How Many Clubs Can You Have In A Golf Bag? (Plus 9 Other Beginner Questions Answered)

One of my favorite things about golf is that there’s always something new to learn, no matter how long you’ve been playing. This game is almost intimidating from an information standpoint. You have to live it for years to pick up on all the little things and I feel like the learning never really stops. Maybe that’s part of why I love it so much.

I put together 10 questions I’ve been asked recently by beginner golfers. As always, I’ve added a bit of my own instructional take on each one, so this isn’t just a list of definitions.

How many clubs can you carry in a golf bag?

You’re allowed up to 14 clubs in your bag under the rules of golf. There’s no minimum, so you can carry fewer if you want, but you can’t go over 14. This falls under Rule 4.1b which both the USGA and the R&A enforce.

For a beginner, this number matters less than you’d think early on. You’re not going to fill all 14 slots with clubs you know how to use right away and that’s fine. There’s plenty of time to build up to it.

What’s the most important club for a beginner to have in their bag?

To get started in golf, you’re going to need more than one club. But if you told me I could pick only one, I’d go with a 7-iron.

A 7-iron can hit some longer shots when you need it to, it’s useful around the green for bump-and-run shots, and it’s just a middle-of-the-road club for learning the game. It’s not too long to be intimidating and not too short to feel useless. If I had to teach someone golf with a single club, this is the one I’d hand them.

What clubs should a beginner golfer have in their bag?

I tested a handful of complete beginner golf sets this year and I go into a lot more detail on this here.

For a beginner bag, I think the most important pieces are a driver or 3-wood, a few irons, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge and a putter. I don’t love when beginner sets leave out the sand wedge. I also think a hybrid can be great and it often becomes a top choice for many beginners early on because it’s easy to get up in the air.

Do you have to carry all 14 clubs?

No. I played the last three years with 13 clubs and never felt like I needed a 14th. I only recently added one back and I’m not sure it’s staying.

Part of this comes down to swing speed. If you’re not generating enough clubhead speed, you’re not going to see 14 meaningfully different distances out of 14 clubs. Two or three of them will just be doing the same job. It’s not worth carrying clubs that are not benefiting your game.

Do you need a 3-wood if you already have a driver?

For a beginner, not necessarily. But I’d suggest looking at a 7-wood or 5-wood instead so you have something for longer fairway shots.

Hitting a fairway wood off the tee and hitting it off the ground are two different skills. You need to learn both and a higher-lofted fairway wood is a much easier place to start than a 3-wood.

Are hybrids easier to hit than long irons?

Absolutely. I wouldn’t suggest a beginner carry anything longer than a 5-iron and, for some, a 6-iron is the realistic limit.

The technology in a long iron is harder to work with. You need more clubhead speed and a cleaner strike to get the ball up and hit it any real distance. A hybrid does the same job with a lower center of gravity and a wider sole which makes it far more forgiving on a mishit. There’s no reason to make the game harder on yourself before you have to.

How many wedges should a beginner carry?

Two, at a minimum. That’s your pitching wedge and your sand wedge and you’re going to need both.

Three is better if you’ve got the room. If there’s a big gap between your pitching wedge and sand wedge, that’s when I’d add a gap wedge next. A lob wedge is great to have and I don’t think beginners should be overly scared of it once they learn the right technique but it can be the last one you add.

What’s the difference between a pitching wedge and a sand wedge?

A pitching wedge is your go-to for full and partial approach shots into the green. A sand wedge is built with more bounce and loft, so it works out of bunkers, but it’s also excellent for any shot around the green out of thick rough or grass. That “sand-only” reputation isn’t accurate despite the name.

Sand wedges give you more height on your shots around the green and, depending on the pin location, that can be useful.

Can you carry two putters in your golf bag?

Technically, yes. The second putter still counts toward your 14 but it’s not something I’d recommend or something you’ll see very often. One of the most important things about putting is consistency. Switching between putters makes it hard to maintain that consistency.