Why we are allowed only 14 clubs

millsan1

I've figured this game out! Oh wait, no I haven't
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I was listening to A New Breed of Golf this morning and they touched on the 14 club rule.

Basically, when steel shafts came into being, there was an arms race of sorts and players were carrying 20, 25, 30, even 32 clubs in one bag. Or more accurately, their caddies were.

Michael Breed said that Bobby Jones was the instigator of limiting the number of clubs in a bag, but everything I read says that Jones was good for 20+ clubs in his bag as well.

This is an interesting article on the topic

 
Interesting read. I am glad of the limit, I have hard enough time lifting my bag with 14 sticks.
 
Very cool article. Thanks for sharing.

I actually carry 15 clubs currently, as I feel the addition of a 21° 3 iron is able to effectively manage the gapping between my 18° hybrid and 24° 4 iron.

I take the 3 iron out in tournaments, but otherwise I prefer to game with it.

-Bishop
 
Interesting article, thanks for posting it. :eek:k:
 
Said it before and I'll say it again - the 14 club limit is arbitrary and idiotic. I'm amazed that club manufacturers haven't lobbied to have it increased. Even one or two more clubs would dramatically enhance my options and I'd be all for it!
 
Nice read, thanks! Love that it’s completely arbitrary. I’m going to start carrying 15 for the F of it.
 
Numbered sets were being made with hickory shafts into the 1930's. In fact there was a resistance by many players to make the transition to steel shafts. To lure the hickory stalwarts over to steel, manufacturers went to the extreme of coating steel shafts with a plastic like sheath - named pyratone, to make the shafts look like wood and to counter rust. This fashion continued into the late 40's.
The early irons numbered 1 to 8 with the putter numbered 9. I have a set of these early irons with the lofts and lies branded on the back of the iron head. The 1-iron has 18 degrees, the 2-iron 21 degrees, from there the set increases in 4 degree increments to the 8-iron at 50 degrees loft.
 
Great and interesting read? I mean there are times where I go an entire round without playing all 14 clubs. So honestly I probably could drop some out of the bag.
 
Enjoyed the read, thanks for posting
 
Like mmaynard11 I often don’t use two or three clubs in a round, but the next time it will be two or three different clubs ... even on the same course. So I guess I need the full 14. However, a few years ago, I had my best first 9 of the year in a “four clubs and a putter” match. Go figure.
 
Don't forget, at "6-club" tournaments players usually shoot their 14 club scoring average.
I expect that if the PGA Tour had a 6 club event those players would also shoot at or near their usual scoring average.
 
Interesting read. It was fascinating to learn how and why the 14 club limit was adopted and how arbitrary that number actually is.
 
is that the limit?

Ive got 20+ in my bag so often for review work I’d forgotten! Hahahahahahaha
 
Good read. I’m glad it’s limited to 14 and I could do with one or two less without it changing my scores.
 
Firstly, when I think of clubs I dont include putter so IMO its really 13 clubs we are (outside of putting) playing the ball striking game with. I Think with those 13 its safe to assume that most all of us have a distance gap somewhere in our bag. And certainly if one carries a wedge other than the standard iron set down to a sw, that extra LW (or whatever) will create another gap or at least a first one if one didn't exist before. Though technically without the added wedge , that part could in itself been considered a gap or at least perhaps a shot/s option for the given scenarios which could be considered a gap in its own right.

Its very often spoken of here through the years by very many how we all fill our bags with club choices. And very often people spoke of changing out one or two clubs. People put a lot of figuring into this as for just where they want to sacrifice in one spot for something else somewhere else. A lot of self debating and often change different options back and forth and in different ways till they finally reach themselves what they feel is a happy medium.
In addition to all that , some people then still change what they bring based on where they play the given round as per course design and just which club/s they would rather have for that course vs another. Even conditions cause some to change what they bring for that day.

Thats the kind of talk Ive heard of countless times here on the forums. So with that said. lets think for a moment if that number was upped by just one club. Just that one club extra allowed and then so many here would have gone through so far less figuring and contemplating as that one spot of sacrifice would always been filled and of no concern.

So doesnt it just seem like 14 (or the 13 playing clubs) is at the perfect spot? I mean sits where just the right amount to make for decision making without being too detrimental , yet still requiring it.
Its always just less than ideal. One more and it becomes ideal while one less and becomes detrimental. This imo makes it a great part of the game itself as it is part of managing the game our own way. Its all part of our shot choices and decision making and it affects our options as we play. Makes the game itself more interesting not only as we play it but even before we begin. Forces us to manage something right from the start.
 
Don't forget, at "6-club" tournaments players usually shoot their 14 club scoring average.
I expect that if the PGA Tour had a 6 club event those players would also shoot at or near their usual scoring average.

I think that probably more applies to us common folks whom hit their 6i from a range of say 190-205. They know that their 6i is going to go exactly say 229. Then they adjust for wind and terrain and altitude. I think they’d struggle with 40 yard gaps. I think they’d be at least 2-3 strokes higher than their average.

I do agree that most of us it would make little difference in our scoring through.
 
Like someone else said, its just an arbitrary number that they came up with. They felt that any more than 14 and it took some of the skill and sport out of the game.
I honestly cant see where anything would think that they need more than 14 clubs. I only play with 7 and there isnt a shot on the course that I cant hit with those 7 clubs. ?‍♂️
 
Like someone else said, its just an arbitrary number that they came up with. They felt that any more than 14 and it took some of the skill and sport out of the game.
I honestly cant see where anything would think that they need more than 14 clubs. I only play with 7 and there isnt a shot on the course that I cant hit with those 7 clubs. ?‍♂️
well then i guess all those pros that use to carry 18, 20,24,28,30 whatever amounts of clubs didnt have any idea what they were doing if all they ever needed was 7. :confused2:
 
I think that probably more applies to us common folks whom hit their 6i from a range of say 190-205. They know that their 6i is going to go exactly say 229. Then they adjust for wind and terrain and altitude. I think they’d struggle with 40 yard gaps. I think they’d be at least 2-3 strokes higher than their average.

I do agree that most of us it would make little difference in our scoring through.

The average carry distance on the PGA Tour for a 6 iron is 183 yards. I think a lot of golfers have a skewed idea of actual carry distances. Here they are from Trackman who measured every shot hit on the PGA Tour. I think these are from 2018.

Screen Shot 2019-11-13 at 8.36.34 AM.png
 
The average carry distance on the PGA Tour for a 6 iron is 183 yards. I think a lot of golfers have a skewed idea of actual carry distances. Here they are from Trackman who measured every shot hit on the PGA Tour. I think these are from 2018.

View attachment 8914662
Bingo.

For mere internet mortals "average" tends to mean "two or three times I did it, so its my average now, right?" haha :LOL:
 
The more I think of it, the answer to the question as to why there is a 14 club limit must be because 15 is too many and 13 is not enough.
 
The more I think of it, the answer to the question as to why there is a 14 club limit must be because 15 is too many and 13 is not enough.

Good thought.. but I do pretty well with just 11 clubs =)
 
Good thought.. but I do pretty well with just 11 clubs =)

I'm with you because I usually carry 10-11 clubs for most rounds. The limit is just an arbitrary number that they decided on years ago. I
 
14 was not an arbitrary number picked out of the air; at the end of the posted article it states that it was the standard at the time to have a set of 9 irons and 4 woods plus a putter. 9 + 4 + 1 = 14 which is a totally reasonable explanation.
 
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