I think this is a birdie.
There is a 15 year old regular at our course. (I’m 59). He and I have played a few rounds together, and meet every so often also on the range. When we play together he has a great attitude, temperment, etc., we get along great. He has a wonderful golf swing.
About 2 months ago every time we happened to meet at the range, he wanted to hit all my clubs. (98 Hogan Apex blades). His iron set is offset, cast, whippy graphite shafts. As the weeks went on, he was hitting my clubs better by far.
I have 2 sets of the 98’s both set-up the same: D2, apex 4 shafts, 3 deg. flat, std length). So I made him this offer…“If you want, I’ll loan you this set. Play with them 'till Sept. Then if you want them as your own, you, your parents, and I will meet to see what we can do”. He was just thrilled.
Now, he’s just nailing the golf ball. When he bears down, he can work the ball as well. We talk together about the sweet spot. We talk about divots…“bacan strips, not pork chops!!”. A couple weeks ago he comes up to me with the clubs and proudly proclaims…“look, most all of the marks are in the center! Hey can I hit your 3 wood?” He hits it a few times just beautifully and says something like “I hit this old thing better than mine, how can that be?” “Well, maybe because it has the same shaft as your irons. Maybe because the weight is close to the same. Maybe you have to hit the center, or the ball isn’t going anywhere, I don’t know”. He just smiled.
With his parents permission, I’m going to give him the irons. (Maybe later I can get him a persimmon 3w like mine).
I’ll update this in September, to let everyone know if he wanted to stay with the blades.
That’s great. He’s making a good decision going to the Apexes, and you are making a far greater contribution than you can even realize right now. I am a year older than him, and can say definitively that I have progressed at least twice as much as I otherwise could have by switching to blades and practicing with persimmons.
At my course though, all the other regulars think I’m nuts!
I hadn’t given it much thought since I am so close to the story…
The kid has as good a swing as we have out here in the sticks…never has had a lesson, just raw natural talent
(and a horrible Mod 2) but those clubs have helped him in a big way.
Those damn graphite shafted pieces of shit he was playing were horrible! Sure they were plenty long, and 20 yards left or right…
his pattern and target dispersion are at least 50% better than before…
Hmmm heavier and stiffer—does this ring a bell?
and the kid does a great happy gilmore swing!! It will be fun to watch him progress…
Just recieved a call from the youngster. He reported two things to me. He damaged the 56 degree sand wedge slightly when playing at our close by mountain course. He was worried about the cosmetics, since they are borrowed. I told him to absolutely not worry about that…“heck you can’t even see the cosmetics of the clubs I’m playing for all the lead tape.” “We’ll put in on the grinder Saturday and repair it”. He laughed and I think he feels better. The other thing is, he just recorded a hole-in-one with the Hogan E wedge. Maybe for sure he will stick with them now. End of September will tell.
