Joel Dahmen Penalized Four Strokes For Carrying 15 Clubs

Joel Dahmen was penalized four strokes during round one of the Shriners Children's Open after he discovered that there were 15 clubs in his bag.

The age old rule states that players must carry a maximum of 14 clubs in their bag, and Dahmen realized he had one more than the rules allowed on his 4th hole.

It meant he had to add two shots on to each of his first two holes, with the penalty being two strokes for each hole he carried 15 clubs with a maximum of four strokes. That turned his par-par start into back-to-back double-bogeys, which dropped him to four-over-par for the round.

According to former PGA Tour pro and current NBC analyst Smylie Kaufman, it was Dahmen's 4-iron that was the rogue 15th club.

It reminds us of Ian Woosnam's infamous mistake in 2001 when he also discovered a 15th club in his bag, coming on the 2nd hole of the Open Championship final round at Royal Lytham and St Annes after birdieing the 1st to tie the lead. It cost him two strokes and saw him ultimately end up four back of David Duval.

Luckily for Dahmen, the rules error didn't come in as big a moment as the former World No.1 but his four stroke penalty leaves him plenty of work to do to make the cut. The 2021 Corales Puntacana Championship winner is currently struggling for form with just one top-10 this year and is on a run of four missed cuts in his last seven tournaments.

He is right on the 125 bubble in the FedEx Cup fall and needs a strong showing over the next four tournaments, not including this week, to secure his card for 2025, otherwise he'll only have conditional status.

Dahmen turned in five-over-par to trail leader Taylor Pendrith by 15 strokes.

What is the Rule for carrying 15 clubs?

Golfers can carry a maximum of 14 clubs in their bag. Once you discover you have breached the rule, you must immediately take the excess club out of play.

The penalty for carrying 15 clubs:

Penalty in Stroke Play: Two strokes, with a maximum of four strokes

You get the general penalty (two penalty strokes) for each hole where a breach happened, with a maximum of four penalty strokes in the round (adding two penalty strokes at each of the first two holes where a breach happened).

The procedure for taking a club out of play is as follows:

When you become aware during a round that you have more than 14 clubs, you must immediately take an action that clearly indicates each club that you are taking out of play, with the USGA suggesting advising another player or turning the club upside down in your bag.

A breach in match play is a match adjustment penalty, where the score is revised by deducting one hole for each hole where a breach happened, with a maximum deduction of two holes in the round

Read more on Rule 4 - The Player's Equipment.