Why Fourteen Clubs?

Rule 4-4 states: The player must start a stipulated round with not more than 14 clubs.  He is limited to the clubs thus selected for that round except that, if he started with fewer than 14 clubs, he may add any number provided his total number does not exceed 14.  Why fourteen?  Why not five, ten or even fifteen?

Actually, the number was devised quite arbitrarily and came into effect in 1938.  Lawson Little, winner of back-to-back British Amateur Championships in 1934 and 1935, reputedly carried up to thirty-one clubs in his bag.  Robert Harris, chairman of the Golf Ball Sub-committee of the R&A, suggested that matters were getting out of hand and that the number of clubs needed to be regulated.  Harris proposed fourteen, and that's the number the R&A and USGA agreed to.

More Than Fourteen Clubs

What if a player starts with more than fourteen clubs?  A player who begins his round with more than 14 clubs is in breach of Rule 4-4a.  Upon discovering the breach, the player must declare the excess club(s) out of play.  The penalty then depends on what form of game is being played.

In stroke play, the player incurs a two-stroke penalty for each hole at which he breached the Rule.  However, there is a maximum penalty of four strokes for the round.

In match play, it’s a little trickier.  The penalty is applied by adjusting the state of the match by deducting one hole for each hole at which the breach occurred.  The maximum deduction is two holes per round.  For example - if a player loses the first two holes of a match and then discovers he has more than 14 clubs in his bag, the match is adjusted by deducting one hole for each hole at which a breach occurred.  The player would be down 4 after 2 holes.  Ouch!!  

Too Few

Should a player start with fewer than fourteen clubs, it’s not an issue.  At any time during the round the player is entitled to add any number of clubs, provided the total number does not exceed fourteen.  However, in doing so, the player must not unduly delay play and the player must not add or borrow any club selected for play by anyone else playing on the course.

Damaged Clubs

If a club is damaged in the normal course of play - which means reasonable acts related to playing but specifically excludes cases of abuse - the player has three options: 1) Use the club in its damaged state; 2) repair the club; 3) if the club is unfit for play, replace it.  Acts that are considered in the “normal course of play” include: removing or replacing the club in the bag; leaning on the club while waiting to play; or damage sustained during a practice swing.   

When a club becomes damaged other than in the normal course of play, rendering it non-conforming or changing its playing characteristics, the player cannot use the club for the remainder of the round and is not permitted to replace it.  The penalty for continuing to use the club – disqualification.  Acts that are not considered in the “normal course of play” include: throwing the club; slamming it on the ground; or intentionally striking something.   

Fourteen Forever?

No Rule of Golf is carved in stone and the fourteen-club limit is no exception.  In his later years, Robert Harris stated of his fourteen club proposal, “It is now apparent that fourteen is too many – these debates with caddies regarding digits, when the player is afraid of the shot, are slowing the game.” 

When Francis Ouimet won the US Open in 1913, his caddie, 10-year-old Eddie Lowery, carried only seven clubs.  Perhaps, Francis was telling us something.

For more information on clubs or any Rule of Golf, or to purchase a copy of The Rules of Golf or The Decisions on the Rules of Golf, log on to the RCGA website at www.rcga.org.