Golf Tips & Quips

Most amateurs have a hard time hitting their long irons. I am no exception. I really haven't learned how to hit my 3 and 4 iron, and I still struggle with my 5. From time to time I will get a good shot off, but they are few and far between.

As a result on long par 4's and par 5's I am forced to layup a lot. My greens in regulation percentage is currently around 11%. Not good. In most situations I am putting a lot of pressure on my short game to get up and down just for par. Sometimes I get close and can salvage par. On a lot of occasions I leave myself with a long putt which if I'm not careful results in the dreaded 3 putt, leading to a double bogey.

I needed to find a solution to my problem and the solution came in the form a new hybrid club. My girlfriends father(Big Ron) visited for Christmas and he took me to Dick's Sporting Goods. He was asking me what ball everyone was playing now. I told him that the most popular was the Titleist pro V series. I don't play them because they would all end up in the water anyway. Until I get better I'll play whatever is cheapest in the pro shop.

He said that he was going to by me a box of Titleist. Cool I thought. When we arrived at the golf section, he passed the ball section and went straight over to drivers. He picked up the TaylorMade R9 driver and asked if this was the new driver everyone was raving about. I said yes and he said, "Okay, I'll get it for you."

I was surprised. I thought I was going to get a box of Titleist which would have been awesome, but now I'm face to face with the R9. You are not going to believe this but I didn't take it(I still can't believe it myself). A friend of mine had just given me a brand new Ping G10 driver and 3 wood. He had purchased the G10's and a week later demoed the Ping Raptures. He like those better and bought them. He let me borrow the G10's for a round and I loved them and he just gave them to me. Lucky me.

So anyway Big Ron said that he still wanted to get me something so I looked around and remembered that I had been wanting a hybrid club. While my driver and 3 wood are by Ping, I play TaylorMade R7 Draw irons, so I decided to get a club from TaylorMade. I picked out the Rescue Mid with a 22 degree loft. I know you're supposed to get fitted but we were in a hurry so I went with gut feeling.

When we got home I read some reviews and most of them said that it was easy to hit, look good behind the ball, and it produced a draw. Everything I needed as most of my misses are to the right.

I finally got a chance to take the new club out about a week ago and I am too excited. The first shot I hit with it was on a par 3 measuring 218 to the flag. Usually I would hit my 4 iron and hope for the best. Now I had my hybrid. I teed it up and hit the ball within 10 feet of the cup. I nearly did a cartwheel. I barely felt the club hit the ball and it did indeed produce a soft draw.


My next opportunity to use it was on a par 4. It was my second shot and I was about 225 from the front of the green. Normally I would lay up to about 100 yards. This time I took out the new hybrid. I hit another soft draw that landed about 20 feet short of the green and just barely trickled up onto the surface. I still had a 40 foot putt but I was still on in regulation.

I'm excited about my new hybrid. I'm hoping that I will be able to drop at least 4 to 5 shots over the next year. More greens in regulation leads to more chances at birdies and easy pars.

If you're struggling with your long irons, look into getting some hybrids. They are easier to hit which will build up your confidence. A confident player always plays better.

Here's a short video explaining how to hit the hybrid club. Once you get the hang of it your score will begin to drop. Have a good one and always hit your target.



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