'There can be only one' A Kind of Magic - Queen 1986 - (Soundtrack to Highlander)
When it comes to golf there's plenty of clubs to chose from.
You can carry as many as fourteen for a competitive round.
And plenty of golfers will have two or three times that tucked away in their garages, sheds and lockers.
We may have progressed to another set of irons, woods or putter, but we don't always let their predecessors go.
After all, if the current flat stick starts letting us down we might want to revert back to a putter that was 'hot' once.
Having trouble from the tee? How about putting that old 'clearance sale' driver back in the bag? The one that went up in the loft last Christmas but, come to think of it, always used to find the fairway...
Yep, play long enough and often enough and I bet you've done something like that at least once.
It's not that uncommon. We'll try anything (short of actually practicing - obviously) in the endless quest for an improvement in our game, however small, however fleeting. (Marginal Gains)
But superstition, desperation or a compulsion to tinker are not the primary reasons many of us accumulate a stash of clubs.
Even if there's little prospect of ever going back to use an old set of clubs, (whose tech quickly becomes outdated), it's often just too hard to permanently let them go.
There are so many reasons why we can't say goodbye.
How do you give up the clubs you first started with, the clubs you shot your best round with, that pitching wedge that always got you out of trouble, your old putter that acts as a warning to the current one...behave or I'll be back in the bag...
Loads of reasons, and most of them as short on decent rationale as they are long on emotional attachment.
I'm no different.
I'd need to do an inventory in order to tell you exactly how many clubs are tucked away at Casa de Gross.
But as it's raining, dark and at least two of the sheds have no power, that's not happening.
Let's just assume there's a few.
A favourite amongst the current crop?
I suppose at this point I could weigh up the respective merits of a Titliest TSi2 Driver; 52 degree Vokey wedge; and budget friendly second-hand Cleeveland Putter and appoint a winner. This weeks' 'My Favourite Club'.
But that's all the winner would be...a temporary champion.
And one who can only ever hold a percentage of my loyalty as I've also got to have a decent relationship with all the other bats in the bag.
Whichever club I select for the next shot, I, like the legend Forsyth addressing a Strictly contestant, have to convince the wood, hybrid, iron or putter...'you're my favourite'....
No, my favourite club is to be found elsewhere.
It has been, and will remain, a lifelong choice.
There can be only one.
At 3.50pm yesterday (8th December 2024) they were stoppage time and change from a first home win in the premiership since 2002.
Ten minutes and two Bournemouth goals later and it's another 'L' in the results column.
A real shame. The goal that took us in front was Conor Chaplin's first in the Premiership. Born just down the road in Worthing, he joins the small group of players to have scored goals in all four English top flight Divisions. (7 Players Who Have Scored in Each of the Top 4 Leagues in English Football - Footymad.net)
To be honest we're going to need a lot more goals from Conor and the rest of the team if we're going to survive.
Being able to close out games and keep the odd clean sheet at this level would be useful too.
Odds are though we'll be going straight back down to the Championship.
Four and a half months in and the league table presents a picture that's clear and obvious.
It looks a bit bleak for the Tractor Boys.
We're going to need a kind of magic to beat the drop.
But if it happens I reckon the club of Alf Ramsey, Bobby Robson, Kevin Beattie, Mick Mills, Frank Thijssen, Arnold Muhren....all the way to the current generation now led by Kieran McKenna will bounce straight back.
This current squad and manager have been there before. They know the way out.
And whatever our fortune this season...the buzz of being back in the Premier League will take some shifting.
We've been on a high ever since a 2-0 win against Huddersfield secured promotion on 4th May.
And if relegation follows consecutive seasons of promotion, well it's not all bad.
At least there's no VAR in the Championship.
Ipswich Town, my favourite club.
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