Fred Couples smashing a gear stigma was the most read gear story of 2024

There comes a point in almost every golfer’s life where they realize it’s time to ditch the long irons and move to hybrids.

For most, this involves taking out the 4-iron in favor of a 4-hybrid (hopefully that 3-iron is long gone!), but in Fred Couples’ case— the 1992 Masters champ who played the tour in an era where 1-PW was still a typical set of irons— he went a little further.

Back in September, Couples was showing off a golf bag filled with headcovers! Seven, if you count the putter, that’s half the bag! He was carrying a driver, two fairway woods and three hybrids, making the 7-iron the longest iron he played. GOLF’s Josh Sens chronicled the new setup and people flocked read why “Boom Boom” had suddenly smashed a golf stigma.

Fred Couple’s six-wood/hybrid setup

Telltale signs of aging: gray hair, balky back, golf bag filled with hybrids.

These days, Fred Couples checks all those boxes. But even at 64, with a silver mane, assorted aches and pains, and a much slower swing speed than he once possessed, the famously laidback veteran retains his youthful spirit. And he’s not too proud to poke fun at himself.

A reminder came in a social media post from Pebble Beach, when Couples played in the Pure Insurance Championship in September, on the PGA Tour Champions. The snippet is vintage Couples: cool, collected, self-deprecating.

With a camera on him as he stands in the fairway of the par-4 8th hole, Couples is asked about the arsenal of woods and hybrids he now carries. Six altogether.

“Everyone keeps talking about ‘em,” he says of his newly configured setup. Other golfers might be embarrassed. Couples simply shrugs off the stigma. “I’m like, so I got my longest iron is a 7. Who cares?”

A former World No. 1 with 64 professional wins to his name, including the 1992 Masters, Couples was one of the game’s biggest hitters in his prime. Not for nothing, his nickname was ‘Boom-boom.’ And, despite longstanding back problems, his languid swing still has some pop. 

But age drains distance from every golfer’s game, and, as Couples detailed at the Masters earlier this year, long- and mid-irons are no good for his balky back. 

Informed by his caddie that he has 177 yards remaining to the green, Couples doesn’t hesitate in club selection.

“A little 6-rescue for the boys,” he says before flushing an approach that earns the approval of his playing partner, Jay Haas.

Instruction

“6?” Haas asks.

“6-rescue,” Couples replies. “Better than the 5. You know, I couldn’t hit that with a 6-iron. I’m not strong enough anymore. I hate to say that.”

He pauses. Grins.

“Very soft,” he says.

It’s a relatable moment for any golfer facing the ravages of time, delivered by a Hall-of-Famer who has long had an Everyman’s appeal. 

There are other charming tidbits in the post as well, including a semi-explanation for why he wipes his grips down with a towel before every shot (“It’s a bad habit,” he concedes), and a story about his former caddie, Joe La Cava, who used to rib Couples by telling him his game had “a lot of too’s.”

“Too weak. Too much rough,” Couples says. “How many balls you want to hit? Not too many.”

When Couples is at his easygoing best, fans can never get too much.