In the modern lexicon of golf, “game improvement” is a description applied mostly to irons.
The term shouldn’t be limited in such a way. Today’s golfers, from ordinary amateurs to touring pros, know that golf clubs are becoming easier to hit and harder to miss. “Game improvement” is affecting the set from top to bottom, from wedge to driver.
There was an important lesson to be learned from game-improvement pioneers Karsten Solheim, founder of Ping Golf, and Ely Callaway, founder of Callaway Golf: Golf clubs designed for average golfers have a habit for finding their way into the bags of touring professionals.
Although their creations initially were labeled as game improvement clubs, Solheim and Callaway were geniuses at promoting and marketing easy-to-hit clubs that eventually were adopted by touring pros.
The Ping Eye2 and the Callaway Big Bertha became trendsetting clubs in the golf industry, their popularity stretching across all spectrums of the game.
When I first saw Tiger Woods play golf, he used Ping Eye2 irons. So what if he was 11 years old?
When I first was introduced to Phil Mickelson, he too used Ping Eye2 irons.
Both could have done worse than grow up with cavity-back Ping irons. These irons undoubtedly provided a boost to their confidence and helped them hit the ball high in the air.
Fast forward to the 2007 U.S. Open, where Angel Cabrera carried a bagful of Ping irons in winning our national championship. I am captivated by the reality that the same brand can be used by the worst of us and the best of us. Sure, Cabrera used a pro version, but the Ping heritage lies in irons that can be hit effectively by Joe Average Golfer.
Likewise, Callaway Big Bertha woods were born with a message of forgiveness tied around their necks. The clubheads were bigger than golfers had seen previously, and it seemed that anybody could hit them.
So it doesn’t surprise me that touring pros are using hybrid clubs and fairway woods in much the same way that amateurs use them – to easily get the ball up in the air off marginal lies. Likewise it doesn’t surprise me that long irons gradually are disappearing from golf.
Mickelson and Woods mostly have banished 2-irons from their bags. When Mickelson carries a hybrid club and Woods replaces his 2-iron with a 5-wood – a frequent occurrence this year – we should recognize that a significant transformation is occurring.
Mickelson, the most fascinating player in golf when it comes to golf equipment, seems unafraid to try any club configuration. He has carried two drivers in the Masters, and he has gone into competition with five wedges in his bag. Sounds like a game-improvement strategy to me.
Those five are a 46-degree pitching wedge, along with additional wedges of 50, 55, 60 and 64 degrees. Wow, it is more fun to watch this guy than any other player.
What’s more, Mickelson’s is a club manufacturer’s dream. Including his Odyssey putter, he won this year at the Northern Trust Open with 14 of 14 clubs associated with the Callaway brand.
Woods also is a company loyalist, carrying 13 Nike clubs. The only exception is a Titleist Scotty Cameron putter, long favored by Woods as his putter of choice.
Club junkies know that Mickelson and Woods, the top two players in the world, provide an penetrating glimpse into the world of golf clubs.
I remember when Mickelson was ready to turn pro. He and his dad received clubs from a number of suitors. The clubs were tested at Arizona State University, where Mickelson was a student. The winner was Yonex, a Japanese manufacturer known for its long-distance drivers.
Mickelson later switched from Yonex to Titleist, and then from Titleist to Callaway.
Meanwhile, Woods had finished his amateur career by progressing from Ping to Mizuno. It is no secret that many golfers consider Mizuno irons the finest in the world.
As a pro, Woods signed with Titleist/Cobra before aligning himself with Nike golf equipment. By that time, Nike had acquired the services of club designer Tom Stites to make clubs specifically for Woods.
While we don’t hear the term “game improvement club” used in the same sentence with the names of Mickelson and Woods, it should not be overlooked that Mickelson is playing these days with an 18-degree 2H FT Callaway hybrid in his bag and Woods often goes to battle with a 19-degree SQ II Nike 5-wood.
In the highest sense, at the highest level, this is game improvement.
Posted: 2/23/2008
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