How many clubs do you carry in your bag for recreational play

[John L]

I have been playing for a long time. Having said that I do understand that during any competitive play you are limited to 14 clubs in your bag. During rec play I carry 15 clubs and when I play events on he USAmTour I look at the yardage book during warmups and determine what club I will be removing from the bag for the competitive round. How do you all do it.  

[GolfSpy_APH]

Normally 13, sometimes 12. Even during competitve play I often only have 13 clubs in play. Just the way my bag works and fits. 

[cnosil]

13 clubs as that is all I need to fill the gaps between the top and bottom end.  

Edited August 5 by cnosil

[funkyjudge]

What do you consider “recreational play”? If I am playing a practice round, I may only carry 8 to 10 clubs. Otherwise, I am almost always carrying a full complement of 14 clubs.

[Erin B]

I carry the standard 14 clubs. I could probably get away with carrying less but just stick to the standard.

[Shapotomous]

For a practice round i may have an extra club or two to see what fits a particular shot...mostly on longer par 3's is where i will make an adjustment in what i carry.

[William P]

I generally carry the standard 14 clubs but have taken less at times to limit my selection and try potential new course strategy during a practice round. Rarely I will take an extra club unless it is on a trial/demo basis.

[Lefty11]

I usually carry 14 clubs, but sometimes I like to challenge myself by playing with just 7.  I believe it forces you to think more and be creative.

Edited August 5 by Lefty11

[RetiredBoomer]

Golf clubs are hideously expensive...too expensive to buy and leave at home.
My cart bag is specifically made for fifteen clubs.
I bag fifteen clubs.

I'm not especially looking for a challenge, to be honest. 
I'm looking to relax and have fun with my friends
We're all there for our own reasons, right?

[RetiredBoomer]

3 hours ago, cnosil said:

13 clubs as that is all I need to fill the gaps between the top and bottom end.  

Top to bottom gapping is only one way to configure a set of clubs.

Some clubs go into the bag for specific shots.

driver
driving iron
specialty sand iron
specialty chipping iron
putter.

They're not coordinated with any particular gapping progression.
 

 

[Swood1994]

I’ll carry both a 2iron and my hybrid and maybe 2 drivers if I’m playing a non serious round by myself. This score obviously doesn’t get posted but I like to hit the same shot with either the driving iron or the hybrid and well… 2 drivers cause I’m a head case off the tee and have an affinity for switching drivers often. So 14-16 clubs depending. Other than that it’s always 14 clubs.

Edited August 5 by Swood1994

[cnosil]

21 minutes ago, RetiredBoomer said:

Top to bottom gapping is only one way to configure a set of clubs.

Never said there weren’t other ways.; I simply answered the OP question about my personal bag and how many clubs I carry.   

[RetiredBoomer]

13 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Never said there weren’t other ways.; I simply answered the OP question about my personal bag and how many clubs I carry.   

 

Of course, cnosil.   
I understood that,
and I also know that that's by far the predominant method.

I was just pointing out why somebody might want more than fourteen clubs.

[DaveP043]

I carry 14 clubs.  I have very rarely carried 15 when doing a club review, but never for an extended period.  Just about all of my rounds involve some level of competition, even the most informal ones, so I tend to simply play by the Rules all of the time.  

[vandyland]

I have 13 in my signature but probably play best with 11-12. Usually removing my hybrid or 5W from my bag forces me into laying up more often on par 5s which is ultimately better for me, scoring-wise. I think I could easily just play with:

Driver - 260
5 iron - 200
6 iron - 185
7 iron - 170
8 iron - 155
9 iron - 140
PW - 130
GW - 115
LW - 70
Putter

Yes there is a large gap between driver and 5i but I *might* have one shot per round where I need/want a 225 yd shot. 

[TJ Hall]

14 clubs.

Will sometimes have more in the bag if I’m just going to the range and seeing how a club works out.

[RetiredBoomer]

I think it should be noted that several cart bags, like my Titleist Cart 15, are specifically designed to carry fifteen clubs.
In my case, the number fifteen is right in the model name.  

I could easily go to sixteen or seventeen if somebody made a bag for it.
I've gotten too accustomed to individual full length dividers to make do without them anymore,
so I can't just cram a bunch of clubs in a big staff bag..

 

 

[EasyPutter]

I'm back to 13 having pulled the driver out of my bag yet again, just not pleased with my driver swing and since the fairway hybrid gets the same distance and actually longer because of a straighter ball flight, it is doing the tee box duty. 

Added a chipper a month ago and it is turning out to be the club needed to enhance the in close game when risking a thin shot with wedge is possible because of short grass and hard ground and the 37 degrees matching the 8 iron has a different control because of the shaft and grip intended to be used like a putter.

3 iron was pulled from the inventory because for some reason it just didn't work for me and it's distance was not much different than the 4 iron that pulls most longer shots the hybrid can't quite reach because of ball lie.  It's all lies I tell you...

[Hacker60521]

Carry a full 14 at all times. Only change I’ll make is between 3W, 3H. Right now I’m opting for the 3H just to get better with it 

[Rob Person]

14 mostly. I've carried 15 depending on the turf conditions 

 

 The 2 most removed clubs have been my shortened 7w and my 17⁰ hybrid. I have considering temporarily pulling the driver, as I have lost consistency with it the last 2 rounds, but just can't bring myself to that point. 

[YasonOG]

7 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

I carry 14 clubs.  I have very rarely carried 15 when doing a club review, but never for an extended period.  Just about all of my rounds involve some level of competition, even the most informal ones, so I tend to simply play by the Rules all of the time.  

Hey super off topic but I couldn't manage to send you a message... Was just inquiring about how long your yardage book took you to create, and if you had any interest in creating/selling one. Appreciate it!

[Pcmart03]

I play exclusively recreationaly and carry 14, but if I'm being honest, I could drop back to 11 or 12. The value of my 60 degree wedge is dubious, and at the top end of my bag, I have a few clubs that overlap. 

The problem is every time I think about removing a club from my bag, I hit a great shot that I couldn't with any other club. In my mind that one in a hundred shopt wipes out the last few bad strokes

[GG194]

Since all my golf is recreational twelve seems to be enough, most of the time could drop the mini and be fine. My total distance to cover is 100+ yards less than a lot of people. 

[RetiredBoomer]

Twice each year, I have to get down to fourteen clubs to play in organized member-guest events.
They include dinner afterward.  I reciprocate one with a friend from another club.

I've got it down:

driver
driving iron
one fairway wood
5-9 irons
five wedges (three distance gapped, two for chipping and sand play)
putter.

I'm pretty sure that's fourteen.
I just have to swap out two fairway woods for one in the middle.
[Ironically, it now overlaps my driving iron in loft, but I need it.]

Realistically, if I had to play this way all the time, it might affect me one or two shots max a round.

If you HAD to play with 14 clubs, what would you do differently?

 

 

 

 

[tdc1]

During score posting season (April 1-October 31 for me) I have 14.  On any given day, I might actually use up to 12 of them.  For example, yesterday I didn't use 5W, Hywood, or SW.

Out of season it's 7 in a small carry bag.  Pretty much use all of those each time.

[Rico_de_Gallo]

I've only got 14 so I just take them all unless it's a par 3 course. 

Might add another club at the end of the year and then that I way I can adjust what in the bag based on the course

[Nitti]

I play a couple dozen rounds a year with eight clubs.
driver, 5 wood, 5 hybrid, 7 & 9 iron, GW, SW putter. 
I find I don’t score that much differently than with 14. And club choice is a lot simpler. 

[MN Loon]

Great topic. When playing competitive golf I have 13-14 clubs.  My 3W is always an iffy club for me, but sometimes it’s better than using a driver depending on the course/hole distance.  For competitive play I push or ride, allowing me to use a larger bag.

For basic recreational play, playing for fun, I almost always carry 9-10 clubs.  Makes the bag a bit lighter and requires me to think a bit more.  Also helps my touch when between clubs, especially with wedges.  Seems to me my scores would be very similar over the course of a season if I just used 10 clubs.  I have a tendency to over think some shots wanting to use the perfect club - with my imperfect swing!

[TheHollow11]

I usually carry 15. I keep a 2 or 3 iron in the bag when I end up under a bunch of trees, if I play a tournament that's what I check for to decide what is staying in or not. 

[brogies]

The full 14