Why You Don't Need 14 Clubs in Your Golf Bag

I have a question and I want you to think long and hard before you reply: how many of the 14 clubs in your bag do you actually use?

Or perhaps I should be asking: how many of those 14 sticks do you actually NEED?

It always makes me smile when the clubs at which I have played stage competitions that limit the number of clubs golfers can use and we see winning totals of 40+ points. Stick 14 clubs in the hands of the same individual and he will do well to record 32 points.

So what is in your bag? Do you carry a two iron, three iron or four iron? Why?

Do you have three (or four) wedges in your bag? Why?

Do you carry a three wood? Why?

If you do carry a two, three and/or four iron, when was the last time you used them? And how well did you hit it? So why are they still occupying space in your golf bag?

Over the years, the loft on irons has been reduced - the seven iron in my bag has the same loft that a six iron had 20 years ago. It is one of the tricks manufacturers have employed to give us "extra" distance. There is nothing wrong with that. 

However, it also means that a two- or three-iron will also have less loft and will subsequently be far more difficult to use for all but the best club golfers.

So the first thing I would suggest is that you definitely don’t need to carry a two iron or a three iron. And why would you put a four iron in your golf bag when you can replace it with a rescue/utility club. These clubs have been game changers - they can be used from the tee, from the fairway and from the rough.

Ask yourself how well you hit your three wood from the fairway. Most of the guys I play with really struggle with this club. The solution? Get rid of it and replace it with a five or even a seven wood, which can be used both from the tee and on the fairway.

If you are one of the best golfers in the world and know precisely how far you hit every iron then I can understand why you would want three wedges in your bag because for those players these are the scoring clubs. 

Do club golfers need to carry three (or even four) wedges? Surely not. 

A pitching wedge and sand iron are surely more than enough for the vast majority of us. Just use a bit of imagination.

So, based on my own game and my own clubs and on watching the people I play with, I believe most club golfers could use the following and actually improve their scores:

Driver, five wood, utility/rescue club; 5-pw, sand iron and putter - that is just 11 clubs. I would further argue that you could easily remove your six and eight irons and your game would not suffer. Instead, grip down on your five or seven iron and make a nice easy swing. 

And that cuts the number of clubs to nine, which would probably mean that you could buy yourself a smaller bag and get rid of your trolley.

In this case, I believe that less is more!

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