3-Iron or Hybrid?

[Vintage]

OK, I need more help.... I didn't grow up in a golf family, I was the first to take up golf, so there is a lot I don't know, hence all of these threads...


3 Iron or Hybrid?

I've never really been able to hit my low irons. Before this year, I was solid with the 6-SW. 5 Iron was inconsistent, when I was hitting it well, I could rely on it; when I wasn't, it was useless. I never used a 4 or 3 iron. In High School, this wasn't a problem. I had a 5 Wood that I used with reasonable amount of success. That 5 Wood is long gone and it really exposes a hole in my golf game.

Its not so much the Par 5s.... Let's say you play a 550 yard par 5. I can usually do something like Driver, 6 Iron, 9/PW.....or something like that. Its on par 4s, where I get destroyed. If I am on a 450 yard par 4, chances are my second shot is about 200 to the hole. And I never have had a club for that (other than 5 Wood in H.S.). So, I'd probably play a 6/7 iron and take half SW for my 3rd shot into the green.... you can see why this is trouble.

I've been toying with the idea of buying a hybrid. Its supposed to be easier to hit. So about a week ago, my dad and I were at the driving range, and I decided towards the end to try and hit my 3 iron. It took a couple shots to warm it up, but then I started seeing results. In the end, I probably hit maybe 20 3 Iron shots.

Yesterday, we were back at the driving range, and towards the end, I did the same thing....and again, I started seeing some results...

1/3 of the shots went an acceptable distance and straight. Like, laser straight. Another 1/3, had I been aiming down the middle of the fairway, I'd be flirting with the rough. If I had started it out left of center (of the fairway), they'd been in the fairway. The remaining 1/3 was definately in the rough.

I've hit maybe 40 shots with my 3 iron in the past week (for the first time ever. Ever, as in, I finally put a little ball mark on my 3 iron for the first time. )

I am wondering if I simply just need to work on my 3 iron more since I think I am beginning to see results with such little work thus far and could possibly make it a reliable club....

Or should I just buy a hybrid?


Is there any important advantage to being able to hit a 3 iron? As in, should I just put the time/effort into it? Or should I scrap it and buy a hybrid?

 

[trickblue]

I hit my 2 iron much better than my hybrid... in fact I'm better with my long irons than with my short irons...

Personally I don't like hybrids, but it all depends on the player. Hitting long irons is mainly a mental thing (as is most of the game of golf). I learned to hit my long irons by using them off of the tee. Once you get used to the feel they are pretty easy to hit. The key is to swing easy and smooth. Most people try to power their long irons. My experience is that I even swing easier with long irons than my short iron.

 

[joseephuss]

What do you mean by hybrid?

I say work with your 3 iron and get your 5 wood back.

 

[Vintage]

I hit my 2 iron much better than my hybrid... in fact I'm better with my long irons than with my short irons...

Personally I don't like hybrids, but it all depends on the player. Hitting long irons is mainly a mental thing (as is most of the game of golf). I learned to hit my long irons by using them off of the tee. Once you get used to the feel they are pretty easy to hit. The key is to swing easy and smooth. Most people try to power their long irons. My experience is that I even swing easier with long irons than my short iron.

Yeah, I learned that too (nice and easy swing produces better results, and in many cases, more yardage than trying to get that extra oomph for yardage).

For some reason though, I hit my irons better off the carpet than off a tee. Is that normal? By better, I mean straighter. Its more reliable for me...

So anytime I hit iron off the teebox, its from the carpet; not a tee.

 

[Vintage]

What do you mean by hybrid?

I say work with your 3 iron and get your 5 wood back.

Hybrid is a cross between a fairway wood and iron....


I don't have a 5 wood anymore....I would have to get one.

 

[joseephuss]

Hybrid is a cross between a fairway wood and iron....


I don't have a 5 wood anymore....I would have to get one.

Yep, that is what I thought. I just wanted to make sure you were not referring to some sort of short game club. You know, stop using the long iron and concentrate on the short game kind of thing.

Yes, go get a 5 wood. I love using a 5 wood on the fairway. I find it much easier to hit a wood with a nice and easy swing than I do a long iron. The 3 iron is about the longest I can go. I don't have a feel for a 2 or 1 iron and can't get that easy swing going for them. The 3 iron is a valuable club especially in the rough.

I really only use 10 clubs. There are more in my bag, but I rarely use them. I took a golf class in college and we only hit with a 5 iron and a 3 wood. It is amazing how many shots you can get out of those two clubs in a round of golf. Well, not just shots. I can hit lots of shots with any club, but good shots.

driver
3 wood
5 wood
3 iron
5 iron
7 iron
8 iron
9 iron
pw
putter

 

[Vintage]

I have Driver, 3Wood, 3-SW, Putter

I like to use my 3 Wood off the tee a lot actually. Not from the fairway though, perhaps I should try that....

But my 3 Wood is probably the most reliable club in my bad (for actually swinging a club). I can always count on it going straight.

I'll actually use my 3 wood and hit little half shots off the tee instead of hitting a 3 or 4 iron when its needed. And it usually turns out pretty good.



Edit: What's the advantage of having a 5 Wood over a hybrid (say, 3 iron hybrid)?

 

[Vintage]

Behold..... the Vintage Saver. (picture is of a 4 wood, but I have a 3 Wood....the club head is so tiny.... its probably half the size of my G5 Driver)

Its old as hell (6 years old, I think)..... but I can't replace it. There are probably millions of better clubs on the market than it, but this club saves me every time my driver is off.... I can't bear to replace it.

 

[silverbear]

OK, I need more help.... I didn't grow up in a golf family, I was the first to take up golf, so there is a lot I don't know, hence all of these threads...


3 Iron or Hybrid?

I've never really been able to hit my low irons. Before this year, I was solid with the 6-SW. 5 Iron was inconsistent, when I was hitting it well, I could rely on it; when I wasn't, it was useless. I never used a 4 or 3 iron. In High School, this wasn't a problem. I had a 5 Wood that I used with reasonable amount of success. That 5 Wood is long gone and it really exposes a hole in my golf game.

Its not so much the Par 5s.... Let's say you play a 550 yard par 5. I can usually do something like Driver, 6 Iron, 9/PW.....or something like that. Its on par 4s, where I get destroyed. If I am on a 450 yard par 4, chances are my second shot is about 200 to the hole. And I never have had a club for that (other than 5 Wood in H.S.). So, I'd probably play a 6/7 iron and take half SW for my 3rd shot into the green.... you can see why this is trouble.

I've been toying with the idea of buying a hybrid. Its supposed to be easier to hit. So about a week ago, my dad and I were at the driving range, and I decided towards the end to try and hit my 3 iron. It took a couple shots to warm it up, but then I started seeing results. In the end, I probably hit maybe 20 3 Iron shots.

Yesterday, we were back at the driving range, and towards the end, I did the same thing....and again, I started seeing some results...

1/3 of the shots went an acceptable distance and straight. Like, laser straight. Another 1/3, had I been aiming down the middle of the fairway, I'd be flirting with the rough. If I had started it out left of center (of the fairway), they'd been in the fairway. The remaining 1/3 was definately in the rough.

I've hit maybe 40 shots with my 3 iron in the past week (for the first time ever. Ever, as in, I finally put a little ball mark on my 3 iron for the first time. )

I am wondering if I simply just need to work on my 3 iron more since I think I am beginning to see results with such little work thus far and could possibly make it a reliable club....

Or should I just buy a hybrid?


Is there any important advantage to being able to hit a 3 iron? As in, should I just put the time/effort into it? Or should I scrap it and buy a hybrid?

So many questions... first off, even for good golfers the long irons are the hardest clubs to hit well consistently... Lee Trevino once joked that the thing to do in a thunderstorm was walk out in the middle of the fairway, lay down your bag, pull out your 1 iron and stick it straight up in the air, because " even God can't hit a 1 iron"...

You may be aware that tour pros don't often (ever) have a really matched set of clubs in their bag, but what you may not know is that a lot of tour pros carry Ping long irons, because they're easier to hit... I play Ping irons myself, and they really are somewhat easier to hit consistently, so if your club has a single club bin, and you can find a good Ping 3 iron in there, give that a try...

Now, if you hit the fairway woods pretty solidly, then you might be better off going with a hybrid, but some of them only have the loft of like a 7 wood, and you might not get the distance you want... again, try your club's single club bin (sometimes it's a barrel), and see if you can't find an old 5 wood...

The only real advantage to a 3 iron over a 5 wood is in difficult lies... you can generally hit the fairway wood a little higher, so sometimes pros will take a wood out of the bag and put an extra long iron in on windy days... if you play in a lot of wind, you might want to do that too...

As you described the shots you hit with that 3 iron on the range, it sounds like you might get a wee bit more consistent with one simple change-- move the ball an inch or so forward in your stance... it sounds like you have a push fade when you mi**** the ball, which comes from not getting the clubhead quite back to square at impact... rather than revamp your swing to address this, moving the ball forward in your stance a wee bit gives you a split second more to get the clubface back to square...

If you can hit the long irons consistently solid, you can play the game... when I struggled with them, I'd hook them something AWFUL... these days, I'm still more comfortable with my 4 wood than my 2 iron, though, and I generally don't carry the 1 and 2 irons unless it's windy...

 

[Vintage]

Now, if you hit the fairway woods pretty solidly, then you might be better off going with a hybrid, but some of them only have the loft of like a 7 wood, and you might not get the distance you want... again, try your club's single club bin (sometimes it's a barrel), and see if you can't find an old 5 wood...

Thing is, I don't know if I am... I haven't used a 5 wood since H.S. So, its been 4 years. And my 3 Wood, I only use it off the tee. Though, like I said, its probably my most solid club off the tee....

And my experience with hybrids is even less than my experience with 3 irons. I hit a hybrid on a course for the first time and from about 225 out, I put it on the fringe. My dad has hybrids and I occasionally test one out. I hit a hybrid once the other day and it went as far and as straight as my better 3 Iron shots....

That's the thing that slightly concerns me. I apparently can hit a hybrid without really ever using one before... whereas with my 3 Iron, its going to take a little work. OTOH, with as little work as I have put into my 3 Iron, the results have been better than I expected. So I am torn.

The only real advantage to a 3 iron over a 5 wood is in difficult lies... you can generally hit the fairway wood a little higher, so sometimes pros will take a wood out of the bag and put an extra long iron in on windy days... if you play in a lot of wind, you might want to do that too...

Wind isn't too bad. Its average, and its not a real concern. And yeah, that's kind of why I was looking at a hybrid (can hit it from difficult lies, plays like an iron, easy to hit like a fairway wood)

As you described the shots you hit with that 3 iron on the range, it sounds like you might get a wee bit more consistent with one simple change-- move the ball an inch or so forward in your stance... it sounds like you have a push fade when you mi**** the ball, which comes from not getting the clubhead quite back to square at impact... rather than revamp your swing to address this, moving the ball forward in your stance a wee bit gives you a split second more to get the clubface back to square...

I am def. going to try this next time I am out.

If you can hit the long irons consistently solid, you can play the game... when I struggled with them, I'd hook them something AWFUL... these days, I'm still more comfortable with my 4 wood than my 2 iron, though, and I generally don't carry the 1 and 2 irons unless it's windy...

I've made some general progress on all my irons thus far this summer.... and I've made a boatload of progress on my 3 iron (from not being able to hit to the point where I am now; its still not great, probably inconsistant and mediocre at best.....but its a far cry from where I used to be with it)...

 

[silverbear]

Thing is, I don't know if I am... I haven't used a 5 wood since H.S. So, its been 4 years. And my 3 Wood, I only use it off the tee. Though, like I said, its probably my most solid club off the tee....

Reading what you wrote about the distance you get with your 3 wood, it doesn't sound like hitting fairway woods is your strong suit...

And my experience with hybrids is even less than my experience with 3 irons. I hit a hybrid on a course for the first time and from about 225 out, I put it on the fringe. My dad has hybrids and I occasionally test one out. I hit a hybrid once the other day and it went as far and as straight as my better 3 Iron shots....

Well, a hybrid is supposed to replace a 4 iron, supposed to be able to hit a ball as far as the 4... putting one on the fringe from 225 is believable, given what you've told me about the distance you hit your other clubs... generally speaking, when I carried one, I expected to be able to fly it 210-215...which is about what I hit my 4 iron...

I carry a Titleist 975J driver, the model Tiger used until he signed with Nike, and an Adams Tight Lies 2 wood (brassie) for using off the tees on tight holes and off the fairway on long par 5s, and I carry an Adams Tight Lies 4 wood... those Adams sticks are pfugly, but they're real easy to hit, especially out of long grass...

These days, being an old man, I can average 275-280 off the tee, using titanium... in my prime, it was 290, using persimmon... with the 2 wood, I can hit it about 260-280 off the tee, 250-260 off the fairway... I can hit the 4 wood about 230-235, about what I hit a 2 iron...

But I personally prefer the fairway woods to the long irons, if the lie is decent... I hit them more consistently solidly, and the shots fly higher for me with the woods...

That's the thing that slightly concerns me. I apparently can hit a hybrid without really ever using one before... whereas with my 3 Iron, its going to take a little work. OTOH, with as little work as I have put into my 3 Iron, the results have been better than I expected. So I am torn.

Well, your game would be better in the long run if you taught yourself how to play the long irons fairly well, but if you can hit the hybrid better now, why not make things easier on yourself??

I've made some general progress on all my irons thus far this summer.... and I've made a boatload of progress on my 3 iron (from not being able to hit to the point where I am now; its still not great, probably inconsistant and mediocre at best.....but its a far cry from where I used to be with it)...

The single most effective piece of advice I could offer you is to take the clubs you hit the worst, and beat balls until your hands bleed with them... there is no quicker route to serious improvement than serious practice...

I swear, at times I enjoy hitting balls more than I enjoy playing... and I love playing...

 

[Vintage]

Reading what you wrote about the distance you get with your 3 wood, it doesn't sound like hitting fairway woods is your strong suit...

Thing is, I can't really tell how far I hit my 3 Wood. The driving range I use, since I was hitting off the grass, it has a different set of yardage markers for them than when you hit off the mats. It has a 200, but it doesn't have a 250, but it does have a 275. So I am guesstimating how far I hit my 3Wood.

It would seem silly I would hit a hybrid farther than a 3 Wood. But then again, a couple of weeks ago, I was hitting my 5 iron the same distance as my 7 (or pratically the same distance)....so maybe I am. I probably need to get a more accurate reading on that.

I just know on the course I can adjust it. If I need it to be 180 yards for that dogleg, I hit it 180. If I can let 'er rip, I let 'er rip. I don't really have an accurate bearing on my 3 Wood.

But the hybrid, I do....because there was a drainage spout with the distance right next to where I hit the ball....

Well, your game would be better in the long run if you taught yourself how to play the long irons fairly well, but if you can hit the hybrid better now, why not make things easier on yourself??



The single most effective piece of advice I could offer you is to take the clubs you hit the worst, and beat balls until your hands bleed with them... there is no quicker route to serious improvement than serious practice...

I swear, at times I enjoy hitting balls more than I enjoy playing... and I love playing...

I love being at the range.... allows me to work on things and I can see immediate results by tweaking a couple of things....then getting it down, then repeating it so it can become part of muscle memory.

I guess part of me wants to learn how to hit a 3 iron well because I've never done it, I want to do it, and I am stubborn.

 

[silverbear]

Thing is, I can't really tell how far I hit my 3 Wood. The driving range I use, since I was hitting off the grass, it has a different set of yardage markers for them than when you hit off the mats. It has a 200, but it doesn't have a 250, but it does have a 275. So I am guesstimating how far I hit my 3Wood.

Then chart your distances on the course... if you're on a 350 yard par 4, and you use the 3 off the tee, and you're 130 yards from the pin, you've just hit it 220... keep track of that on your scorecard if there's room, and figure out how far you do hit it...

It's important to know your distances for all your sticks...

It would seem silly I would hit a hybrid farther than a 3 Wood.

Ordinarily, but if you're hitting the hybrid more solidly, more consistently, then you'll hit it farther... it may be that you're not as comfortable the longer the clubs get, are you on the short side, like I am?? I'm 5-9, if I stand up straight...

In fact, I always found it more comfortable for me to cut my driver down a half inch, to 42.5 inches... for the longest time, Jack Nicklaus did the same...

I love being at the range.... allows me to work on things and I can see immediate results by tweaking a couple of things....then getting it down, then repeating it so it can become part of muscle memory.

Back in my club pro days, I often took dates over to the driving range, so I could "show off" a little... I gave a free junior clinic each summer at that range, so the owners comped me a few buckets each week, and I'd start to put on a show...

Seriously, in a few minutes I'd have people gathered around watching me work, I'd be cracking jokes. generally playing the fool... I'd get them to tell me what kind of shot they wanted to see-- low draw, high fade, that sort of thing-- and I'd hit it for 'em... I'd haul out the big stick and commence to trying to fly one off the side of the barn, some 300 yards out...

It really impressed my dates...

I guess part of me wants to learn how to hit a 3 iron well because I've never done it, I want to do it, and I am stubborn.

I can respect that... LOL...

 

[Vintage]

Then chart your distances on the course... if you're on a 350 yard par 4, and you use the 3 off the tee, and you're 130 yards from the pin, you've just hit it 220... keep track of that on your scorecard if there's room, and figure out how far you do hit it...

It's important to know your distances for all your sticks...

Good idea. That's what I'll start doing....

Ordinarily, but if you're hitting the hybrid more solidly, more consistently, then you'll hit it farther... it may be that you're not as comfortable the longer the clubs get, are you on the short side, like I am?? I'm 5-9, if I stand up straight...

I'm 6'2". 6'2.5" in my footjoy sandals, lol.... Heigth isn't the problem.

Back in my club pro days, I often took dates over to the driving range, so I could "show off" a little... I gave a free junior clinic each summer at that range, so the owners comped me a few buckets each week, and I'd start to put on a show...

Seriously, in a few minutes I'd have people gathered around watching me work, I'd be cracking jokes. generally playing the fool... I'd get them to tell me what kind of shot they wanted to see-- low draw, high fade, that sort of thing-- and I'd hit it for 'em... I'd haul out the big stick and commence to trying to fly one off the side of the barn, some 300 yards out...

LOL.... I was in H.S. (didn't have my license yet), and I was at the range with my dad. There was a kid who was several years older than me.... he had a girl with him and was showing off (probably much like you, ).... anyway, he saw me hitting and goes "Is that all the further you are hitting your driver? That's embarassing"

He was besting me by probably 10 yards at this point.

I turned to him, showed him the club heel and said "naw, its just my 5 wood. Though, I'd be embarassed if I was barely outhitting me using a driver."

Them were the good ol' days. When I had better swing speed, better coiling, better distance.... though..... the accuracy was really shaky. I was more often found on another fairway than my own fairway.

 

[trickblue]

Yeah, I learned that too (nice and easy swing produces better results, and in many cases, more yardage than trying to get that extra oomph for yardage).

For some reason though, I hit my irons better off the carpet than off a tee. Is that normal? By better, I mean straighter. Its more reliable for me...

So anytime I hit iron off the teebox, its from the carpet; not a tee.

Tee them up short... in other words, just enough to get them off the ground...

 

[silverbear]

Good idea. That's what I'll start doing....



I'm 6'2". 6'2.5" in my footjoy sandals, lol.... Heigth isn't the problem.





LOL.... I was in H.S. (didn't have my license yet), and I was at the range with my dad. There was a kid who was several years older than me.... he had a girl with him and was showing off (probably much like you, ).... anyway, he saw me hitting and goes "Is that all the further you are hitting your driver? That's embarassing"

He was besting me by probably 10 yards at this point.

I turned to him, showed him the club heel and said "naw, its just my 5 wood. Though, I'd be embarassed if I was barely outhitting me using a driver."

Them were the good ol' days. When I had better swing speed, better coiling, better distance.... though..... the accuracy was really shaky. I was more often found on another fairway than my own fairway.

OK, if you're gonna tell golf stories, I've got one much like that...

I left my last club pro job because the owner of the course sold it, and it was bought by a golf pro who had made enough to buy his own place... he didn't need me, but I stayed on through the remainder of the season to help him meet the members and learn his way around things at the club...

Well, on the weekend that he took over, we were having our annual Men's Club outing, and since I was a member of the Men's Club, that was one of the few weekends I was gonna actually play... as I was getting ready to tee off, my partner (a young guy who worked at the course) sidled over beside me and said he'd just heard General Ely (the old owner) tell the new owner that he had to watch me tee off, that he'd never seen anybody hit the ball so far with such a free, effortless swing...

Well, this both tickled me, and annoyed me; General Ely had never said anything like that to ME... but the time came for me to tee it up, the first hole was a short 270 yard par 4, but straight up a really steep hill, with out of bounds directly behind the green... if I hit my driver on that hole, I was better than even money to be OB behind the green, even if I hit it dead straight...

It was a hot day, no wind, and I smoked a tee shot right in front of the green, no more than 6 feet short... the new owner, a tall guy name of Burleigh, called out to compliment me on it...

"Yeah, it wasn't bad for a 4 wood", I said...

His jaw dropped in disbelief, so I merrily turned the sole of that ol' PowerBilt over, and he saw the big 4 on the soleplate...

I strutted up that fairway, big ol' grin on my face... sure was glad I didn't hit the sucker fat...

 

[Vintage]

LOL, damn.

On a good day with everything going well, I might be able to do something like that with a driver; but def. not a 4 wood.

 

[Nors]

I occasionally will drop my three iron out of the bag for my 5 wood which is almost a 7 wood in loft. The advantage to the wood is its easier to get out of sand traps or the rough.

I like to carry a 1 to 2 iron to use off tee to distress opponent and occasionaly needed to bend low liners out of tree's/woods - Big problem in Northeast.

 

[Kangaroo]

I also prefer long irons off the Fairway I suck big time trying to hit a stupid wood of the fairway

When i use to get more distance dam age weight and kids gerr I could hit a 2 iron 300 yards once in a blue moon of a tee (yes to bad I had accuracy problems lol)

The key to irons off the tee for me has always been push it into the ground where it puts the ball just off the ground a smidgen and it helps

 

[silverbear]

LOL, damn.

On a good day with everything going well, I might be able to do something like that with a driver; but def. not a 4 wood.

In my glory days, I was really, really long... I mean, long drive contest long...

Back then, the longest driver on Tour might average 300 yards, and that just barely... remember, this was in the days when woods were still made of wood, LOL... I could average a solid 290 off the tee, and most rounds I'd have at least 2-3 tee shots over 300... I could also move the fairway woods a good distance...

These days, even with the extra 15-20 yards that titanium gives you, my average is in the 275-280 range... still longer than most, still long enough to play the game, but I can't help wishing I'd had this technology back when I was young... if I could hit a persimmom driver 290, I KNOW I could have hit this driver I'm swinging now 305-310 pretty consistently...

But of course, I had to hit my 4 wood dead solid to move it 270, up a hill... that WAS a little better than my norm back then... I picked the right time to hit it in the screws...

I've got another long hitter story to tell you, from back when I was just getting started in the business... on my days off, I used to go up to suburban DC to a course where a good friend also worked as an assistant, and we'd team up to fleece a couple of his members with more money than talent...

This one August Monday, we were doin' our thing at Chantilly National, and I'd "borrowed" my Dad's George Izett persimmon driver, which he'd had fitted with one of the first Aldila graphite shafts, 45 inches long... I was eager to try graphite, but the length of it put me off...

But this day, I was really hitting it well, and doing a little woofing to my buddy Dieter about what a "man" I'd become, IOW, how long I was getting... it was fun stuff, nothing real serious... well, we got to the 18th tee two up on our opponents (a pair of 5 handicappers), thanks to Dieter birdieing the par 5 17th... so we had the honors...

The 18th at Chantilly National was 350 yard par 5 with a lake on the left, that ran level out to about 300-310 yards, where there was steep hill up to the green... Dieter put one out there to the base of the hill, then turned to me and said "you've been telling me all day long what a "man" you've become, if you can hit it out there with that I'll admit you're a real man"...

I do love a challenge, so with a smile on my face I took my stance, drew the club away a little extra slow, made sure to take a big turn, and when I started down, I gave it everything I had, right down to a Jimmy Connors-like grunt at impact... Dieter kidded me that both my feet were six inches off the ground, I was swinging so hard...

And I just murdered it... that ball was still climbing when it flew over Dieter's, then it flew over the flippin' GREEN... I'm serious, I flew it over 350, the longest carry I've ever hit before or since... a once in a lifetime shot...

The problem was, I was in JAIL behind the green... I was on this steep downslope, in deep grass, trying to chip onto a very fast green that slopes away from me... as I'm standing there, the head pro of the club, a nice guy name of Dick Canney, was standing on the veranda watching me, and he gave me some playful grief about how it's not good to blade the approach shot over the green on 18...

At which point I turned to Dick and said "there's one problem to that theory, hoss, this ain't my approach shot, this is my TEE shot"... his eyes got wide in disbelief, and Dieter was standing there nodding his head in affirmation...

I wish this story had a happy ending, but of course I chipped the ball clean across the green, then chipped back stiff and made my par... happily, Dieter put his approach shot in about six feet and made the putt, so we won the press too...

And as we're walking off the green, I throw an arm around Dieter and ask him "so, am I man??", laughing all the while... he looked at me, and said just about the sweetest words I've ever heard:

"No, you're not a man; you're an (expletive deleted) GO-RILLA"...

Drinks in the clubhouse tasted especially sweet that evening, and I clipped those members for a few more bucks playing gin before I headed back home...