One Club

[mentaloaf]

I might have this thing coming up with a couple of friends, it involves a lot of beer and golf, which as you know go hand in hand. We're gonna do 9 holes for some money and are only allowed to take 1 club with us. So here's my question, if you were going to play a round and you could only take one club, which would it be and why?

[edgey]

7 iron

Edgey

[12sandwich]

I will second that, the 7 iron.

[famousdavis]

I might have this thing coming up with a couple of friends, it involves a lot of beer and golf, which as you know go hand in hand. We're gonna do 9 holes for some money and are only allowed to take 1 club with us. So here's my question, if you were going to play a round and you could only take one club, which would it be and why?

The Perfect Club

[connecticutter]

I third the motion on the 7 iron

[BrianMcG]

The Perfect Club

YES!!! The Perfect Club!!!

[lorenzoinoc]

7 irons are fine for short porches and in that case I'd agree. But for full length courses it's the 5 iron. You can reach the vast majority of holes in reg. A 7 leaves you short. Duh!

The really short par 4's might hurt but f.uck those holes anyways.

[poe4soul]

7 iron but Lary will obviously taking his 1 iron (off tight lies - no tee required) and hitting every fairway and each green in regulation.

[poe4soul]

It would also depend on the length of the par 3's. If there all under 150 yards it could be harder with the 5 iron. If the course has many deep bunkers the 5 iron might get you into a fix. I think I could probably open and play a cut 7 out of the bunker but I don't know about the 5 iron.

[Horseballs]

I'd probably opt for something with more loft like an 8 or 9. Face it, no one is going to lighting up GIR's like Garcia. I'd rather have the loft for short game shots.

[SoonerBS]

The way I have been hitting the 4* fairway wood lately, I'd probably play it. I have pretty good feel punching short shots with any club, so I don't think that would be a problem.

[lorenzoinoc]

My friends and I do this a couple of times a year, usually at my club. You're not going to shoot par. Plan on alot of run ups. You want to get on in two as much as possible and avoid greenside bunkers at all costs. So if you give yourself a downside bogey and an upside par, you have a chance to get in the 80-s and win. But you have to be comfortable with running the ball up. It's true the par 3-s are key. For some courses, they're the toughest holes. On my course you can make a 5 work well on all of them.

A scratch golfer hopes to shoot an 85 or so. You can work backwards from that. If you don't hit around 7 or 8 greens you won't do it. So that's how I'd look at it depending upon each individual's game.

I can remember times when everyone tried for way too much and none of us broke 90.

[famousdavis]

My friends and I do this a couple of times a year, usually at my club. You're not going to shoot par. Plan on alot of run ups. You want to get on in two as much as possible and avoid greenside bunkers at all costs. So if you give yourself a downside bogey and an upside par, you have a chance to get in the 80-s and win. But you have to be comfortable with running the ball up. It's true the par 3-s are key. For some courses, they're the toughest holes. On my course you can make a 5 work well on all of them.

A scratch golfer hopes to shoot an 85 or so. You can work backwards from that. If you don't hit around 7 or 8 greens you won't do it. So that's how I'd look at it depending upon each individual's game.

I can remember times when everyone tried for way too much and none of us broke 90.

I haven't seen the course but my guess is that I'd shoot somewhere in the mid 70's with a Callaway Steelhead 7 wood. I'd hit it about 220 off the tee and then I'd adjust for the second shot. I've tried putting with woods before and I still hole them from all over the place. It's all about concentration.

[lorenzoinoc]

I haven't seen the course but my guess is that I'd shoot somewhere in the mid 70's with a Callaway Steelhead 7 wood. I'd hit it about 220 off the tee and then I'd adjust for the second shot. I've tried putting with woods before and I still hole them from all over the place. It's all about concentration.

I should have qualified my advice by saying it was meant to apply to everyone in the world but you.

[famousdavis]

I should have qualified my advice by saying it was meant to apply to everyone in the world but you.

Oh, that's OK. There's no need to qualify because I know that I'm one of the few golfers at my current skill level. I can help you win this tournament if you'd like some advice. Well, I'm off to the club again. I'm going to get there early, have a nice lunch in the men's grill and then go out and hit about 20 balls. That's all I need to get my swing in tune. Lots of guys go out there and beat balls but I can get into focus very quickly. I usually hit the gym beforehand as well. People always comment about how ripped I am.

[lorenzoinoc]

Oh, that's OK. There's no need to qualify because I know that I'm one of the few golfers at my current skill level. I can help you win this tournament if you'd like some advice. Well, I'm off to the club again. I'm going to get there early, have a nice lunch in the men's grill and then go out and hit about 20 balls. That's all I need to get my swing in tune. Lots of guys go out there and beat balls but I can get into focus very quickly. I usually hit the gym beforehand as well. People always comment about how ripped I am.

Don't forget to bring your hallucinigenic drugs.

[dld6928]

...and truth be told, I'd probably improve my scoring average. As a 24 handicapper I usually shoot in the high 90's. But many of those lost shots are due to not being able to consistently hit any of the longer clubs, especially driver. However my 5 iron gives me a reliable, consistent 148 to 160 yard shot every time (yes I know that's a 7 or 8 iron for most of you!) I play tracks that are only about 6000 yards, so I'd still be within 50 yards or less after two shots on the par 4's and 5's, and all but one of the par 3's would be within reach of that 5 iron. This topic has inspired me, next spring I'm going to try it!

[dorkman53]

I agree with the iron sentiments expressed here. I think either a 6 or 7 iron would be my choice. Sure, you'd give up some distance, but the thought of a greenside bunker might make me want to have a little more loft.

Either that, or a 6 degree loft driver.....

[noshuz]

Don't forget to bring your hallucinigenic drugs.

Don't worry. He's already on them....

[mentaloaf]

Thanks for the input everyone! Very interesting, I was kind of hoping Larry would chime in with some words of wisdom for us....

how about this....if Larry chimes in I will use whatever club he says, and I'll be bound to it by GR oath. That should make it very interesting.....Larry? Are you there??

[KoolCat]

A scratch golfer hopes to shoot an 85 or so.

Is that really true(for people other than FD)? I would have thought a pro could pretty much shoot par with just a 5 or 7 iron.

My choice would probably be a 6. You can open the face to the loft of an 8 iron for chipping. Just stay out of the sand by the greens. Depending on the length of the course, you could probably reach at least a few par 4's in two and all par 5's in 3. If there are any par 3's with carries longer than 180, you might need a 4-5 instead.

[lorenzoinoc]

Is that really true(for people other than FD)? I would have thought a pro could pretty much shoot par with just a 5 or 7 iron.

My choice would probably be a 6. You can open the face to the loft of an 8 iron for chipping. Just stay out of the sand by the greens. Depending on the length of the course, you could probably reach at least a few par 4's in two and all par 5's in 3. If there are any par 3's with carries longer than 180, you might need a 4-5 instead.

Part of the problem is putting. You feel pretty inept doing it the whole round with an iron, even if you're used to bellying the ball. At some point you realize reg +1 isn't so bad on alot of holes if you leave your first putt reasonably close. If you can leave the first putt close enough to guarantee a two putt you're doing pretty well. So the best club is one where you know you can get reasonably close in reg +1 but hit a fair no. of greens in reg.

Never done this with a pro level golfer, but I suspect Kenny Perry would do poorly while Seve might have even surpassed his normal round. It would be a great concept for a silly season event.

If you've never tried this with a group of friends, you're missing out. It's can be alot more fun than a normal round.

[Horseballs]

Part of the problem is putting. You feel pretty inept doing it the whole round with an iron, even if you're used to bellying the ball. At some point you realize reg +1 isn't so bad on alot of holes if you leave your first putt reasonably close. If you can leave the first putt close enough to guarantee a two putt you're doing pretty well. So the best club is one where you know you can get reasonably close in reg +1 but hit a fair no. of greens in reg.

Never done this with a pro level golfer, but I suspect Kenny Perry would do poorly while Seve might have even surpassed his normal round. It would be a great concept for a silly season event.

If you've never tried this with a group of friends, you're missing out. It's can be alot more fun than a normal round.

We've played several bonus nines with 2 clubs plus a putter. I usually go 4 and 9 iron. I think the biggest hurdle is not trying to do too much off the tee. A 4 iron will not go driver distance no matter how hard you hit it.

[mentaloaf]

The way I have been hitting the 4* fairway wood lately, I'd probably play it. I have pretty good feel punching short shots with any club, so I don't think that would be a problem.

What 4 wood have you got? I hit the Ping G10 4 wood at Roger Dunn yesterday and I really liked it....and why 4wood instead of 3wood?

[SoonerBS]

What 4 wood have you got? I hit the Ping G10 4 wood at Roger Dunn yesterday and I really liked it....and why 4wood instead of 3wood?

Mizuno D-60. I opted for the 4 wood as a compromise between the 3 and 5 so I would have less clubs to carry.

[Not a hacker]

Choosing only one club is a tough decision. Like Sooner, I think the best all round club would be a 4 wood as it gives the versatility of distance off the tee plus something easy to putt with. But bunkers and short approaches over bunkers would be a biatch, so I'd probably go for a short iron, maybe an 8. I could deloft the face and hit 180 yard stingers off the tee (not trying to sound like FD here, it's actually not a tough shot), and still have a lofted club for all the approaches and for bunker shots. I lke the 8 above the 7 as the 8 is the club I normally use for bump and runs around the green so I would be in my comfort zone for those shots.

[famousdavis]

Choosing only one club is a tough decision. Like Sooner, I think the best all round club would be a 4 wood as it gives the versatility of distance off the tee plus something easy to putt with. But bunkers and short approaches over bunkers would be a biatch, so I'd probably go for a short iron, maybe an 8. I could deloft the face and hit 180 yard stingers off the tee (not trying to sound like FD here, it's actually not a tough shot), and still have a lofted club for all the approaches and for bunker shots. I lke the 8 above the 7 as the 8 is the club I normally use for bump and runs around the green so I would be in my comfort zone for those shots.

A "stinger" with an 8 iron? This I would have to see. I would think you'd end up with a shot with too much spin. With an 8 iron you'd be looking at 3 shots into the green almost every time.

[SoonerBS]

A "stinger" with an 8 iron? This I would have to see. I would think you'd end up with a shot with too much spin. With an 8 iron you'd be looking at 3 shots into the green almost every time.

This is along the lines of my thinking as well. You guys that are thinking your one club should be a 7 iron or less are looking at at least 3 shots to get to the greens on par 4s and 4 shots on par 5s. That puts a tremendous pressure on your putting with the club to limit your score.

But, I understand that you are going to have some advantages and disadvantages with any club you use when playing the one club tournaments. With the 4 wood I would have to stay out of the bunkers and the par 3s would be very interesting as I tried to figure out if I needed to apply a half swing, or 3/4 swing. Most of the par 3s at my course are over water so there is little room for error.

[edgey]

This is along the lines of my thinking as well. You guys that are thinking your one club should be a 7 iron or less are looking at at least 3 shots to get to the greens on par 4s and 4 shots on par 5s. That puts a tremendous pressure on your putting with the club to limit your score.

But, I understand that you are going to have some advantages and disadvantages with any club you use when playing the one club tournaments. With the 4 wood I would have to stay out of the bunkers and the par 3s would be very interesting as I tried to figure out if I needed to apply a half swing, or 3/4 swing. Most of the par 3s at my course are over water so there is little room for error.

Thats the point Sooner, no one (not even Tiger) could shoot par with 1 club so it is about accepting a shite score. I have played this game and can assure you a wood of any description would be a poor choice, dont believe me go and try it.

The 7 (or 6 or 8) is the most versatile option.

Edgey

[KoolCat]

Thats the point Sooner, no one (not even Tiger) could shoot par with 1 club...

Looks like the Guinness Record Holder shot a 70 with a 6 iron in 1987. This was on a par 72 course.

Article on SI.com

Here is the organization that holds competitions using 1 club:

One Club Golf

BTW, the record holder uses a 6 iron (the club I recommended using).

/thread closed/

[poe4soul]

6 iron in 1987 which is probably the same loft as the 7 iron most of us mentioned.

[KoolCat]

Good point, unfortunately the thread was already closed so it's a moot point... (-;

[SoonerBS]

Thats the point Sooner, no one (not even Tiger) could shoot par with 1 club so it is about accepting a shite score. I have played this game and can assure you a wood of any description would be a poor choice, dont believe me go and try it.

The 7 (or 6 or 8) is the most versatile option.

Edgey

And, you are assuming that Tiger is better than me? This is GR, Edgey, there are no professional golfers that are as good, or know as much about golf, as we do. I know you probably just had a momentary brain fart so I'll forgive you your slip . . . .

[edgey]

And, you are assuming that Tiger is better than me? This is GR, Edgey, there are no professional golfers that are as good, or know as much about golf, as we do. I know you probably just had a momentary brain fart so I'll forgive you your slip . . . .

No I accept that everyone on GR is better than any Pro golfer (except me of course, i am rubbish).

As such i clearly f ucked up and request your forgiveness.

Edgey

[mentaloaf]

Larry would smoke that guy with his whippy, still waiting for him to chime in....