If you are thinking of taking up golf as your next hobby, there are a few rules you need to know. Golf is a great sport and is enjoyed by people from various age groups and cultures. While hitting a ball into a hole may seem simple, there are far more rules than you might realise at first glance. Beginners need to learn the more minor rules of golf as well as the more significant parts of the game. Teachers can often overlook these minor rules causing beginners to develop bad golfing habits early on.
Here are a few rules to consider about how many golf clubs you can carry in your bag.
1. You can gather 14 clubs in your bag
The United States Golf Association outlines that a golfer can carry no more than 14 clubs in their bag. Rule No.4 in the Rules of Golf dictates the equipment a player needs during a round. You must use conforming clubs and balls, restrict equipment that offers artificial help and avoid replacing any damaged or lost clubs. However, there are no specific rules about the type of clubs you must include in your set. Moreover, you can buy Australian made golf buggies for sale to help you carry golf clubs.
2. There is no minimum number of clubs
You can carry a putter, three kinds of wood (a driver, 3-wood and 5-wood), and eight irons (including 3-9 iron and a pitching wedge). There is only a maximum number of clubs that you can carry in golf and no minimum. If you don’t own the complete golf set yet, you can head onto the course with one club.
3. The history of golf
In history, pro golfers played tournaments with a staggering 20-25 clubs. However, hickory-shafted clubs and steel-shafted clubs are not as effective for making shots as other kinds of golf clubs. So, professional golfers would take additional clubs, like an extra steel-shafted club, to improve their array of shot-making alternatives.
4. Adding clubs
You can add clubs to your bag throughout the round without receiving a penalty. Your bag must remain under 14. If you started a round with 12 clubs, for example, you could go on to add two more during the game.
If you have over 14 clubs in your bag, you will incur two strokes for each hole where you had too many clubs. For example, if you have 15 clubs for two holes, you will receive a four-stroke penalty. However, four strokes is the maximum penalty for breaking this particular rule. You must immediately tell the other plays which club you are removing from the game by turning it upside down in your bag.
Always check your bag before you start playing a game, and make sure you have 14 clubs or fewer.
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