Last Updated on April 19, 2023 by Britt Olizarowicz
The USGA rules of golf allow us to have 14 golf clubs in our bag. Fourteen golf clubs seem fair; however, if you ask players back before this rule was created, having 20 or more clubs in the bag was quite common.
I’m fine with 14 clubs, and to be honest, right now, I only have 13 in the bag.
This brings up the question, are 13 golf clubs enough?
I’m a scratch golfer and use 13 golf clubs, but I can tell you that I think there are a few places in my bag where it would not hurt me to put a club into play. Let’s look at whether or not 13 golf clubs are enough and if you should be playing more or less.
Thirteen Golf Clubs Typical Set Makeup
With 13 clubs in the bag, there is usually a spot in the fairway wood or hybrid section where a club is “missing.” A common setup for a 13-club golf bag is as follows:
- Driver
- 5 Wood
- 4 Hybrid
- 5 Iron
- 6 Iron
- 7 Iron
- 8 Iron
- 9 Iron
- Pitching Wedge
- Gap Wedge
- Sand Wedge
- Lob Wedge
- Putter
As you can see from this set makeup, the most obvious spot to put a golf club is the 3 wood. The 3 wood is not always the easiest club to hit, and many golfers shy away from putting one in the bag.
Do I need all 14 clubs?
You do not need all 14 golf clubs in the bag. However, there are a few advantages to going with all 14.
When you have all 14 clubs in the bag, it is much easier to set up loft gapping. Loft gapping means that you have a consistent change in the loft from one club to the next. The results of proper loft gapping include increased consistency in shots and better distance control.
When you have less than 14 clubs in the bag, you may end up with large gaps of 20 or more yards, making it a little harder to hit consistent golf shots.
However, not all players need 14 clubs in the bag.
Who Should Not Use 14 Golf Clubs?
New golfers tend to have distances that look the same throughout their entire bag. This has everything to do with club head speed and consistency.
For instance, as a new player, you may find that you hit your pitching wedge about 100 yards on average. However, you also hit your 8 iron 100 yards, and sometimes even the 6 iron 100 yards.
This is very common.
The reason that this happens is because of the centeredness of the strike and the speed at which you make contact with the golf ball.
As you get more accustomed to playing the game, the distances between clubs will start to get wider and hopefully be around 10 yards.
How many golf clubs should a golfer have?
Golfers should play with between 11 and 14 clubs.
Some beginner sets are sold with about 8 clubs in them, but this is really not enough. With an 8 club set, you usually get:
- Driver
- 5 wood
- 6-PW
- Putter
As you can see, this set does not feature a hybrid, and that makes the gap from the 6 iron to the 5 wood rather large. In addition, the set only has one wedge in the bag, whereas many full sets have 4 wedges.
Although the middle of the golf bag is well covered here with the 6-PW, there are gaps in other areas that will create problems with accuracy on the course.
If you invest in a set like this, be prepared to add to it over time.
What is the minimum golf clubs needed?
Some golf courses will host one-club tournaments where you play an entire 9 or 18 holes using just one club. This is a little extreme and designed more to be for fun than to actually work on your game.
However, I would say that the minimum number of clubs is around 7 or 8. Again, you will have to get creative if your set only has 7 or 8 clubs, but it is possible to play a round of golf.
When to take a golf club out of the bag?
If you have 14 clubs in your bag and you only use 12 of them, feel free to take the extra two out.
In addition, I would suggest going for a custom club fitting where loft gapping can be checked.
The loft gapping will tell you where you have a gap in your bag and help you find a solution.
The two most common spots where players have a loft gap is from the irons to the fairway wood and from the pitching wedge to the sand wedge.
How many clubs do I actually need?
The magic number for most golfers is between 12 and 14. I’m relatively content with my 13 clubs for now, although I’ve had my eye on whether or not a 3 wood would be a good addition to the bag.
In years past, I had the 3 wood in there but never really pulled it out. Eventually, I took it out because t was essentially a weight in my bag! I’ve recently seen some players switching to two drivers instead of a driver and a 3 wood, and that is an interesting concept.
Although I feel like you need a high level of club head speed to really pull that one off.
Why are you only allowed 14 clubs in golf?
The USGA rules of golf prohibit players from having more than 14 clubs in the golf bag.
Years ago, when there were no limits to the number of clubs that players could have, it gave some people an unfair advantage. Think about it. What if you could have the entire TaylorMade Stealth lineup and the entire Cobra lineup in your bag at the same time?
This would be really unfair.
On the holes where you need distance, you could take out the Stealth; forgiveness, take out the Cobra. In the end, the player who could afford the most equipment and figure out a way to carry it would be the one that played the best.
To make golf fairer and to keep the game as difficult as we need it to stay, the 14-club rule was put into effect.
Fourteen clubs are fair; it is just enough to cover the basics and to keep the game a little hard all at the same time.
How many clubs do pros carry?
Professionals carry 14 clubs, and they use all of them. Pros have high levels of swing speed, and they are also able to hit different types of shots. This makes it necessary to carry more than the maximum number of clubs allowed.
Also, golf manufacturers typically sponsor professionals to play with certain clubs, and this can be required by their contracts.
Expect to see some pros change their hybrids/utility/fairway wood setup when playing from one tournament to the next. This is where the most variation is needed depending on the course setup.
Can I carry 15 clubs?
If you carry 15 clubs in your bag, you will be breaking the USGA rules of golf. There are plenty of players that enjoy a round of golf on a Saturday morning with 15 clubs in their bag, but I’ve always found it best to follow the rules when you can.
Think about breaking 80 for the first time while having 15 clubs in the bag. Do you really want that to take away from it? Play the game according to the rules; it makes the victories a bit sweeter.
Final Thoughts (Are 13 Golf Clubs Enough?)
At this point, you should see that 13 golf clubs are enough. Even if you are a low-handicap player, it only makes sense to keep the clubs in your bag that you are actually going to use. I’m set with the 13 clubs for now, but when I make a change, I’ll be sure to let you know where I place the club in my bag.
