Were you hoping for the Callaway Apex 19 irons, or maybe the Taylor Made M5 or M6 driver for your most recent birthday?
Little doubt the latest and greatest version of the modern clubs offers most golfers a more consistent, straighter strike. And in combination with today’s golf balls, provide greater distance. But the fact of the matter is, you still have to hit it pretty square to get the most out of your game.
And that’s where I stumbled on a new practice scheme that I hope will get me hitting more consistent, solid shots in the middle of the club. They were last used on the PGA tour in 1997 — 11 guys used persimmon woods that year. But by the following year…they were gone. The Big Bertha’s and Taylor Made metal drivers rendered the old “woods” obsolete.
I heard an old timer say when he’s not hitting the ball with the middle of the club, he pulls out his old woods. In fact, Tiger Woods includes one in his practice regimen now and then so he can “feel the crack of the bat.” Few will argue that nothing feels quite as good as hitting a pure shot with persimmon woods.
I had my dad’s old MacGregor Eye-O-Matic Tourney 2 and 5 wood crisscrossed up on nails in my garage next to the ping pong table…as a decoration of sorts. I’ve taken them to the range a few times to test out the theory, and I developed a new appreciation for the great golfers of old.
Unless you hit the ball on the “screws” (yes, the MacGregor Tourney’s have 6), the ball does not go anywhere, and if it does, it goes straight right or snapped left. However, if your swing is just right, and your timing is perfect, and if you hit it right on the sweet spot, the ball flies like a thing of beauty.
For that moment, you are in league with Bobby Jones, or Sam Snead.
At first, I could only hit 1 or 2 out of 10 solidly, but I’ve been upping that number slowly but surely. Not sure yet if it will translate into me hitting higher quality shots on the course with today’s high tech gear. The verdict is still out. But even if it doesn’t, it will have been fun trying.
