The Six Club Golf Game: Do You Really Need All Your Clubs?

[membership level=”0″]

Already a Premium Member?  Sign in Here.

[/membership]

[membership level=”1″]
Do you really need ALL of the clubs in your bag?  A lot of us will carry 16 clubs because we know we can – often including 2 irons, and 4 different degree wedges to reach the limit.  An old golf coach once taught us that if you can play just a few clubs in your bag, you’ll be a more versatile golfer, and you’ll take on a whole new perspective on club selection.

First, put a driver in your bag and give yourself a chance to get off the tee on a long par 4 or a par 5 hole.  Because the driver gets the most distance of all clubs, it will have the least loft, causing the ball to travel farther.

After you hit this club, let’s say you have 175 yards to go.

The three irons you should take are the 5, 7 and 9.  The 5-iron will give you the most distance of these 3 and will provide proper distance anywhere from 150-220 yards (depending on your swing). This club is designed to cut through heavy grass and give you a solid shot with some good distance.  The 7 and 9-irons are for shorter shots that require loft (usually between 120 and 160 yards) both clubs will get the ball high in the air and help you land it safely on the green.

After your 175 yard-in shot with your 5 iron, let’s say you fell short of the green with 10 yards to go.

You definitely need to include pitching wedge and a putter in your golf bag. The pitching wedge is for extremely high-loft shots less than 120 yards. It can be used to pitch, flop, or chip the ball onto the green from various terrains.  It goes without saying that you’ll need your putter on the green to knock the ball into the cup – do not use a wedge on the green or you’ll be embarrassed for eternity and most likely banned from ever returning to the course.

After laying your 10 yard, pitching wedge chip onto the green take out that putter and par the hole!

How many clubs did we just use on this hole? Four.  You don’t need the fancy hybrids 2-9 with the pitch, 52 degree gap wedge, 60 degree lob wedge, etc.   The point of this practice method is to force you to think outside the box a little bit in the way you utilize your club selection.  You may very well find yourself 200 yards out on a par four with the only option being the 5 iron you brought with you, thus forcing you to lay the ball up instead of blasting a wood or a long iron for the green.

This will certainly give you a new perspective as you’ll soon see that at times a consistent lay-up shot is far better than a long iron that ends up in a hazard.  Additionally, this practice method will force you to learn to hit these 6 vital clubs well and play a conservative golf game.

Next time you’re out on the course, forget the score card, bring these six clubs with you, and let the enlightenment begin.

[/membership]