I carry 14 golf clubs; each has a specific purpose and sometimes I do not play a specific club for a round or two. However, when I need it, it is there. Over the years, I have honed my club selection and really could not part with one of these tools. Having said that, I did pose the question of which club you could live without on #GOLFCHAT on Tuesday and I was surprised with the answers.
The big surprise was that there was no clear answer. Of course the driver and lob wedge received many of the ‘sin bin’ votes, but they did not run away with the polls. Hybrids received their fair share of votes because people could not hit them.
The next big vote getters were a 3 and 5 wood. This one seemed a bit strange because most players hit these clubs fairly well. Or at least better than their driver.
Many respondents were not concerned about the gap posed by losing a club, just the fact that they could not hit their chosen club. It was a bane of their existence; yet many were willing to keep that poor club in their bag. Regardless of the results.
One respondent has never hit their gap wedge and were afraid too. So, I was perplexed as to why carry a club you will never hit. That I really do not understand. But, it is not for me to judge because I am sure I do things that confound other players.
Removing a club from my bag is very unlikely. I use all of my clubs regardless of the results because it they offer a specific result I need from time to time. However, if I had to choose, I would lose my 4 iron. I use it the least and can make up any drawbacks of not having it with my other clubs. It was a very fun question and the interaction with my #GOLFCHAT golfing fanatics was always enlightening.
On a side note, every Tuesday at 8 pm EST, a bunch of us congregate on Twitter to talk about golf. Six questions are posed each week and the conversation can be lively. So, if you have an hour, come join us for the “fastest hour in golf”!
Which club would give up?
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
That would depend on the course more than anything else I think. On two of the courses I play, I would be fine without my driver. I may not reach the green in 2 on the par 5’s, but it takes two perfect swings and some help from the wind to do that anyway on them so I could easily do without the driver on both of them. On another course, the one I played today, my 5 iron seldom gets pulled, though I did use it today. Then there are a few courses where I never seem to use my 3 wood from the tee or fairways. But I can’t think of anytime I would want to give up any short iron or wedge.
As for clubs that I hate hitting, I don’t really have one anymore. But over the years, I have had two that I hated needing to use. My three wood was always trouble on fairway shots until I finally got it figured out last year. And I have no idea why, but my 5 iron used to be useless to me from the tee or fairway. I didn’t carry one for years and instead kept a 7 wood in the bag for when that distance was needed. Now the 7 wood stays home and the 5 iron is back in the bag. I made that change after taking that lesson two years ago, and have never looked back. It’s no longer a problem club. It’s a bit funny though because the only time I used it today did cause me a little trouble. The trouble came from hitting it too well. I sent it a few feet past the turn in the fairway into the rough. But it worked out ok. I missed the green by a foot or two on the approach but two putts later and I was in for the par. I thought afterwards a 6 or even a 7 might have been a better choice for the layup shot, but it wasn’t anything worth worrying about since the result turned out ok.
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Kevin
I agree, it depends on the course I would play. Generally, I use my 4-iron the least, so it would be a great candidate most of the time. I hit all my other clubs very well. Struggling with my 52 degree gap wedge a bit, but I will fix that soon.
Cheers Jim
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After switching from 50, 56, and 60 degree wedges to 48, 52, and the 56 I carry now, the 52 has been my sore point too. Fine tuning distance control has been a struggle for me with that club. The times I used it yesterday all went longer than I wanted and whether I was trying for a higher or lower trajectory didn’t seem to matter. The 48 though has been really easy to adjust to. That kind of messes with my head a bit when I think about it.
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Kevin
Normally my 52 is my best wedge. But since I changed brands, it has not worked at all. If If I find an extra $200 in my pocket, I would change back. But alas that is not the case right now.
Cheers Jim
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