Duffers Corner

Yesterday I was asked by a couple of local golf professionals what I thought the greatest fairway wood ever was. And why do you think they ask a duffer like me what I thought? Maybe because I have either owned or demoed almost every fairway wood known to man since 1992, so my answer could have some credibility.

“Are you asking me for the best selling fairway wood or the most effective one?”

“Both”, they said.

So I came up with some criteria:

Look

Performance

Popularity

Longevity

Now I have been playing golf since 1977 and can remember when a 3-wood was just another 3-wood, so I am taking a lot of years and fairway woods into consideration to come up with a well balanced conclusion.

TaylorMade Pittsburg Persimmon Bird (’88) – Compared to today’s standards this FW wood looks more like a hybrid; small, shallow, flat sole. Back in late 80s early 90s everybody had at least one of these in their bag, giving you that little extra pop that its only competitor (a real persimmon wood) didn’t have. The large, lighter FW woods of the mid 90s killed this work horse.

Orlimar TriMetal (’97) – One of the lowest profile clubfaces you will ever see. One of the longest hitting 3-woods I have ever hit. One of the best selling fairway woods of all time! This club was just way too shallow for the TriMetal craze to last.

Adams Tight Lies (’97) – Mid-low profile, small crown, wide sole. Awesome fairway wood. Adams still incorporates the same basic design with their current woods (which are now some of the best). A real contender but….at the time they were considered a second tier company, sales numbers were lower.

Callaway Steelhead Plus (’00) – Contemporary look, midsize appearance. The ball just seemed to pop off the clubface. Deeper profile compared to the original Steelhead. There are still PGA Professionals playing these on tour. Weren’t appreciated until after they were discontinued.

So I thought long and hard about this one, I had several disagree with me but overall it was unanimous.

Callaway War Bird (’94) – The most popular and most sold fairway wood in the 90′s, in particular the 7-heaven wood (7-wood look, 5-wood loft). It revolutionized both the fairway wood and Callaway as a golf company. The performance and feel of the War Bird still stand up to even today’s advanced fairway woods. You can still find a War Bird in the bags of weekend golfers, juniors, and women a like.

With a little free time this last weekend I managed to hit the driving range but with a slight twist; I decided to practice with my clubs I used in high school (20 years ago). Now I did this for a couple of reasons; 1) to prove to myself that I don’t need a new set of irons to play better (my old irons were MacGregor blades circa 1982, if I can hit these now I should be able to hit anything) and 2) I wanted to feel what it’s like to hit a persimmon wood again. Oh my, how the times have changed!

The sound a persimmon driver makes off the tee is just so completely different compared to today’s metal woods that I got more than my share of strange looks at the range. The sound of “CRACK!” would vibrate out of my stall instead of all the hi-pitched ‘tink’ or empty coffee can sound everybody else’s drivers were making. Distance and trajectory were pretty good and I felt I had better shot control (easy to fade and draw the ball) but as for the distance, today’s drivers win hands down!

Overall it was an enjoyable day. It looks like a new set of irons are not in my future (I hit my Muirfields just fine) and as for the possibly of throwing an old wood headed driver in my bag? Not a chance!

Oh, the novelty of a belly putter, or so I thought. Cumbersome, awkward, non-traditional. Why would I want one?

Then I find my MacGregor Muirfield (traditional blade) putter going south on me and I was in dire need of a change. All of a sudden a 40” Odyssey 2-ball putter showed up in my bag (winnings from a friendly side wager) and I was back to square one trying to relearn how to putt.

First impressions, I hated it! It was just so much heavier than a traditional putter, I felt like I lost all forms of touch and feel. All my putts seem to just blow past the hole, but the sucker was extremely accurate, so I saw a glimmer of hope.

First thing, I just couldn’t get used to resting the putter on my belly so I shortened it by an inch (39”, I kept the 1-piece belly style putter grip). This allows me to use it much like a traditional length putter but with a more upright stance. Then I spent an hour on the practice green testing out various stance & grip position until I finally came up with a working combination, cross handed split grip. Separating my hands allowed me to have better control over my stroke and incorporating the cross-handed grip straightened out my take away, it was like blessing from the golfing heavens.

I need to work a little more on distance control for putts over 15 feet but anything within 12 feet I am deadly!