Legend Of Marr

Pinning Big Hope on My 1-Iron

"When I see lightning on a golf course," Golf legend Lee Trevino once famously quipped, "I reach in my bag for a 1-iron and hold it up to the sky. Not even God can hit a 1-iron."

I now own a 1-iron.

I don't want you to get the wrong impression that I have some sort of God complex or that I am even a good golfer. The fact of the matter is I am less than good at the game and am struggling to recapture a touch of some of the rusty old skills I once enjoyed.

Studies have shown that the average golfer shoots 92, and experts agree that the honest golfer's average score is above 100. I am currently on a not-so-private quest to break 90 by the end of October of this year. It is a steep climb down that handicap hill that has me shooting well over 100 these days, but with each outing I see signs of life.

Unable to hit my fairway woods with any consistency and length, I ventured over to the local golf shop to delude myself into thinking the trouble was not my tragically flawed swing, but rather the equipment I was playing with.

Sorting through the bin of used drivers and "heaven woods," I spotted a club that might bring me luck on the course. It was a Ping Eye2 1-iron. After a few waggles I decided to take the plunge.

The folks who work at this great little shop were watching me with bemused interest. I held the club up and asked how much. The clerks looked at one another until finally one responded. "We can only pay you $25, but that is our final offer." I am sure they were relieved to see it go.

Less than 1 percent of touring pros carry a 1-iron, despite the success the club shares with men with names like Hogan and Nicklaus.

"I would say that probably the best shots that I've played in golf, and the ones I remember the most, have been 1-iron shots,'' Nicklaus said.

Me and Jack Baby!

Off I went to the range - where, with secret weapon in hand, I skulled more shots than I pured, but the few I did hit just right were things of beauty. It helps that the south practice tee at Pine Needles has a 75-foot drop. In hopeful confidence, I retreated to the clubhouse to show off my new toy and the saving grace of my dilapidated golf game.

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