During a recent round, one of my playing partners sank an impressive putt and as we were congratulating her she exclaimed, “I think I should just use my putter for the rest of the day!” Her previous couple of holes had been frustrating and had included visits to several bunkers, so she reckoned that her putter would be a safe option! I’m pleased to report that those holes were just a blip – she finished with a decent score, using the full complement of clubs! It reminded me of a story about one of my past-colleagues. He dug out his clubs once a year for the annual staff golf competition and rumour has it that he went round with only a 7-iron and a putter on one occasion! He claimed that his other clubs got him into too much trouble!
Sticking with the theme of making do with the “wrong” club, earlier this year the 2020 Race to Dubai champ Lee Westwood took on the 2020 Tour Champs winner Matthew Fitzpatrick in a European Tour 14 Club Challenge. If you’re not familiar with this challenge, the rules are simple:
- Each player starts with 14 clubs in his bag.
- The players take turns to hit tee shots at a par 3.
- They get one point for each ball that finishes on the green.
- They must use a different club each time.
- If one player uses a club, then both players lose it – that means if your opponent uses his 7 iron, you must also take yours out of your bag.
Lee and Matt battled it out on the 174 yards long 4th hole at the HSBC Championship at Abu Dhabi. What would be your “go to” club? How do you think the pros did?
Watch and find out!
Spoiler alert – your putter isn’t always the safe option!