Hot List Summit, Day 10: Dead Sticks Walking: Bomb & Gouge: Golf Digest

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Bomb and Gouge Equipment Blog: golfdigest.com

Hot List Summit, Day 10: Dead Sticks Walking

Tuesday, October 23, 2007 Comments

BOMB: Day two with our retailer panel was barely five minutes old when an answer came that woke me up faster than a cup of Starbucks coffee (assuming I still drank coffee). The response was to the first question posed which was this: Is the traditional iron set of 3-PW on life support or is it already dead? Tom Morton of Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento didn't mince words. "Ninety percent of our iron sets are special orders of less than eight clubs." Ninety percent. Nine. Zero.

For years I have been on a crusade to get people to ditch their long irons for hybrids and it finally seems to be coming to fruition. And why not? At last week's Fry’s Electonic’s Open in Scottsdale, 42 players started their iron set at the 4-iron, six at the 5-iron and one, Chris Riley, began his at the 6-iron, opting to use, bless his little heart, four hybrids. That’s more than one-third of the field with no 3-iron in the bag. So when virtually all of our retailers agreed that more than 50 percent of iron sales in 2008 would start at the 5-iron, I tend to believe them.

Of course, this evolving change brings with it questions. Chiefly, what is the definition of an iron set going forward? It is a question consumers, retailers and manufacturers are all going to have to answer. But one this is for sure. Although I stung a 3-iron onto the green on the 11th hole at Wolf Creek GC this afternoon, it was purely for product-testing purposes. The 3-iron is on death row. And not even a call from the governor can save it.

GOUGE: OK, I've got one question, aside from why my golf swing displays the efficiency and fluidity of Stephen Hawking performing in Cirque de Soleil: Why are equipment manufacturers continuing to make clubs that golfers should not ever buy? Do they not want people to play better? Do they not care that the game is still inherently difficult/impossible? Do they only want to make money, regardless of the spiritual damage it might inflict? By my quick calculations, more than 75 percent of the sets we’re considering for this year’s Hot List will still offer a 3-iron. Only 7 of the three dozen sets we’re looking at include hybrids as standard. Less than five out of that group have forgone the 4-iron completely. What is up with this tired old infatuation with the idea that a set of irons need be 3-iron through pitching wedge? Can't we just declare 3-irons as dead, dump the body in a mass grave out by the tee box of the par-3 15th hole and move on? We give great applause to Callaway for launching a new set of super game improvement irons that will start with the 4-iron and will start with long irons that are for all intents and purposes hybrids? They are displaying the wisdom of the long iron replacement belief, even if they are simply following what Adams Golf has done better than anyone else for a half-dozen years. With its a3, a3 OS and Tech OS sets, Adams has produced traditional 8-iron sets, enhanced by long-iron replacement hybrids in the 3-, 4- and 5-iron slots. The fact is the only people who should have a 3-iron in their rotation are those who get all their clubs for free. BUT, and this is an intriguing BUT, Callaway's most consistently appealing super game improvement offering and the traditional leader in this field is the Big Bertha iron, and the set will come with a 3-iron with a unique sole and cavity that can be used to scoop a ball off the green. This pseudo hybrid iron set is intriguing to me. Why not simply stop selling the 3-iron, and use the available R&D manpower at your disposal to create the perfect hybrid line? But NOOOO! The 3-iron continues to resonate with manufacturers eager to sell something that is useless the moment it’s unwrapped. As one retailer put it, any club that comes with a 3-iron standard and an eight-piece set as standard is swimming against a riptide. Maybe it’s not that overwhelming, but to me wouldn’t all that time spent designing a 3-iron be better used on designing a better, more user-friendly hybrid. Why approximate a hybrid design, when consumers have clearly voiced their preference? But no, the making of ultimately useless things continues.Full marks, by the way, to the engineers at Golfsmith, led by R&D wizard Jeff Sheets. Couldn’t you simply figure a way to make sets stop after the 5-iron and then fit the hybrids in so your loft gtaps still are meaningful. Of the literally dozens of iron models Golfsmith produces for its many brands, only one or two come with an iron in the 3-iron slot. Speaking of which, let me leave you with a number of the day: 11. No, not the 11 I made on No. 12 today. No, “eleven” is the number of current sets in the running for the 2008 Hot List that still include a 2-iron. Eleven and the numeral "2." Maybe that's what my game needs about now. A 2-iron. I can use it as a walking stick and leave the rest of the bag at home.

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Archived Comments (4) Click to expand

Glad to hear John's family is safe and sound. I also found out how serious the "Judge's Cup" was to John as he turned down a glass of wine I offered the night before the match. Speaking of John and the Judge's cup, I feel John's new swing tips from a Top Teacher are outstanding but the recent weight loss by John throws his stability out the window especially since you played in the wind. I say go back to the buffet for the comfort food Bomb enjoyed and get some stability back.

Your thoughts on Hybrids and set make ups are right on. Although teaching is my specialty, we are also known as great merchandisers throughout NM. We have three combined golf courses with merchandise over $300,000 with all fitting centers.

The last two years I fitted my high handicap players with just two hybrids (mini woods) with at least six degrees of differance in lofts. The irons are #6,#8,PW plus LW. With a three wood in the bag they are off to the races and I tell them we can fill in the rest IF and WHEN they can tell the difference. 90 % come back and are ready to graduate to a driver and MAYBE the SW. They don't even miss the odd numbered irons in the bag and its lighter to carry and less confusing.

My hopes in the years to come is no more ill informed students showing up to the lessons with a bag FULL of headcovers popping out. Three hybrids, Driver, 3,5,7, AND 9 wood. And when the swing speed is around 60 mph, every degree difference is only ONE yard gained. They need one of them quarterback armbands to look up all the clubs that differ by only four yards. This is one big reason why all clubs go the same distance for this level of golfer. I truly don't know how they can find the club they really want and half are still with wrappers on.

Have a great time in Mesquite as it truly is a great place to visit especially if you golf. The people are also so generous that I even bought a Tony Romo shirt for my nephew for only $6.00 in quarters. Two washes and its good to go in a gift box (smelled like a casino) for his upcoming birthday.
Keep up the great informative work and we will see you next to the pin.
Sincerely,
Odd Todd Kersting
PGA Professional

Posted by OddTodd October 24, 2007 7:46 AM

I echo oddtodd. Late day walking rounds at my course with half of the clubs still in the bag room usually yields the same (crappy) score as with the full arsenal.

One thing you don't mention is that how one uses the club can influence the choice of hybrid v. iron. Even as a modestly capable mid-handicapper, I can't hit a 3 hybrid consistently well from fairway lies, either, and so these longer clubs are generally relegated to teed-up shots on par 3s and shorter par 4s. Some people may prefer the 3 iron to the 3 hybrid if the club is going to be used from the tee only, as the iron may be a bit easier to control.

But I agree that manufacturers could simply engineer a new type of "kit," with a mixture of irons, hybrids, and wedges. Ten or eleven clubs in all, then throw in driver, putter, and a fairway wood if you dare. But I guess they'd rather sell us iron sets AND single club hybrids. Gotta keep the revenue growth humming.

Posted by 86general October 24, 2007 11:32 AM

Give me back my 3-iron!

I agree with the points in the discussion about the hybrids. They are a big help for us average Joes. I simply love my hybrid; it gets me out of trouble several times during a round.

However, I would like to draw the attention to what I would call a fallacy of technology. The equipment manufacturers have for some reason continued to decrease the loft on their irons for years. Maybe it is to make their irons go further and further. Anyway, that has made it more difficult for us weekend players to hit the long irons consistently. Furthermore, with a stronger lofted pitching wedge they have pushed us to buy more wedges to better complement the iron set and close the yardage gaps in the all important last 120 yards to the pin. Wedges are specialty irons; we should not need to carry more than two of those besides the pitching wedge.

In all sports you look to the best to learn and copy. So, what is Tiger playing? If the information on his equipment manufacturer’s website about his irons is correct, then his 3-iron has 23 degrees. That is only 1 degree stronger than the loft of many of the competing equipment manufacturers’ 4-irons in their top line iron sets. Hey, I would expect to get more loft on my 3-iron than Tiger, not less.

Give me back my 3-iron. Give me an iron set that starts with a pitching wedge with 52 degrees, let the gaps in loft between the irons be 4 degrees then the 3-iron will complete the iron set with 24 degrees. I’ll then put a couple of wedges, a driver, a 4-wood, a hybrid, and a putter in my bag and go merry on my fairway.

Posted by AllanNielsen October 24, 2007 2:11 PM

I really wish people would stop bagging on the 3-iron as if a golfer who chooses to use one is being incredibly and completely stupid. It's not so.

I get that most golfers would probably do well to ditch the 3-iron. Maybe even the 4-iron. But as a low-handicap golfer who loves his 3-iron just fine, I'm not trading it in any time soon.

I've got a hybrid. It nicely fills the gap between my 3-wood and 3-iron (a gap a 2-iron used to fill). But every time I consider replacing my 3-iron with a hybrid, I'm struck by the fact that my 3-iron is more versatile for me. It's easier to shape shots, both left and right as well as high and low, with my 3-iron. It's marginally easier to hit from a tee. It's much easier to use from beneath trees.

The modern PGA Tour pro doesn't use a 3-iron because, well, they never have a shot that demands it. They hit their 5-irons into par fives or into long par threes. The pro game typically relies on the driver/3-wood and the mid- to short irons.

I'm in the minority - I get it. But for me and likely thousands of other golfers across the country, the 3-iron still has its place. I'm not going to complain if the standard iron set shrinks to six clubs (5I-PW) so long as the 3I and 4I are still available, but I'm going to avoid sets that force me into hybrids or which don't make those two irons available.

Posted by iacas November 1, 2007 7:19 PM