Back To The Metals

For the past 5 seasons, I have been a firm believer in hybrids. They offered good distance, more accuracy than my fairway metals, and seemed to be more versatile. Then something funny happened on the way to a new season. The local golf pro noticed that my shoulder turn was no longer as complete as it once had been. Stranger still, the swing plane itself had actually grown a bit steeper. This steepness was hidden to me, as my iron and wedge contact remained crisp. The real giveaway was with my inconsistent contact with both the driver and the lone remaining fairway metal in my bag. The hybrids helped mask this growing problem as their swing has always been a sort of half long iron half higher lofted metal concoction. The natural forgiveness of the hybrids, and their tendency to play more like an iron than a metal also helped mask the increased steepness of my swing plane.

The local pro--who has never--and I do repeat never--been wrong in his advice (unlike the advice of several teachers whom I suffered under) was to get my club inside sooner, and relearn the art of sweeping the ball. Instantly my driving came back around, and the lone fairway metal soon became the fairway cannon it had once been. Eventually, my irons started to gain a full club length as well. I began paying more attention to Paddy Harrington's swing as he even sweeps his mid irons. On better days I was soon hitting the ball a full 2 club lengths better. The fact that both the woods and the irons were hitting right on the mark was more than exciting to me. I've already dropped 5 strokes this season. But suddenly--my hybrids became very inconsistent. As both the metals and the irons were spot on, I decided I'd simply dump the hybrids and revert back to more fairway metals.

The hybrids helped me learn to shape long distance shots, and because of that, I am now more accurate with my fairway metals than ever before. They're not quite the lazers that my hybrids once were, but man are they consistent. I like the feel and results of this more sweeping swing, though occasionally I do miss my hybrids. They were once the pride and joy of my golf bag. Nowadays I understand why David Tom's uses his 5 Wood for so many differnt types of shots and strokes. I also appreciate why Vijay carries a 9 Wood. I'm even beginning to understand why Hogan's favourite club was a 4 Wood. Perhaps we were too quick to sell the fairway metal down the river in exchange for the promise of the hybrid.