Which Golf Club Should You Spend the Most Money On?

Drivers, irons, wedges or putters. Which would you be willing to spend the most money on? Every season golfers across the world will head to their local pro shop or golf retailer to upgrade their golf equipment. Out with the old, in with the new. Millions of dollars will be spent in your state alone by golfers looking for the latest and greatest clubs that might lower their scores.

If you are like most amateur golfers without a sponsorship deal, you'll need to choose your purchases wisely. Everyone is on a budget these days, right? So which club gets your hard-earned cash?

To answer this question, you'll need to be honest with yourself and your typical golf round. First, let's start with the basics. In an average 18 hole round, a weekend amateur will take 100 strokes. If you play a par 72 course, 14 of the holes will either be a par-4 or par-5, presenting you the opportunity to hit driver. Depending on yardage, hitting less than driver might be the smart play on a few of those holes. Therefore, at most, you might hit your driver 14 times in a round.

The average golf driver costs anywhere between $300 and $600 dollars. That's a whopping $21.42 to $42.85 a shot (technically). If you played one time a year, that's a lot of cash to dedicate to 14 swings. But, for the sake of argument, let's say you hit driver 14 times, leaving you with 86 shots to go.

Fairway woods and/or hybrids are hit even less during an average round. How often do you go for a par-5 in two? Do you rely solely on your 3-wood off the tee? Most golfers won't hit these clubs more than three times a round. At an average price tag ranging between $200 and $300, brand new fairway woods are basically highway robbery. Let's be generous and say we've got 83 shots left in an average round.

You will hit an iron or wedge on almost every hole you play. Complete iron sets can cost upwards of $1000, depending on brand. Combined, you're likely to hit either an iron or wedge three times per hole. That's 54 shots in your round, leaving us with about 29 shots.

Finally, we reach your putter. You will use this club every single hole. Your typical golfer strokes about 30 putts per round. Most will two-putt every green, catapulting that stroke total to 36.

What's amazing to me is how many folks use a putter they either got from a garage sale or discount retailer. The putter isn't a flashy club; it's sole purpose is to roll the ball. However, a big chunk of our game relies on the flatstick. So if you take more than 30% of your strokes on the putting green, why not spend the most on your putter?