Accidentally Broke a Club…

[WillieT]

Yesterday my son and I were playing a local course and I hit an errant drive into some smaller trees, crepe myrtles to be exact.  The lie was playable as I would be able to punch the ball back to the fairway with a 1/4 swing. I take my 6iron (to keep it lower) and I know that I may hit the trunk of the tree but did not think it would harm the club with the little punch swing. We try to play as is, where is....which makes shot choices really interesting.  Well this as is, where is went WRONG - I hit the ball, it goes about where I wanted it and I look down to see that the iron is now at 90deg angle.  My son starts laughing as it is kind of comical - broken club w/out any anger management issues!  I am almost sick to my stomach as I kind of liked the club (even though it was a Callaway Strata) - I know cheap Chinese made club.  Finish the round w/out the 6i and shot what I normally do.  No, I wasn't angry just stupid to play the ball like I did.  Why did it bend/break so easy? Maybe it was the cheaper steel in the shaft.  Thinking about getting another shaft, refitting the head and applying a new grip....then again I only paid $4 for it at Goodwill a while back.  Guess its just a lesson learned on shots and potential consequences. 

[FlyingAce]

Sorry to hear that but I am glad it is the club that broke and not your wrist! I don’t ever risk hitting balls close to tree trunks/roots...just not worth it!

[billchao]

1 hour ago, FlyingAce said:

Sorry to hear that but I am glad it is the club that broke and not your wrist! I don’t ever risk hitting balls close to tree trunks/roots...just not worth it!

I agree. @WillieT next time just take an unplayable. Not worth damaging your clubs or yourself for 1 stroke.

[pganapathy]

Hard luck that you broke your club.

I suppose it depends how hard you hit the club into the tree/root for it to break.  Anyway, since it was a cheap club, maybe worth experimenting with a shaft to see if you can get better results.  If it was part of a set I would suggest going to an OEM shaft to get consistent results.

[WillieT]

I bought the 3 Strata irons (6-7-8) at the local Goodwill for $12.  I knew I was taking a risk  with the shot, and in retrospect I should have taken the unplayable 1 stroke penalty.  If it had been the 845s Silver Scot or the Diablo Edge irons, I would have. Anyway thinking about picking up a new shaft (maybe a TrueTemper R300) to see how it plays.