Ian Woosnam's 15th Club: Check Your Bag Before the 1st Tee

On the final day of the 2001 Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, Ian Woosnam nearly holed his tee shot on the 1st and tapped in for birdie. On the 2nd tee, his caddie found a spare driver in the bag. That made 15 clubs, one over the limit, and it cost two shots. The beginner lesson: a ten-second bag check before you start saves you a headache later.

Even the greats: the extra driver

Woosnam, a former Masters champion, started Sunday sharing the lead. Royal Lytham is unusual because its first hole is a par 3, and his tee shot finished about six inches from the cup. Birdie, and a share of the lead again.

Then, on the 2nd tee, his caddie Miles Byrne looked in the bag. Woosnam had tried two drivers on the practice range, and both had ended up in the bag. "You're going to go ballistic," Byrne told him. "We have 15 clubs."

The rules allow 14. Woosnam called the penalty, two shots, and took the extra driver out of play. His birdie on the 1st became a bogey. He said later he "felt like I'd been kicked in the teeth," but he kept going, shot level-par 71, and finished tied for third. He also stood by his caddie afterward.

Here's the gentle part of the story: no one did anything sneaky. A club from the warm-up just never made it back to the car.

Your first-nine lesson: a calm bag check

You'll probably never get near 14 clubs. With The First 9 Method, you carry a putter, a 52° wedge and a 56° wedge, plus an alignment stick for practice. But the habit Woosnam's caddie wished he'd had is worth borrowing, because it's really about starting calm.

• Before the 1st tee, glance in your bag. Three clubs, balls, tees, towel, water. Ten seconds.
• Leave practice extras behind. If you borrowed a club on the range, hand it back before you head out.
• In a casual round, nobody's counting clubs. Under the official rules, the alignment stick is for warming up and practice, not for lining up on the course, so it can rest in the bag.
• If you spot a mistake mid-round, just say so. Woosnam did, took his two shots and played on.

Our first-tee checklist has a calm night-before and at-the-course list, and our golf rules for beginners guide covers the few rules that matter for your first nine.

Related guides and stories

• Beginner golf first-tee checklist (calm version)
• Golf rules for beginners: the ones that matter on your first nine
• More “even the greats” stories
• Start here

Sources

• The Open (official), "130th Open, Royal Lytham & St Annes 2001"
• BBC Sport, "Woosnam sticks by caddie," July 2001
• The Guardian, "Gentleman's agreement that wrecked Open dream," July 24, 2001
• The Independent, "Woosnam can forgive caddie's 'ultimate sin'"
• The R&A, Rules of Golf, Rule 4.1b (limit of 14 clubs; two penalty strokes per hole of breach, maximum four in stroke play) and Rule 4.3a(6)

Facts are taken from the official and news sources above. Players are named with respect; no player photos or video are used on this page.