It’s been a year!

On the anniversary of my first year writing this column, I want to start by thanking you, our readers, for your continued support. I am, of course, forever grateful to the Daily Tribune for giving me the opportunity to write about my (other) passion — golf. Having spent nearly two decades in the publishing industry, primarily writing about food, I was hesitant at first, but when the chance to transition to golf came, I eagerly, though reluctantly, took the leap. That was 15 November 2023, exactly one year ago.

I’ve delved into topics that are interesting and important to me as a golfer. From course reviews to equipment reviews and analysis, to food (hence the Hungry Hacker), to everything in between, I had a free hand on what I wanted to write about. I’ve met and talked to many people within the local golf universe, and making new friends is probably the best perk of this job. When I started, the most daunting task was thinking about what to write about every week. Who’d have thought that at the 1-year mark, I’d still have something to say?

This week, I want to go back to something I missed when I wrote about irons. To those who’ve been reading my column this past year, I occasionally discuss golf equipment, a topic that is a huge part of what draws me to golf. I already talked about forged versus cast irons, blades versus cavity versus game improvement irons. What I failed to discuss in more depth was a specific technology in the game improvement irons segment — the hollow body iron.

In general, irons haven’t made so much of a jump in the past few decades. Yes, there have been gains in forgiveness, distance, in feel, but by and large, you can still use 30-year-old irons and get pretty good results.

Unlike in woods, the tech, and the gains in the irons haven’t been as massive. But when it comes to hollow-body irons, from the performance to the design (they look like blades), it seems that engineers have created close to the perfect iron. Blade looks with massive distance, height, and forgiveness — what else could you want?

For most golfers, not much else, but for the better player looking for flight and spin control, traditional blades and cavity backs remain the choice.

But how many of us are good enough not to need the added launch and distance? How many of us work the ball in either direction on demand? If your level of golf isn’t on the “flight window” stage (meaning you can alter your flight and spin on demand to create low, mid, high, draw, and fade shots), then you should consider hollow body irons.

Nearly all major brands offer one, including PXG, Taylormade, Srixon, Mizuno, Titleist, Ping, Cobra, Callaway and the list goes on.

Golf in 2024 is all about forgiveness and making the game easier and more enjoyable for the average player. You owe it to yourself to at least test a few out and let the numbers do the convincing.