Choose any 13 from 16

[Voyager EMH]

Imagine you are going to play in a vintage classic clubs event.
What would be your choice of 13 clubs from these 16 clubs and tell us why?
Probably easier to state which 3 you leave out.

Woods 1 to 5


Irons 1-SW


Lets say the lofts of the woods 1-5 go
11, 13.5, 16, 19, 22.

The iron lofts 1-SW go
15, 18, 22, 26, 30, 34, 38, 42, 46, 51, 58.

 

[Orikoru]

Lets say the lofts of the woods 1-5 go
11, 13.5, 16, 19, 22.

The iron lofts 1-SW go
15, 18, 22, 26, 30, 34, 38, 42, 46, 51, 58.

I'd probably do that if I was you. If it were me I'd have no use for a 15° iron, but as you're a decent player you might use that as a kind of a driving iron on some holes. Then the rest of the irons going 3 to SW, take the 2 iron out as you've got the similar lofted 4-wood - which would almost function as your 5 or 7 wood by today's standard (since 6 woods seemingly don't exist), or even a hybrid.

Edit: I'm assuming you're good enough to hit the 13.5 wood off the deck. If it's a bit hit and miss though just sub the 16 in instead.

 

[Hobbit]

I’d leave the driver, 3 wood & 5 wood out. Why? Probably because my first set 56 years ago came with a 2 wood and a 4 wood. The drivers of that era weren’t quite so forgiving, and I could play the 2 wood off a decent fairway lie too. The 1 iron & 2 iron might not make it out of the bag during the round unless it was windy.

 

[Voyager EMH]

I'd probably do that if I was you. If it were me I'd have no use for a 15° iron, but as you're a decent player you might use that as a kind of a driving iron on some holes. Then the rest of the irons going 3 to SW, take the 2 iron out as you've got the similar lofted 4-wood - which would almost function as your 5 or 7 wood by today's standard (since 6 woods seemingly don't exist), or even a hybrid.

Edit: I'm assuming you're good enough to hit the 13.5 wood off the deck. If it's a bit hit and miss though just sub the 16 in instead.

Yes, that is a very good option for me. And you've never seen me play or have any experience with such clubs, I imagine. Good thinking.
With both the 1 and 2 woods and the 1 iron, I would have all the strong options for tee-shots.

But I would still like to know what would be your choice for you, and why.

 

[Slab]

Lets say the lofts of the woods 1-5 go
11, 13.5, 16, 19, 22.

The iron lofts 1-SW go
15, 18, 22, 26, 30, 34, 38, 42, 46, 51, 58.

I've cut 4 for you so you have space for a oldie style walking stick or shepherd's crook

 

[Hobbit]

Having a bit of a rethink, it might also depend on the course. If it’s very long, I might put the driver in. But if it’s very wet, I might leave it out as there’d be negligible run.

If I was playing in a 5 club challenge I used to base my choices around the par 3’s.

 

[Orikoru]

Yes, that is a very good option for me. And you've never seen me play or have any experience with such clubs, I imagine. Good thinking.
With both the 1 and 2 woods and the 1 iron, I would have all the strong options for tee-shots.

But I would still like to know what would be your choice for you, and why.

Oh sorry, my mistake, I thought we were helping you pick what to use!

Well, as I touched upon, I'd have no use for the 1 or 2 iron as I doubt I'd be able to hit them. In fact even the 3 iron would probably be too difficult for me, but I might as well leave it in for punching out under trees or something. Again the 13.5° wood would probably be of no use as I'd struggle to hit that off the deck, and off the tee it probably wouldn't be much different to the 11° driver. So the clubs I would leave out are 2 wood, 1 & 2 iron, all for the fact that they'd be the hardest clubs to use.

 

[Voyager EMH]

I've cut 4 for you so you have space for a oldie style walking stick or shepherd's crook

You could put a left-handed (presuming you are right handed) 7-iron in the bag for those awkward shots up against trees etc.

 

[Slab]

You could put a left-handed (presuming you are right handed) 7-iron in the bag for those awkward shots up against trees etc.

But you still need the crook as your olde worlde ball retriever

 

[harpo_72]

Depends on the ball but if it’s a modern ball I could not really get enough spin on the driver so I would drop it and play 2,4 woods and all irons from 22 degrees up.
If it was a balata ball then it would be 1,3,5 wood irons 22 up and I would seriously consider dropping the 58. I used to carry a 1 iron for off the tee into the wind so that might be included in this set up.
Having dabbled in the classic stuff I realised the ball is critical here. I hit very low spin on my drivers and woods due to my formative years at seaside course and balata balls .. the iron shafts will be shorter so loft is not an issue, speed is and the ball spin is .. so the lower lofted classic irons are ballast really.

 

[Mel Smooth]

2 and 4 wood, and all the irons.

 

[Voyager EMH]

2 and 4 wood, and all the irons.

I would be similar.
Driver and 4-wood and all the irons is my choice.
On a par five second shot, if you have the ball sitting up nicely and/or on a gentle upslope it is quite possible to hit driver. Much shallower faces than 460cc metals.
Otherwise I would have 4-wood, 1 and 2 iron options for a long second shot. Slight downhill lie and the 4-wood is the easier to hit than the 1 and 2 irons for me.

@Orikoru made perhaps the most popular choice that I remember from the 1970s - Woods 1,3,4,5 and 3-SW.

But from 1977 onwards I had woods 1,3,4 and 2-SW. So I would be quite comfortable going back to that.