Playing with a couple golf writer buddies the other day, a couple incidents led to this week’s column. The first was when our fourth, the son of one of my friends (and an exceptionally strong player), asked me what iron his 20° hybrid corresponded to. I suddenly realized how difficult a question that is to answer.
While 20° is generally the loft in a 3-iron, the answer really isn’t that simple. The graphite shaft in most hybrids, varying club lengths, and a hybrid’s ability to launch the ball higher means the distance difference between a 3-iron and a 3-hybrid can be significant. Add to that the fact that hybrid manufacturers give different lofts different numbers and it gets even more confusing.
The second thing that happened was that Chuck Stogel, who writes an equipment column for cbssportsline.com, told me about a new hybrid fitting system that Mizuno is rolling out. Voilá… this week’s Bag Drop. Thanks, Chuck.
Hunter Mahan and Jay Williamson provided some great entertainment as well as some bonus coverage on Sunday as they battled down the stretch at the Travelers Championship.
To get to Darby Creek, you drive through a few towns the likes of which you’ll be surprised still exist. You’ll hang a right at a driving range in the middle of nowhere, drive another few miles, then take another right. A golf course appears, and suddenly you’ve arrived at Darby Creek.
You may have seen the 
Michelle Wie is among the most promising young female athletes we’ve seen in a while. Nike knows this and that’s why they put their logo all over her new wardrobe. About a year ago we were talking about her potential and how she would fit into the new LPGA mix. Unfortunately things have changed a tad in the last year. She seems to have lost her way. And who can blame a 17-year-old kid for not knowing quite what to do.
While the metal filings left over after engraving the name “Angel Cabrera” on the U.S. Open trophy have probably yet to be swept away, the mad choruses of the distance obsessed have already started their wailing. It sounds like Verdi’s “Dies irae” and has all the warm fuzziness of a requiem mass. I just hope they get it over with quickly this time, so that maybe there will be a chance to hear some of the real stories from one of the best golf championships I can remember.
The U.S. Open at Oakmont is over, and Angel Cabrera dusts Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk in the final round. Angel also birdied his last hole Friday to bump Phil Mickelson from making the cut. Full analysis of the course, the players, and the 107th U.S. Open and more in this week’s episode of Golf Talk.
Tiger Woods announced today on 
We all know how hard the U.S. Open is, and we knew how hard the it was going to be at Oakmont Country Club, but did it live up to expectations?