If You Had Only Five Clubs to Play With…

[Ruari]

Driver, 4R utility, 9 iron (after much internal debate), lob wedge, putter.

we have an annual three-club challenge at the club, which is next weekend, by coincidence.
I'm planning to use the 4R, gap wedge and putter (which is compulsory)

[Drunk Driver]

18* Hybrid
5 Iron
9 Iron
Sand Wedge
Putter

Or if I was feeling adventurous I might swap out the putter for a 7 iron, and see what putting with the hybrid is like.

[YogiTKE]

3 wood, 4 iron, 7 iron, PW, putter

[ChetlovesMer]

Okay, I know this thread is really old, but I find this a really interesting question. As I read through the answers in this thread I couldn't help notice how many people said 3-wood as one of their clubs to choose. 

IMO - The 3 wood is a terrible option. Now, I must say I've never done a 5 club tournament or played a round with only 5 clubs. (I have done a 3 club tournament, but that's a different thread.) 

With 5 clubs why would you choose your 3 wood over your driver? I mean I like my 3 wood don't get me wrong. But I only use it about 2 times per round. At the most I might use it as many as 4, but I certainly wouldn't pick it for a 5 club tournament.

The only reasons I would think anyone would pick pick their 3 wood is if it was their NORMAL club to use on tee-shots. (For what ever reason you don't hit driver in "normal" golf.) Otherwise take you driver. With 5 clubs it seems like you have enough to have a putter for sure, a driver for sure, and then 3 clubs in the middle. The other reason would be if you are a fairly short hitter and you wanted to take your driver AND your 3-wood. Then you could add in a couple irons and a putter. 

I'd probably go driver, a hybrid, a 7 iron, a sand wedge, and a putter. 

[dennyjones]

1 hour ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I'd probably go driver, a hybrid, a 7 iron, a sand wedge, and a putter. 

These are the clubs I use the most on the simulator.    This would be my choice as well.

[Denny Bang Bang]

1 hour ago, ChetlovesMer said:

IMO - The 3 wood is a terrible option. Now, I must say I've never done a 5 club tournament or played a round with only 5 clubs. (I have done a 3 club tournament, but that's a different thread.) 

 

I would disagree.  3W provides good distance and is more versatile than a driver (could also choke way down and use it like a hybrid or long iron).  I’d rather have the 3W versatility and get more scoring clubs in the bag.  Maybe 3W, 7, 9, SW, putter.

[mdl]

Driver, 4i, 7i, PW, 60˚.  Putt with the 60˚ blade. Would consider swapping the middle two for 8i, GW.

[reidsou]

Just played in a 3 club event. I chose Driver, 8 iron, putter. Hit the driver 28 times. 

[mdl]

1 hour ago, Denny Bang Bang said:

I would disagree.  3W provides good distance and is more versatile than a driver (could also choke way down and use it like a hybrid or long iron).  I’d rather have the 3W versatility and get more scoring clubs in the bag.  Maybe 3W, 7, 9, SW, putter.

To Chet's original point, unless it's your primary tee club most players use their 3W very few times a round. So yeah, 3w is easier to hit off the deck than driver. But you rarely need to. I'd argue the extra distance off the tee from the driver is wildly more valuable than maybe a par 5 or two you could've attempted to reach in two hitting 3w-3w but instead hit it short of the green with Dr-5i or something.

1 minute ago, reidsou said:

Just played in a 3 club event. I chose Driver, 8 iron, putter. Hit the driver 28 times. 

This is awesome! And on the right kind of course I could totally be into just using driver off the deck as my long club 😃

[ChetlovesMer]

57 minutes ago, mdl said:

To Chet's original point, unless it's your primary tee club most players use their 3W very few times a round. So yeah, 3w is easier to hit off the deck than driver. But you rarely need to. I'd argue the extra distance off the tee from the driver is wildly more valuable than maybe a par 5 or two you could've attempted to reach in two hitting 3w-3w but instead hit it short of the green with Dr-5i or something.

That's exactly my point, but you stated it a lot better. What's easier on a par 5 that you are trying to reach in two shots? 3-wood/3-wood, or Driver/hybrid or Driver/long iron? By sticking the 3-wood in there all you are doing is sacrificing length on all the par-4's as well. It seems a bad choice to me, and I enjoy hitting my 3-wood. 

 

If it's a 3 club tournament that changes things. You may need to 3-wood, short iron, putter. Or something to that effect. But in a 5 club tournament the 3-wood would be one of the last clubs I'd choose. 

[ChetlovesMer]

3 hours ago, Denny Bang Bang said:

I would disagree.  3W provides good distance and is more versatile than a driver (could also choke way down and use it like a hybrid or long iron).  I’d rather have the 3W versatility and get more scoring clubs in the bag.  Maybe 3W, 7, 9, SW, putter.

I'm not sure how long you are off the tee, but if I stuck my 3-wood in the bag instead of the driver, I might very rarely get into 7 or 9 iron range. 

I might also argue that if you really want to keep the 3-wood. You have a SW and a 7 iron, then in that case the 9 iron is redundant. There are very few things I can do with my 9 iron that I can't do with my 7-iron. (Sorry, If I'm coming off as a jerk. That's not my intention. I've just been thinking about this a little bit lately and there are some club choice strategies that don't make sense to me.)

Once again, in a 3 club tournament, than maybe the 9 iron could be used around the green, but in a 5 club tournament you have the SW, so you really don't need the 9-iron. You can get something at the top end of the bag... like a driver.  

1 hour ago, mdl said:

Driver, 4i, 7i, PW, 60˚.  Putt with the 60˚ blade. Would consider swapping the middle two for 8i, GW.

I like your thinking. I don't own a 4 iron, so I'd have to choose a hybrid. 

If you can do that belly the wedge putting thing, you are golden. Personally, I think I'd swap the PW, and the 60 for my sand wedge and putter. The SW can do most of the things my PW and 60 can do. Plus, I'm not too good at that belly the wedge putting thing. (Although, there are those who may argue I'm not too good putting with a putter.) 

[Denny Bang Bang]

@mdl @ChetlovesMer

And my objection is, a 3W is not a “terrible option” under these circumstances.  Maybe it is for you, but I don’t think it is overall (especially if the player can hit one).  A 3W is a more versatile club, and still long enough off the tee.  I’m not stating a 3W is better than a Driver in general (of course more distance is a bigger advantage), but under these circumstances I’d take the 3W all day.

There are of course other factors that aren’t disclosed in the original post (e.g. how long is the course, what is the longest carry, etc).  Then of course a lot of this depends on each of our individual abilities.  For me personally, my 3W is roughly 265-270 off the tee.  I have no problem with that being my tee shot on most courses.

17 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I'm not sure how long you are off the tee, but if I stuck my 3-wood in the bag instead of the driver, I might very rarely get into 7 or 9 iron range. 

I might also argue that if you really want to keep the 3-wood. You have a SW and a 7 iron, then in that case the 9 iron is redundant. There are very few things I can do with my 9 iron that I can't do with my 7-iron. (Sorry, If I'm coming off as a jerk. That's not my intention. I've just been thinking about this a little bit lately and there are some club choice strategies that don't make sense to me.)

I don’t think you’re being a jerk at all, and I’m not trying to be one either.  We all have a different game, which of course makes our choices a little different.  This is a fun topic and it’s interesting to see everyone’s thoughts.  I just object to a 3W being “terrible”… it more depends if one can play it or not, which then I can see how it would be terrible to a specific person or not.

[reidsou]

2 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

If you can do that belly the wedge putting thing, you are golden. 

In our 3 club competition many players did not carry a putter and chose to putt with a hybrid or iron instead. I watched them give away strokes on the greens.   

[Bonvivant]

I'm taking both driver AND 3W, because I am so short at the minute. I would fill out with 7i, 52 degree, and putter.

I can hit my 3W up to about 180 yards, sometimes more if I really catch it clean. I am sure that I could adapt it (on the courses that I play) for anything down to 130 (a smashed 7i for me), and I am sure that I could play my 7i down the the 60-70 range that I hit my GW.

There is a caveat here. That is that I don't play any courses that have super front guarded greens, so I can roll one up on almost any hole at my home course.

[KMP]

Depending on course length...driver, 5, 7, pw and putter. I am just more comfortable hitting these clubs in a variety of ball flights and distances.

[ChetlovesMer]

7 hours ago, Denny Bang Bang said:

@mdl @ChetlovesMer

And my objection is, a 3W is not a “terrible option” under these circumstances.  Maybe it is for you, but I don’t think it is overall (especially if the player can hit one).  A 3W is a more versatile club, and still long enough off the tee.  I’m not stating a 3W is better than a Driver in general (of course more distance is a bigger advantage), but under these circumstances I’d take the 3W all day.

There are of course other factors that aren’t disclosed in the original post (e.g. how long is the course, what is the longest carry, etc).  Then of course a lot of this depends on each of our individual abilities.  For me personally, my 3W is roughly 265-270 off the tee.  I have no problem with that being my tee shot on most courses.

I don’t think you’re being a jerk at all, and I’m not trying to be one either.  We all have a different game, which of course makes our choices a little different.  This is a fun topic and it’s interesting to see everyone’s thoughts.  I just object to a 3W being “terrible”… it more depends if one can play it or not, which then I can see how it would be terrible to a specific person or not.

Holy cats and dogs, you hit your 3 wood a long way. How longs your driver? According to my season stats last year my smart distance total driver average was 262.1 yards, my 3-wood smart total distance average was 237.2 yards. That's 25 yards I'd be giving up 14 times per round. (350 yards total) My hybrid, which is more versatile in my hands than my 3-wood, average was 214.4 yards. That's 23 yards I'd be giving up 2 times per round. (46 yards) ... No brainer... I gotta put the driver in the bag. For me putting 3-wood in the bag instead of driver makes the course 300 yards or more longer. 

Sorry if I sent you down a rabbit hole with the term "terrible". I just know to score my best I need get as close to the green as I can get. 

I'm not really against the 3 wood. If your 3-wood is really versatile and you can hit a wide variety of shots with it, like my buddy @Bonvivant, great take it. I'd go hybrid instead. I hit it a lot more often in "normal" golf. Plus, in my hands its more versatile. 

Most people I've played with need that distance off the tee about 14 times per round. I think very few golfers in "real life" are as long as you are. Once again, with 5 clubs I'm really surprised how few people chose to take their driver. 

But maybe I'm thinking about it all wrong. Let me know. 

[phan52]

I need the driver for length. It wasn't on the list but my next club would be a 25 degree hybrid. I can hit that multiple distances by choking down and it is good from the rough. then 7 iron, PW and putter.

[Darkfrog]

On my home course I’d take driver, 3-hybrid, 7-iron, SW, and putter.

Driver is debatable, because I only hit it 3-4 times per round, so I could probably bring a 3W and drop 3-hybrid and rearrange the irons/wedges (3W, 5-iron, 8-iron, SW, putter). But driver gives me the best chance to score well on the par-5 holes (longest is 505 yards), and I wouldn’t want to give that up, since these holes are where I make birdie most often.