Golf torture: New clubs but no chance to use them

Golf torture takes many forms.

There's the putt that hangs on the lip, half in, half out and refuses to fall, no matter how slowly you walk to tap it in, whether you put your shadow over the ball or not.

There's getting stuck behind a foursome of chops who are slower than tax reform and who never once consider letting you play through while they smoke their stogies and make their doubles.

There are captain's choice events.

And, there's getting a brand new shiny set of irons and not getting a chance to use them.

That's where I am right now.

There's a brand new set of Titleist AP2s in my not-so-new golf bag -- a Christmas present to myself -- and except for a 15-minute stretch on the practice tee that left some of that green sticky stuff from the artificial mats on the bottom of clubs, they haven't been used.

It's been about a month now and I still haven't missed my first green in regulation with them. Even when the weather broke for a few days, I didn't have the chance to play.

Tiger Woods and I finally have something in common -- neither one of us has been on a golf course in months.

I'm not one of those guys who changes clubs all the time. Some guys go through clubs the way John Daly used to go through beers. I had the same irons for four years and, honestly, there was nothing wrong with them. But the itch struck and I scratched it.

I don't pretend the new irons are going to make me better. The clubs supposedly make it easier to work the ball. Here's how I work the ball: I take a swing and look up to see if I hit a slice, a fade, a hook or a really big hook.

I don't mind being tortured on the golf course. That's part of the deal.

But having a new set of irons and no chance to use them, that's no fun at all.