The Hybrid

For whatever reason, I have chosen to be a purist in my outlook on golf. Having regrettably started golfing late in life, I see golf in its most fundamental of forms as a welcomed respite from the overall direction that the world as a whole is going.

So, when the rage about hybrids began, I avoided it like the plague. Golf was meant to be played with an iron, and in that rare instance, pull out a fairway metal. How could this general philosophy go wrong when most business is done solely in the name of profit and advertising to increase revenue and market-share. And so I ignored it and continued on my quest to learn golf from the ground up and taking the purist way out each time a choice needed to be made.

What happens along the way of becoming good at golf at a late age, is that one must come to the realization that there are certain things that are easier to learn when started young. There is a certain intangible quality that comes from young muscles learning things as the body and mind grow and develop. Is it possible that some things cannot be learned fully later in life, or at least not easily. What if certain technology available could potentially make a hurdle easier to handle given my late start to golf and the general feeling that time is running short on the ability to really learn this wonderful game?

So, in exchange for buying my yearly really expensive club, I chose to re-stock my bag this year with a little help from eBay. After perusing the lackluster selection of left handed golf equipment, I saw a number of Hogan Edge CFT Hybrids up for auction. And so, with a healthy PayPal account in tow, I set out to make my first eBay purchase with the focus on "Game Improvement".

After receiving the regular flex, 3h Hybrid and taking it to the range for a little workout, I quickly came to the realization that my purist attitudes towards golf were steering me in the wrong direction. Since those first few hits, I now firmly believe that almost no one I play with should ever carry a 3 or 4 iron ever again. The concept of the hybrid was not only pure genius, but could be the most dramatic shift in the bag since the Metal Wood.

There is no mistaking the forgiveness, and surprising control that the hybrids possess. It was the most shocking revelation I have ever come to (as you can see I live a rather boring life). Spending most of my time playing public courses and joining random 2 and 3-sums, I come across a lot of poor players. Truth be told, it really doesn't bother me, since everyone has to go through that period in golf and it wasn't so far off that I was one of those players.

No one I play with in these random pairings should ever play a long iron again. The hybrid should be a staple in virtually ever golf bag carried the world over. These strategic utensils will cut shots off your handicap. That being said, I have play with players who were seemingly incapable of controlling the instrument and would routinely pop the ball up for a nice lob-wedge shot. But certainly they could do no better with a 3-iron.

So let it be said that as for my purist attitudes towards the game of golf have been shaken. But don't believe that they are gone, just modified to keep up with the times, which are certainly a change'.