So you have made your plans for your perfect golf break, whether it’s a few rounds and some beers with the boys in the Algarve or a week long break for two in the luxurious surroundings of Dubai, every golfer is going to face the same dilemma – what golf clubs should I put in my golf bag?
This might not be something you’ve thought about yet given the other things to consider when planning a golf holiday such as travel insurance and exchanging currency. However it’s definitely worth having a review of what’s in your bag before you check them in at the airport as it might make that all important difference of a birdie rather than a bogey.
So before we profile what might be appropriate it’s worth re-capping on what the actual rules are on golf clubs and it’s actually fairly simple – you can have 14 clubs in your bag. That’s it. There are no restrictions on how many of any type of club you can have, so it is possible to fit in all your favourite drivers in one bag if you wanted to! Just ensure it is just 14 clubs because any additional results in a two stroke penalty per hole.
The Golf Club Basics
Everyone is going to need a driver and a putter – the only reason this wouldn’t be the case is if you were on some pitch and putt style course but if you are reading this then that’s unlikely to be you!
Beyond this, you might want to consider taking your trusty three wood for shorter Par 4’s off the tee where accuracy is required. So we have a driver, putter, three wood from the fourteen slots available – we now need to add in our irons from 6 to PW which is now five additional clubs, taking it to eight.
Now we are coming to the point of selecting clubs for different course types so now is a good opportunity to see what courses you have chosen or are looking to play on your golfing holiday – check the course yardage and the variation of Par’s on each of the holes.
The Clubs For Different Course Types
Winding back the clock twenty years, adding in six other clubs might have been a more straight forward decision but the creation of the hybrid club has now provided options. No long are four and five irons and a five wood the obvious conclusion – hybrids are often easier clubs to hit rather than the irons so higher handicappers and beginners to the game may benefit from sticking one in their bag. It can cover a range of distances and could potentially free you up for other clubs to take.
However if you are interested in having private tuition at one of the many Academies across the major golf resorts and you want to improve the range of clubs you use, then maybe drop the hybrid and push yourself with the irons.
Let’s assume you have settled on three long clubs and two different wedges, then you should have one more slot available to you. If you are playing a long course such as Andratx Golf course in Mallorca which features the longest Par 5 in Spain then you should definitely consider more ‘big’ clubs.
Alternatively if you are playing a shorter course, like the Poniente course at Melia Villaitana in Benidorm which is a par 62 with a length of just 3674m where you are going to be playing in and around the greens a lot more then an additional wedge maybe the way to go.
Our advice would be to pack more than 14 clubs on your holiday and tweak the final 14 that you actually put in the bag whilst away depending on what course you are playing that day. If you are staying on a resort with golf on site this might not be required, especially if you are familiar with it but if you are playing multiple courses in a new country this is certainly something to consider.
Any other tips you would like to share with us? Put them in the comments below…
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September 15, 2018
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