Old golf clubs

I gave up on my 1984 Ben Hogan Apex irons this week.

It's not as though I've been using them. They've been gathering dust in the closet of our office since 2001, when I switched over to a set of 2000 Apex irons.

Golf's technology improvements have been significant. I have a 440cc driver (Nicklaus) that makes its predecessor, the Titleist 875, look tiny. My mishits are as good as solid hits with the 875. And a friend's 460cc makes my 440 look small.

I can't imagine what it was like way back in the early '90's when I played with persimmon woods - "real" wood.

The 1984 Hogans were special to me. They were "blades," forged and thin, and I used them for all those years, never once really considering anything else. But the forged cavity backs a friend sent me to replace them...well, they're not as pretty, but they're pretty forgiving.

I couldn't sell them on eBay. They're not exactly collector's items, and who would want to play with them? No one I know wanted them. So I put them in a Club Car golf bag - also from my past - and dropped them off at a Goodwill center in Greensboro.

The attendant asked me if I wanted a receipt. "No, thanks," I said. "I should pay you, I guess, to take them."