Every golfer’s got one. For Kevin Costner’s character in Tin Cup, it’s the 7. (“I hit the 7-iron the way John Daly hits the 3,” he says.) For Bobby Jones, it was his putter. He even named it Calamity Jane. For Todd Hamilton, it’s the hybrid, which he used on seemingly every other shot to win the 2004 British Open.


“It” would be the best club in the bag, one swung with greater confidence, reliability and outcomes than its peers. Here the Weekly assembles what it would look like if we gathered the best sticks from the top pros playing in this weekend’s AT&T in one glorious set.



• • •



Driver • Taylormade • Dustin Johnson • With the wing span of a pterodactyl and enough technical daring to make Evel Knievel blush, DJ owns the big stick, averaging 314 yards off the tee last year.


3 wood • Titleist • Nick Watney • The Fresno State alum can pipe it off the box, but is even more lethal on par-5s with his second shot. Don’t be surprised if the four-time Tour winner wields the 3-wood for an eagle on Pebble’s closing hole.


Hybrid • Taylormade • Paul Goydos • The 47-year-old is a hybrid himself, a blend of old-school wisdom and new-school passion, and makes up for his lack of distance off the tee with his wizard-like savvy with the hybrid. 


3 iron • Titleist • Geoff Ogilvy • No one can launch his 3-iron into the atmosphere like the towering Aussie, which comes in handy on reachable par-5s like the second and 18th at Pebble.


4 iron • Titleist • Rickie Fowler • The 23-year-old is a thing to behold from 4-iron distance – not unlike the all-orange outfit he wears on Sundays – finishing at the top on Tour from 200-225 yards.


5 iron • Taylormade • Sean O’Hair • Most avoid this club altogether. Very few attack with it like the defending Canadian Open champ, who uses his syrupy swing and his 5 to hole flocks of birdies. The par-3s have been warned.


6 iron • Titleist • Chris Kirk • The Georgia grad is a bulldog from 6-iron distance, ranking as the best in the field between 175-200 yards.


7 iron • Ping • Hunter Mahan • The 29-year-old from So Cal enjoys some of the best mechanics in the game. They’re particularly apparent with his 7 – he can shape it right or left, high or low, helping him rake in $17 million on Tour before 30.


8 iron • Garden hoe • Bill Murray • Holed out with the 8-iron on the 72nd hole at Augusta National to win the Masters. Or was that Carl Spackler in Caddyshack? “It’s in da hole!”


9 Iron • Taylormade • Rory Sabbatini • The South African with the personality of poison ivy is the best in the field between 125-150 yards, ideal 9-iron territory.


Pitching-wedge • Titleist • Ryuji Imada • The Hiroshima-born Imada hasn’t missed a single green from 100-125 yards all year. Not one. That’s ichiban.


Gap wedge • Cleveland • Vijay Singh • The 48-year-old Fijian Hall-of-Famer gets enough height and spin control on his gap to drop it into tiny spaces like the top shelf on Pebble’s 14th green. 


Lob-wedge • Callaway • Phil Mickelson The most creative wedge player since Seve Ballesteros, Lefty can drop it in a coffee cup in the next cubicle.


Putter • Nike • Tiger Woods • He’s gone entire majors without three putting. Note the way he rolled the rock to win the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble by 15 shots. And now Tiger’s hungry again.


Umbrella • Padraig Harrington • No one can play in bad weather like the three-time major winner from Ireland. Puddles are his pals. Gills are part of his game.


Rosin Bag • Matt Cain • The Giants hurler will need it to keep his hands dry in front of the AT&T Pro-Am’s record weekend galleries.


Gloves • Callaway • Tommy Gainey • They don’t call him “Tommy Two-Gloves” for his choice in socks.