Starting a new adventure . . . Minimalist Golf

[g_nw]

7 hours ago, spud3 said:

The courses at Bandon are particularly well-suited for half-sets, given that the ball travels on the ground so well.  I play there a couple times a year, and tend to use a full bag for the morning rounds and a half set for the afternoons, which affords a much more casual approach to the courses, and often get to play solo.  It's my favorite way to play.

couldn’t agree more 🍻

[JAM01]

I’m back to minimal. Just looked at my bag about a month ago and it looked too dang heavy. I started to contemplate which clubs I pull regularly and figured I could get down to 8ish with out any score change. 
Driver- PXG Black Ops or Callaway AI smoke Max D

4 wood- PXG Black Ops

Irons - New Level GI22 6, 8, PW

wedges- New Level SPN 50 And 58

PXG Battle Ready 2 Bat Attack

 

and yes, I tapped out on the bag is set challenge. 

[Fiddlesticks]

Very excited to get out this weekend for my first two rounds with a half-set. I've wanted to try this for years (read this thread more times than I should admit) and finally got a bag setup.

 

Going to head out with:

Driver - Callaway Mavrik

7 Wood - Callaway Big Bertha

4/6/8/P - Maltby DBM at 24/32/40/48

Wedge - Maltby TSW 56*

Putter - Ping G2 Tess

Edited March 15, 2024 by Fiddlesticks

[aiyyer]

Love that 56* Maltby.

My set is identical almost. Driver, 4 wood, 4 hybrid, 4,6,8,P, G, 56, putter. 

Edited March 15, 2024 by aiyyer

[Tommy56]

19 hours ago, Fiddlesticks said:

Very excited to get out this weekend for my first two rounds with a half-set. I've wanted to try this for years (read this thread more times than I should admit) and finally got a bag setup.

 

Welcome to the minimalist club.  It can be a slippery slope however ... I went from 9 to 8 to 7 clubs, and been itching to go down to 6.  😀

[Thrummyfox]

After a long time where golf has had to fit behind everything else in planning a year of both full and minimalist nine holes. Neither of the courses I play in the uk summer are over long and provided wind not up planning going; 

G25 7 wood 

23 Titleist 618 h (seemed to have a slightly shorter than standard shaft

S56 7 and 9i 

Glide 4 Eye2 56

putter 

[WipeyFade]

10 hours ago, Tommy56 said:

Welcome to the minimalist club.  It can be a slippery slope however ... I went from 9 to 8 to 7 clubs, and been itching to go down to 6.  😀

My normal set is 7-8 clubs, but I drop down to 5 for my summer evening set. 

[goalie]

I can't wait to 4w, 5hy, 7i, 9i, 56*SW and putter this year.  

[goalie]

Last summer, teeing off as the first golfer at Perham Lakeside for a quick 9 before the family was up and about.

[Ivyguy]

16 hours ago, goalie said:

Last summer, teeing off as the first golfer at Perham Lakeside for a quick 9 before the family was up and about.

Cool picture. 

[goalie]

7 hours ago, Ivyguy said:

Cool picture. 

Thanks.  It was eye opening that my scores were about the same on that course whether I had my full bag or just 4w, 5hy, 7i, 9i, SW, putter.  

[Ivyguy]

16 hours ago, goalie said:

Thanks.  It was eye opening that my scores were about the same on that course whether I had my full bag or just 4w, 5hy, 7i, 9i, SW, putter.  

It’s a weird deal right?

 

Are my decisions better, or my game?

 

It’s kinda an Inception thing…. 

[Nickb333]

I’m going fully in on this. Well, fully semi fully…

 

D, 7w, 6-8-P 56, Putter. 
 

For most rounds that really seems like plenty of options. We’ll see. 

[stimpmeterp]

17 hours ago, Nickb333 said:

I’m going fully in on this. Well, fully semi fully…

 

D, 7w, 6-8-P 56, Putter. 
 

For most rounds that really seems like plenty of options. We’ll see. 

Swap the 7w for my hybrid and this is how I roll.  "evens shorty"

[Nickb333]

2 hours ago, stimpmeterp said:

Swap the 7w for my hybrid and this is how I roll.  "evens shorty"

Funny thing. I just pulled my 24*h and 4w in favor of the 7w. 
 

I may flop occasionally, but that 7w is pretty flexible for me. 

[BoloSportGolf]

I added a 9th club into the mix. Fringe benefits.

[Thrummyfox]

54 minutes ago, BoloSportGolf said:

I added a 9th club into the mix. Fringe benefits.

First thought was why would you do that, my idea of minimalism was to actually improve shot making and there you are adding an extra club for one (though regular) type of shot . 
 

then I thought whatever makes you happy and enjoy the game more. 

[ciscojaws]

Back on it:

TM Mini 300 13.5°

Ping G425 Max 7W

TM Gapr Mid 20.5°

Ping G425 6, 8, PW, UW

K-Sig 56°

Ping Anser

TM Tour Response

[WipeyFade]

1 minute ago, ciscojaws said:

Back on it:

TM Mini 300 13.5°

Ping G425 Max 7W

TM Gapr Mid 20.5°

Ping G425 6, 8, PW, UW

K-Sig 56°

Ping Anser

TM Tour Response

I have recently put a 7 wood back into play and play a very similar set up to you. Do you carry the 7 wood and Gapr at the same time or are the course dependent?

[ciscojaws]

47 minutes ago, WipeyFade said:

I have recently put a 7 wood back into play and play a very similar set up to you. Do you carry the 7 wood and Gapr at the same time or are the course dependent?

Same time.  The 7W is lofted down to 19° and the Gapr is set to match what the set 4i would be.  I do use one more than the other depending on the wind or course.

Edited March 23, 2024 by ciscojaws

[9ClubberLang]

What a great thread! I think I must have read it 2 or 3 times from start to finish over the course of the winter. Thanks to all that have contributed. So much joy for the game comes across in this thread. It's really great to read and has really helped my enthusiasm, getting back into the game after five years out. It's amazing to think that people are dotted all over the planet enjoying a golfing experience in a similar way that I do.

 

My full-set has only ever been 12 clubs anyway, but I've been playing a half-set through the winter and have really enjoyed how light the bag has been and the simplicity of club selection, slogging through a UK winter. Even having fewer clubs to clean after a round in the mud has been a huge benefit!

 

I've always had favourite clubs in the bag, and have been disappointed they weren't all favourites. So, I've decided to continue the minimalist adventure through the Spring/Summer. I think a 9 club bag is optimum for me, and hopefully they'll be 9 favourites, each with their own distinct role in the bag.

 

I'm going:

 

Driver - Driving Club

5 Wood (18 deg) - Fairway advancement and tight tee Club

4 Hybrid (22 deg) - A different head type for relevant lies Club

26.5 deg Iron - Longish Iron Club

33.5 deg Iron - Mid Iron Club

40 deg Iron - Short Iron/Chip & Run Club

48 deg Wedge - Greenside/Chipping/Pitching Club

56 deg Wedge - Sand/Short-sided Club

Putter - Putting Club

 

Knowing my course and strengths and weaknesses that seems to have me covered. I'm hopeful for a great summer playing this 9 club bag.

 

[goalie]

So, today we tried to go to a driving range with heated bays and top tracer, but they were closed due to the snow.  

 

We switched gears, went to a simulator, and played Oak Hill.

 

I had only brought Driver, 7w, 6hy, 7i, 9i and 52* to the range in my "driving range" stand bag.

 

I scored about the same as always tee to green, maybe a little better because my driver was in play all day.

 

Funny how that works.....

[freddy1682]

It may have been mentioned before, but I didn’t see it in my quick perusal. But has anyone ever tried the Linksoul Color Theory set? I had my hands on one years ago, and if it wasn’t for the “wedge”, I’d probably still have it (have never liked the look of Miura wedges). Something about saying “give me the purple” that just does it 🤣

[StephenJeffrey]

On 4/6/2024 at 7:02 AM, freddy1682 said:

It may have been mentioned before, but I didn’t see it in my quick perusal. But has anyone ever tried the Linksoul Color Theory set? I had my hands on one years ago, and if it wasn’t for the “wedge”, I’d probably still have it (have never liked the look of Miura wedges). Something about saying “give me the purple” that just does it 🤣

I’ve always like those and thought irons should be marked with actual lofts or something arbitrary like colors. I have different color ferrules on my halfset irons and can pull them from my bag based on that and don’t even look at the heads/iron numbers. 

[rkillian]

Well, I think I'm doing it... Committing to less than 14 clubs.

 

Through the vast majority of the winter I played only 6-8 clubs depending on what I took with me. I've played half sets before but not on a consistent basis. I've only picked up the game in the last 5 years so playing this way consistently for the winter has certainly taught me a few things; in no particular order:

• Take the longer club and hit a "shot" it's far more likely to work out than to try and smash the shorter club
• My scores stay about the same and in many cases are lower than my fullset rounds
• As someone who prefers to walk it's always nice to carry less weight
• When I have played my full set since a winter of the half set, I find myself choosing to club up and hit a more controlled shot vs trying to hit a number with the "right" club anyway. 
• Its fun, like really fun. It wouldn't be more fun to have 14 clubs with me.
• Most of my rounds (for various reasons) are on a shorter course and most are just 9 rounds
• I've gotten to the point were I can recognize and admit that my game is what it is given the amount of time I have or am willing to dedicate to it. A weak spot for me is the irons in the middle of the bag. The half set compliments my deficiencies there pretty well. 

So how does one "commit" to this then? Well, time to sell stuff off and essentially limit myself to less than 14. Before going back up to 14 clubs I played 12 for a while but this time the plan is to have just 10 for my "full set" and usually not even take all 10 out. Don't worry, I'll still tinker with stuff and keep the spare bag of random old clubs for the occasional guest. And of course the extra putter to swap out when the main one isn't behaving. But it's time to dive in... So here we go!

[Georgie Z]

1 hour ago, rkillian said:

Well, I think I'm doing it... Committing to less than 14 clubs.

 

Through the vast majority of the winter I played only 6-8 clubs depending on what I took with me. I've played half sets before but not on a consistent basis. I've only picked up the game in the last 5 years so playing this way consistently for the winter has certainly taught me a few things; in no particular order:

• Take the longer club and hit a "shot" it's far more likely to work out than to try and smash the shorter club
• My scores stay about the same and in many cases are lower than my fullset rounds
• As someone who prefers to walk it's always nice to carry less weight
• When I have played my full set since a winter of the half set, I find myself choosing to club up and hit a more controlled shot vs trying to hit a number with the "right" club anyway. 
• Its fun, like really fun. It wouldn't be more fun to have 14 clubs with me.
• Most of my rounds (for various reasons) are on a shorter course and most are just 9 rounds
• I've gotten to the point were I can recognize and admit that my game is what it is given the amount of time I have or am willing to dedicate to it. A weak spot for me is the irons in the middle of the bag. The half set compliments my deficiencies there pretty well. 

So how does one "commit" to this then? Well, time to sell stuff off and essentially limit myself to less than 14. Before going back up to 14 clubs I played 12 for a while but this time the plan is to have just 10 for my "full set" and usually not even take all 10 out. Don't worry, I'll still tinker with stuff and keep the spare bag of random old clubs for the occasional guest. And of course the extra putter to swap out when the main one isn't behaving. But it's time to dive in... So here we go!

My full set is also 10. When I ride I take all 10 and when I walk I leave a few irons behind. I score about the same either way.

[drn92]

Currently at 12. Would be relatively easy to get to 10. But I am also thinking about building a 9 club set as my full time bag this year. 
 

drn92

[Kmagnuss]

This whole minimalist golf thing seems interesting to me.  I'm going to try it.  But before I do, other than the weight savings while carrying/walking... what's the point?  If I'm using a push cart the extra weight of 6 more clubs isn't noticeable at all, so it really only makes sense to me if I'm actually carrying the bag... perfect sense.

 

Any other reasons to do it?

[Georgie Z]

1 minute ago, Kmagnuss said:

This whole minimalist golf thing seems interesting to me.  I'm going to try it.  But before I do, other than the weight savings while carrying/walking... what's the point?  If I'm using a push cart the extra weight of 6 more clubs isn't noticeable at all, so it really only makes sense to me if I'm actually carrying the bag... perfect sense.

 

Any other reasons to do it?

Other than the weight savings, you might play better by not carrying clubs you can’t hit well. Other than that, I don’t personally find any benefits.

[WipeyFade]

28 minutes ago, Kmagnuss said:

This whole minimalist golf thing seems interesting to me.  I'm going to try it.  But before I do, other than the weight savings while carrying/walking... what's the point?  If I'm using a push cart the extra weight of 6 more clubs isn't noticeable at all, so it really only makes sense to me if I'm actually carrying the bag... perfect sense.

 

Any other reasons to do it?

I play a half set for the weight savings, but also it makes golf more fun for me. I haven't put more than 8 clubs in the bag in over 2 years and the less clubs I carry, the more fun I have. But, in saying that I'm not a score obsessed golfer either. I keep some sort of score most rounds, but a low score is not the source of my enjoyment. I really enjoy going to the course and hitting shots that I have to manufacture. It's mostly about the fun factor for me.