Top amateur Luke Clanton believes many golfers chop and change their clubs too freely.
He feels that often players would be better suited to finding the best clubs for them and sticking with them.
“It’s kind of one of those things where I find a golf club and I love it, and I’m going to stay with it,” Clanton said, “because I’m comfortable with it and I know what it can do. I think if you’re an amateur out there and you want to keep switching, it’s not the greatest thing sometimes. Find a golf club you love and make sure you have it.”
Clanton uses a mixed-model set when it comes to irons. His set features TaylorMade P7MB short irons (7-9) and P760 mid irons (4-6). He uses either a P770 3-iron or a Stealth UDI 2-iron, depending on course conditions.
“I love the blades with the low irons because I can kind of feel a little more around the greens, and if I have a little feely shot from like 150, I can hit a 7 iron there,” Clanton said. “It’s one of those things where I like to feel a little more with the lower irons. Then with the upper irons I like a little bit more forgiveness, especially when you’re hitting it from 210. You don’t really want a blade looking down at the ground, so it’s been a great setup for a while.”
The TaylorMade BRNR 13.5-degree Mini Driver has quickly become his favourite.
“This club has been a life saver off the tee, and off the deck, as well,” Clanton said. “…I think (the 2023 U.S. Amateur) was literally right when they came out with the Mini Driver, and a bunch of my teammates said I never liked 3-wood because I never hit it, and it was true. I hit this (mini driver) off the deck a couple times and it flew perfect. Then I was like, ‘Let’s hit it off the tee,’ and it was flying 285-290 (yards) off the tee.
“I was like, this thing is pretty sweet,” he continued. “I’ve kept it in the bag ever since then, and no matter if it’s off a tight lie out of the rough, anything, it’s been awesome. I think it’s probably one of the better clubs I’ve ever received from TaylorMade. …I could take out the driver and have the BRNR in and still play well all week.
“It’s just one of those golf clubs you can hit it off the tee and still hit it far, I can draw it, cut it, hit it low, hit it high. It’s definitely one of my favorites for sure… I don’t think it’ll ever come out of the bag. I really don’t.”
