When you’re a beginner, you may be happy with that ancient, dusty bag you found in the corner of your garage. It likely includes some sort of miscellaneous irons, woods (maybe even made from real wood) and a driver that probably has a dent or two.
Once you invest in that new bag and start looking at some shiny irons, however, you might have to start strategizing for what clubs you want in your bag. And that leads to a bigger question — many many golf clubs can you actually have in your golf bag?
How Many Clubs Are Allowed in A Golf Bag?
In general, when you’re just out on the course with your friends, you can have as many clubs in your bag as you want. Three drivers, four putters, two seven irons — anything is game. Once you get out of that casual atmosphere, though, there are strict rules on the number of clubs you can carry.
How Many Golf Clubs Are Pros Allowed to Use?
According to the United States Golfing Association, you can have no more than 14 clubs in your bag during a round. You may start a round with fewer than 14 clubs. You’re also allowed to add clubs up to that limit during the round.
What Types of Clubs Are Allowed?
The rules of golf don’t specify exactly what clubs you’re allowed to have in your bag. Though they should conform to the standards set forth in the rules, you can have any assortment of clubs that you want. If you want an extra nine iron in your bag for some reason, feel free to bring it along for the round.
What’s the Least Amount of Clubs You Can Carry?
There is no minimum number of clubs you can have in your bag at one time.
Rule #4 states that the maximum number of clubs you can have is 14, which means anything less than that is fair game. Technically speaking, you could play an entire round with a putter if you really wanted. If you’re on a cold streak, this might not be such a bad idea.
Is There a Penalty For Carrying Too Many Clubs?
There’s a two-stroke penalty per hole for carrying more than 14 clubs in your bag. That means if you don’t notice you have more than 14 clubs until the second hole, you’ll be docked four strokes. The maximum penalty is four strokes, so even if you discover you’ve been carrying 14 clubs on the 16th hole, it’s the same penalty if you’d forgotten on the second hole.
It also matters at which point you discover you have too many clubs. If you notice you have 15 clubs in the middle of a hole, you add the strokes at the end of the hole. If it’s between holes, the strokes are counted on your previous hole’s score.
Once you notice you’re carrying too many clubs, don’t panic — just alert the other players you’re with and turn the extra club upside down in your bag.
In a pro tournament, two strokes are a lot, so caddies and golfers should always make sure they have the correct number of clubs in a bag.
One golfer that knows this rule all too well is Ian Woosnam, who was on his way to winning the 2001 British Open when disaster struck.
The Club That Killed Woosnam
Woosnam entered Sunday as the co-leader of golf’s oldest championship. He started off hot, nearly acing his first tee shot and finishing with a birdie to put him in the sole lead. They came to the second tee, and then Miles Byrne — Woosnam’s caddie — unearthed a terrible discovery. There were two drivers in Woosnam’s bag.
Woosnam erupted, flinging the extra driver across the tee box into the weeds. He was docked two strokes and fell behind in the final round of the British Open. That penalty put him in a tie for 6th. He finished the tournament in third place.
Apparently, Woosnam had been practicing on the tee box with two drivers. Byrne thought someone had already taken out the extra driver and taken it to the locker room. It was too late before he noticed they were both still in the bag.
Akin to a Greek tragedy, “The Club That Killed Woosnam” is a story that will haunt pro golfers for centuries.
Can You Add Clubs During a Round?
If you start under the minimum of 14 clubs, you’re allowed to add clubs during a round of golf. As long as your clubs abide by the typical rules of golf, you can add a putter, driver or iron.
What Happens If You Lose or Break A Club During a Round?
If your club disappears into the rough or you wrap an eight-iron around a tree, there are some specific rules you have to follow. Under a relatively new rule, you are allowed to keep a damaged club, even if the club was damaged in anger. Previously, players would not be allowed to a club if they bent it in fury.
Referees were finding it increasingly hard to define exactly what an unusable club was, so this rule smooths things over. You cannot replace that damaged club, however, unless it is damaged by outside forces.
Natural occurrences or a rabid fan who jumps the ropes and breaks your sand wedge in half would be examples of outside forces. As long as you or your caddie wasn’t involved with the breaking of your club, you are allowed to replace it.
Interestingly, if you swing your driver and the shaft comes flying off, this does count as the club being damaged during the natural course of play. In that case, you are able to replace your club.
There was a great example of this in June 2021 at the Travelers Championship, when Bubba Watson swung and his iconic pink driver head when hurling through the air. The shaft didn’t hit anyone, and Watson’s drive went 295 yards. He finished the hole with a birdie and was allowed to replace his club.
Can You Use Another Player’s Club?
You are not allowed to use another’s club during a round of golf. In both match and stroke play, partners can carry their clubs in the same bag, as long as the total number of clubs in the bag is 14 or less and each club is clearly defined to each player.
How Many Clubs Should I Carry During A Golf Round?
Ultimately, the number of clubs you carry will depend on what medium you’re playing. If you’re teeing off on the first hole at Augusta, you better not have more than 14 clubs in your bag. If it’s a lazy Sunday with your buddies on the local municipal course, having an extra club or two isn’t going to hurt anybody — unless someone is a real rule stickler.
Just remember — 14 is the magic number.