Starting a new adventure . . . Minimalist Golf

[Ghostwedge]

On 6/29/2022 at 12:51 AM, kvikkenof said:

Update my set to this

 

- M5 driver (shortened)

- Cobra King 24* Utility Iron

- Cobra Forged Tec X8 iron

- Cleveland Smart Sole Chipper

- Cleveland Smart Sole Sand wedge

- Ping Fetch Putter

 

suddenly remembered that golf is/should be about having fun, not about having the lowest possible handicap

For a lot of us having the lowest possible handicap is very fun. 😎

[acemandrake]

1 hour ago, animalgolfs said:

9 clubs - no doubles, no birds - lots of par & bogey and HEAT - plenty of HEAT

Where's the golfer?  Was this his last photo before succumbing to the heat?

[acemandrake]

1 hour ago, animalgolfs said:

9 clubs - no doubles, no birds - lots of par & bogey and HEAT - plenty of HEAT

Where's the golfer?  Was this his last photo before succumbing to the heat?

[ShortGolfer]

I just got fitted and my new set of 8 clubs in a few months will look like this:

12* driver  Only 41.25 inches!

16.5* 3wood  I didn't think I could hit a three wood off the mat but i hit some really good swings that went nearly as far as driver off the tee.  The fitter said the shaft helped.

25* 11 wood

28* 7 iron

48* AW

56* SW

60* LW

Putter--best length 31 inches and face balanced.  

The fitter said I didn't need my 8H as he thought it would be redundant with the way I was hitting my new irons.

I'm old enough that carrying a Sunday bag with fewer clubs will allow me to have noticeably more energy at the end of the round. 

In talking to the fitter I mentioned I had an awful swing as a tiny kid as I did all sorts of weight shift to make the ball go farther.

But it was useful in that I learned to hit the  ball despite all the moving pieces!  My new swing is much easier on my back!

Edited July 1, 2022 by ShortGolfer

[kvikkenof]

4 hours ago, Ghostwedge said:

For a lot of us having the lowest possible handicap is very fun. 😎

True that. Sorry for not speaking on my own behalf 🫣

[Dan Drake]

On 4/15/2019 at 3:50 PM, Dan Drake said:

> @"Dan Drake" said:

> 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!

 

So, after thinking it through, I've landed on the following:

 

TEE E8 beta 12° w/Rogue

Mizuno Fli Hi Cut Muscle 20° w/Nippon SPB

Mizuno MP 57 30° w/Nippon SPB

Mizuno MP 32 40° w/Nippon SPB

Mizuno MP 67 50° w/Nippon SPB

Nike Engage Toe Sweep 58° w/DG S300

 

Add in a putter and I'm off and running (well, walking)! And I went through the garage again and I don't even have to get the 4 new ferrules, lol. I'm going to be in this project for the cost of some epoxy.

Eventually, I'll put together an entire bag with my Callaway & Odyssey clubs, but for proof of concept, the above set is pretty darn neat, if I do say so myself!

New idea, same as the old idea (well, almost)

 

Yes Sophia putter 4°

PING Eye 2 Red Dot Driver 13°

PING Eye 2 5w 22°

Mizuno MP 32 6i 31°

Mizuno MP 67 8i 40°

Cleveland 588 Psp 49°

Nike Engage Toe Sweep 58° 

 

The neurotic person in me loves the even 9 degree gaps, even with the putter, lol.  But honestly, the yardage gaps make sense as they stretch out little by little as the clubs get longer.  There's a neat blend of some "tech" here with the Cut Muscle, Toe Sweep, and the grooves on the Yes, but it is also decidedly simple.  Each club is a hunk of metal or wood on a stick.  No badges, multi-material (unless you want to get really picky about the woods), tungsten plugs, or whatnot (not that there's anything wrong with that).  Also, I don't think I'll be hampered at all in the short game department, so I really do think I'll be able to shoot some reasonable scores, provided the driver behaves for the majority of the round.  Who knows, I might not hit it far enough to reach anyone's back yard!

[harlequine]

Last two seasons l went back to 12 clubs in a desperate attempt to score more consistent. Of course it does not work and l have been obsessed with choosing the right club for the specific yardage. I am a weekend warrior and score around 90. This week l switched back to my halfset of irons, borrowed a new driver from a friend and took an old Ping Zing putter instead of my monstreus mallet. 9 clubs in the bag and shoot 84 the first round and that is my lowest score ever. Golf is a funny game and approaching it with a minimalist bag is the right thing to do.

[JamesWA]

My definition of minimalist is a pencil bag with 5 clubs or less. So :

 

5 clubs - Driver, 4 hybrid, 7 iron, gap wedge, putter.

4 clubs - Drop the hybrid

3 clubs - Drop the gap wedge too

2 clubs - 4 hybrid and putter

1 club - chipping green with the gap wedge !

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by JamesWA

[joe perry]

On 6/13/2022 at 6:58 PM, BravoGolf said:

Finally got my set where I want it (8 clubs). Added the hybrid this season and it is long! Might work between 8-10 clubs to fill the gap. Going with:

 

 

D - Ping G410 LST 9*
3H - Titleist TSi 2 18*
5i - TM P790

7i - TM P790

9i - TM P790

50* - Ping Glide 3.0
58* - Ping Glide 3.0

P - Ping Anser 2

 

have you weighed with bag and accessories the total weight of that set up ?

[Ivyguy]

Hey, I’m bumping this thread to see what is happening with small bag players. 

[cflo2382]

I'm in the process of putting together an 8 piece set for Fall golf. For those looking into a small bag WITH legs - I highly recommend the Cobra Ultralight Sunday bag. Great quality and perfect size for a half set. Can be had around $110-120 new if you look around. Amazon currently has them for $116.41.

[rkillian]

Played 7 clubs this past Sunday. A buddy and I decided to walk our local front 9 and play match-play with 7 clubs. He is typically better than me 9 times out of 10 but I closed him out after the 6th hole. If there wasn't along wait on the 7th, I may not have had time to realize/figure out that I was even par. I finished 4 over. I played D, 7w, 6, 8, PW, 54, Putter. I may never play my local goat track of a front 9 with a full bag ever again.

[Tommy56]

5 hours ago, rkillian said:

Played 7 clubs this past Sunday. A buddy and I decided to walk our local front 9 and play match-play with 7 clubs. He is typically better than me 9 times out of 10 but I closed him out after the 6th hole. If there wasn't along wait on the 7th, I may not have had time to realize/figure out that I was even par. I finished 4 over. I played D, 7w, 6, 8, PW, 54, Putter. I may never play my local goat track of a front 9 with a full bag ever again.

Your half-set is similar to mine, and I use it 100% of the time regardless of course. 

[rkillian]

6 hours ago, Tommy56 said:

Your half-set is similar to mine, and I use it 100% of the time regardless of course. 

It’s been a while, but I have also gone 4w, 5h, 7, 9, 48, 56 (which I don’t have anymore). 
 

For quick 9s I don’t take a half set often enough. My full set is 13 clubs right now. 

[stimpmeterp]

D 

21°

6

8

W

56

60

P

[Z1ggy16]

Played with 8 clubs today and shot the same score as I normally would.

D 

7w

5

7

9

Gw

Lw

P

 

Honestly for mid cap and worse I don't think you even need 14 clubs. Plus this really helped me think about my exact shot.

[lil'mike]

55 minutes ago, Z1ggy16 said:

Played with 8 clubs today and shot the same score as I normally would.

D 

7w

5

7

9

Gw

Lw

P

 

Honestly for mid cap and worse I don't think you even need 14 clubs. Plus this really helped me think about my exact shot.

 

I played a ten club setup the other day and I too shot about the same score!  I also know I left a few shots out there so could have been a few strokes better for sure.

 

D

15 deg 3wd

19 deg 5wd

24 deg weak 7wd or 9wd?

4/5i  ?? deg

6i  31 deg

8i  39 deg

PW  48 deg

SW  55 deg

P

 

I would pull the 3wd and 4/5 iron and get to eight clubs easily I think without hurting my score!

 

[animalgolfs]

21 minutes ago, lil'mike said:

 

I played a ten club setup the other day and I too shot about the same score!  I also know I left a few shots out there 

I been playing 9 a lot - my scores are the same. 6 over on 9 - 3 bad drives that left nothing but punch outs & 2 missed putts because I hit above the hole on stupid fast / Ross type greens. 

[Z1ggy16]

37 minutes ago, lil'mike said:

 

I played a ten club setup the other day and I too shot about the same score!  I also know I left a few shots out there so could have been a few strokes better for sure.

 

D

15 deg 3wd

19 deg 5wd

24 deg weak 7wd or 9wd?

4/5i  ?? deg

6i  31 deg

8i  39 deg

PW  48 deg

SW  55 deg

P

 

I would pull the 3wd and 4/5 iron and get to eight clubs easily I think without hurting my score!

 

Only had one shot today where I really needed a club that i didn't have on me. 

 

I think having less clubs makes you play smarter too. You try to be less precise and go for smart shots because you have no other choice. Helps with creativity as well.

[Oh Hi Carl]

I've figured out that for my small bag days I need to drop my GW and 60.  I go with PW and 55.  That loses two clubs and then the rest is easy.  But the wedges were the part that I was stuck on.  

[54CW]

Playing in a tournament this weekend with this set up. I debated going a full 14 but I really like how I play with this group of clubs. I added the 13* as another option off the tee. 

 

TSi2 9.25

TS3 13*
TS 16*

i210 6

i210 8

I210 PW

Glide 2.0 SS 50

Glide 3.0 ES 56

Scotty Studio Select Fastback 1.5

 

[JamesWA]

I play a 4 hybrid a lot. I could easily play that one club . With my low level of ability I doubt my scores would be much worse, if at all. 

THAT'S minimalist golf ! 

 

[scruffynick]

Having read through this thread again...a joy, it amazes me how many still use the ping eye 2 irons. And they seem the form a perfect half set because if the lofts just fit right......I like playing 4 6 8 pw sw with my eye 2s......lovely set up 

[Hat Trick]

Got down to 11... Driver, 4HB, Putter, 5-PW, 50, 56 - shot 77.  Just can't seem to go less than 11 comfortably.

[spiderml]

Any bag suggestions? I'm looking at somewhere between an 8-10 club set to play full time when all is said and done. With my current bag (an Ogio Fuse 304) I find that with all the water I like to carry for 18 (often 2L+) my bag gets quite lopsided when carried with less than a full set, with the storage compartment running noticeably lower. Currently considering a Sun Mountain 2.5+ or Mizuno Kilo. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. 

[stimpmeterp]

1 hour ago, spiderml said:

Any bag suggestions? I'm looking at somewhere between an 8-10 club set to play full time when all is said and done. With my current bag (an Ogio Fuse 304) I find that with all the water I like to carry for 18 (often 2L+) my bag gets quite lopsided when carried with less than a full set, with the storage compartment running noticeably lower. Currently considering a Sun Mountain 2.5+ or Mizuno Kilo. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. 

Check out the Linksoul offering or any Ping L8 or collegiate style stand.  Titleist Players 4 is also great for water 

[Ivyguy]

Moonlite bags are great , assuming geese are not a “thing” at your course. 
 

Otherwise, Sun Mountains 2.5 model is great.  Durable (I’ve had mine for 8 years…. Holy crap I’m old). 
 

Cally and TM make short leg bags that are cool but I feel like… put your bag on the ground or don’t.   

[Kyfra]

I use a TM Quiver for my minimalist rounds and love it. I rock:

 

D

19 Hybrid

5-7-9

GW

56

putter

[stimpmeterp]

D, 16.5, 21, 6, 7, 8, 9, W, 56, 60, P

 

It’s 11 and it’s here to stay.  My two yardage gaps are 190-200 (this is a stepped on 6 iron or 75% 21° hybrid) and 110-125 (this is either a stepped on 56° or a 3/4 W).  But I have no desire to add anymore clubs.

 

For early morning walks I grab a 5-club combo that includes a long, mid, short, wedge and putter.

 

I have freed up my mind from the mental gymnastics it does with whether to hit a iron set approach wedge (AW or G) or 50° specialty wedge that matches my 56/60.  For some reason I don’t hit them well.  I also don’t hit a 4 or 5 iron well enough to bag.

 

Now I limit my buying sprees to new drivers and putters.  I am sure I will upgrade to Vokey SM10 when they come out.

 

[acemandrake]

Driver

Fairway wood

Mid-iron

Short iron

Wedge

Putter