For the past four years and almost 500 articles, I have not taken a week off, but I’m going to, finally. This will be my last post of 2011, and I’ll see you all on Tuesday, January 3 with the first of 2012’s WedgeGuy posts.

This has been as interesting a year in golf as I’ve seen in a long time. We saw the near-takeover of the metal wood market by the color white (who’da thunk it?). The media wrote almost weekly about Tiger Woods, even though he rarely played, much less put himself in the heat of the battle (will they ever give us a break?). Rory McIlroy folded in the Masters and then dominated in the Open (kudos Rory!). Long putters made a splash on the scene and are heralded as the next tidal wave in clubs that will change the game (we’ve heard that before). And as always, dozens of “greatest thing since sliced bread” product introductions were made in the Spring (most won’t last into 2012, when they’ll be replaced by the next “greatest thing since sliced bread.”)

And maybe my favorite story of the year – Luke Donald. This smallish scrapper has proven that you don’t have to bomb 300+ yard drives to win out there. That solid mechanics and a formidable short game will win over brute strength regularly. His putting stats are staggering as well. This guy is solid, and I’m betting he’s going to follow up 2011 with an equally awesome 2012 . . . unless he gets it in his head that he has to hit it longer and screws the whole thing up.

Wait, that wasn’t my favorite story of 2011. My personal favorite is the one we’re writing right here at this upstart short game company – SCOR Golf. We’ve challenged decades of “conventional wisdom” in wedges and irons and are winning the comparison most every time. Beginning three years ago, we asked some questions that no one seemed to be asking. Like . . .

“Why should all your wedges look alike, regardless of loft?” The 12 degree difference between a 48 and 60 is the same as that between a driver and five iron. Hmmmmm.

“Why do 9-irons and PWs look like 6-irons?” The PW is 16 degrees from the 6-iron . . . so is your driver!

“Why wouldn’t golfers want custom-fitted, custom-built scoring clubs when they get used almost as much, or more, than all the others combined? Your better short game is not on the display rack with a one-size-fits-all stiff steel shaft.

The result of that three years of design, development, testing, re-design and finally, production, is a remarkable approach to the short end of the set which is proving to have the impact there that hybrids have had on the long end.

Please forgive me for bragging a bit, but SCOR4161 wedges and short irons are promising to have the same impact as hybrids. The golfers who try them are telling us they make an immediate difference in their short range performance, so we’re dang proud of that. Not many companies will antiquate their own products because their new work is just that good. But we have. The old EIDOLON V-SOLE wedges have been finally outdone. And at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s eve, the EIDOLON website will come down for good.

2012 is the year of SCOR Golf and SCOR4161 wedges and short irons. We hope to see them make their way into your bags, and help all of you cut some more strokes off your handicaps this year.

Thanks for reading, writing in and sharing your viewpoints with me here. Let’s have a great 2012 together. See you on January 3!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

From TheWedgeGuy.

Terry Koehler is "The Wedge Guy" and President of SCOR Golf- The Short Game Company.

Click here to learn more about Terry.