If you’re a regular golfer you probably have one club in your bag that you love more than others. One that’s as reliable as Congress is dysfunctional. For Kevin Costner in Tin Cup it was his trusty seven iron. For someone like Henrik Stenson, probably his three wood. For me, it’s my eight iron. There are certain clubs, either through experience, ability, or default just seem to stand out.
Then there are those that just give us the willies. For example, unlike Henrik I’d put my three wood in that category. I’m convinced no amount of practice will ever make me better with that club. Invariably, I chunk or thin it and rarely hit it straight, but keep carrying it around because I’m convinced I need it - like when a situation calls for a 165 yard blooper on a 210 yard approach. A friend of mine has problems with his driver. He'll carry it around for weeks or months at a time but never use it, because “it’s just not working”. Little wonder.
If you’ve been golfing for a while you’ve probably indulged in the ‘what if’ question. I’m not talking about the misery stories you hear in a clubhouse after every round - those tear-in-the-beer laments like ‘what if I’d only laid up instead of trying to cut that corner’, or, ‘what if I hadn’t bladed that bunker shot into the lake’? Bad decisions and bad breaks. Conversations like those will go on for as long as golf exists and really aren’t that interesting (except for the person drowning their sorrows). No, what I’m talking about is a more existential question. One that goes to the heart of every golfer’s game: what if you only had three clubs to play with, which ones would you choose? And why?
It’s a fun thought experiment because it makes you think about your abilities in a more distilled perspective: how well do I hit my clubs and what’s the best combination to use to get around a course in the lowest possible score?
Maybe you’ve had the chance to compete in a three-club tournament. They’re out there. Once in a while someone puts one together and they sound like a lot of fun. I’ve never played in one myself, but have wondered at times what clubs I'd choose if given the opportunity. Recently, I got to find out, with some surprising results.
Caveat: I’m not here to suggest that there’s one right mix of clubs for everyone, but I will say that it’s possible to shoot par golf (or better) with only three golf clubs.
First, some background. I’m a senior golfer that’s been playing the game for nearly 25 years. High single to low double digit handicap (I’m guessing since I don’t keep one). Usually shoot in the low to mid-80s with an occasional excursion into the high 70s.
Lately I’ve been playing on a nice nine hole course that rarely sees more than a dozen golfers at any time, even on the weekends. It’s not an executive course or goat-track by any means. In fact it’s as challenging a course as any muni, if not more so, and definitely in better condition. The greens-keeping staff keep it in excellent shape and share resources with a nearby Nicklaus-designed course. It’s your average really nice nine hole course, and would command premium prices if expanded to 18 holes.
Anyway, because there’s hardly anyone around I usually play three balls, mainly for exercise and practice. I’ve always carried my bag, so it’s easy to drive up, unload my stuff, stick three balls in my pocket and take off.
A while back we had some strong winds. Stiff, persistent winds that lasted for days. I don’t mind playing in wind, but these were strong enough that my bag kept falling over when I set it down, and twisting around my body, throwing me off balance when walking up and down fairways. I’m sure I must have looked a bit like a drunk staggering around (not an uncommon sight on some of the courses I’ve played), so I decided to dump the bag and just play with three clubs.
But which ones? Keep in mind that everyone is different, and the clubs I selected are the ones that I thought would work best for me.
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To begin with, I realized that two are already taken. First, I’d need a putter. According to Golf Digest and Game Golf, you need a putter roughly 41 percent of the time on average. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to try putting with a driver, three wood, or hybrid no matter how utilitarian they might be. It just feels too weird. Perhaps it’s just personal preference, and if that’s not a big deal with you go for it. The next club I selected was something that could get me close from a 120 yards out, help around the fringe, and get me out of a bunker. No brainer: sand wedge. I thought about a lob wedge but it didn’t have the distance, and a gap or pitching wedge was just too tough out of the sand and didn’t have enough loft for short flops to tight pins.
Finally, my last club: a six iron. Why the six? A number of reasons. First, and probably most important: I suck at my six iron. Not as bad as my three wood, but for some reason the six has always given me problems. Maybe it's because I’ve never been fit for clubs and it always stood out as being more difficult than most of the others in my bag. I don’t know why, really. In any case, I thought “why not get a little more practice and see if I can get this guy under control”? It also has the distance. When I hit it flush, I can get it to go maybe 170 yards. Maybe. So that completed the set and my new streamlined self was ready for the wind.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Given that most Par 4s are generally in the 350 – 450 yard range or less (see here and here) and Par 5s generally about 450-690 yards (see here), it’s not that hard if you’re hitting a 160 - 170 yard six iron to get on the green in two on shorter Par 4s, and on in three for shorter Par 5s. Even on longer holes if you come up short, you’re still close enough that it’s a sand wedge into the green, usually pitching or chipping from 50 yards or less. Then it’s just a putt for par. Plus, the second or third shot is usually from the middle of the fairway, so there’s an excellent chance that you’ll put your wedge in a good position. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that I can make at least one, sometimes two or three pars (even a birdie sometimes), with just three clubs and three balls. It all depends on the length of the hole and the accuracy of my chipping and putting (and of course the wind). It’s a great way to get better at iron play and, especially, short game from 100 yards in.
But there’s more, and here’s where it really gets fun. For various reasons, sometimes I’ll find myself somewhere in the 120 – 160 yard range coming into a green. Too long for a sand wedge but too short for a six iron so I’ve had to learn to dial it back a bit. Hitting a six iron a 140 yards is not that much different than hitting a half swing pitch, but with more control and easier effort. The fun thing is learning how much swing is needed for various distances within that 40 yard gap. For a while, I’d frequently come up 10 yards short of the green or 10 yards long, but it’s getting better, and again, it’s been another opportunity to sharpen up my short game.
I’ve tried substituting a five iron and even a hybrid for more distance off the tee, but the second shot seems harder to control with less lofted clubs (and is tougher to dial back on short Par 3s). Maybe those clubs would work better for other golfers depending on their skill set, but dialing it back is the trickiest part for me. To each his own. The six iron just seemed to strike the right balance. The main thing is finding the right clubs that will give you the greatest accuracy, distance, and control.
Now I’ve got a whole new perspective on the game. Besides being in the fairway more often, I’m hitting more greens in regulation and, when short, still chipping or pitching up to putt for par. There’s also a new sense of creativity. Too often in the past I’d just take whatever club was at the outer limits of my abilities and swing away, full blast (with variable directional and distance control). Now I don’t mind taking a lesser club and swinging easier. To top it off, my iron play and short game have improved considerably. My sand wedge used to be my go to 80-90 yard club, and now tops out at 115. Six iron went from a shaky 165 to a reliable 170. My putting still stinks. Maybe the pros can dial in pin point accuracy with every club, but given the variability I have throughout my bag (and the varying shaft lengths of the clubs themselves) it’s been much more helpful to focus on just these three and improve on what each can do.
It also speeds up the game considerably.
So, last week I took my full bag out, thinking I needed to tune up my driver, three wood and other clubs because I didn’t want those skills to get too rusty. Guess what? I shot worse than I did with my three club setup - mainly because I was all over the fairway, short and long of the greens, and in the woods again. I’m not ready to give up on all my clubs yet, but it’s gratifying to know there are still a few new ways to rediscover the game and enjoy new challenges. Give it a try sometime. Maybe you'll find less is more.
by markk, Duck Soup | Read more:
Image: markk
