One pathway to fearless golf: play with 4 clubs

I’ve always enjoyed the chance to play a round of golf with only 4 clubs. Playing with 4 clubs forces a lot of creative shot making.  I’ve definitively learned something about hitting a 7 iron from anywhere inside 100 years -a shot well worth having on windy days, on links-style courses, and when you have to keep the ball under tree limbs.  Maybe I’ll hit a 4 hybrid from 30 yards o a long uphill tight lie apron, or from 120 yards – another great shot to have on windy days or from gnarly rough.  Often I forego the driver altogether and tee off with a 7 wood off the turf- a club that I sometimes feel uncomfortable with – all the more reason to get out there and play it.  

Playing with 4 clubs certainly removes the burden of scoring expectations (one of the worst enemies we have to learn to recognize and supplant) and encourages me to swing freely and fearlessly, because when you’re playing with 4 clubs – who cares?   No expectation of score, freedom, and fearless swings are all qualities that we desperately desire in our “normal” rounds of golf.  

One thing I definitely noticed during my 4-club rounds if how much fun I was having, which is sometimes missing from a standard mid-season round, with the seductions of scoring, matches, and judgements.  Once that full set of clubs comes out, years of conditioning lock us into a more restricted mind set.  Instead of the freedom of the 85-yard 7 iron, we try to mechanically  “duplicate” our standard shots.  In our restricted mind set it is challenging to engage with that freedom, fluid, fearless, and free golf swing.   

So, to get in touch with the sense of freedom and innovation (something we all inherently possess),  I propose taking out a 4-club set more often.  See how relaxed and playing you become and allow yourself to try more creative shot-making.  It’s a relief sometimes to play with little at stake.   When you get back to your full-set rounds, and you are not in that wonderful free and creative state of mind, ask yourself “Where did it go?  Where is it right now?”  

Using only 4 clubs you will find that you have to call upon something new and your familiar golf course itself takes on a freshness that can be lost from repeated “standard” play.  By moving out of our usual way of doing things we create different physical and mental perspectives.  There is a lot you will discover about your game and yourself when you plan a 4-club round to escape from the confines of your routine.  A 4-club round is a sure fire road to golf performance enhancement. Now, if only we can learn to adopt that same creative approach to discover new perspectives in our day-to-day life.