How many clubs do you carry? 14? Or less?

[Tim Passalacqua]

Driver, 3w, 3, 5, 7, 9, 50, 58, putter.  I have been giving a lot of thought to ditching the 3w and getting a 56 instead of the 50 and 58....that's 7.

[Sam Morrow]

Last time I played with Nuzzo he had like 5 in the bag.

[Bill Gayne]

Carry 14 clubs but generally use only ten more than once in the round at my home course.

[Mark Pritchett]

12

[Bill Seitz]

A full 14 during my first round of the day. Usually drop to 8 or 9 for the second round.

[Wade Schueneman]

I drop down to 7 or 8 clubs if walking/ carrying. I have more fun making the shots work without yardage or every club available. Nothing like hitting driver on par 3's, as Neil Regan will attest!

Joe

Joe, I completely agree.  I will often carry 7 because it is fun to create shots (and easier to walk).

[John Crowley]

Depends on the course I am playing. Last three years it was mainly 8 clubs. My current course calls for a wider variety of shots, so I am now carrying 12. I have more fun when I am "creating" shots. May review again and possibly take the six iron out. The 25 degree hybrid can go down to cover that distance. That would mean the 7 iron would be my longest iron. D,3w,7w,25degree,7,8,9,P,52,56,P.  No huge gaps and plenty of scoring clubs. Cannot imagine another club that would lower my scores. Just have to up my skill level with short game practice.

[Patrick_Mucci]

14...why anyone would disadvantage themselves by carrying less is beyond me.

Agreed

[Tommy Williamsen]

I generally carry 14. Lately, however, I have carried only 9. I am recuperating from an injury and still want to walk and carry.  The way I putt, though,  I should leave the putter in the car.

[JNC Lyon]

12 clubs: Driver, 3-Wood, 2-Hybrid, 4-PW, 56 degree, and the flatstick.  I use one wedge around the greens.  If there is a gap in yardage, I hit a "cut."

It always bothers me that mid-to-high handicappers think they need 14 clubs.  If you are a 15 index, how many of those clubs do you feel comfortable with?  For how many of the clubs do you know your yardage?  Honestly?  How many of those clubs do you straight up fear?  For me, the answer to the last question is usually about 2 or 3, so what is it for a high-capper? 

I'm not going to go so far as to say the 14-club standard is a myth drummed up by the equipment companies to sell their product, but that's what I'm saying.

[JNC Lyon]

14...why anyone would disadvantage themselves by carrying less is beyond me.

Agreed

1) Cost
2) Simplifying

[Shane Gurnett]

14...why anyone would disadvantage themselves by carrying less is beyond me.

Agreed

Pat,

Since the start of this year I have been carrying 10 clubs, after several years of no more than 12 clubs. My handicap has reduced to its lowest ever (scratch), and I'm finding that by having fewer choices is in no way a disadvantage. I have a set up that covers all distances, and I have great confidence in the clubs that I carry. I find I am hitting better quality golf shots, with fewer bad shots, because I understand exactly what the clubs I have can do, and I play within those limitations. I have eliminated the clubs which in the past have led to unforced errors and big scores (longer irons, lob wedge). And finally, I am enjoying the game more by playing more interesting golf and a wider variety of shots. My setup is:

Driver
3 or 5 wood
24* hybrid
6-pw (sometimes the 5 iron replaces the 6)
56*
putter.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Standard is 12....

Might reduce for second round of the day...

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Usually carry 13.

Woods (3): Driver, 3W, 5W
Irons (9): 3i-PW, 56 degree SW
and Putter.

I could probably drop the 5W and get by with 12 clubs.

I didn't play golf much for about 15 years and a lot had changed when I restarted a few years back. I foolishly bought a 60 degree wedge that I have no use for.

I think most players would benefit a lot from playing with less clubs. I love playing the 4 club competition we have as our end of season finale. You are forced to come up with different shots, and that can only make you a better player.

[Jud_T]

13.  Couldn't hit my 3 wood for !&@$.  So went to 4w and hybrid setup.  I do carry 4 wedges though.  In the odd instance that I'm actually shouldering the bag, like this weekend, it's no more than 6-8 clubs with which I can easily shoot just as poorly as I can with 14.

[Brent Hutto]

It always bothers me that mid-to-high handicappers think they need 14 clubs.  If you are a 15 index, how many of those clubs do you feel comfortable with?  For how many of the clubs do you know your yardage?  Honestly?  How many of those clubs do you straight up fear?  For me, the answer to the last question is usually about 2 or 3, so what is it for a high-capper? 

If I can hit my 6-iron and I can hit my 8-iron, why would I have trouble with the 7-iron? I would not have a club in my bag that I "fear" but my 4-iron is pretty much limited to hitting the ball off a tee or punching under tree limbs, etc. Because of the low loft it is not a good club to use for tight lies and such. And obviously I'm not going to hit my 3-wood off a downslope in 4" of rough!

But generally speaking my odds of hitting a good shot are about the same with most clubs. Wedges and short irons are more accurate than mid-irons and fairway woods. But that's true for everyone regardless of handicap. I really don't know why you imagine that a 15-handicapper tossing half a dozen clubs out of the bag should make the game somehow easier. This idea bandied around here of double-digit handicappers being totally flummoxed by the confusion of having 14 clubs to choose from is frankly idiotic.

[Ross Tuddenham]

If you are a 15 index, how many of those clubs do you feel comfortable with?

This might be particularly true of people with limited practice time who carry 3 or 4 wedges.  I often wonder if mastering one wedge would be better than trying to use three or four of them.

[Brent Hutto]

Ross,

My teaching-pro buddy's advice for wedges is that there's two basic approaches. If you're going to put in the time for regular practice and learn how to slide it/trap it/cut it/hood it/chip it/flop it/who knows what all then you probably ought to stick to one or two wedges. But that takes practice on an ongoing basis that a lot of weekend golfers are not going to put in.

The other approach is to get three or four wedges and just play the same couple of stock shots with them, using the different lofts to enable different distances rather than playing 6, 8, 10 different types of shots. That's what I do because I seldom practice. I can hit a iron-like full swing shot with any of my wedges. Or I can choke down, play it back in my stance to hit it a little shorter than full-swing distance. Or I can play a nearly square faced basic chip-and-run type shot with any of the wedges.

If I only had one wedge, let's say my "S" wedge, then I'd basically be able to hit an iron-like 85-yard shot, take a little off and hit that shot 60-70-80 yard or play a certain range of chip shots. For longer or shorter or different conditions than that I'd be kind of stuck. So I also have one higher and two lower lofted wedges. I'd love to be able to play the creative short-game shots that some good players of my acquaintance have in their arsenal. I just don't have the practice time under my belt to learn or maintain that kind of short game. I'd rather be out playing golf.

[John Crowley]

JNC,
I don't buy the manufacturers conspiracy theory, but 14 is an arbitrary number (yes, I know it is the rule, but the powers could have said 10 or 20).

[Mark Lester]

I find 7 or 8 do the trick just as well as 14, score is still respectable. The decision process is much easier as I no longer tote the laser,consult a book, nor shoulder a bag rivaling the size of a small sofa.
 I enjoy packing the fewer the better around the bridge after a days work.
The loop is much more walker friendly after the wonderful revamping of the ascent to the tees which used to resemble an assault on K2
I would advise many to lose the extras, reacquaint yourself with the way we learned the game as children..........eye the target,estimate the club required to get it home, and match the shot to the distance needed.
Reducing the number of clubs has returned the  experience of playing shots and not just computing/matching yardages.

Less is more. 

[Ed Brzezowski]

I carried 14 until last Wednesday , played in a senior event in Hershey  with my club pro.  He took my 4 iron away and will not give it back.

So 13 until I figure out what to add.

[Bill Vogeney]

I've been playing with six clubs the last month trying to gear up for my Hundred Hole Hike.  I might be smarter to go down to one or two, considering the time it takes to pick up my little Mackenzie walking bag after every shot.

Yesterday at Crystal Downs I frequently found myself trying to hit my pitching wedge 130 or 140 yards and coming up short, as opposed to trying to gear down on a 7-iron.  I think I would be fine carrying just the odd irons or evens for U.S. parkland golf.  For a links course, though, I think six clubs ought to be plenty, and I suspect that's one reason Vardon could use so few.

re: HHH - a great piece of advice I got was to never, ever hit a full iron shot during the day.  I followed it fairly well and (I believe) saved a ton of energy over those who had their full bag.  I now have a chippy little 9 iron shot that goes about 95 yards that I'm killer with!  Driver, 5, 7, 9, SW & putter was a perfect bag.

Hey Clint, sounds like a junior set!

I typically have 12 or 13 clubs when I am walking and carrying. I think I can play my club in Colorado with 10 clubs...and I am gong to try it tomorrow. Driver, 5 wood, 5-PW, 56 and a putter.

BTW, Lawson Little actually had 31 clubs in his bag, which prompted the 14-club rule. I read that story 20 years ago

Vog

[Brad Wilbur]

13.  One of the clubs is a beat-up rock club.  Vital for desert golf. 

[Jud_T]

Today- First round- tournament round:  13 clubs
            Second round:  7 clubs: D, 4W, 6, 8, P, 60 degree, putter
             Emergency 9: 1 club: 6 iron

TomD:  if you were going to play TOC with 1 club,  which club would you choose?

[Colin Macqueen]

Gentlemen,

I have to play a number of rounds in the UK over July, August and Seeptember. I want to carry the bag at every opportunity so have been cogitating over the last couple of months about the selection of clubs to minimise the burden.

I am tending towards a 3-wood, 19* hybrid, 22*hybrid, 6-, 7-, 8-irons, a pitching wedge, sand-wedge and putter. This seems to fit in reasonably well with the consensus here so I'll be very interested to see how it goes. I won't be playing of tiger tees and am looking at most of the games being in The Highlands, relatively short courses.

Cheers Colin