Try a Little Forgiveness

I have resisted, at least to some extent, the urge to buy the latest and greatest golf gear.  I have always been a proponent of the idea that a workman should never blame his tools, and that it ain't the fiddle, it's the fiddler.  

Recently, however, I have started to wonder whether I might have been doing myself a disservice sticking with my Hogan blades.  Ken offered me some sage advice recently, after checking out my blades, and hearing me say that I had got to the point where I couldn't count on hitting a decent shot with anything more than a six iron with the Hogans.

He said, "One should choose their clubs, as one should choose their mate, with a large capacity to forgive."  

He talks like that because he's a writer.  I called him an academic the other day, but he bristles at that. Suffice it to say, he is a thoughtful character.  Having had similar advice from other friends, and having been offered a set of previously-enjoyed Cleveland CG2 irons by Steve, I thought I'd break down and admit that it was time to take advantage of any forgiveness I might be able to find.  As Ken would no doubt tell you, in golf, as in life, a little forgiveness goes a long way.

So, I put these Cleveland irons in the bag a week ago.  They have nice new Lamkin grips, with "Sting Free Technology,"  and Dynamic Gold R 300 shafts, with Sensicore technology.  This is not exactly the latest technology on the market, but the regular shaft seems to be better for me than the stiff ones in my Hogan irons.

Having also experimented with a soft golf ball, I am now finding myself in places off the tee that I haven't been for years.  And, I can actually hit a decent four iron again.  I would really be excited if I could just get a few more putts to drop.

My last four rounds, since changing to the "forgiving" irons, have been 71, 74, 73, and 72.  I'm not necessarily going to say that I've turned the corner, or that I'm ready to scare any of the flat bellies, or hot shots out there, but I'm enjoying a pretty good run, even with poor to mediocre putting.  Now, it could just be a coincidence, and putting these new-for-me irons in the bag has just coincided with a nice purple patch in my ball striking.  But, for as long as it lasts, I'm going to enjoy it.  

Hell, with these new clubs, and these new softer balls, I'm a regular ball-hitting-Jessie.  I'm back to knocking it out there with Carl the Grumbler.  I'm even knocking a few past the old boy.  So, if you've been a traditionalist, and you're maybe getting a bit long in the tooth, and round in the belly, like me; if you have faithfully stuck with your stiff-shafted blades and the Tour ball; maybe you might like to try a little forgiveness.  

With all this forgiveness, and softness, I feel like a new man.  I'm hitting it farther, and maybe a bit higher, and even a bit straighter, although I've never hit it that crooked anyway.  Kathryn even says I'm a better lover.  Okay, maybe I'm going a bit too far, but you get my point.  Try a little forgiveness.  Forgiveness is good; especially for us old budgies.

Did I mention that I'm even hitting a four iron again?

Choose Your Equipment Wisely

I tend to play antiques.  Well, not really antiques, but previously-enjoyed clubs. I have gone that way after learning my lesson years ago that all that glitters isn't gold.

I have bought new clubs that seemed to work just fine on the monitor, but fizzled when I took them to the course.  A couple of years ago, I went to Golftown with four or five old three woods that I had acquired over the years, but didn't particularly love anymore.  I asked to conduct the Pepsi challenge, telling the salesperson that I would buy a three wood if he could give me one that worked better than the old ones I already had.  He agreed and I spent the better part of an hour testing the new models against my old ones.  At the end of the testing, he had to admit that the ones I had, though probably ten to fifteen years old, worked pretty much as well as his shiny new ones, and therefore, he wouldn't suggest I waste my money.

I haven't bought a new club since, though I'm as tempted as the next guy by the new and improved models that come out every year like clockwork.  My bag now contains a Cleveland Hi-Bore driver of a certain age that I obtained from an obliging Korean I met at the Bay of Quinte GC.  I traded him a Taylor Made Burner that I had got in exchange for a Ping that no longer seemed to work.  I have a Tour Edge Exotics three wood that I got out of a barrel in Hilton Head for thirty bucks, Cleveland 22 and 25 degree fairway woods that my buddy couldn't hit and was happy to give me, and a set of Hogan blades that I got in a Beaufort, SC Salvation Army Thrift Store for three dollars a club.  I also have two rusty Callaway forged wedges that were previously-enjoyed and cost me thirty bucks a piece.  The set is rounded out by a Bulls Eye putter I got out of a barrel in a Play It Again Sports store for five bucks.

I've bought new in the past, but this set seems to get me around well enough that I don't lose too much money.  So I've ended my days of searching for something better.  That is, until today when I received some sage advice.  I was playing with someone new and he observed me playing the blades.  He said, "You should really choose your golf equipment the same way you should choose your lovers; with a large capacity to forgive."

He may be right.  Has anybody got any more-forgiving clubs, previously enjoyed, and going cheap?