What 'Less Club' or 'Take Less Club' Means in Golf

Golfers sometimes use the term "less club" out on the course, speaking about themselves or other golfers, perhaps in expressions such as "you need less club" or "I'm taking one less club this time." What those terms all mean is that the golfer needs or is going to switch to a golf club that produces less distance.

If you need "less club," you need a golf club that hits the ball a shorter distance. Maybe you face a 130-yard approach shot into the green, and you pull an 8-iron out of your bag. But your buddy, whose been playing golf with you for years and knows your distances, thinks an 8-iron is too much. "Are you sure you want to hit that 8-iron? I think you need less club," he might gently suggest. You realize, d'oh, what was I thinking? You might fly the green with that 8-iron, so you switch to your 9-iron instead.

And, by the way, asking "is that too much club?" is another way to ask, "do you need less club?" And the opposite of "less club" is "more club."

One thing about "less club" that can be confusing to newbies is that taking less club means reaching for a club with a higher number: replacing the 8-iron with the 9-iron as in the example above, for instance. The clubs in our bags are numbered, from "1" for the longest-hitting (driver) to "9" for the shortest hitting numbered club, the 9-iron. (Even shorter-hitting wedges, such as the pitching wedge or sand wedge, typically aren't numbered like the rest of the clubs.)

If you switch from a 7-iron to an 8-iron, you've taken less club. If you need a 4-hybrid instead of a 3-hybrid, that's less club. If you should have hit a pitching wedge when you actually overhit your target with a 9-iron, you needed less club.

More definitions:

• The fivesome (and why some golf courses don't allow them)
• The waggle: what it is, why golfers do it
• Golf's Sunday bag and how it got its name