What's the one club that's never leaving your bag?

[DoglegDave]

DoglegDave here, from the Indiana dunes. I've been lurking and posting a bit, but I realized I never actually asked you all this. So here goes.

For me, it's my 7-wood. Yeah, I know, a 7-wood. Not a hybrid, not a driving iron. A 2009 Taylormade Burner 7-wood with a stock stiff shaft. I've tried to replace it probably five times in the last decade. New hybrids, fancy driving irons, even a 5-wood that I swore would be the one. Nope. That 7-wood is like a security blanket. Off the tee on short par 4s, into long par 3s, out of light rough, even chipping from just off the green if I'm feeling saucy. It just works. Last week I hit it to 6 feet on a 210-yard par 3 into a 15 mph wind. Made the putt. That's why it stays.

I know some of you are gonna say putter. And yeah, I get it. But I'm talking about a club you actually have to swing. The one that bails you out when your swing feels like a wet noodle. The one you'd grab if you had to play a money match with only three clubs.

So what's yours? And don't say driver. Everyone says driver. I want to hear about the weird ones. The 11-wood. The 64-degree wedge. The ancient Ping Eye 2 1-iron you can't hit anymore but refuse to take out. Let's hear it.

[LinksLover]

DoglegDave, you're killing me with the 7-wood thing because I've got the same disease with an old 60-degree Cleveland 588 RTG. Bought it used around 2007, rusted to hell now, grooves basically gone, and I still can't take it out of the bag.

Here's my pushback though, and I say this as a guy who loves his fairway woods: in a three-club money match, I'm taking a wedge over a 7-wood every single time. Think about it. Off the tee you can hit a 7-iron or even a hybrid and still get it out there 190. But if you don't have a wedge and you miss a green by 15 yards, you're chipping with a 7-iron and praying. I've watched guys lose matches because they brought three long clubs and couldn't get up and down to save their lives.

That 210-yard par 3 shot into a 15 mph wind is legit though, I'm not taking anything away from it. What loft is the Burner, like 21? That's basically a 4-hybrid for most guys and you're hitting it 210 into wind. Are you a high ball hitter or do you just deloft the crap out of it?

My weird one is actually an old Tommy Armour 845 2-iron that I can maybe hit flush one out of every four swings. It's basically a decoration at this point. But when I catch it, oh man. Stinger that runs out forever on hard fairways. Problem is our course is soft 8 months a year so it just plugs.

Anyway. Still taking the wedge.