It's a very strange sport!

[HawkeyeMS]

I agree with your tactics and tried to suggest an average for each shot. I should have said 14% of tee shots are with woods.

If you play a short course or hit it a mile. If I only hit woods on 14% of tee shots I wouldn't be able to reach most of the greens, including a couple of the par 3s.

I think what you have found is a method that works for you, that doesn't necessarily make it right for the rest of us but an interesting theory none the less.

 

[Patrick57]

If you play a short course or hit it a mile. If I only hit woods on 14% of tee shots I wouldn't be able to reach most of the greens, including a couple of the par 3s.

I think what you have found is a method that works for you, that doesn't necessarily make it right for the rest of us but an interesting theory none the less.

Sorry, I put this wrong. 14% of the game is with the driver. I changed this to, driver and/or woods.

 

[North Mimms]

Well there we are lads and lasses we now have a difinitive answer about how to play the game so now we know we have been spending money we don't need to, playing the game with too many clubs and don't need lessons any more.
All this from a newbie on his first post.

Most people at least start with hello everyone, not my theory is blah blah blah. Call me old fashioned but common courtesy cost nothing. We all preach about etiquette out on the course and maybe, just maybe it would be nice to see on here too.

I'm surprised the forum gets any new members if this is the welcome they get!

Thankfully a lot of other members have been more welcoming than Andy, who seems to have a poor grasp of what he calls old fashioned courtesy.

I for one found Patrick's post very interesting.

 

[Evesdad]

Similar thought process but starting with fewer clubs and getting more used to hitting them as you will use them more. Then as you reach certain targets and get more comfortable you can add another club.

 

[Foxholer]

First time I scored in buffer or better on return to my Scottish club was in a 3 Clubs and a Putter comp.

I believe Seve also learned his golf on a beach with only a 3-iron.

Might have made me a better player if I had to learn to be a bit more inventive, but the ability to have the same full swing for a variety of distances and the same 3/4 swing for a different set of distances gives me a great deal of confidence.

And the game really comes down to putting anyway! Wouldn't fancy my chances putting with a 9-iron, but an early Trainer used to come round the Par 3 course on a playing lesson with only a 56* wedge!

 

[6inchcup]

back in the "OLD DAYS" when everyone who started to play golf started with a secondhand half set,normally a 3 wood,5,7,9,w and a putter,some even had a driver,you had some used balls and wooden tee's and a small carry bag with a big strap,this was long before any one starting now thinks they need £2000 of gear,i bet there are plenty who are trudging around with clubs in their massive tour bags on the obligatory remote controlled cart that have never been used,i remember it like yesterday getting my first half set ST ANDREWS of SCOTLAND and a dark blue pencil bag,4 old scuffed balls and some tee pegs,bought for me by my dad all for the princely sum of £6,THANKS DAD!the best things i ever owned.

 

[dog377]

back in the "OLD DAYS" when everyone who started to play golf started with a secondhand half set,normally a 3 wood,5,7,9,w and a putter,some even had a driver,you had some used balls and wooden tee's and a small carry bag with a big strap,this was long before any one starting now thinks they need £2000 of gear,i bet there are plenty who are trudging around with clubs in their massive tour bags on the obligatory remote controlled cart that have never been used,i remember it like yesterday getting my first half set ST ANDREWS of SCOTLAND and a dark blue pencil bag,4 old scuffed balls and some tee pegs,bought for me by my dad all for the princely sum of £6,THANKS DAD!the best things i ever owned.

Brings it all back. Having knocked a ball around with some cast offs for a couple of years my dad bought me a 3 wood, 3, 5, 7 and 9 iron and I had a old putter that my granny gave me. the clubs were bought in the pro shop at Dunbar. I still get the feeling of a kind of mystique in an old fashioned pro shop. American Golf is not quite the same. Bit of a change fron the thread but relevant nonetheless. I played for 6 or 7 years with these clubs and got down to 11 handicap aged 13.
The point is that you played the shots needed with the gear that you had. I played out of bunkers with the 9 iron and had no fear. I wish I could do that now!!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I can remember the half set of Impalas in a pencil bag. I might be suffering delusion in old age but it seemed easier to buy a half set a long way back and in fact many racks in store offered a half set.

Granted I understand the need for pro shops and stores needing to make the cash and so will offer full sets but would more people get into the game if they could shell out less for a beginner half set

 

[Patrick57]

I can remember the half set of Impalas in a pencil bag. I might be suffering delusion in old age but it seemed easier to buy a half set a long way back and in fact many racks in store offered a half set.

Granted I understand the need for pro shops and stores needing to make the cash and so will offer full sets but would more people get into the game if they could shell out less for a beginner half set

There are plenty of companies selling half sets but I wouldn't consider using a 3 wood when the newer 360cc drivers are easier to hit and are more forgiving. My students buy something along the lines of the Topflite 12 club set (around €300,-) and I advise them on which ones to leave in the garage.

 

[Patrick57]

And the game really comes down to putting anyway! Wouldn't fancy my chances putting with a 9-iron, but an early Trainer used to come round the Par 3 course on a playing lesson with only a 56* wedge!

As I mentioned in the OP, I often go on the course with just my 9 iron and it always surprises me just how well I actually do putt with the thing. I think by being less exact with my set up, I tend to find the line easier.

 

[CMAC]

I started with less than a half set and got to 5, so I agree that amateurs on the majority of 5800 yard courses wont need or use a lot of their clubs. My old course would have been covered with a 4 wood, SI, 9i, 8i, 7i, 6i putter but I moved to a longer course where I use every club in the bag.....every round

 

[Patrick57]

I started with less than a half set and got to 5, so I agree that amateurs on the majority of 5800 yard courses wont need or use a lot of their clubs. My old course would have been covered with a 4 wood, SI, 9i, 8i, 7i, 6i putter but I moved to a longer course where I use every club in the bag.....every round

I play on a 6,600 yard parkland course with heavy fairways and therefore little roll. I cope with all yardages with the 7 clubs in my sig. I am surprised you think that the length of the course somehow makes a difference.

I am also surprised that you use every club in the bag during each round.

40% of the game is putter, about 15% driver and we have another twelve for the other 45%. I can cover these shots with just 5 clubs

 

[CMAC]

I am surprised you think that the length of the course somehow makes a difference.

I am also surprised that you use every club in the bag during each round.

your not seriously saying theres no difference in what clubs you might use on a 5200 yd course over a 7200 yd course?

I might not actually use every club each round but its not far off

 

[Patrick57]

your not seriously saying theres no difference in what clubs you might use on a 5200 yd course over a 7200 yd course?

the longest course I've played since I started using a haldf set is 6,600 but on windy wet days it plays like 7,200 and I still carry teh same set and cope.

 

[sev112]

in all thea years we have played 3 club challenges (+ a putter) - the majority of the competitors play better than normal medals.

i carried a half set for 2 years after a particulalry low round on one of these, and got my handicap down to 11. (that was 8 years ago !). Gradually i added the clubs back in one by one. ANd my handicap hardly dropped.

I think Patrick is spot on

 

[Patrick57]

I think Patrick is spot on

I think Sev is totally cool!

BTW

I don't think that playing with a half set is more beneficial for over 90% of golfers....

I know it is!!!

 

[jdchelsea]

I think Sev is totally cool!

BTW

I don't think that playing with a half set is more beneficial for over 90% of golfers....

I know it is!!!

You know what's best for every golfer in the world?! Impressive!

By the way what club are you a pro at? And on what basis are you a top 100 coach? Where did you get such commendation?

 

[Swinger]

I once read an article about an experiment in the states where they had two holes on every green. A white flag for Class 1 - 3 golfers (18.3 handicappers and better) and a Blue flag for the higher handicappers. The white flag had the normal 4 and a bit inch hole and the blue flag had one twice as big.

The high handicappers liked the big hole so much they deliberately threw away shots when they were playing well so that they could remain in the blue flag category. The golfers in the high end of class 3 also gladly slipped to the blue flag category and the experiment was dropped because the level of handicap dropped considerably.

I take it that was the hole you were talking about?

So they kept an artifically high handicap against the spirit of our fine game!!

This is the last straw, the handicapping system should be abolished!



With regards to the half sets I don't doubt for a moment that the majority of golfers have too much to think about on a golf course which can hamper the enjoyment they get and the level they play at but the amount of clubs is only one part of that and possibly just the tip of the iceberg. The handicapping system obviously is the biggest problem!

 

[JustOne]

47% of golfers will never break 100 so YES they might be better off playing golf with just a 7-iron, wedge and putter..... BUT.... for everyone else your post makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER.

Ball striking is the key and it matters not what club you have in your hand. If you're going to have one it might as well be the correct one, certainly if you're going to get better at this game then you need to master all clubs, and the sooner the better. It's hard enough as it is without leaving half your clubs at home!

 

[Patrick57]

47% of golfers will never break 100 so YES they might be better off playing golf with just a 7-iron, wedge and putter..... BUT.... for everyone else your post makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER.

Ball striking is the key and it matters not what club you have in your hand. If you're going to have one it might as well be the correct one, certainly if you're going to get better at this game then you need to master all clubs, and the sooner the better. It's hard enough as it is without leaving half your clubs at home!

Although I play off about 4, I break par often with only 7 clubs. I hadn't broken par for over a decade with 14 clubs.

Go figure!