Golf Equipment - What
Clubs to Carry?
Which clubs should you be
carrying your bag probably depends on how good a golfer you are.
The needs of a low-handicapper are quite different from those of a
beginning golfer. Some clubs are easy to control for all players, some
should only be used by highly skilled players.
Plus, the Rules of Golf allow you to carry a maximum of 14 clubs in your
bag.
Which clubs should you be carrying? I've got some suggestions. Keep in
mind, these are generalities - if there is a particular club that you
hit very well but is not listed below, keep it in your bag. Results are
what matter.
The High Handicapper's Bag
3-wood
5-wood, 7-wood
5-iron through 9-iron
Pitching wedge
Putter
Most high handicappers cannot hit a driver, no matter how badly they
want to.
Drivers are especially dangerous in the hands of high-handicappers
because many view distance as the quality they most want to have off the
tee. So they spend several hundred dollars on an oversized titanium
driver that most of the time will only put them farther off the fairway,
not farther down the fairway.
You need to own a driver - just practice with it on the driving range,
and leave it at home when you hit the course.
The Mid-Handicapper's Bag
Driver
3-wood, 5-wood, 7-wood
4-iron through 9-iron
Pitching wedge
Sand wedge
Putter
Intermediate players may also be better off hitting 3-wood off the tee
rather than driver, but certainly have a better shot at controlling the
driver than high handicappers.
Mid-handicappers who are strong in their short game might consider
adding a lob wedge or gap wedge to this assortment, but most will
probably be better off with the lofted fairway woods rather than long
irons.
The Low Handicapper's Bag
Driver
3-wood
2-iron through 9-iron
Pitching wedge
Lob wedge
Sand wedge
Putter
Scratch golfers will carry the same bag with one exception: Substituting
a gap wedge for the 2-iron.
The better you are, the more specialized your game becomes. And that
specialization for the best players leads to a concentration on the
short game. Most top players hit the ball far enough that they rarely
use a long iron, hence the ability to bypass 1-irons and 2-irons in
favor of adding more wedges.
The lob wedge and gap wedge simply increase a great player's options
around the green.
Remember: No matter what your skill level, hit clubs you are comfortable
with. If you are a high handicapper but you can keep your driver in the
fairway, then by all means carry a driver. If a 1-iron is a club that
you have mastered, carry a 1-iron.
From:
http://golf.about.com/cs/beginnersguide/a/which14clubs.htm
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