4 Clubs Round

[pozzit]

Tuesday I got out to play 18 and played ok but as I was finishing i had some time and played an extra 9 and only took 4 clubs just to play quicker. Since they aerated the greens the day before i left the putter in the car.

So my question to all of you would be what 4 clubs (not including putter) would you choose and why?

My choices were (playing an old set of MP-33s so distances were at least a club short):

Driver: Got to put the big dog in. I actually went back and forth between this or 4 wood to stay a little safe in the fairway and would have shifted the 8 to a 7 but the course is pretty open and i was striking it pretty well. 

5 iron: The main reason I chose this were the fact that 1 of the par 3s is 182yrds  downhill which lined up vary nicely with this club. 

8 irons: I have noticed especially on the front nine i end up just inside 150yrds so having the 8 as a solid 145 club was preferred

Pitching Wedge: I needed a wedge and this wedge is 48* it was a good middle ground for around the green

End result I actually beat my first round 9 of a 43 and shot 41 while putting with a 5i..... are 14 clubs to many choices?

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I couldn't say what I would use because it depends on the course ( wide open, long course, short course, dog legs, and such). But I have played in a couple two man, three club tournaments which was real fun. So between the two players you got 6 clubs and you could share. You really had to study the course to choose the correct clubs and come to an agreement between the two of you. You would be surprised at how low the scores were with less clubs to choose from.    

[Buffly]

@pozzit I have done this at my local 9 hole par 29 course. I used these:

4h, 7i, sand wedge, putter

and shot 3 over, tied my best with all 14 at the same course. 

I play with some guys who can't swing partially. They only have a full swing and chip with nothing in-between. 

My opinion is that it takes a golfer who can swing partial to be able to pull it off. 

I actually practice partial swings with mid irons and woods as rescue shots. 

[pozzit]

4 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I couldn't say what I would use because it depends on the course ( wide open, long course, short course, dog legs, and such). But I have played in a couple two man, three club tournaments which was real fun. So between the two players you got 6 clubs and you could share. You really had to study the course to choose the correct clubs and come to an agreement between the two of you. You would be surprised at how low the scores were with less clubs to choose from.    

O yea the course is hugely important playing the back nine would have changed my selection for sure. 

@Buffly it is defiantly a game centered around course planning and partial shots it really forces you to dial distance control. 

[Buffly]

2 hours ago, pozzit said:

 it is defiantly a game centered around course planning and partial shots it really forces you to dial distance control

Yup, but with the clubs I picked, I had a perfect set of gaps for full swings:

200-210 yds - 4h Titleist 816 H1 @22* 

150-160 yds - 7i Ping G2

90-105 yds - SW Maltby M+ Tour 54*

Basically, 50 yard gaps and partial shots fill in the rest. I could play any course, and any yardage, with this setup. 

[LeftyHawk]

I actually did this for an entire season a few years back trying to get a handle on my game. I carried my 5 wood, 5 iron, 8 iron, putter. By the end of the season I was doing pretty good, but also realized that while I could hold on with the 4 clubs, I really needed the rest for to create a more consistent game. You know, like the driver off the tee, although I did get pretty darn good at chipping and pitching with an 8 iron.

The big take away for me was when I went back to a full set I needed to know my distances and play with the same ball all the time and course management. I think with time I could have gotten to a single digit handicap with just 4 clubs, but having a full set made the game easier mentally and physically.

Chris

[pozzit]

I actually did this for an entire season a few years back trying to get a handle on my game. I carried my 5 wood, 5 iron, 8 iron, putter. By the end of the season I was doing pretty good, but also realized that while I could hold on with the 4 clubs, I really needed the rest for to create a more consistent game. You know, like the driver off the tee, although I did get pretty darn good at chipping and pitching with an 8 iron.
The big take away for me was when I went back to a full set I needed to know my distances and play with the same ball all the time and course management. I think with time I could have gotten to a single digit handicap with just 4 clubs, but having a full set made the game easier mentally and physically.
Chris

Wow a whole season that would be tough for me. There was plenty of course management but I feel like it was more strategy of planning for the course ahead of time to decide the clubs. I agree that having all 14 is less mentally taxing especially knowing that you have the ability to take 10-30 yards off any club if need be. I may keep it in my practice rotation once a month or so to keep honing those skills its like playing with my old set of blades just an extra layer of challenge to practice.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[Buffly]

1 hour ago, LeftyHawk said:

I actually did this for an entire season a few years back trying to get a handle on my game. I carried my 5 wood, 5 iron, 8 iron, putter. By the end of the season I was doing pretty good, but also realized that while I could hold on with the 4 clubs, I really needed the rest for to create a more consistent game. You know, like the driver off the tee, although I did get pretty darn good at chipping and pitching with an 8 iron.

The big take away for me was when I went back to a full set I needed to know my distances and play with the same ball all the time and course management. I think with time I could have gotten to a single digit handicap with just 4 clubs, but having a full set made the game easier mentally and physically.

Chris

I went a season with 8 clubs to hone my game when I was relatively new to the game. 

I was a few months into playing at 40 years old and, I had a few problems:

• I couldn't keep the driver in play
• 3-4 wedges were too many options at the time
• I was scoring 110-120s too often
• Couldn't hit a long iron well

The solution was to get better with less clubs and master them before I added more clubs:

• 8 clubs: 5w, 5h, 7i, 8i, 9i, PW, SW, Putter - this allowed more practice time with specific clubs - these were the ones I was most consistent with
• Only chip with one club - SW - in order to develop a feel
• Keep the ball in play - course management of eliminating OB to reduce blow up holes
• Move up to white tees

In 6 weeks my scores dropped 15 strokes. I kept playing the 8 clubs until I could break 100 consistently. 

Then I added more clubs to my practice but, I didn't game them until much later. 

Within my first 8 months I got a hole in one and by a year I was up to a full bag again. 

I really enjoyed playing a slimmer bag because it was mentally more challenging to think of what shot would get it done without having a full swing club to that number.