carry 260 on the drive, which leaves me short iron into the green. Therefore my woods, hybrids and Long irons are basically being used off the tee and par 3s. I carry a 5w to allow me 215 off the tee, otherwise it is rarely used. Over the years I've toyed with dropping the five word for a 4hybrid and putting in a 7wood, However I think 4H and a 7W basically the same club. I also swap my 5i and my 5h in & out. They both have Their pros & cons. Over the years I have also dropped my 60° wedge out of my bag but it always finds its way back I've toyed with the idea of dumping the 5w and replacing it with a 3 hybrid But aren't a 3h & 5w basically the same club with their own pros & cons? Basically comes down to a distanced gap. My Three-wood goes to 230 5w 215 4h 200 and so on But I rarely ever find myself 215. So I guess it comes down to what should I be caring, and what I shouldn't? Should I go for. 3h to replace 5w Does anyone carry less than 14? Sent from my iPhone

[Mr. Desmond]

If you want to purchase a club, you could find a 7 wood to play instead of the 5 wood at times. You'll get a high flight into greens, an alternative to the 4H, which will come in lower (theoretically).

[dmnoland]

"The issue I have is carrying clubs I don't use."

The issue I had was carrying clubs I didn't hit well.

Last week I got tired of spending countless hours on the range trying to perfect my swing to hit the harder clubs.

So I decided to only carry the clubs I have faith in and hit well with my current swing.

I cut my 4 and 5 hybrids down to their respective iron lengths, dumped my 3 hybrid and added back my old 23 deg. 9 wood.

Surprisingly my gaps don't suffer and I'm now a happier golfer'

D 230

4w 200

9w 185

4h 175

5h 165

6i 155

7i 145

8i 135

9i 125

pw 115

gw 100

sw 90

lw 80

fw 60

[jmanbooyaa]

I keep a very limited bag because I can't hit certain clubs. Driver. 5 wood 24 degree hybrid 6-gw and 54 degree wedge and putter.

[AmazingWhacker]

I'm only carrying 13 (max) right now - My bag currently consists of:

D

4W

3H

4H

5

6

7

8

9

P

GW

SW

Putter

I'm planning to add a LW.  I'm also planning to drop the 3H but not sure yet what I'll replace it with, if anything.  I'd like to find a club I can reliably hit from 190-200 .. if such a club exists (for me).  My 3H *should* be that club but I rarely hit it well and I guess, on average, it goes shorter than my 4h which I hit better.  180+ yards off the turf (ie - second shot) is a tough one for me right now.  It's not really the clubs . .it's my swing.

[Spitfisher]

14 clubs

Driver,

5w-18deg,

3hybrid,

5hybrid,

5iron thru GW

54deg & 58deg

Putter.

I most recently put the 5 iron in the bag

[MS256]

I can't imagine not having any particular distance very often. There are all sorts of different lengths of holes from short par 3s to long par 5s. Even if the only consideration were par 4s I hit more than enough sub-par drives to give me everything from A to Z into greens.

[Elmer]

I actually hit my 5W rather well, but never find myself at that distance.
I do avoid hitting my 5i, since I tend to leave the face open causing a nasty shank. So I will go down a club and stay straight.

My 7 wood is an old Bertha and I have to imagine a new 3H would be easier to hit than this club. But all my clubs go high in the air. I hit nothing low, due to my swing angle.

D 260

3W 230

5W 215

4H 200

5i   185

6i 175

7i 165

8i 155

9i 145

pw 135

gw 125

sw 100

LW 60-80 yards (I hit this way too high)

Foot Wedge- 5 yards

[Elmer]

"The issue I have is carrying clubs I don't use."

The issue I had was carrying clubs I didn't hit well.

Last week I got tired of spending countless hours on the range trying to perfect my swing to hit the harder clubs.

So I decided to only carry the clubs I have faith in and hit well with my current swing.

I cut my 4 and 5 hybrids down to their respective iron lengths, dumped my 3 hybrid and added back my old 23 deg. 9 wood.

Surprisingly my gaps don't suffer and I'm now a happier golfer'

I should have added this to my last post, but it will not let me edit.

That being said I carry a 5i that I do not hit well, either off a tee or turf. However I have hit it well once or twice which has kept it in my bag. I do have a Nickent 5H which I can sometimes hit well, but for some reason the 5 Hybrid goes atleast 15 yards further than my 5 iron, which throws everything off.

not to mention that I feel silly being a 40 year old and resorting to a 5 hybrid makes me feel like I am old and have given up on trying to properly hit a 5 iron.

Also keeping my 5 iron in my bag is the fact that I use it for punch shots and I punch with a 5iron like a champ!

I guess another issue I have is that I dont play nearly enough where I can figure out what clubs will work and what wont. I also (because of family obligations) dont get to the range as often as I would like, if at all.

So when I am on the course I am there and have to figure all this out on the fly.