Starting a new adventure . . . Minimalist Golf

[kro88]

how many Minimalist's here have multiple sets? haha

[slide13]

kro88 said:

how many Minimalist's here have multiple sets? haha

It's called maximal minimalism, obviously!

 

Haha, I do have two sets.  My older full set of irons (Bridgestone J40 DPCs) and then my dedicated minimal set of Miura CB57s for which I only own the 4/6/8/P.

[siegs07]

For those of you that have dedicated half sets did you have them special ordered new that way? Or did you split with someone, or buy used on ebay and sold the ones you weren't using. If I really decided that I wanted to do a smaller bag full time I wouldn't be opposed to having a set made for me with 6, 7, or 8 degree gaps.

[gvogel]

phil6380 said:

So my doc ups my blood pressure medicine and I decide enough is enough. Time to lose some weight. One way I'm attacking this is walking instead of riding. Which brings us to the topic at hand.

 

 

 

I went out with a minimalist bag (for me) for the first time today. My courses are very hilly so I didn't want to lug my full 14 club cart bag. I pulled out the Stitch SL-1 and just loaded in the bare minimum - Driver, 5 wood, 23 degree hybrid, my 7 and 9 irons (my set is juiced so those are 30 and 40 degree lofts), 50 and 56 degree vokeys and a putter. 8 clubs. I had 6 balls in the bag (I tend to panic going over water so I will lose balls), a couple of tees and the GPS watch. I had a towel strapped to the bag but that's it. I was surprised I didn't really score any worse than I normally do with a full set! I'm not a really long hitter so not having the 3 wood and 6 iron (actually a 5 iron loft) I normally use wasn't really even noticeable except for the par 5's where I did miss the 3 wood on the second shot. Third shot was just 7 iron instead of the usual 8 or 9. I noticed I missed a few holes I normally reach a little short. That's about the only things I noticed, none of which I can't adjust to. Next time I'll throw the 3 wood in and see what happens.

 

 

 

The walk was nice, albeit freezing cold. I don't think the pace of play for me was all that different. Maybe 15 minutes more, maybe. The Stitch is the perfect weight and size for me.

 

 

 

I plan on keeping this up. My son walks for his HS team and he and I play a lot. We'll just start walking together. Maybe get more conversation in which will be nice.

You might want to think about a 4-wood, instead of the 3-wood and 5-wood.  I go driver, 4-wood, 7-wood.

With my hybrid hickory minimalist bag, I go Ping Rapture mini driver, 5-wood, and the rest hickory 3, 5, 7, 8, Niblick, putter.  The hickory 3 has the same loft as a modern 5 (27*), etc.  Works.

[g-off]

Played yesterday with 9 clubs super windy here still shot pretty much my average, hit all 4 par 3's in regulation which is a rare feat for me, really starting to like the set up and will be working on whittling a couple more clubs out of the bag, now the search is on for a cool carry bag.

[Pwood28]

> @g-off said:

> Played yesterday with 9 clubs super windy here still shot pretty much my average, hit all 4 par 3's in regulation which is a rare feat for me, really starting to like the set up and will be working on whittling a couple more clubs out of the bag, now the search is on for a cool carry bag.

 

Two easy places to start looking at bags and they are budget dependent. If you have some money to spend, Mackenzie Bag and if you’re on a budget, Jones Bag. The Mac is worth the money and carries like a dream, but the Jones is still a great bag and get the job done right.

 

[Golfingfanatic]

Thinking about going to 9 clubs.

Driver: Cleveland Classic T3

Fairway Wood: 2016 M2 Deep Face 16.5

DI: UDI 20*

Irons: TMAG P730 5,7,9. 1 degree weak each

Wedges: PM Grind 53,60

Putter: Odyssey Armlock

What do you guys think of this setup? Got everything already other than the irons.

[g-off]

Going out tomorrow with just 7 sticks, strong 3 wood,5 irons, putter should prove to be interesting what the results are, also trying my armlock out for the first time so may have to adjust accordingly

[Tommy56]

> @siegs07 said:

> For those of you that have dedicated half sets did you have them special ordered new that way? Or did you split with someone, or buy used on ebay and sold the ones you weren't using. If I really decided that I wanted to do a smaller bag full time I wouldn't be opposed to having a set made for me with 6, 7, or 8 degree gaps.

 

I special ordered the irons and wedges for my minimalist kit.

[Hertsjoatmon]

> @siegs07 said:

> For those of you that have dedicated half sets did you have them special ordered new that way? Or did you split with someone, or buy used on ebay and sold the ones you weren't using. If I really decided that I wanted to do a smaller bag full time I wouldn't be opposed to having a set made for me with 6, 7, or 8 degree gaps.

 

Orginally I bought a full set second hand and then tried to sell the evens and keep the odds, but I got no interest. But then I managed to find some old one length fitting irons, a 5 7 and 9 at a bargain price so got them and sold the full set. Only issue is that I'm about 5 yards shorter than. Desired with the 5 iron but I have a spare xp85 7 iron shaft that is about 1/2" longer than the xp90 in the 7 iron that would complement it nicely. The wedges I use are older pre groove rule wedges I had laying around (cg14), and my 5 wood is an old benross hot speed that I can't bare to part with but doesn't make my main bag any more

[gvogel]

> @kro88 said:

> how many Minimalist's here have multiple sets? haha

Two here. I normally play driver, 4-wood, 7-wood, 6, 7, 9-iron, PW SW putter.

I also have a hybrid hickory set - mini driver, 5-wood, hickory 3, 5 and 7 irons (same loft as modern 5, 7, 9), niblick and putter.

Ha ha.

 

[slide13]

> @siegs07 said:

> For those of you that have dedicated half sets did you have them special ordered new that way? Or did you split with someone, or buy used on ebay and sold the ones you weren't using. If I really decided that I wanted to do a smaller bag full time I wouldn't be opposed to having a set made for me with 6, 7, or 8 degree gaps.

 

I ordered mine that way from Usher Golf. He had the irons on hand though so I'm sure he was left with a 3/5/7/9 after he sold me the 4/6/8/P. Was actually surprised I was able to get the CB57s that way, wasn't sure if that would even be possible with Miura but happily it was.

 

Lots of big mfg sell individual irons so should be easy with most of them. I like having a dedicated minimal set.

[g-off]

And on a windy, wet,cart path day still shot a 94 with 7 sticks which keeps my h/c good for me although probably not true wrx worthy to be a 16, love the fact of which club to hit, just grab the close one and let it fly, not hitting short of approach shots lately either

[Pack7483]

> @Golfingfanatic said:

> Thinking about going to 9 clubs.

> Driver: Cleveland Classic T3

> Fairway Wood: 2016 M2 Deep Face 16.5

> DI: UDI 20*

> Irons: TMAG P730 5,7,9. 1 degree weak each

> Wedges: PM Grind 53,60

> Putter: Odyssey Armlock

> What do you guys think of this setup? Got everything already other than the irons.

 

Looks like a great setup. Very similar to what I play, but I bet you could drop the fairway all together and play 8 clubs. I just let my driving iron cover the duty of a fairway wood. I play DR, 19.5* DI, 5,7,9,GW,LW,Putt

[kiwihacker]

> @Pack7483 said:

> > @Golfingfanatic said:

> > Thinking about going to 9 clubs.

> > Driver: Cleveland Classic T3

> > Fairway Wood: 2016 M2 Deep Face 16.5

> > DI: UDI 20*

> > Irons: TMAG P730 5,7,9. 1 degree weak each

> > Wedges: PM Grind 53,60

> > Putter: Odyssey Armlock

> > What do you guys think of this setup? Got everything already other than the irons.

>

> Looks like a great setup. Very similar to what I play, but I bet you could drop the fairway all together and play 8 clubs. I just let my driving iron cover the duty of a fairway wood. I play DR, 19.5* DI, 5,7,9,GW,LW,Putt

 

Both of you have very similar setups to me. I can vary from 7 clubs to 9 just based on losing a fairway wood or wedge. Nine club setup:

Driver, 4 wood, 20.5° hybrid, 5, 7, 9 irons, 50°, 56° wedges, putter

For 8 clubs I just drop the 4 wood and for 7 clubs I swap the 50° and 56° wedges for a 54°. To be honest I'm equally happy with either the 8 or 9 club setup. With the 7 club setup I miss not having a true gap wedge. A 50°-52° wedge is my go to short game weapon around the greens and approach shots from 100 and in.

[stimpmeterp]

Playing Monday outside Sacramento and am bagging the following:

Driver, Baffler, 6, 8, PW + 52 + 58 + Putter.

This will be my first official minimalist round; I'll report back.

[Kirasdad]

Oookay....went outlast Sunday with probably 18 clubs in the bag, carrying as usual, whew! Trying different combos to see what seemed best. Didn’t keep score played three balls a hole, nine holes.

Here is what I came up with:

Callaway driver 11 degrees

Sonartec 20* hybrid

Callaway 6 hybrid (the only club I bought for this, it’s really versatile can hit it 140-160, twenty bucks used)

Cleveland TA5 7 and 9 irons

Ram FX 50* wedge

Cleveland 588 SW 56*

Anser putter

 

Everything came out of my garage except the aforementioned hybrid. Will play this on the weekend, one ball, posting the score. Should be fun... and easy on the shoulders!

 

[rwc356]

Was finally able to play my first full round of golf this season - man has winter been long in Chicago. Put together an 82 and was very pleased with the round - guess the time working on the simulator over the winter actually paid off.

 

My clubs for today:

Ping G30 Driver, 7 wood and 5 hybrid

Ping i20 7, 9 and Gap wedge

Ping Glide 56 deg SW and

Ping Kushin putter.

 

The 7 wood was an addition over the winter and while I liked it I was not happy with the distance. Given the temperature (39 deg when round started) and the soggy ground I'm not sure it was a fair test. Hope to play again next week in warmer conditions and will see how the club performs. I was hoping the easy to hit 7 wood could replace my hard to hit 5 wood with more reliable consistent distance - albeit a little shorter than the 5 wood.

 

Oh well, it was great to be outside in the sunshine and playing golf. I'll worry about the other issues later.

 

[nostatic]

Fun concept. Back in the day I used to play a local par-3 course (that had a couple of 200 yard holes) with 7i, PW and putter. If I were to go minimal today at my local course (which maxes out at 425), I think I could have fun with driver, 3H, 6H, 8i, PW, 58*, putter. Could drop the driver - would certainly hit the 3H more than I do now, and would get a lot of practice with partial 8i and PW shots.

[gvogel]

> @rwc356 said:

> Was finally able to play my first full round of golf this season - man has winter been long in Chicago. Put together an 82 and was very pleased with the round - guess the time working on the simulator over the winter actually paid off.

>

> My clubs for today:

> Ping G30 Driver, 7 wood and 5 hybrid

> Ping i20 7, 9 and Gap wedge

> Ping Glide 56 deg SW and

> Ping Kushin putter.

>

> The 7 wood was an addition over the winter and while I liked it I was not happy with the distance. Given the temperature (39 deg when round started) and the soggy ground I'm not sure it was a fair test. Hope to play again next week in warmer conditions and will see how the club performs. I was hoping the easy to hit 7 wood could replace my hard to hit 5 wood with more reliable consistent distance - albeit a little shorter than the 5 wood.

>

> Oh well, it was great to be outside in the sunshine and playing golf. I'll worry about the other issues later.

>

 

My Ping G25 5-wood might be the easiest club to hit in my bag. G25 4-wood works great too.

[rwc356]

@gvogel said:

"My Ping G25 5-wood might be the easiest club to hit in my bag. G25 4-wood works great too."

 

My current 5 wood is an older TM model which I picked up at the end of last season when I was putting together a minimalist set of "modern" clubs as an alternative to my hickories. Depending on how much I get to play this spring - I will probably look for a G25 or G30 5 wood unless I can adjust the 7 wood to get needed distance.

[jt2gt]

Had the minimalist set out today testing -- 8 clubs, mostly decided.

3+ -- Undecided

19* Hybrid -- Undecided but likely TEE EX10 Fills the 200+/- gap nicely, but have others to test.

5i -- Decided Cally X-forged 27* UT Really like this club..nice and high 175 +/-

7i -- Decided X-forged 2018 150 +/-

9i -- Decided x-forged 2018 130 +/-

48* -- Decided MD4 Wedge 105 +/-

56* -- Undecided but Likely -- PM Grind Original -- may not be versatile enough but love it around the greens and sand.

Putter -- Decided Morgan DH11

Bag -- Decided Mackenzie 6 inch Sunday waxed canvas. So easy to carry and works great for minimalist set.

 

 

[er1cchandler]

Taking the leap! 9 club set

G400 LST 8.5* - Diamana D+ 70x

910f 3w (set to 17*) - Diamana A'hina 82x

Srixon u85 4iron (23*) - GD AD-hybrid 95x (...still debating shaft weight)

Srixon z785 6i (28*) - X100

Srixon z785 8i (36*, bent to 37*) - X100

Vokey SM7 46* - X100

Vokey SM7 54* - S400

Vokey SM7 60* - S400

Scotty TEI Newport putter

will be used in my Jones Players bag for the summer here in BC

 

after reading through a few pages of this thread, I'm already feeling overloaded with clubs. If i were to drop to 8, it would getting rid of the 4 wood. Distance is not an issue at my course, the 4i should be ample off the tee and D+4i is plenty for the Par 5s

[cflo2382]

As mentioned earlier in the thread, I built a minimalist set last month for fun. To be honest, it was winter, I was just bored and wanted to put together a little set of random clubs that I've always wanted to try. In hindsight, I should have just pulled 7-8 clubs out of my primary set. I got out a few times with the set I built and a few other times with my full primary set. I really liked carrying less clubs. I also really liked the simplicity of club selections. But, I just missed the feel and performance of my primary set. I don't see it working out for me by going back and forth from two totally different clubs. So, when I go minimalist, I will be just pulling clubs from my primary set.

 

That being said, I know minimalist iron sets are a tough find.. I have 5i, 7i, and 9i in PING iBlade if anyones looking (plus the other clubs in the set). Feel free to PM me for details.

[Sam-Tee-Time]

Before the recession, I was a member at a Private club that charged for carts, so I played a LOT of golf with this minimalist set. Taught me how to play a LOT of Knock-down shots with that 6 and 8 iron.

Driver

4Wood

6 Iron

8 Iron

PW

SW (56*)

Putter

[golfkrzy10]

Modern Minimalist, 10 club set-up, 25 yard gaps between each club: can play any course, tons of fun, focused more, and better scores! Easy to carry in the Sunday bag with a yeti full of bourbon!

Driver Srixon 565 9.5

3-wood Titleist 915 15

2H Titleist 818 h1 19

4 Utility Srixon u65

6 Srixon 565

8 Srixon 765

PW Srixon 965

52 Cleveland rtx-3

60 Cleveland rtx-3

Putter Odyssey tank versa V-line

 

 

[slide13]

Playing tomorrow morning with some guys from work so we'll be taking carts so I made some adjustments to my bag for tomorrow.

 

Pulling out the Bridgestone J40 DPCs since it's early season (will be my second time out) and they have a bit more forgiveness than my Miura CB57s. Sticking with just the evens though, 4/6/8/P. Taking a 56* sand wedge and adding a 52* gap wedge for one particular island green hole that's about 110y. This early in the season I don't trust my ability to dial back on my PW and not send it over the back into the water and if there is any sort of headwind it's unlikely I'd be able to power my 56* and get it on. Also swapping out my usual 3 wood for a driver and 19* hybrid setup just for fun.

 

So bag will be Driver, Hybrid, 4/6/8/P, 52*, 56*, Putter for a total of 9 clubs. Honestly, seems like a lot to me now! I wouldn't bother with the 52* but for that one hole.

 

I briefly considered taking the full set of irons and quickly dismissed the idea. Reminded myself how I've often hit my 5 and 6 pretty close together so making the jump from 4 to 6 has been no trouble for me at all. I've almost never hit 9 irons much, not really sure why just always been the least used club in my bag consistently. And the 7....well, I've gotten pretty comfortable powering up on my 8 to cover that gap and rarely have I ever found myself missing the 7.

[Dan Drake]

I've got an idea for this, that I can make happen straight outta the current garage mish-mash:

 

Adams Super LS hybrid 15° w/Aldila VS Proto

Mizuno Fli Hi Cut Muscle 24° w/Nippon SPB

Mizuno MP 57 6i w/Nippon SPB

Mizuno MP 67 9i w/Nippon SPB

TMAG ATV 54° w/Nippon SPB

Odyssey White Hot #1

 

The lofts will be tweaked to get a nice even spread and bend some of the offset out of the 6i & 9i, but I think this is pretty dog gone solid in terms of playability, shot shaping, forgiveness, my 2nd favorite putter in the world, and, of course, the one and only Super LS! Seriously, that thing is like a driver I can hit off the turf for my 2nd shot into par 5's (as long as there's nothing to carry over, lol!).

 

And again, the best part is, the only thing I looking to actually purchase is 4 ferrules!

[9woodfan]

I've sold all the "dedicated" clubs and now just alternate clubs out of the full bag. Love this set-up...

Driver - M4 @ 11*

Hybrid - Cobra F8 22*

Irons - Wishon Sterling SL 6-8-P

Wedges - Vokey SM5 54/62

Putter - SGC Custom

Put everything in a green Jones original and there isn't anything I can't do with these... great easy setup.

[Kirasdad]

Went out yesterday giving the minimalist setup its first go round. Shot 80,41-39, 6400 par 72.

Went with nine, although I only used eight. I didn’t use the 5h, which was strange since I think it’s the most versatile club in the bag, of course it’s just one round.

 

WITB (all clubs graphite shafted except putter)

Callaway Big Bertha 460 11 degrees

Ping G10 4 wood 17*

Sonartec 20* hybrid

Callaway 5h

Component 7 and 9 irons

50 degree Hogan GW

56 degree Cleveland 588 SW

Ping Anser putter

Jones canvas one strap bag

 

I had no issues whatsoever with the lack of 14 clubs, although the course was well suited to fewer clubs. It’s a traditional parkland layout where you can run it up on many holes. A target type of track would have been more problematic I think. The clubs are a combo of my regular bag and a few out of the garage. I’d like to get to 7 or 8 clubs, since 9 strikes me as, well, not “minimalist enough”.