MulliganMac

I appreciate a driving iron for this exact reason. If I miss-hit a driving iron, my ball is usually still in play. With a fairway or hybrid, my ball is more likely to be out of play. I use a driving iron on tight par fours and, at times, long par threes. I can work it from 210 to 230 yards. I also don't change my swing between a fairway or a driving iron. I mimic my fairway wood swing with a driving iron. I've found Ping and Srixon make excellent driving irons. Today's driving irons are technologically closer to a hybrid than the 1-irons of twenty years ago.

We made it, gang. It's November 1. This is the time of year when my game goes from several days of practice and play every week to just playing a few times a month. In Virginia, we can play year-round minus a few weeks of snow in January and February. I'll play a few rounds with temperatures in the teens every winter. My results this year were a mixed bag. The lowest round was 75. Since the pandemic, I was able to stay low single digits but the handicap this year was steadily at a 6. It may be a bit of aging. Plus, the home course lost its greens in September due to poor chem management. They fried the greens one week and spent the rest of the summer trying to recover. To be honest, not being able to putt consistently on the bad greens probably helped keep the scores up. I'm looking at only one equipment change this winter. I'm switching wedges from Ping Glide 4.0 to Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore. I love the Pings. I'm not mad at them. I just want to buy something new for the bag. I'd love to go black satin but will probably go tour satin because I'll get pissed when the black finish wears. For those of us who have off seasons, what do you enjoy about them and what do you hate about them? I like this time of year. It allows me to step away from the grind of trying to lower the handicap to spending more time in the gym trying to slow the aging process. I hate wearing extra clothes. Fortunately, a bit of cold gear and walking the round keeps me warmer than my partners who are in the covered carts with cart heaters. Enjoy winter golf, all.

I don't want to be that guy, but I've always been able to strike a fairway wood. Doesn't everyone utilize the practice range? I will admit to a love-hate relationship with my five wood. I'll punish it from time to time by benching it for a driving iron. But when things are tight at the end of a good round / tournament round and I need to hit the fairway off the tee or I'm trying to hit a green from over 230, I'm pulling a fairway wood. My only mental thoughts are "sweep" and "smooth." I also recommend gripping "up" on fairway woods. Shortening the length of the club by even half an inch makes the club feel easier to hit. And like I said, I strike my fairway woods on the range two dozen times a week.