Nike CPR Hybrid

As I have gotten older I have turned to technology to improve my golf game. Three years ago I replaced my 2-iron with a 5-wood. Two years ago I switched to a 400cc driver. And, at the end of last year I surprised myself by benching my 3-iron in a favor a rescue club. It was a hard decision for a traditionalist, but it was a change that has had much more impact on my game than the driver or 2-iron moves. For the golfers among my readers, it is a club choice I advise you to consider, especially since the best rescue club went on sale today at the Golf Warehouse.

3-irons are great from the fairway, but unless you are Tiger, good luck hitting them from a heavy lie in the rough. Rescue clubs, on the other hand, are wonderful from the difficult spots I seem to encounter more often with age. Rescues come in lofts equivalent to 2 and 3-irons, but they are shorter in shaft length for more control and have lower centers of gravity for higher trajectories. They also have much more perimeter weighting than irons, generating better distance on off-center strikes, and a sole that will glide through thick grass rather than grab or twist.

I play the Nike CPR hybrid in the 21-degree loft (pictured) and I have found that the CPR is great from 195-210. My frequent playing companions use the 18-degree model as a 2-iron replacement and knock down pins at 200-225. It helps that they are both scratch golfers, but they work magic with theirs, hitting high cuts and low draws with ease. Next to the wedge it is the most versatile club in our bags.

Sonartec and Mizuno also make popular rescue clubs, but we like the lively yet solid feel of the Nike heads. They are well-matched with UST shafts that let you step on it when you have to, although the Nike shaft is well-suited for slower swing speeds. At $90 on sale ($80 for the Nike shaft), it is a heck of a club and a tremendous bargain.