What Club to Leave out of the Bag

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By Carl T

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  • 20 Replies
  1. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    To adhere to the 14 club rule I need to get a club out of my bag. Here is my line up, D,3W, 17*H, 21*H,4,5,6,7,8,9,PW,50*W,54*W,58*W and P. In my casual golf I use all 15 clubs. I'm thinking that I could get lose the 4 iron as it is my 170'ish and my 21 degree hybrid is my 180'ish club. I hit my 3 wood good and it is my 210-220 club and the 17 degree hybrid is my 190 -200 yd. club. Thoughts ?
  2. tdogg21

    tdogg21
    Chambersburg, PA

    I have pretty close to the same bag as you do and I drop the 4 iron.  I've never had a time when my 21* hybrid was too long and my 5 iron was too short.

  3. Hotsauce

    Hotsauce
    Georgetown MA

    Ditch your 4 or your 21h.  You can make up the gap with your 5 iron.  Have it bent a tad strong if you're struggling to fill the void

  4. Chris P

    Chris P
    Katy, TX

    I have the same set make up D-9i.  I play SM5 wedges in 46*, 52* and 56*.   I have a little more gap between my 21* and 4i than you mentioned.  I did experiment with putting a 60* in the bag and swapping out the 2 hybrids for a 19* but wasn't happy with the yardage gap between the 4i, 19* and 15* 910Fd.  Good luck and keep us up to date what you came up with.

     

    -Chris

  5. James E

    James E
    Wauwatosa, WI

    Carl,

    Are you more consistent with your 4 iron or your 21*?

    My guess, you are more consistent with your hybrid. It is easier to hit and it gets up in the air better especially at your swing speed.

    Given they are very close in distance (you can choke down on your hybrid to reduce distance) I would say think about dropping the 4 iron.

    My guess is you hit your 4 iron less often than your wedges or other woods.

    So I would keep my scoring clubs (wedges) and think about sitting the 4 iron out.

    I hope this helps, keep us up on what change you make and how it goes.

  6. Mike C

    Mike C
    Dallas, TX

    Based on your yardage, I would probably drop either the 3 wood or the 17 degree hybrid.  I don't think you would want to pull out the 4 iron at 170 yards or the 21 degree hybrid at 180 yards.  I would guess that these are clubs that you will use more frequently for approach shots as compared with the other clubs you are considering.  I would want to pull out the club that I use the least and has the lowest impact to my distances.  Personally, I would look at the times you use the 3 wood and 17 degree and take out the club that you use less often.

  7. Ray H

    Ray H
    East Moline, IL

    I have a similar concern. I decided to keep the 3Wood and drop the 5Wood equivalent. As I am not as accurate with the longer clubs, I would rather have the extra wedge so that I can dial in more exact distances when I get within my better accuracy range. The 5Wood equivalent is not that accurate, so why carry a club that won't do much for me except put me over the 14-club limit.
  8. Mark K

    Mark K
    Woodford, VA

    I would check the loft on your PW.....it may be closer to the 50 than you think. If it is lose the 50*W

  9. Lou G

    Lou G
    San Diego, CA

    50* wedge.  It isn't that hard to choke down 1/2" on a PW.

  10. Ashley L

    Ashley L
    Kennesaw, GA

    I would lose the 4 iron provided you can hit the 21 hybrid 170.

    I have the same issue, but with different yardages. I decided to go to 3 wedges instead of 4, but with 6 degrees between them. I don't see you being able to drop a wedge without replacing as an 8 degree gap is too much IMO. 

  11. Z

    Z
    Santee, CA

    I had similar issues with my bag, where I needed to drop a club at the top end to accommodate a 44* PW (714 AP1). 

    Assuming your PW is far off enough from the 50* wedge, I would consider dropping either the 3W or the 17*H, or dropping both and investing in a 4-wood (17* or so). My set up was similar to yours, except that I had a 3W and 5W rather than 3W/17*H. The 4W would give you a fairly good bridge between the current 3W and 17*. I ended up getting a 4-wood and have not missed the 3W or the 5W once.

    Best of luck and keep us posted about which route you take. 

  12. Brad m

    Brad m
    New Hamburg, ON

    Will you sign my petition to increase the number of clubs to 15? Seriously, though, I would say the 4iron would be the one to go. I also carry 4 wedges, and a 3W and 5W. Looked at replacing them both with a 4W, but changed my mind. I did carry a 20* and 23* hybrid, and replaced both with a 22* hybrid. For a while, I dropped my gap wedge, but found too many occasions where I needed it. I have also dropped my 5iron and 6iron for 27* and 31* hybrids. I don't think you will miss your 4iron.

  13. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    Thanks for the responses. When I play sanctioned events I will drop the 4 iron, other wise I will just keep it in the bag. I do hit the 21* hybrid a lot better than the 4 iron and call it my magic club. I have successfully used the 21*Hybrid for shots from 170 to 185 and it just magically drops the ball into this range. The 4 iron is not as dependable but it's best use is when I need to hit a low burner under low tree limbs from the rough which hopefully will not happen to often.
  14. If you are comfortable carrying 3 wedges (I play the exact same three lofts that you do) then I would comment that it all comes down to which club you have more confidence with ... the 21H or the 4-iron.  For me the 4-iron is right on the cusp of where a 2-iron used to feel like. However the 21H has pretty much only one use, whereas if I'm relaxed and swinging free I like what I can do with a 4-iron. With the 4-iron sitting in the trunk, what club would you use for a low punch shot out of the rough?

  15. Rick R

    Rick R
    Graham, WA

    I rotate my 3,5,7 and Hybrids as needed for course being played.

    5 or 6-PW depending on wood/hybrid combination.

    PW,GW,SW,LW depending on iron combination.

    My Home course for me sets me up with Driver, 3, 7 wood

    5-PW then SW, and 60* LW

  16. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    Chris A said:

    If you are comfortable carrying 3 wedges (I play the exact same three lofts that you do) then I would comment that it all comes down to which club you have more confidence with ... the 21H or the 4-iron.  For me the 4-iron is right on the cusp of where a 2-iron used to feel like. However the 21H has pretty much only one use, whereas if I'm relaxed and swinging free I like what I can do with a 4-iron. With the 4-iron sitting in the trunk, what club would you use for a low punch shot out of the rough?

    I would probably use my 17 degree hybrid, choke up and keep my weight forward and try to keep a low follow through. Thanks for the question. I need to go to the range and practice this situation as it will arise. I had this scenario in my last round but instead of just punching out I needed to hit between the trees to a green 210 yards away. Hit a great shot but came up short about 15 yards.
  17. Lou G

    Lou G
    San Diego, CA

    I have a rather weird setup.  I've shot 79 with this setup and my score on a standard 6100 yard course is 85.

    13* draw driver, 7W, 11W

    6H 7H

    AP1 9-PW

    Vokey SM4 54-11 (1* strong), 58-06 and 64-07

    putter.

    I choke down on the 7H 1/2" if I need a 140 shot (my 8 iron varies between 130-145 so I dropped it).  I also can carry a "Sunday" stand bag.

    I dropped the 3W because there is only 10 yards between it and the 7W.  There is one course where the fairways are so tight that I use the 11 wood on the par 5s (also my 11W is my scoring club on the longer par 3s).

    The 7H is my "money club" because I have had more birdies using it on approach shots. I use it between 135-150. A Sumo2 SQ 7-34.

    I've come to the conclusion that a gap wedge isn't really added value for my golf game.  My AP1 PW actually hits higher out of soft sand than an SM4 50-08. I did have a SM c-c 50-08 that I used as a PW with Eye 2 irons.  Also, the SM4 54-11 is bent 1* strong. I played for 3 years with do it yourself irons and got rather proficient working a PW.

    The 64* wedge is more "nice to have" but is a MUST on some of the San Diego munis because the greens are so hard.  Works great in the pot bunkers at Riverwalk.

  18. SD_Golfer

    SD_Golfer
    Aberdeen, SD

    Until this year my set consisted of D, 1W, 3W, 5W, 3-4-5-6-7-8-9 iron PW, SW and putter.  Over the winter I replaced my 3 iron with a 7 wood.  I am now considering a 60` wedge ... I figure I can get rid of my 3 wood, i can choke up on the 1 wood or try to hit my 5 wood a little harder.   I need a high wedge for those close to the green shots where I only have about 6 feet of green to work with, otherwise my PW works great.

  19. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    Paul Priebe said:

    Until this year my set consisted of D, 1W, 3W, 5W, 3-4-5-6-7-8-9 iron PW, SW and putter.  Over the winter I replaced my 3 iron with a 7 wood.  I am now considering a 60` wedge ... I figure I can get rid of my 3 wood, i can choke up on the 1 wood or try to hit my 5 wood a little harder.   I need a high wedge for those close to the green shots where I only have about 6 feet of green to work with, otherwise my PW works great.

    Paul, I thought a 1 wood is the same as a driver. Would your 1W really be a 2W ?
  20. Steve S

    Steve S
    Tuckerton, NJ

    From Steve S.-

    If its in your bag, leave it alone. Its in there for a reason.

    Steve

  21. John L

    John L
    Dewey, OK

    yep drop the 4 iron. gripping down on the hybrid will take off enuff yardage to hit that gap.

     

    cheers greens and fairways to all

    simba

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