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

[Thomas Dai]

Harry Vardon apparently won all of his various tournaments and matches plus his six Opens and his one US Open using only 7 clubs. Then again, when Lawson Little won his two British and two US Amateurs, plus his one US Open, he apparently had something like 25 or so clubs in his bag (poor caddy), which I'm led to believe is why the 14 club max rule was introduced.

Me? I almost always have 14, but occasional for a bit of fun or sometimes if travelling, I'll only go with 8 including the putter. Curiously enough, I often score better (or no worse) with fewer clubs in the bag (maybe I should always carry less!!).

How many clubs do you carry? Do you find you're scores are better, worse or no different with fewer clubs? Does the nature (architecture etc) of the course your playing effect how many clubs you carry?

All the best

[PCCraig]

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

[Mark McKeever]

I use 14 unless I'm walking around/practicing using a sunday bag.  Why create a disadvantage if you don't have to?

It would almost be as bad as using outdated equipment on purpose.   

Mark

[Garland Bayley]

I use 14 unless I'm walking around/practicing using a sunday bag.  Why create a disadvantage if you don't have to?

It would almost be as bad as using outdated equipment on purpose.   

Mark

Why do you want to turn golf into a boring exercise of lasering the pin, picking the club by that number obtained, and hitting the dialed in distance? Why do you even belong to this website if that is your priority? Any old course and the latest technology would do.

[Joe Bausch]

14 during the golf season, but in the winter when I'm frequently bundled up I'll take out the even or odd numbered irons to make the walk a bit easier.  And I've come to the conclusion that playing with many fewer irons really does not hurt my game and I bet the same would be true for just about everyone that isn't a real good player.

[Mark McKeever]

Joe, most times when I play with that half set, my score isnt much different at all...

Mark

[Robert Emmons]

13, really don't feel I am missing anything with my 11 handicap....RHE

[David Bartman]

I use 14 unless I'm walking around/practicing using a sunday bag.  Why create a disadvantage if you don't have to?

It would almost be as bad as using outdated equipment on purpose.   

Mark

Why do you want to turn golf into a boring exercise of lasering the pin, picking the club by that number obtained, and hitting the dialed in distance? Why do you even belong to this website if that is your priority? Any old course and the latest technology would do.

Some people play golf to shoot as low as they can, some play golf to be outside and enjoy the walk and the scenery, some try to do both.  Regardless of what group one fits in, telling someone that they don't belong on this site because they play with the maximum allotted clubs and don't understand why anyone wouldn't seems to me to be obtuse and maybe you might not be the right type of person to be on a site that seems to have an array of opinions, on this great game, which in my opinion makes the site so great. 

[Mark McKeever]

David, there is a bit of sarcasm in GJ's post.  No worries man! 

Mark

[Joe Hancock]

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

[Bill Boonn]

I also enjoy the challenge I playing with fewer clubs.  I played with 8 clubs during the Hundred Hole Hike this past Monday and I honestly don't believe my score would have been any different playing with 14. 

[C. Squier]

Like Bill, I carried 8 during my HHH on Monday and I scored as well or better than normal at Flossmoor.  That said, I'll likely stick to the normal 14 clubs, but will definitely have a different mind set on hitting 3/4 shots going forward.  I may not use them, but I don't see the need in laying down all my weapons.

[Tom_Doak]

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.

[C. Squier]

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.

[Ian Andrew]

I'm about 10 years in of playing with 9.
I carry them in a quiver bag and play 36 holes whenever I get the chance.
I don't miss the extra weight...

I have played with three a dozen times in the last five years.
I don't miss the extra weight...

[A.G._Crockett]

I love golf clubs as much as I love golf courses and golf course architecture.

I always carry 14, and usually have a couple of more in the trunk.  If I the Rules allowed me carry 20, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

(BTW, I don't down a single club that is still in production; the newest is 4 years old.  I just like golf equipment.  So sue me...)

[Scott Warren]

Pat

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

Mark

I use 14 unless I'm walking around/practicing using a sunday bag.  Why create a disadvantage if you don't have to?

I don't buy into the concept that more clubs allows you to play better, especially average amateur golfers.

I often watch mid and high-handicap golfers umming and ahhing over whether they should hit 3 hybrid or 4 hybrid from 200 metres, or tossing up a recovery shot between their three or four wedges... They'd be better off getting to know a few clubs intimately and learning how to play with them. Even if that improvement isn't possible, carrying three hybrids or three or four wedges does nothing to benefit them.

I went on my most recent trip to the US carrying 12 clubs. Playing 36 a day, I often left the 5i, 7i and 9i out of the bag for the afternoon round (leaving nine in the bag) and there was no difference in my scores - always 76-81 and a lot of the better scores were with fewer clubs.

As it is now, I carry 11 clubs (dr, 3i, 5i-PW, GW, SW, putter) and there aren't any holes there that require filling with another club.

It gives me carry clubs of 180m (3i), 165m (5i), 150m (6i) then every 10m down to 100m (GW).

It gives me plenty of chipping and pitching options.

The 3i carries 180m and runs out to about 200m and if I am in a position where that isn't an option for going at the green (or hole location), then I really have no business going for that shot.

If driver isn't the play off the tee, then I am obviously looking to prioritise accuracy over length - so 3i is exactly what I want. If you ask me (which no one did!), the modern driver is easier to hit than a fairway wood anyway so why carry one?

Cutting from 13 clubs to between 9 and 11 also coincided with me cutting my handicap from 8 to a low of 4 (currently 5). Also had some lessons in that window, but the reduction of clubs simplified my decision-making and definitely made a difference.

Anyway, to each their own, I just think that a lot of golfers make the game more difficult than it needs to be by viewing 14 clubs as a goal rather than a limit!

[Brent Hutto]

I've played with anywhere from 1 to 16 clubs in the bag. Normally I have 14. I hit it so short than 14 clubs basically gives me a club for every 10 yards, more or less which means almost any time I want to I can just swing away with a normal swing and the normal-swing distance will be within spitting distance of the target. That seems like a bonus, not sure why I'd want to give it up by pulling about half a dozen clubs and having to make up in-between swings.

And the difference in my 19-pound bag with a full set versus, what, maybe 13-14 pounds if I left out six clubs doesn't seem to matter a whole lot. Lifting 19 pounds versus 13 pounds feels pretty similar to me.

[David Bartman]

David, there is a bit of sarcasm in GJ's post.  No worries man! 

Mark

I didn't read it that way, it seemed to me that he stated an obtuse opinion then tried to make it all OK with a smiley face at the end. 

[Garland Bayley]

David, there is a bit of sarcasm in GJ's post.  No worries man! 

Mark

I didn't read it that way, it seemed to me that he stated an obtuse opinion then tried to make it all OK with a smiley face at the end. 

Mercy me. Haven't you heard of Melvyn?

[Germain Pepin]

I need my 14 clubs.

[David Harshbarger]

14- Driver, 3i-9i, 4h, 52deg, 58deg, SW, Jigger, Putter.

The last two are hickories. I've given up on fairway woods.  Like Hutto, the irons fit predictable 10y distances 190-130. The hybrid is about as long as the 3i but handles rough better, from where I often hit.  SW is and old bouncy club, while the other two are modern and I can hit fairly well on partial swings.  The jigger is just fun to hit: a 3/4 swing punches a low ball 120 with lots of run. And after playing with my Wilson blade hickory putter for a while, I came to like it more than my polymer insert Odyssey putter.

If I had better hickories I think I would put more in my bag. The reality is there isn't a common decent option for sand play with period clubs, and the 2 wood hickory I have is effectively a fairway which I stink with.

[Sam Morrow]

I usually carry 12 or 13, I'm not good enough that it will make a difference.

[Carl Rogers]

I have been given a lot of thought to carrying only 11.

driver, 19 degree fairway metal, 24 deg hybrid, 6-7-8-9-pw (6 iron is 29 deg & pw is 45 deg) , 52 & 58 deg wedges, putter
... the next time I go to Bandon, this is what I should carry

[Tim Passalacqua]

9.  You can cover all of your yardages with nine.  If you are playing the right course (like old Mac where you can hit driver off every tee), getting down to 7 is a lot easier.  Also, it depends if you walk or ride. I walk all of my rounds and love only carrying nine. It makes the walk that much more enjoyable.  My buddy thinks I am an idiot for not carriying all of my clubs, but he rides in a cart and could care less what his bag weighs.  Tom makes a great point with parkland and links golf.  It would be much easier to ditch more clubs on the links because you probably aren't going to have any forced carries.  The shot I fear most with the half set is the shot that is downwind, over water, with an in between yardage.  Bust a shot and hope you make it or saw one off with no spin, downwind,  and watch your ball roll over the green.  Taking 15 yards off a 3 iron over water would be brutal.  But the pros far outweigh the cons.  Lastly, it depends it you are playing tournament golf.  I would probably carry all of my clubs if I was playing for something serious.  Playing a pot game on Saturday morning isn't serious enough, so I will stick to a few less clubs.