Every year, best drivers, best irons and other golf club lists are updated with current-generation models sporting equipment manufacturers’ latest technology, but some clubs are simply irreplaceable and will remain in amateurs' golf bags until they’re battered, bruised and no longer fit for purpose.
While we’ve all developed a fondness for multiple clubs during our time playing golf, there’s usually one that stands out above the rest. With that thought in mind, I asked members of the Golf Monthly team to list their favorite ever golf club and explain why…
Neil Tappin – Titleist Vokey SM5
My short game has always been the weakness in my game, but I went for a wedge fitting (with Bob Vokey, no less) and this was what I came away with. I had no idea what a big difference a good fitting would make and suddenly I had a wedge that I felt was working for me. It transformed my confidence and looked incredible in the bag too! It's the best wedge I've ever used.
Joel Tadman – Callaway Rogue Sub Zero driver
I'd probably go for the Callaway Rogue Sub Zero driver from 2018. This big stick was an absolute beast - springy, solid off the face, had punchy ball speed and combined low spin with an above average amount of stability and forgiveness. You could really go after the ball knowing if you mishit it, you wouldn't be in too much trouble most of the time and would be a long way down the hole. Sadly I lost it (or someone had similar feelings about it and pinched it) on a photo shoot and I struggled for a few years to find a similar performing driver - until the Titleist TSR3 came along, that is.
Nick Bonfield – TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 3-wood
I can still remember the sensation when I hit this glorious club for the first time and it remains my all-time favorite piece of equipment some ten years later. It’s absurdly sweet from the middle and it flies off like a rocket when you make the proper contact. I love the white crown and yellow alignment detailing, too, and whenever I pull this from my bag, I’m confident of hitting a good shot.
Joe Ferguson – Titleist 975D Driver, 7.5˚
I loved everything about this driver. The dull thuddy strike, the pear-shaped head and the fact that Tiger and Sergio were both using it when I was in my early teens was also a major factor here! Still one of the most classic heads ever and you could even get it in 5.5˚! It might be a case of "the older I get, the better I was", but it felt like I could do anything with that club.
Alison Root – TaylorMade Burner Bubble
The best club I've ever owned was the TaylorMade Burner Bubble driver. Not 'best' in the sense that it worked brilliantly, but it did for me as I was a relative beginner and this was the first proper set I owned, so I felt very confident walking on the tee with this club in my hand. I will also never forget the lovely two tone gold/beige suede-feel headcover.
Matt Cradock – Adams Idea Super Hybrid
The best club I have ever owned, which is still in my bag a decade on from buying it, is my Adams Idea Super Hybrid. There are many reasons as to why, but the main two are the consistency I have with it, a simple 5-yard draw, and the ease with which I can shape shots and manipulate the flight. Golf clubs are sentimental and, in the case of the Super Hybrid, I have holed out for an albatross with it, hit probably the best shot of my life with it at The Buckinghamshire and, just a week after purchasing it, won an Open event whilst using it off pretty much every tee.
Barry Plummer – TaylorMade RAC Chrome
Still taking pride of place in my bag, the TaylorMade RAC 60º has come up with the goods on countless occasions. As a high handicapper, a reliance on my short game to get me out of trouble is an inevitability I have come to accept, and this wedge is my go to club around the greens.
On one memorable occasion, in a match play competition, one of my opponents uttered eleven words that have remained with me to this day... "That is not a shot that a high handicapper should make". Well, thanks to my trusty 60-degree wedge, I did make it with a Phil Mickelson-esque flop shot over the bunker to leave a five-footer for par at the long par 3. I missed the putt, but let's not dwell on that and instead let's bask in the glory of my short game success.
David Taylor – TaylorMade M2 7-wood
My go-to club whenever my driver's playing up, it also serves me well on long par 3s. Arccos tells me I hit it an average of 185 yards, so I'm not attacking many par 5s in two, but it can always be relied upon and usually gets me there or thereabouts in the fairway. Brings some much-needed consistency to an otherwise erratic game!
Jonny Leighfield – TaylorMade Stealth Rescue
So I never actually "owned" it, and it was purely a holiday romance, but what a day we spent together. Given a set of TaylorMade rental clubs on my first press trip, I got on really well with all of them, but the TaylorMade Stealth 3-hybrid just never missed and proved to be my safety blanket all the way around. My final shot of a superb 18 holes (by my very low standards) was one of the best shots I've ever hit. And it came with the aforementioned club.
Eyeing up the green with my second shot into a par 5 (quite literally unheard of for me) from around 200 yards, I ripped the club through the ball and heard the sweetest connection I've ever managed. My playing partner let out an involuntary "wow" as soon as club head struck ball - such was the noise - and my golf ball landed on the front portion of the green, leaving me genuinely gobsmacked. Obviously, I missed my putt for a first-ever eagle, but I'll never forget that day and what the TaylorMade Stealth 3-hybrid helped me do.
