Titleist 904F Fairway Wood Golf Club

OK, by way of full disclosure, I am hardly a great golfer. I'm about a 15 handicap, somewhere in between a decent player and a hacker. I swing the club very hard and have a tendency to lose the ball right, although my biggest problem is probably my short game.

Anyway, I just got the 904 f in a 15 degree, regular shaft for a good price and put it in the bag, really just to try it out. I didn't know whether or not I'd like it -- I had heard that Titleists were great but meant for low handicappers, so I didn't know whether or not I'd be good enough to hit it.

The first time I took it out of the bag and teed it up, I hit a terrible, wild hook that sailed out of bounds. A few holes later, I tried it out again off the tee -- same thing. The final attempt with it that round off the tee was a very high hook that thankfully stayed in play but didn't go far at all. Clearly, it was a very disappointing start, and I thought that maybe the Titleist was too difficult for me.

The next day, I went to the range after having read online in a few places that the club has a strong draw bias and a tendency to go left if you're not careful about opening up the face a bit. Well, my first 10 hacks or so on the range also stunk. I wasn't teeing it up, just hitting them off the deck, and I couldn't get the ball off the ground. And just as I was about to give up on the club and sell it to a friend, I took one last hack with it and... it was the best golf shot I've ever hit in my life. Beautiful, high draw, 260 yards in the air, soft landing. And the best part about the club is that it feels so good when you make clean contact. I can't even begin to describe the feeling. It's pure bliss. No clunkiness or loud annoying sound; just a smooth click; it is just perfect in a way that Callaway-users could never begin to understand.

After that hit, I started smoking the ball every time, save a few mishits every now and then. It is important to open the face up a little bit and swing in a way that will promote the draw and basically go with the club. I'd say my usual swing is more over the top, but with this club, I had to swing a little less over the top in order to catch the ball clean.

The club is really an all-or-nothing club; don't look for any forgiveness out of it; if you don't hit it clean, it won't go anywhere. But once you get used to the club, you'll be willing to sacrifice a few ground balls for the pure, sweet bombs that you'll be hitting most of the time. Even if you're a mid handicapper and think you're not good enough for the Titleist, at least try it out and take 30 swings with it or so. I'd say that as long as you're the type of player that has the ability to get the ball airborne easily and hit it high and far (even if you're not always straight or consistent).