14 to 12 club setup

Ripken08 · September 19, 2023

Currently carrying the following and want to drop a few clubs mainly for simplicity and easy of carry. 54yo 8 HC with herniated disc that periodically flares up.

Driver: Epic SZ 10.5

Steelhead III 5, 7 and 9 woods

Mizuno HMP 5-GW

Cleveland RTX 54/58

Ping Craz-E putter

I dropped the 3W awhile back and the 4i last year. Was hitting the 5W better, but now don't use it very much. I could easily carry only 7/9 woods and be fine from 180-215; rarely need more than that.

Thinking of consolidating to a single FW or hybrid after driver or possibly 2 hybrids. Leave the 5-GW and drop the 54/58 for a full face 56. Mainly concerned with the decision for the top end of the bag.

D, 18 hybrid, then irons?

D, 16/17 hybrid, 21/22 hybrid then irons?

Thoughts?

drn92 · September 19, 2023

I’m at 12 now and don’t feel like I have any big gaps …

Driver

5w

4h

5-Wedge

54, 58

Putter

My wedge is at 47 degrees, so not super strong. The PXG 0211 irons are so strong lofted you could potentially go 6-Gap for irons.

drn92

MrFlipper · September 19, 2023

7 hours ago, Ripken08 said:

Currently carrying the following and want to drop a few clubs mainly for simplicity and easy of carry. 54yo 8 HC with herniated disc that periodically flares up.

Driver: Epic SZ 10.5

Steelhead III 5, 7 and 9 woods

Mizuno HMP 5-GW

Cleveland RTX 54/58

Ping Craz-E putter

I dropped the 3W awhile back and the 4i last year. Was hitting the 5W better, but now don't use it very much. I could easily carry only 7/9 woods and be fine from 180-215; rarely need more than that.

Thinking of consolidating to a single FW or hybrid after driver or possibly 2 hybrids. Leave the 5-GW and drop the 54/58 for a full face 56. Mainly concerned with the decision for the top end of the bag.

D, 18 hybrid, then irons?

D, 16/17 hybrid, 21/22 hybrid then irons?

Thoughts?

66 yo 4 index here. Also, most importantly, walk and carry too.

Just looking at how often I hit certain clubs, turns out it's best for me to have fewer clubs in the middle. Went 14 to 12 to now 10, not an issue if you are comfortable with less than full shots. I only had maybe 1 full 6 iron shot (34° ish), 1 full 5 iron shot, 1 full 4 iron shot per round, so now carry a 29° driving iron that I can 3 finger for a 6 iron ish if necessary. A 21° fairway I can choke up on to the bottom of the grip for a 4 iron ish distance.

Rest pretty normal. D, 16.5° fairway, 7-pw (50°), 56° sw, putter. If I didn't walk and carry, I'd prob have more clubs but walking and esp carrying is important to me.

Not saying this necessarily works for you or anybody but a lot of people have less need in the middle of their bag than they might think.

Titleist_PT23 · September 19, 2023

Driver

5W (*18)

9W (*23)

~30* iron

~38* iron

~46* iron/PW

~54*-60* SW/LW

Putter

That's eight clubs and by taking something off a longer club it will cover most yardages. Depending on the course, I could drop the 5W or combine the Driver/5W into a Mini/2W/Strong 3W. That would get it down to 7 clubs but there's no real point other than it would be 1/2 of the allowed clubs.

Kai Slater · September 19, 2023

I like the concept of going with less clubs. During my last couple rounds of golf, I took account of the clubs that I actually used and discovered that I only actually hit shots with 9 of my clubs, playing from my usual 6100 white tees. These were full shots.

I've also heard of some intentionally going with 7 clubs or 5 clubs and using this as an opportunity to get creative with using the limited clubs and being forced to try different shots

rkillian · September 19, 2023

I've been at 12 for the last year. I've bounced back and forth between 12 and 13 clubs depending on my wedge set-up (and by the next time I post here I may be back to 13 anyway 🤣).

I find I don't need many options at the top of the bag. I go D, a lower spin 5W, a 23* hybrid. In theory there are larger gaps than some would like to play with but for my skill level and how I hit those clubs, they are manageable gaps. I'm usually not going for par 5's in 2, even when they are reachable with a 5w. I have mavrik pro irons which are pretty strong so I go 6-PW, then 48, 52, 58 in wedges and a putter. My biggest gap is really the hybrid to 6 iron. But I am rarely required to hit that yardage and it's not too difficult to choke down on hybrid or take some off.