This is The Most Important Club in Your Golf Bag

The legendary Ben Hogan believed that the most important club in your bag was the "driver, putter, and wedge, in that order."

Famous instructor, Harvey Penick, who reported those words in his acclaimed Little Red Book, declared that he shared Hogan's view, but placed the putter ahead of the driver.

But what do everyday golfers themselves think? Golfshake's Derek Clements shares his thoughts.

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(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

I have just been custom-fitted for two new fairway woods. They were not cheap but I know that my game will benefit from having them in the bag.

It means that I have now been fitted for every club in my bag. 

A friend has just splashed out on a new driver. It cost him a mouth-watering £545. I was staggered when he told me that he had bought it "off the shelf". It makes no sense to me. None whatsoever. Why on earth would you spend all that money on a club that may not suit your swing?

More than that, why would you spend all that money on a club you will almost certainly use no more than 14 times in any round? 

What is The Most Important Golf Club in Your Bag?

It got me thinking about what we should be regarding as the most important club in the bag. We recently polled golfers on social media and 59.3% of them said that the putter was the most vital tool in their arsenal.

One of the personal benefits I got from having my irons custom-fitted is that I ended up with a 52-degree and 58-degree wedge that were made for my game. The flop shots I used to find so difficult to play are now routine. If I have to fly a short shot over a bunker I now have no fear. 

My driver was fitted to my swing. I don’t hit it as far as I used to but, generally speaking, I hit it straight. I changed my fairway woods because I wasn’t happy with the ball flight I was achieving. All of a sudden, I am now hitting towering shots with my three wood. It is years since I was last able to achieve that.

I also carry two hybrids. They replaced my three and four irons, two clubs I struggled to hit properly as I got older. I love hybrids because I think they are the easiest club in the bag to hit. And you can use them from both the fairway and the rough. I have even been known to reach for them from fairway bunkers.

Here’s another thought for you - if you go to a fitting session you should ask the pro to recommend the best golf ball for your swing speed and flight. There is a mind-boggling choice, with a huge array of price tags. Using the ball that best suits your game is going to help you improve. 

Why The Putter is Number One

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Having made a case for most clubs, there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that the most important one in my bag is the putter.

Just think about it for a second. It is the only club you know for certain that you are going to hit on every hole (unless you are lucky enough to hole an approach or a chip shot). It is the club that, more than any other in the bag, can make or break your score.

I recently played three successive rounds without a single three-putt and the one thing that each round had in common was that I bettered my handicap.

Why Don't More Golfers Get a Putter Fitting?

So here is the thing that really puzzles me. Why is it that so many club golfers are prepared to spend hundreds of pounds on a driver they use 14 times in 18 holes but refuse to do the same when it comes to the putter? It makes no sense.

I have a question: how many club golfers do you know who have ever been for a putter fitting? Spend some time on the practice putting green and have a look at your fellow club players - I guarantee you will see a weird and wonderful range of putting strokes and grips. 

I was fitted for a putter about 15 years ago. I had been using a Ping Anser because at the time it seemed that every top golfer on the planet was using one. 

But my fitter told me that I should be using a bladed putter. I took his advice and my putting immediately improved. I have documented my journey back from injury and the thing that has struck me over the past 18 months or so is that although my long putting is as good as it ever was, I have now developed a tendency to pull short-ish putts. And that means the time is probably right to have another putter fitting.

So the most important club in the bag? Your putter. Period!

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