Is there any earthly reason why somebody north of an 80 handicap golfer needs 14 clubs in his bag?
Former USGA technical director Frank Thomas is one of the leading experts on golf technology. He is passionate about educating golfers on golf technology and empowering them to make better decisions about equipment. PGA.info has teamed up with Thomas to provide a regular column in which he answers golfers' questions on a range of technology issues.
A senior golfer asks if he really needs a full set of clubs:
Somewhere during the 1930s, the USGA established the 14-club limitation rule. I know that Bobby Jones carried 22 clubs, whereas his contemporary, Chick Evans, made do with only eight.
My question is this: Is there any earthly reason why somebody who is north of an 80 handicap golfer, say a bogey golfer, needs a full complement of 14 clubs in his bag?
I seem to score about as well with my 11 club set as I do when I use all 14 clubs.
Frank says:
I recently returned from a trip to St Andrews and Southbroom, South Africa where I played a number of rounds and carried only nine clubs in my bag. My score was very similar to all the previous occasions I played at these venues, when I had carried 14 clubs.
The reason for me carrying fewer clubs is that I was able to carry my own bag with less effort - walking is good for your health and gives you a better perspective of the course - and found that when I had a choice between two clubs in my bag I would ease up on the longer club rather than forcing the shorter.
There were a few occasions when I think I may have had a better result with the correct club but these were very rare. The rule to limit the number of clubs to 14 was adopted in 1938 but most of us would do better with fewer clubs, forcing us to make a smoother swing and also relieving us of some time consuming decisions regarding which club to select for a particular shot.
Most golfers select a club, which is not going to reach the target because of an ego problem or forcing the swing using the shorter club.
The bottom line is that fewer clubs will do wonders for most golfers and encourage walking and carrying your own bag and you may find your handicap may go down a stroke or two.
For the pros this is not the case as they are very good and the only reason to limit them to 10 clubs - something I have proposed rather than making equipment rules changes to rein them in - is that this will allow them to exhibit their skills more effectively.
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29 April, 2009 | By Frank Thomas