COMMUNITY JOURNALISM: Golf tip

Editor's note: Steve Charters is in his 10th year as a pro at Twin Pines Golf Course. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Charters competed at Central College in Pella and has been a pro for 17 years in Dubuque and Cedar Rapids.

While I can't believe it's August already and back to school sales are in full swing, it's never too late to look at upgrading your equipment.

One upgrade in equipment that has taken off in the last seven or eight years is the switch from a traditional long iron to a club called a hybrid.

Hybrids have been around in some form or another for the last 15 to 20 years, but have really become a big hit in the last seven or eight. So why such a surge in hybrids over long irons? The answer is simple.

A hybrid has more of a fairway wood looking head with a shaft the length of whatever long iron you're replacing.

The biggest reason they've gained favor over long irons is that the shape of the head allows the weight inside the head to be moved from the face of the club, back to the lower rear of the club. This allows for higher launching shots that land softer, thus allowing a better opportunity to hold a green from further away. The design of the head also allows for a larger sweet spot on the club which will help the shots that miss the center of the face go farther than they would with a traditional long iron.

In a nut shell, a hybrid will give you more forgiveness and higher softer shots into greens which will help you have a better ability to hold those greens that you may have struggled to hold before with the less forgiving, lower shots hit by your long irons.