During the many years I actively played, there were two pieces of equipment that I held on to for dear life once the trust factor had been established through reasonably consistent performance: My driver and my putter.
I didn't mind experimenting with new irons, new hybrids or fairway woods. Those were always fair game as far as experimentation, and if it didn't work out - so be it. I could always go back to a backup set.
But once I found a driver that made me feel like I couldn't miss a fairway, and a putter that made me feel like I could make everything - the search ended for those clubs. For me, distance was never the primary pursuit. I beat a lot of players at my club who could hit the shit out of the ball, a good 20+ yards further than me. However impressive their drives might've been, they weren't good enough to go toe-to-toe with me on the greens. They expected me to make putts, and I did my part to make sure they were justified in having those expectations.
Nothing disheartens a player more than seeing his opponent make every fucking putt he stands over. I never got tired of hearing, "WTF! Don't you ever miss?!"
There is enormous gratification in not having to answer that question. 😉