We jump from club to club in the quest for a tool that will magically solve all of the problems in our game. The right driver will quell the hook that we're struggling with and keep us on the fairway. The right irons will give us the piercing ball flight we're looking for and help us hit more greens. And the right putter will turn us into a veritable virtuoso when we get there, calmly rolling in putt after putt as our playing partners look on with awe and envy.

Of course, it's a poor craftsman who blames his tools. After all, Tiger Woods—even with all of his recent struggles—could go out and beat me over 18 holes playing with a 2×4 and a rusty garden hoe. But golf is the rare sport where the best technology available to players can actually help the amateur more than the professional at the top of his game. In a sport that's so fiendishly difficult, that's such a mental battle as well as physical one, it's little wonder that most of us are willing to shell out to try and buy a better game.