Minimum number of sticks required to play golf

susepic – you can buy decent 2nd hand clubs on somewhere like golfclubs4cash.  I think I paid £125 for my set (just clubs tho, so you’ll have to buy a bag as well).

To answer the original question (as it’s one I can actually answer). Technically the maximum is 14.  But I personally think that less is more in golfing, so you’d be fine with:

• Putter
• Sand Wedge
• Pitching Wedge
• Fairway wood (for me a 5 wood)
• 7 Iron

Admittedly that’s me as a terrible golfer, so I prefer to use the clubs I can actually hit semi sensibly.

Wouldn’t you be better off having some lessons?

Less than 15 % of all golfers have a handicap. And of those that do, only 10% have a handicap of 5 or less. So basically I’m probably better than 98% of people that play golf already. If you play you’ll know how hard golf is. If you don’t, a 5 handicap is bloody good. I read a statistic that less than 5 % of golfers ever break 80 in their lives!

That said, I do get lessons and practice alot. But yout argument is a bit like saying there is no point spending 5k on a road bike unless you are a cat 2 racer putting out 5 watts per kilo!

Surely you need a ” mashie niblick”? I think thats the spelling. What a poetic name

And a Brassie, or a Cleek which you could also use for your putter.

Buy your clubs 2nd hand – golfer are so susceptible to marketing for fixes to their faults that they trade clubs often, and you can get brilliant sets for not much second hand – an example would be some Hogan Apex Plus irons which you could get for around £100 for a good set.

Or you could just play with one club and a putter, like this match between Sergio Garcia and Bryson D – it’s actually a good watch if you are into golf and it’s good watching Bryson marvelling at Sergio’s skill level :

Less than 15 % of all golfers have a handicap. And of those that do, only 10% have a handicap of 5 or less. So basically I’m probably better than 98% of people that play golf already. If you play you’ll know how hard golf is. If you don’t, a 5 handicap is bloody good

Ooo, touchy 🙂

But yout argument is a bit like saying there is no point spending 5k on a road bike unless you are a cat 2 racer putting out 5 watts per kilo!

Why would a cat 2 roadie need to spend that much? It’s generally people that just want to show off that spend silly amounts of money on bikes*

I read a statistic that less than 5 % of golfers ever break 80 in their lives!

Blimey, I’m in the top 5% in the world, that’ll do me!

*insert hobby of choice.

an example would be some Hogan Apex Plus irons which you could get for around £100 for a good set.

Phenomenal irons, but if they are the ones I’m thinking of they are a players cavity. Buttery smooth but not a club for a high handicapper, and definitely not a beginner. I recently bought a mint set of mizuno mp33 for less than 100 quid. Exactly the same as used by a few world number ones..great clubs, but you need to be a far better player than me to get the most out of them.

If starting out get something with a huge cavity, massive sweet spot, that’ll get the ball up in the air. Plenty ‘beginner sets’ for sale as people improve and get something they ‘think’ suits their improved game more.

Ooo, touchy ?

Not at all. Just pointing out you probably don’t know what you are talking about!

Blimey, I’m in the top 5% in the world, that’ll do me!

If you Include all golfers of all ages, including those that play a a handful of times a year then you probably are if you can break 80 playing proper rules (ie no gimmies!). I have just played 4 rounds out here in the canaries.  I can honestly say I didn’t see one other player on the course or practice range who looked like they’d get anywhere near breaking 90!

For what it’s worth my entire set cost around 3k, significantly less than most folks on here spend on their bikes! You could buy the same set 2nd hand for half that, but either way I’m Confident that at my level they are worth the investment.  Not so much if you are a hacker who struggles to break 90 every week however..

I reckon 3.  Sand wedge, putter and this bad boy:

Boxed half set or 2nd hand beginners hybrids / irons (high loft & easyish to hit) plus pro lessons deffo the way to start. Without someone standing behind you telling you why you are slicing / hooking / chunking / topping AND how to fix the issue, it’s just an exercise in frustration. Maddening incompetence aside, it is a lovely walk, which is nice.

Maddening incompetence aside, it is a lovely walk, which is nice.

I can never work out why it’s so damn hard. The other day I shot 5 over for the front 9, 4 under for the back 9. One moment I’ll flush it to 2 foot from 170 yards, think I’ve mastered it. And 2 holes later I’m hacking out sideways after a 40 yard slice.

My one tip for beginners (along side the excellent advice of get lessons), is if you want to score well, learn to putt well. It’s a skill in itself but it’s far easier to master than hitting full shots. I’ve hit plenty good scores when my putting is on form even when im hitting it crap, but rarely score well if it’s not, even when I’m hitting the ball well

And it’s not about how good your good shots are, it’s about how ‘unbad’ your poor shots are…ie you’ll never make pars when your first tee shot is 20 yards out of bounds.