2-club plus putter competition

Obni

Playing a competition this weekend that restricts each player to 3 clubs one of which must be a putter.
I'm going to use my beloved Cleveland HiBore 2i Hybrid and a PW. I reckon on balance that taking a 2i plus two wedges to hit the green on a long par 4, for a reasonable chance at a 5 is better than bringing an 8i or 7i and having a scratch if I end up in a tough lie or a bunker. I play off 17, so I guess I have enough shots to go for safe 2-pt bogeys.
Anyone got good/bad experiences of this kind of competition?

stockdam

I'd go with a 7 iron instead of a wedge. 7 iron gives you more scope to hit par 4s in two. Ok so if you are in a bunker then it may be harder but not impossible if you are good from bunkers.......but how many times will you be in a bunker?


You could also go with a 6 iron and a wedge. Two 6 irons will get you close to most greens and the wedge will be handy round the greens.

Henry Ford III

Hybrid and maybe an 9 iron.

fred funk }{

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Hybrid and maybe an 9 iron.

I agree. I wish my club would have one of these competitions, sounds fun.
What's the average stroke difference when playing this format?

WHIP IT!

Personally, if it was me, I'd take a five-iron and PW.

Let us know hoe you get on and what clubs you used in the end.

putts18

How did you get on?

By coincidence, Todays Golfer magazine has an article about this very thing in this months issue. They asked 3 guys to play a round with 3 clubs of their choice to see how they would score and to assess whether it is really necessary to carry 14 clubs.

Obni

How I got on...
=====================
The competition was limited to 14-holes, and I had 17pts for the front 7 , then lost it on the back 7 with only 12pts :mad:. 31pts won the competition. A quick chat around the clubhouse showed that most people didn't score any worse than they do with a full set.

How many clubs do you need?
======================
I should point out that I recently switched to a carry bag. I immediately dumped all odd numbered irons leaving; Driver, 2i hybrid, 4i hybrid, 6i, 8i, PW, 52W, SW, putter. I have actually improved my average scoring since I changed to 9 clubs. So, I had less psychological trauma dropping to 3 clubs.

Dropping drivers fo 3-woods/hybrids/3-irons, meant people hit more fairways, and scored more consistently. It was when they got into trouble they needed a club they didn't have. So, I guess you need maybe 7 clubs play good golf, and the other 7 to get your bad golf out of trouble.

Obni

fred funk }{ wrote: »

I agree. I wish my club would have one of these competitions, sounds fun.

Good crack.

Next week we've a 5-5-5 2-man team competition with five holes of Scotch Foursomes, five holes of Better Ball, and five holes of standard Foursomes.

A few weeks ago we had a 5-5-5 with five holes better ball, 5 holes both balls, and five holes worst ball. There was serious pressure on the 'worst' ball holes.

We've had a different format every week this winter, and I certainly have enjoyed the variety.

fred funk }{ wrote: »

What's the average stroke difference when playing this format?

I would say the scoring was probably 2 to 3 pts less than a normal competition, for the winning score. But on average most people found little or no difference in their scoring.