# So many irons....



## Patrick (Feb 27, 2007)

Way do so many people have a full set of irons in the bag when all you need is a couple plus a sand wedge. I've always wondered this. All I carry is a 460 driver, a 3 hybrid iron, a 7 iron, a sand wedge and putter and I play a fine game with no need for more clubs. Who thinks this is just a marketing thing so the sell of irons will be higher?


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

Hi Patrick,

If it's a marketing ploy, it's a pretty old one since the rules allow us up to 14 clubs in the bag. The thing is, when they made that rule, it was to limit how many clubs people could carry because there were dozens of specialty clubs you might have in your bag, possibly with no opportunity to use them for a few rounds at a time.

I think the usual concept of the modern set is based on a teaching principle, to some extent. It's easier to teach the golfing population to do one thing, in this case, to make one basic style of golf swing, and then fit the club to the distance.

The alternative is what you are doing, carrying a lot less clubs and playing the game with enough apparent talent to widely vary your swing in a way that fills the gaps between clubs like your hybrid and 7 iron.

Way back when, when I could pretty much do what I wanted with my golf game, I would take my 3 wood, 5-7-9 irons, putter and 3-4 balls and tees stuffed in my pockets, and walk around for a quick 9 holes late on summer evenings. Like you, I wondered what I did with the rest of the clubs because I used to score reasonably well with a minimalist approach.

Just don't get old and you might save a lot of money on clubs in the future...


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## Golfbum (Oct 14, 2006)

I need a full set of irons in my bag. The courses I play require 14 clubs in order to play all the shots I will encounter during a round.

For instance---- Par 3, 200 yards. Some rounds this hole is into the wind, or with the wind behind, sideways or no wind. Hence 4 different clubs required. Could be anywhere from a 3 wood to a 6 iron depending on the wind. (Don't laugh, every member at this course has had to hit a 3 or 5 wood to that green at some point in time. It gets that windy)

So without those options how would you play the hole properly? Choke down on a driver into the wind? Try to force a hybrid into the wind (Not clear the water, instant 5 on the scorecard)

Same reason I carry 2 or 3 additional wedges, I need them for different yardages. Trying to take a PW and hitting it 75 yards is not my idea of smart golf. 

To each his own, but I much prefer to carry 14 clubs, because I will need them during a round. I am there to score as well as I can. Not try to improvise with 4 or 6 clubs and see what happens. To me that is not how the game should be played. It is ok for a Fun Night event, but not for everyday golfing.

JMO


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## 300Yards (Jan 23, 2007)

Patrick said:


> Way do so many people have a full set of irons in the bag when all you need is a couple plus a sand wedge. I've always wondered this. All I carry is a 460 driver, a 3 hybrid iron, a 7 iron, a sand wedge and putter and I play a fine game with no need for more clubs. Who thinks this is just a marketing thing so the sell of irons will be higher?


I bet you have a high handicap to, don't you? All clubs are needed, in my game. Just becasue you may not use your 7, or 3 off the fairway, doesn't mean it can't be used. That's the beauty of this game..you can use a 7 to chip, or a SW to putt. The clubs are versitle, and can be used for other purposes, besides off the fairway. 14 clubs help when yuo play on 6000+ yard courses. If youp lay on less than that..well, then no wonder!

If it's marketing, the pros are playing unnecessary clubs, and I don't believe that. I use all my clubs, every time I play..and if theres a wedge, or iron I don't use, you betcha I'll use it on the next hole for something.


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## jump15vc (Jul 30, 2006)

you get into all different situations on the golf course which call for different shots. it is easier to hit these shots with specific clubs i.e. i can hit a low shot into the wind off the tee with my 2iron than i can with a 4. You may not always use every club in your bag but you have them there for when you do need them. Thats why you need the 14 club limit or people would carry every conceivable club in their bag just in case


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## zaphod (Jan 3, 2007)

I judge the quality of the course as to how many clubs I have used per 18 holes. The poor designed courses I could get away with a bag such as yours. On my local 9 hole tract I change up rounds by by varying the clubs I take along or just for fun go sequentially through the clubs for each shot. Will be chipping with driver at times or or on tee with a wedge but game invites creativity.


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## Fourputt (Nov 18, 2006)

Patrick said:


> Way do so many people have a full set of irons in the bag when all you need is a couple plus a sand wedge. I've always wondered this. All I carry is a 460 driver, a 3 hybrid iron, a 7 iron, a sand wedge and putter and I play a fine game with no need for more clubs. Who thinks this is just a marketing thing so the sell of irons will be higher?


I can see where you're coming from and I like the idea in theory, but...

The popular trend in golf for the last 2 or 3 decades is to design "target" golf courses, meaning that you either play the course as the designer intended or you will not score well, nor are you likely to enjoy the experience much, as you will spend much of the round out of position or in trouble. You must give yourself the chance to hit most of those targets, and having the right tool for the job is essential for most average players. I can hit a 3 hybrid 180 yards, but I can't do it every time I try (because it's really a 220 yard club for me) and I definitely can't do it dependably when the entire shot is a carry over water or other trouble. But I CAN hit a 5-iron that distance almost every time I pull it from the bag. So unless I'm always playing a course that allows me to make shots where errors in distance are not punished by penalties, I'm going to carry that 5-iron. I don't see why you would deliberately deny yourself that opportunity.

I'm not saying that target golf is necessarily a good thing... I personally don't like courses that take away the opportunity for a player to use his imagination, or the chance to recover from an errant shot. But they exist, and if you want to play a variety of courses you had better have a bag that can handle them. :dunno:


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## white_tiger_137 (Mar 23, 2006)

How do you hit a decent punch shot from under a tree? 

How do you get the ball to check up from 130 yards?  

You're allowed 14 clubs because of the vast array of shots the game offers. I don't see the point in denying yourself those opportunities.


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

The truth is, we could probably all become better golfers if we carried less clubs and learned to do more with each one of them. Of course, the time we would need to do that would mean we would all have to quit our jobs and do nothing but play golf... and this is sounding better and better all the time!


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## Fourputt (Nov 18, 2006)

I've been doing a lot of that lately, but then I did quit my job (retired anyway), and I am playing a lot of golf. I've struggled the last few rounds with my short irons for some reason, so I've hit a number of half and 3/4 shots with my 25° hybrid. It's a kick to take a short, smooth backswing and hit my 190 yard club only 150... and plant the ball 10 feet from the hole.  

I like playing imaginative shots, and I try them often in casual rounds so that they won't be completely foreign to me if actually need one of them when the chips are down. :thumbsup:


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## 300Yards (Jan 23, 2007)

That's another fine point, Rick! Sometimes you do just want to hit an easy, smooth swing. I do that most of the time, until I'm warmed up.


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## BrianMcG (Apr 7, 2007)

I don't think its marketing that we carry 14 clubs. But I do think its marketing when it comes to the fact that many people feel they need a new driver or putter every year. 

If they were fit properly they would never need a new set of clubs until they wore the faces out of them. But I have yet to see that happen to your average golfer.

If you are continually chasing technology because you think it will make you a better player, you will always be dissapointed. (Yes I understand that we wouldn't be able to play as well if we were still using gutta perchas and hickory shafted clubs, but I feel the point of diminishing returns has long since past.)


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## white_tiger_137 (Mar 23, 2006)

And there's nothing wrong with playing a couple rounds with just a few clubs. It WILL force you to try some new shots. But I would never carry less than 14 for any remotely competitive round.


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

BrianMcG said:


> If they were fit properly they would never need a new set of clubs until they wore the faces out of them.


Excellent point. I remember people at the country club where I worked buying new sets about every year or two, but one guy with a set of fitted Kenneth Smith clubs had his for a decade.



> If you are continually chasing technology because you think it will make you a better player, you will always be disappointed.


Partially true, IMHO... For example, I had physical problems that didn't allow me to play for about 4 years. When I came back to the game, times had changed. I was then faced with modern technology including the oversize head, titanium and other exotic materials, massive deep cavity back irons, undercut profiles, specialized graphite shafts, not to mention custom fitting available almost across the board from every manufacturer.

Trying to find the proper fit on a redeveloping swing wasn't easy in the first place. Finding technology that felt good to me, much less LOOKED good to the old fashioned golfer in me was also difficult. Deciding whether to pursue another set to test or stick with one and learn to use it was a tough decision to make, and probably hasn't been made as I face the sampling of some regular shafted irons for the first time in 45 years.

My point is, I think it's hard to decide what technology works for you and each of us has to recognize when we have reached our limit. I recently tried the Callaway FT-i driver, neutral, 9.5* loft. It did nothing for me except start conversations with a lot of nice people who wanted to see it. I didn't hit it any better than my Bertha, my X460 or my Cleveland Launcher. That's just me. Someone else may discover the FT-i is the driver to end all their problems.

That person will keep chasing technology because they can adapt to it with success. They are actually the lucky ones I guess.


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## Fourputt (Nov 18, 2006)

DennisM said:


> Partially true, IMHO... For example, I had physical problems that didn't allow me to play for about 4 years. When I came back to the game, times had changed. I was then faced with modern technology including the oversize head, titanium and other exotic materials, massive deep cavity back irons, undercut profiles, specialized graphite shafts, not to mention custom fitting available almost across the board from every manufacturer.



You and I definitely have to meet sometime. I've gone through much the same experience, and suffered through the same changes. After having trouble with my right elbow, eventually resulting in surgery, the changes in my swing were frustrating to say the least. Then just as I thought I was finding a comfort level with the new swing, I broke my left wrist on a sand wedge shot. Another layoff and recovery period left me a basket case. Now, a year and a half after the 2nd injury, I'm finally starting to find a rhythm again, but it's taken some technological upgrades to make it happen. 

I really hope that we can get together sometime and share our war stories. :thumbsup:


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

Hey Rick - You're on! Any time you want to come to Miami, your room is ready! I know the starter at Doral and he would get us on with 24 hours notice.

I had two basic things that led to my injuries, guitars and laziness.

The guitars were enough to get me to think I could substitute them for golf because I could play guitar for 10 minutes, 20 times a day, but golf took sooooooo much time.

That led to laziness, feeling like I didn't know anyone to play with at one point in my life and not wanting to go to the course hoping to be matched up with someone who would call me to play again in the future. On the other hand, back then I had a lot of guitar buddies to mess around with every weekend. It was fun because it was very social... lots of pizza and beer...

The above led to being fat, dumb and happy. My back problems came from my front problems, pure and simple. I tried to play with a new shape, but with the same old violent swing... with the obvious results... a back injury. Now, I've learned a new swing that accomodates my still too round shape, but I'm losing some weight and trying to work a bit on leg strength. The equipment search is pretty much a matter of record in this forum, but it now fits the body and the body that uses that equipment is improving.


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## Butz (Nov 17, 2006)

Hey,

going back to the topic...

I think each to his own.
I have some friends who only carry woods, and play a mean damm golf.

In his bags are his driver, #3, 5, 7 and 9 woods,
plus 3 hybrids, a 3H, 4 H and 5H, and 2 wedges, a PW and a 54* SW.

And a putter. We all call him Tiger Woo. His family name is Woo, like the famous Hollywood movie director John Woo. Well his real name is Tyrone Woo, but because of how he plays, we all call him Tiger Woo...lol

But personally, i carry 13 to 14 clubs. The thing is, I usually carry two putters for different green conditions. Specially if the green is new to me.


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