Who is playing with less than 14 clubs?

Who is playing with less than 14 clubs? What is the club that you don’t use that most people do? What’s your thinking behind your decision??

I carry 13. I think I've been better off since I left my lob wedge and my 3-wood in my garage. At my skill level (I'm an 11), the extra distance of the 3-wood is not much and definitely not worth the variance. Same variance argument with the lob wedge.

I see no reason to not carry all of the clubs you can carry.

A scratch player will beat a 10 handicap with 10 clubs - theres no badge of honor to that unless someone wants to say “I beat with you 10 clubs brah!”... which is dooshy at best.

Golf’s a game of preference but I’d argue if you have room in the bag there’s probably a club that could be added which would benefit you.

If I hear someone on here saying they’re trying to break 80, shot 80 and then say they didn’t carry a full quiver while attempting it I’ll shake my head.

13 for me. I'm not consistent or confident with my 3 iron so it stays in the garage.

It used to be 12 until I finally found a 3 wood I could hit!

Having a lob wedge or 3-wood tempting me to hit it--just having it available to me--used to cost me strokes. Because I'd envision hitting the perfect shot with, say the 3-wood, but significantly increasing the likelihood of topping, duffing, slicing, etc., wasn't worth the small percentage of times I hit a good shot with it. Similar arguments with visions of flop shots with that lob wedge. Better to just take my medicine with the SW from an "expected value" standpoint. And making that expected value calculation with the LW available to me on the course was difficult.

Fair enough but what about another hybrid? A sand-specific wedge? Driving iron of some sort? 5 wood? 7 wood?

I should have laid down the caveat that I’m referring to someone who isn’t a beginner. My wife loves her 7 iron, my old x shaft Titleist hybrid (oddly) and her driver. She’s trying with the sand wedge... but she’s lreal new to playing - started 5 months ago. She doesn’t really need more than 5-7 clubs.

if you’re under a 20 handicap though, I’d say a broader range of tools is better than less. Customize it to fit your needs.

I carry 8 clubs and score well - no benefit with the extra weight for me!

I carry 13 in my full bag, but generally I walk and carry 9 clubs.

I generally carry 10/11, awful with the driver so although it's in the bag it's pretty much for show...

3-PW, 56 and a putter at the minute.

Struggle a little when it's soft but for the majority of courses I play when its firm, the 3iron runs far enough. I've never carried many wedges and tend to hit half shots with short irons where it works.

I play 10: 1W, 4H, 5-9I, PW, SW, P

I'm just starting out, and my budget was good for these. At the moment I just don't need a 3W/5W or a third wedge.

Broader range of clubs also sometimes lead to too many decisions.

I Iike to walk when I can, I like to keep the bag light and keep things simple. I played almost all of last year with 7-9 clubs. I have a full set, doesn’t seem to make much difference in my score if I use it or my half set, so I stick with the half set. Details in sig.

I carried 12 last year and will do the same this year. I have no issues with driver and when I use a different club off the tee its an iron or my 7w. Unless i top or otherwise mishit something 7w is the longest club I need for second shots as I don't go for any par 5's in two. When I carried a SW I almost never used it as the Ping ES grind LW is great out of greenside bunkers and I use my UW for chipping and the LW when I don't. Keep in mind this is on my home course which I play 80% of my rounds.

I carry 11. The top end of my bag has a huge gap between driver and 4 hybrid. The courses and tees I play just don't require long fairway shots. I don't go for par 5s in 2 and I'm pretty consistent with the driver.

12 for me. Covers all my gaps and simplifies decision making. If I went up to 14, I guess I'd carry a mini driver or strong 3 wood and a sand-specific lob wedge. I really just don't see the need (trust me, if it would improve my scoring, I'd carry 13 or 14 in a heartbeat).

How so?

You’d have the same obstacle in front of you, but more options for how you could address said obstacle. That’s too many decisions if you go from 13-14 clubs? If someone’s mental game is that fragile then yes, having 14 clubs doesn’t matter.

I should have been more clear up front. Like anything else in this game it’s about preference - so there truly isn’t a right answer to this or many other questions.

I would argue that if you’re below a 20 handicap you’re to a point where having a full quiver makes sense to me. Said differently, I don’t know many/any scratch or better players who aren’t carrying 14.... but to a point made earlier, those folks can use the entirety of the bag.

I'd like to carry 15...

I currently play with 11 clubs. I have a long justification for why below haha. Could probably pull out my 5 iron and play with 10. Driver, 21* hybrid, 5i-GW, a 56* SW and Putter.

I don't keep a handicap so I'm not sure what it would be, My current average score is 94 if that helps though. In the last 2 weeks I have shot my personal best and worst on the front 9 of my local course. 41 and then a 54 yesterday. So I am inconsistent to say the least. But I have only really been playing since May of 2019 in part because I was asked to help coach golf at the High School I teach at and it seemed like a good opportunity to pick up the game myself.

I play my local course 95% of the time. It's cheap (remember the HS teacher thing) and very close to my house. I have a family and with everyone's schedule, its not too hard for me to get out and walk 9 during the week. On a slow weekend I can walk 18. I enjoy walking whenever possible, especially if I am playing solo.

My home course is short by most comparisons. It can be played without a Driver if you wanted too. I could probably pull my 5 iron out of the bag and not notice but I keep it in there. I had a 3 wood that I used off the tee before buying my driver. I wasn't any more consistent with the 3 wood than the driver off the tee and I couldn't hit the 3 wood off the deck if I was in a situation that warranted it; so I sold it and my 3 and 4 hybrid that I just didn't get along with. My 21* 4 hybrid replaced those 3 clubs. For me it is more consistent off the tee and everywhere else I need it. I had been using a 52 as a gap wedge before finding my set matching gap wedge (50*) used. For now I will be staying with this set up. When I do change things, I will be doing something with my wedges. Either a new 56 or I may go 54 and a 58/60 after it depending on gap testing. I will also probably add a 4 or 5 wood between my driver and hybrid at some point. But I am interested in hitting something like the TM Original One mini to see if that's something I could get along with. No real rush in that regard, that's more or less the tinkerer in me.

I completely understand the benefits of 14 clubs. But I don't mind the lighter weight for walking and realistically unless I get lessons to improve my ball striking consistency and to fix whatever swing flaws I have It really won't make a difference if I'm playing with 10, 11, or 14 clubs. In 2020 I want to be able to consistently break 90 on my home course. I know it's very possible. For me that means consistency with the clubs I know I need for this particular course. If I can actually get consistent with that, I have no problem adding clubs back in the bag.

I can understand playing less than 14 to make walking and carrying a bag lighter. But carrying less because you don't hit a certain club well seems like it is just going to make any significant long term improvement more difficult. It's kind of hard to learn to hit a club if you never carry it in your bag.

I agree that avoiding use of a club because it isn't hit well means learning to use it may take longer. I think that's were practice on the range and such may come into play. For me the removal of a club from the bag for a round comes down to a combination of whether or not I am confident enough with the club to use it/do I hit it well? And, will it actually be needed on the course? Will the removal of the club effect my enjoyment on the course? If my answer is no to most of those questions then I probably don't need the club in the bag.

If you are someone like me who A) isn't very good and/or B) plays pretty much the same course, it is easier to know what clubs won't really see much use. With me, my 5 iron is my most inconsistently hit iron when I use it. In my last 5 or 6 times out I think I've been in a situation where I needed to use it 1 or 2 times. My course is short enough and I hit long enough on my well struck shots that even a tee shot that doesn't go an expected distance mean probably don't need my 5i. Chances are I've come up very short and will use my hybrid or It's still long enough that I am using an iron shorter than my 5. That said, it's still in the bag.

I play 13 clubs. I like playing a three wedge set-up (PW, 52 & 58) compared to having four wedges in the bag.

I find it a good practise to carry half a set when not playing competitive golf. Firstly, I carry, so it's a welcome relief to lug around a lighter bag but more importantly it forces me to practice being inventive with my shot making. Being forced to play softer shots with more club and harder shots with less club depending on shot requirements. I'm sure it gives me more options, during tournament golf when under the gun. I always remember when I was a ten year old taking on the club pro in a bet over 9 holes in a scratch game, I was allowed to use my full set but he was only allowed to use his putter, he was allowed to tee his ball up wherever it came to rest. He shot level par! I lost my pocket money that day, but I learnt a few valuable lessons. It was impressive to watch.

13-ish. I don't carry a driver and the 3 wood is really just in there so I don't have to answer the "you don't carry any woods?" questions every round. My GAPR mid 3 gives me plenty off almost all tees, then its 4-9, PW, AW, SW, and 60*.

13 clubs, only reason is I cannot find a 3wd that I like. Considered adding a 64* wedge, but, not really sure I have a legitimate use for it.

13 clubs.

Driver/3wd/3driving iron/4-pw/52/58/Putter

Somedays I just play 3wd and leave driver at home.

13. I don't carry a 3 wood. I stop at an 18* 5 wood before I get to the driver. I used to only carry 12, but I recently added a 58* wedge after working on technique and getting better with it.

I typically carry 13 in my full bag (D, 3w, 4h, 5h, 6-GW, 55*, 60*). I just don't have use for that 14th club w/ my game at the moment (approx 14 handicap). When I play an early morning/ sunset 9 I carry only 8 clubs (D or 3w, 5h, 7-PW, 55*) in a Sunday bag that weighs about 12lbs loaded. That's a good 10+lbs less than my full stand bag and crap and my scores are right around the same at my 2 home courses.

-r.

Well into my 3rd year as a dedicated minimalist, I usually carry 7 or 8 and never more than 9. At the same time, my handicap has continued to trend lower and I've never enjoyed the game more.

My wife only uses 13 clubs and broke our course record recently with a 64.

While pretty cool, it gives her the opportunity to frequently remind me that I can't break par with 14...

I always carry 14, but if had to drop one, it would be my 3 wood. I really never hit it, when I do it's usually not the best results. I'm currently bagging a 16° hybrid instead, and I hate hybrids. I play alot more conservative golf lately as my handicap drops.