Are Golfers Allowed To Switch Clubs After Nine Holes?

Some golfers like to tinker with their equipment and will have different options to go to throughout the bag. They might have different drivers depending on the ball flight they want to see.

Perhaps a player has a couple of sets of irons that deliver a different feel depending on turf conditions, the same might be said for utility clubs and wedges.

Most golfers have at least a couple of putters lurking in the back of their garage that are given an outing when a favoured flatstick starts underperforming.

There is of course, nothing to stop golfers from selecting different clubs to use every time they go out, if they make the switch before they start playing a round.

You are not required to stick by one set of clubs for your entire golfing career!

But what if you’re having a particularly bad day on the fairways and you think a club, or multiple clubs you have taken out that round are to blame? Can you make a change? Are golfers allowed to switch clubs after nine holes?

First of all – Is it a counting round? If you aren’t playing a competition or for your handicap, then the answer is yes. You can do what you want. If the car park or locker room is right there at the turn, you can go and ditch your bag and play the back nine with a fully different set.

You shouldn’t do this if it’s going to hold up the course, but if you’re just having a knock about and want to test out different bats on the back nine, and it’s feasible from a timing perspective to make a change, go for it.

But if you are playing a counting round or competition, things are a little different. Can you switch clubs then? The answer is, generally, no.

Rule 4.1 deals with the clubs you take out for a round. You are allowed a maximum of 14 of them and those are the ones you have for the duration.

Except – If you accidentally damage a club on the way round. If, for instance, you hit a tree when making a swing and the club bends or snaps. Rule 4.1a(2) says you can repair or replace it.

When you do this though, you must not unduly delay play. So, you couldn’t break a wedge on the 3^rd then walk a mile back to the clubhouse to get a replacement. That would be unduly delaying play.

You can’t replace a damaged club if you have damaged it in anger. If you have snapped a putter over your knee in frustration, you can’t go get another one after nine holes.

You also can never borrow a club from someone else playing in the competition. So you can’t swap your set with your playing partner if you fancy a change. You can’t switch clubs with a playing partner after nine holes.

If you start a round with fewer than 14 clubs, you can add clubs up to a total of 14 during the round (again if play is not unduly delayed. And, again, you can’t borrow one from someone in the competition.)

And it’s important to note that if you lose a club during a round, you can’t replace it.

The answer to the question then, are golfers allowed to switch clubs after nine holes? The Rules say that, in competition, the only time you can switch one or more of your 14 clubs midway through the round is if you have accidentally damaged it, or them.

Otherwise – if you have 14 to begin with - you’re stuck with what you started with for the duration of your round.