Will new golf equipment ever make it right?

It's interesting to reflect on famous golfers throughout the ages and their view of their equipment, and how important it was to fine tune it.

In his early days as a youngster Lee Trevino reputedly successfully made money challenging good golfers to play him. But for Mr. Trevino's part he only used a 2 iron.

My own hero Jack Nicklaus was recently quite dismissive of the importance of tuned golf equipment when critisising a prodigee of his who had blamed his equipment. Mr Nicklaus effectively said that he played different manufacturers' equipment in different countries and adapted to it.

Mr. Nicklaus did however have his preferences - his irons were 0.50" less than standard and his iron heads were quite large for their time.

Eighteen months ago I flew back from Sweden with former world longdrive champion Joe Miller and Joe's view (which I don't share) was that equipment doesn't matter in the slightest. One simply needs a great swing, massive gym. work, and great food / supplements!

On the other hand Ben Hogan was an intense fiddler with both his woods and irons. His constant adjustments were numerous and such included drilling holes in his persimmons in order to add weight, and grinding and re-grinding numerous sets of irons. His own irons which were recently auctioned were a mixed set. I suspect however that clubs may have got mixed up over the years. I have no evidence that he actually carried mixed clubs.

Most successful tour players certainly, via the tour van or whatever, certainly mess with their clubs from time to time. I personally suspect that most amateur golfers tend to change clubs rather than adjust what they have. It's easier. It may not be as effective but for most golfers wallet pain is easier to bear than thinking, research and effort.

So will changing golf clubs ever help a typical amateur golfer?

Most definitely less, but not necessarily primarily due to equipment technicalities.

One of the major keys to being successful in any sport is to be both confident and bold. If new equipment induces that state of mind then maybe the investment was worth it?

Everyone to their own view. When I crave for a great meal I don't seek a cook or a wife but a restaurant. There's much to be said for making the best out of what one has.

But acquiring new equipment can be exciting. Try watching the movie 'The Joneses' on YouTube. Well worth a watch.

I have been playing with the same irons for 25 years. And only got better.

I go along very much with your statement regarding the mental attitude, i.e. being bold and confident is a major factor in sporting success. Of course, that confidence must be coupled with some level of realistic ability, but belief in one's tools is a must in my opinion. Manufacturers are very clever in undermining our belief in our present clubs and our need to update to their latest wonder tool. I have had my clubs for ten years now and know what I can and can't do with them. That familiarity is a big confidence factor for me.