It's not the equipment. Or is it?

"Hold up a 1-iron [during a lightning storm].  Even God can't hit a 1-iron." -- Lee Trevino

 

         I have been losing distance on all my shots the last few years.  The more I lose the harder I swing which, of course, results in even weaker shots.  I have never thought I had enough club in my hands, even with a driver, but it has gotten to the point recently where I am swinging so hard that I am actually topping some shots, that is when I am not shaving them off to the right like a dying quail, or snap hooking them left.

         I know my problem is between the ears, but every time I buy new golf clubs -- every six or seven years -- I play

spectacularly well for the first few rounds.  So on Tuesday, I asked my personal consultant, my son the golf equipment maven, to accompany me to the Golfer's Warehouse in Hartford, CT.  He handed me six irons from a few sets hanging on the walls, among them Callaway, Cleveland and King Cobra.  Of course, hitting shots into nets indoors is not my idea of a true test, and as long as I am not staring at a 155-yard approach over a sand bunker to a tight green, I have a nice smooth swing.  Every six iron felt terrific, but I wasn't quite sure I wanted to spend $600 for a new set of irons.

         We wandered through the used-club section, and there they were -- a set of Pine Eye 2 clubs, 3-iron through sand wedge, with a 1-iron thrown in, a bit long in the teeth (square grooves, that is) but certainly not the worse for wear.  These were never the most attractive clubs on the market, but they had a well-earned reputation for being straight.  My son encouraged me to hit them into the net, and they felt as good as anything I had hit earlier.  But $225 for a set of old clubs with worn cord grips?

         "Dad," my son responded, "some pros are still hitting these on tour, and you can probably get your money back on eBay."  Oh, yeah, he added, "You might hit the 1-iron as far as your 3 wood."  Thanks kid.

         The extremely knowledgeable Golfer's Warehouse clubmaker assured me that the Pings were in fine shape, showed me how to clean and rough up the grips, and said, indeed, that the few yards I might lose in distance -- how could I lose any more than I had already? -- would be more than neutralized by "the straightest clubs ever made."

         Well, I cleaned them up and, yesterday, tried them out at Tower Ridge Golf Club, a public course in Simsbury, CT, that isn't too long (6.500 yards from the tips) but features dramatic elevation changes.  It was eerily similar to a course I played on Monday where I had my worst round in 20 years, an even 100.  Yesterday, I improved by 20%, carding an 81 and losing to the prodigal son by just 5 strokes, the closest I have come to beating him in about five years.  I hit the new old irons okay, but made a couple of surprisingly good swings with the 1-iron, sending it actually farther than a couple of earlier 3-wood shots.  At the uphill, nearly 200 yard par 3 16th hole, I rifled the 1-iron dead straight to about 15 feet from the pin.

          Excited about my new purchase, I called the 800-number at Ping, recited the serial number on the clubs, and asked about their provenance.  They were born, the nice lady on the phone told me as she checked her computer, on August 16, 1994.  Hmm, I thought:  I had a pretty good game back then.

I nailed a 1-iron shot on the par 3 16th at Tower Ridge to pin high.  It was only the second 1-iron shot I had hit in my life; the other was equally well struck earlier in the round.