The wedge was struck well. I played a high cut with a lob wedge which landed just beyond the pin and spun back, out of sight.

A friend, reader, and eyewitness to the ace, Charlie, had already put his in there tight, but his ball was visible on the green as we walked up.

I had my doubts. Maybe it had spun too much, off the green and into the rough. Charlie walked up ahead of me, looked into the hole, and put his arms up. It was a 1.

Now, I made this at Q School, the short course at Cobbs Creek. If I didn’t have a running bet with my younger brother, I wouldn’t be writing this, but as long time readers know from my 2026 goals, making an ace while forcing a younger sibling to pack up the clubs for good was indeed something on my mind this year.

On to the debate. Speaking as a purist, this doesn’t count toward the lifetime total. However, speaking as a legal mind set on winning this wager on a technicality, this certainly counts.

Charlie made an excellent point on the car ride home. He said this hole in one is like how you would answer the question “Have you been to Switzerland?” When the only time you were in Switzerland was a 3 hour layover in Zurich.

No, you didn’t “visit”, but yes, you were in the country.

The crux of the argument comes down to this. I no longer have 0 hole in ones. The number is somewhere between 0 and 1.

Sorry, Johnny. Gotta hang em up for now.

(Editor’s Note: Welcome to the inaugural guest essay series. Today, we welcome The Golf Engineer, a guy with deep expertise in club building and fitting. He’ll walk you through how to think about which types of irons you wield. Throw him a follow on X via the link above. Enjoy - BTG)

The cross-section.

Every golf company has a product lineup, and it can be daunting to decipher the purpose of each. We’ve seen exploded views of iron technology in marketing, but what does it mean for your game? Here's a breakdown of what's happening under the hood of popular iron types, and how each might fit into your bag.

For the purist, and style points. The joy of playing blades is unmatched if you have the game to spare yourself any potential embarrassment. With vanity caps come vanity blade players.

Warnings aside, I sincerely subscribe to more players embracing the blade. If your priority is to play for bliss and serenity and not meticulous scoring optimization, buy the blades. Especially in the short irons. A true pleasure.

For the precision player who could use a touch of help over a pure blade. Embraced on Tour. Popular to fill the short irons in combo sets.

The single piece yields consistent carry distances across the face.

The thinned top section can result in sound that is slightly less satisfying than a pure blade.

This one requires an exploded view instead of a cross-section. For the precision player who wants the consistency of a solid body, but wants to pack as much tech as possible into a purist package.

With a hollow section only in the strike area, irons in this category bridge the gap between solid & hollow. Often branded as "Players Performance" irons, these are designed for shot makers who value the added tech.

Embraced on Tour, and frequently used in combo sets.

With a hollow section across the entire face, these irons introduce distance gains. We're now striking the ball with a tennis racket instead of a ping pong paddle. Hot out of the middle, but prone to drop off.

Flushed shots or good strikes from the rough can result in flyers that go long.

Embraced in the long irons in Tour combo sets.

Tremendously popular & versatile. Can fit a 0–25 handicap into these models.

With a hollow body, tungsten to lower CG, and an ultra-flexible face, these deliver serious distance gains. Often branded as "Players Distance," they offer max tech in a package that still looks compact. The purist knows these aren't close to a blade, but the casual might mistake them for one.

The tradeoff is the flyer. Especially in the short irons, the occasional lack of control can leave a sour taste.

The maximum-distance package for higher launch and more carry, often at the lowest price point in the lineup. For the player declining in speed who wants to maintain distance.

One of the most common equipment misdiagnoses that I encounter is the beginner with plenty of speed who is prescribed a GI iron because it's the cheapest, and they have a high handicap. With decent clubhead speed, these can get out of control, and the chunky frame limits shot-making.

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Understanding your equipment is part of the golfer's maturation process. A way to signal your refined taste or tuned performance. I am not a blanket advocate for pure performance maximization. I embrace the player who crafts a set of blades & persimmons.

On the contrary, I'm happy to talk shop with the gear junkie who is deep into shaft specs and lead tape. All corners of the equipment world ultimately aim to derive more joy from the game.

If you're wondering where your irons fit in above, I have been building a database that sorts equipment by brand, year, and category. The iron section is in beta, and looks like this:

If this article leaves you wanting more, I have built my brand around being easy to reach. My X account focuses on enabling players to:

Looking forward to hearing from you.

-TGE

Follow or DM on X:

And use the Gear Guide here:

Garden City Golf Club has been hosting the tournament now known as the Walter J. Travis Invitational since 1902. It predates the Masters by three decades, the PGA Tour by a generation, and the general notion that professional golf was worth watching at all.

It originated as the Metropolitan Golf Association's "Spring Invitational," ran through two world wars with brief interruptions, and has since become a mid-amateur event highly regarded in the mid-am “cocktail” circuit.

Its format is unique - 18 holes of stroke-play qualifying followed by 6 flights of match play across the weekend.

The man it honors deserves the reverence. Walter Travis won the U.S. Amateur three times and became the first American to win the British Amateur (a feat that scandalized the R&A so thoroughly that they promptly banned his center-shafted Schenectady putter.)

Best of luck to the 2026 field.