Recently I posted a question on Quora: What is the least number of golf clubs you need to have in your bag during a round of golf? And I got a couple of very interesting answers I thought good enough to share:

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There is no “minimum” for the amount of clubs in your bag, as long as you have fewer than 14 (the maximum allowed by the rules).

I have played in many events like a “Three Club Challenge” or even a “One Club Challenge”, and they are extremely fun. Choosing the club(s) before the round really makes you think.  In a three-club event, depending on the type of course, you might take, say, a hybrid (for off the tee, fairway shots and putting), 6-iron (for approaches, depending on your course) and a wedge (for bunkers, around the green, etc). The One-Club events are harder to choose, but I usually go with a 5-iron (although bunkers are tough to get out of with that!)

For a beginner, most sets usually have a Wood (Driver or 3-wood), a few irons (5, 7, W) and a putter.  But it is totally up to you, and how comfortable you are with your game (and the specific course)
~ From Richard Fellner, Editor of Inside Golf Magazine… 

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You can carry as many as 14 per the Rules of Golf, but there is no legal minimum. If you can get around 18 holes with a putter, wedge, and a 7-iron, good for you. ~ Mike Holovacs

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To keep it simple for beginners these are the essential clubs: Driver or fairway wood, 7 iron, Pitching wedge, Putter

There is no use carrying around long irons, a 7 iron will produce more repeatable shots. ~ Teddy Collins

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I am pretty new to golf, been playing just a couple of summers, but once I had a chance to play with a seasoned golfer who unexpectedly joined me for an early morning 9-hole round on a beautiful June morning. The elderly gentleman showed up with a pencil bag and just two clubs – iron 6 and a putter. I was carrying a driver, two hybrids, a bunch of irons and a putter, but I also played very badly, and after the 9th hole, I was the one buying the drinks. While we were enjoying the coffee he told me that when he was a beginner, he too had started with a bag full of clubs. And then as time went on he left clubs at home, one by one until in the end, he had just two. His handicap wasn’t that great, but he didn’t mind that, because for him it was “all about strolling in the park.”

I still carry a lot of clubs myself, but I have been a little less concerned about having so many after that day. ~ Reima Kallinen

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If you had to choose five clubs to carry for a round of golf… what would be in your bag? Add your comment below.