Xander Schauffele tells amateur golfers the club which they should never put in their bag

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Xander Schauffele has offered some very strong advice for amateur golfers regarding the make-up of their bags.

Schauffele is one of the best players on the PGA Tour and, in fact, the world.

The 31-year-old Californian won two majors in 2024, but injury at the start of the season meant that he struggled to rediscover that form in 2025.

Schauffele has admitted to overthinking when addressing the ball this season, and his form has been so underwhelming that he even missed out on the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake.

However, in spite of that, he is still one of the very best players in the world, and he’ll be back next season.

One thing’s for sure, if he is offering advice to amateur golfers, they should listen to him.

Xander Schauffele tells amateurs the club they should never put in their bag

Schauffele is one of the best ball-strikers in the business.

Yet even he has dropped the longest iron out of his bag in order to put another fairway wood in.

And he has advised amateur golfers to do the same.

The world number three was asked to name the club that no amateur should be using.

Schauffele said: “Oh, a three-iron. It shouldn’t be in the bag. A lot of pros don’t even use a three-iron.

“You need speed to get it up in the air, there are hybrids and utility woods and seven-woods out there that are way easier to hit. Three-iron you can’t hit out of the rough, seven-wood you can or hybrid you can.“

The reason why seven-woods are easier to hit than three-irons

Seven-woods have a lower centre of gravity than long irons, and that enables players to get the ball in the air quicker.

The best way to hit high, soaring long iron shots is by generating speed, and lots of it.

That’s straightforward for the best players in the world, but it’s simply not possible for average amateur golfers.

The other bonus of using a utility club rather than a long iron is that miss-hits come off the face far more consistently.

Schauffele’s advice about adding another fairway wood to the bag should be heeded by every single amateur in world golf as far as I’m concerned.

If there are clubs out there which make the game easier for amateurs, then why not use them?