7 Wood Mafia

How a chest injury accidentally turned me into a minimalist golfer.

THE EVIDENCE:

• Player: 15-handicap golfer
• Location: Cobble Creek
• Playing clubs: 30-degree hybrid and 48-degree wedge
• Putter: Also in the bag, obviously.
• Score: 42 (+6)
• Nine holes. Two playing clubs.

THE SETUP

This whole thing started because I got hurt.

I suffered a chest injury while working, and it changed the way I could swing a golf club. I couldn't swing hard, and I was especially cautious about taking divots. I didn't want to aggravate the injury by hitting down into the ground with an iron.

So I started looking at the clubs in my bag a little differently.

I had a 30-degree hybrid that wasn't even really part of my regular club rotation. I hadn't been using it much. But it was easy to hit, launched the ball high, and didn't require me to take a big divot.

So I started using it.

Then I decided to simplify things even further. I took my 30-degree hybrid, my 48-degree wedge, and my putter out for nine holes.

No driver. No fairway woods. No traditional irons. Just two clubs to play the course and a putter to finish the job.

I wasn't trying to prove anything. I was just trying to play without hurting myself.

THE RESULTS

I shot a 42, six over par.

Four pars. Four bogeys. One double bogey.

Not exactly a round for the PGA Tour, but pretty respectable considering I had two clubs doing almost all the work.

The 30-degree hybrid became the workhorse. Tee shots, approaches, longer shots around the course. It did just about everything I needed it to do.

The 48-degree wedge handled the shorter shots and approaches.

And the funny thing? I never really felt like I was missing much.

There were opportunities to score even better. I missed three putts from around five feet, and a couple of other shots could have gone differently.

But that's golf. You're never going to play a perfect round.

THE ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY

Here's what I didn't expect.

That 30-degree hybrid, a club that wasn't even in my regular rotation, started becoming one of the most dependable clubs in my bag.

It was forgiving. It launched high. Even when I didn't make perfect contact, I could usually get a playable result.

And because I wasn't trying to swing hard, I started finding a smoother, more repeatable swing.

I began to realize that I was making golf easier on myself.

I wasn't standing over every shot wondering which of fourteen clubs I should use. I knew what I had, I knew what it could do, and I just played.

An injury that forced me to simplify my game might have accidentally taught me how to play it better.

THE SEVEN WOOD MAFIA PHILOSOPHY

Here's where I think there's something bigger to learn.

I'm not saying everyone should throw away half their clubs. If you can hit your driver consistently and it gives you an advantage, absolutely play it.

But if you can't trust it, why build your game around it?

Go to the range. Practice with one club. Learn what it actually does. Figure out your normal distance, your typical ball flight, and what happens when you don't hit it perfectly.

Then take those dependable shots to the course.

I'd rather have a predictable 175-yard shot than an occasional 220-yard shot that gets me into trouble.

I'd rather have a club that gives me a reasonable next shot than one that occasionally produces something spectacular but costs me strokes the rest of the time.

You don't need every shot in golf. You need enough reliable shots to play golf.

THE VERDICT

Can a 15-handicap golfer shoot 42 with two clubs?

Apparently, yes.

Would I recommend everyone play with two clubs? Probably not.

But I do think there's something to be learned from simplifying your game.

Find the clubs you trust. Learn the shots you own. Keep the ball in play. Give yourself a chance to score.

And if you're a one-trick pony, be a damn good one.

Funny how an injury, a club I hardly ever used, and a little experiment turned into an entirely different way of looking at golf.

SEVEN WOOD MAFIA

Play your game. Not theirs.