My Golfing Passion...

29/3/12 Thursday. It was not a planned intention to buy a #2 iron today while browsing at my favorite golf porn shop. Over the past few months I have been considering it as a slight possibility. Mainly because the Diawa cavity back iron was only $15 new in the Specials bin.

Have used a #2 iron previously to good effect and the 17 degree hybrid currently in the bag is a more versatile club. I use it so rarely during a round that it is mostly just taking up space. The lack of use compounds the problem and it has become a club that I play with little confidence. Apart from the driver off the tee, irons are used for the rest of my shots. On the fairway my Cobra #3 wood gets one or two hits a round, often I still use a 3 iron with accuracy preferred over the extra 30m or more. The hybrid is very suitable for the coming winter conditions here on the coast, hence the last two practise rounds it has been used off the tee just to get some game time.

Fortunately my bag has space for another club so the #2 iron will be included on returning home Friday. Went to the Drummond range at West Beach in Adelaide after the purchase and had a good hit out. A comfortable session of range practice using the 60 degree wedge, interestingly I started to slice sharply with this for a while. Was not a major problem soon sorted it out and was happy with the distance and accuracy. The 4,6,8 and PW also produced good results and the new #2 iron addition was ideal.

A mid sized cavity back iron with a regular flex shaft, this club has plenty of forgiveness. After hitting a couple of balls it was time to let rip and see what I could do with the stick. The ball flew straight and true, with that low trajectory which is vital for the winter rounds. Distance wise reaching the 175m marker effortlessly on the range, crucially the shots were consistent in accuracy as well.

It would not surprise me that this is the final club purchase for some time. Today I used the AP2 irons at the range, first time in a couple of months they have hit any balls. All positives with them in all aspects of use, the balls flew straight and the distance was a little better than I expected.

This encouraged me to lift the effort a touch to see if there was any more to be gained. In hindsight it just felt so good hitting the balls that I went with the flow and tested my limit, not the clubs. Did gain a little more distance without much detriment to accurate ball placement. It still felt easy hitting the ball. The negative was that I could not maintain that intensity for 18 holes with my current fitness level. Once tiredness set in the errors soon ended the value of adding more effort.

Sitting back reviewing the range session it is encouraging to know that there is more improvement possible. Whether I can get into condition to be able to utilise the potential is a project for another time. At the minute it is not time to be distracted from consolidating the last series of improvement to my game. First is to manage eight rounds of reliable and consistent with my handicap golf. Thankyou for your time and attention, "Hit 'em straight all"