Lighten the Load

A post on my Instagram was shared by a fairly large content aggregator recently, and with it a spotlight was cast on my equipment philosophy. Fourteen clubs is more than anyone really needs. It was quickly apparent that sentiment was not shared by mainstream golf, as made evident by the comments on the post. My favorite was “Hipster douche… 0/10”, but “who only 10 clubs???” was a close second.

Admittedly, the idea of playing less than the maximum number of clubs allowed in the bag was an entirely foreign concept to me up until about two years ago. When I jumped back into the golf social media scene, I stumbled upon a small but growing community of golf minimalists touting the gospel of short sets. I was intrigued but skeptical… golf is already pretty tough, it seemed stupid to attempt to make it more difficult.

But does playing with less than a full deck really make golf more difficult? After two years of extensive research, I’m not so sure. I can’t deny that I have flown more than a few greens while attempting to knock down a shot that was “in-between clubs”. However, my trending scoring average provides anecdotal evidence to suggest that more weapons won’t always win a war. Perhaps baby Bobby J wasn’t blowing smoke when we said golf is played “on a five-and-a-half-inch course, the space between your ears.”

I did a book report in junior high on the Payne Stewart biography, and one of the passages that stuck with me was about Payne’s struggle with “stock” shots. He would flub seemingly straight forward shots, but put him behind a rock under three branches on pine straw? Magic. Something about having to pinpoint your focus on creating the “miracle” shot you see in your mind leads to mother-lifting-a-car-off-her-child level results more often than it should. I have found that experience incredibly relatable, and I’d imagine most other seasoned degenerates do to. In that way, we are all wearing knickers out there – in spirit at least.

My most memorable shots are the ones where I said “where the hell did that come from” while pulling the cover off my putter. Rarely do I reminisce on a perfectly executed stock iron shot, but I can recount every second leading up to the 4 iron I hooked around a tree over water to 35 feet from 175 yards out. I can just as easily rehash the same shot I’ve attempted that bee-lined into the nearest branch and puttered out into the rough 15 yards to my left. The point being the journey is what keeps me coming back, not the destination.

It stands to reason then, that if you take away 50% of your potential stock-shot opportunities, you’ll have twice as many stories to tell. Obviously, the goal isn’t to make golf more difficult, but cutting out the clutter of choices forces you to lean more on the most versatile club in the bag… your brain.  The directive is no longer “pick the club that flies x yards”. Now it is “find a way to make this club fly x yards”. Now you are playing golf, not golf swing. In that way, it certainly makes golf more fun.

I’m not suggesting you list half your set on Mullie (although I’ll probably be the first to make an offer if that’s what you want to do), but the next time you go out for an afternoon nine, leave the odd irons, a wedge, and a wood at home. I can’t guarantee you’ll play any better or any worse, but I am confident it will be a delightful deviation from the norm.

Fewer clubs, more fun… Papa Johns.