Best replacement for a 4 iron

I know the odds of someone in an exact similar situation as I am are low, but, thought I would get opinions anyway.

I play X-forged irons 4-PW. I'm having a hard time hitting the 4 iron. It mainly goes low and left. I have 4,3,2 Epic hybrids. I can hit my hybrids OK but, they are just not very accurate - that's why I replaced my 4h w/ a 4i.

I'm about a 6HC and can hit my 4i about 195. Was considering trying a Callaway 4 UT. I can go back to try and work on accuracy with the 4h or try to keep working/ the 4i since it is new.

Thoughts or suggestions on accurate 4 choice?

I know the odds of someone in an exact similar situation as I am are low, but, thought I would get opinions anyway.

I play X-forged irons 4-PW. I'm having a hard time hitting the 4 iron. It mainly goes low and left. I have 4,3,2 Epic hybrids. I can hit my hybrids OK but, they are just not very accurate - that's why I replaced my 4h w/ a 4i.

 

I'm about a 6HC and can hit my 4i about 195. Was considering trying a Callaway 4 UT. I can go back to try and work on accuracy with the 4h or try to keep working/ the 4i since it is new.

 

Thoughts or suggestions on accurate 4 choice?

I am considering putting my 4i out to pasture as well. I went and hit some 7-woods. Good God they are easy to hit HIGH and long.

I switch to a hybrid from time to time. I still like swinging the iron, but the hybrid is definitely much easier to hit.

I always played a 4 iron (and a 3 iron) as I didnt really like hybrids or feel that I needed them. Then a few weeks ago I bought a set of Srixon 355 irons just for craps and giggles but the set only went up to 5 iron so I bought a H45 22 degree hybrid to go with them. The H45 is the best club I've ever hit. It's so consistent and forgiving. The ball flight isn't crazy high and it goes a long way. It was so good I instantly bought the 19 degree. They are now my two banker clubs in my bag. I know you're not looking for a hybrid but neither was I, so if you have access to the H45's you'd be crazy to not give them a try.

Make sure that whatever shaft you use in your 4i replacement club, is not too light and doesn't have a very different bend profile from what you play in your irons. Also make sure the lie angle is not too upright (they tend to be)....otherwise it will add in "left" bias.

Might even consider using the same shaft you use in your irons, if you go with a "driving iron" type of design

Give a small head hybrid a try. Something like the callaway apex or the ping i25... i tried the 7 wood this year, it is really a nice club to play with.

I know the odds of someone in an exact similar situation as I am are low, but, thought I would get opinions anyway.

I play X-forged irons 4-PW. I'm having a hard time hitting the 4 iron. It mainly goes low and left. I have 4,3,2 Epic hybrids. I can hit my hybrids OK but, they are just not very accurate - that's why I replaced my 4h w/ a 4i.

 

I'm about a 6HC and can hit my 4i about 195. Was considering trying a Callaway 4 UT. I can go back to try and work on accuracy with the 4h or try to keep working/ the 4i since it is new.

 

Thoughts or suggestions on accurate 4 choice?

Theres some good suggestions here.

Make sure that whatever shaft you use in your 4i replacement club, is not too light and doesn't have a very different bend profile from what you play in your irons. Also make sure the lie angle is not too upright (they tend to be)....otherwise it will add in "left" bias.

 

Might even consider using the same shaft you use in your irons, if you go with a "driving iron" type of design

This is good advice. I got an 816 H1 but down to 4 iron length and ensured the swing weight was similar to my four iron. I love flushing a 4 iron, but it doesn't happen as often as I would like so the hybrid helps me score better. I also bent my 5 iron slightly strong to cover the gap as the hybrid is slightly longer.

Maybe the best replacement for your 4-iron is another 4-iron. How about swapping our your X Forged with an Apex CF16 or CF16 Pro? I just got fit for new irons, am getting AP3’s in the 4 and 5 and AP2’s in everything else. It’s crazy how much easier the AP3 long irons are to hit but I don’t want or need them from 6-iron down.

Just a suggestion.

Make sure that whatever shaft you use in your 4i replacement club, is not too light and doesn't have a very different bend profile from what you play in your irons. Also make sure the lie angle is not too upright (they tend to be)....otherwise it will add in "left" bias.

 

Might even consider using the same shaft you use in your irons, if you go with a "driving iron" type of design

 

This is good advice. I got an 816 H1 but down to 4 iron length and ensured the swing weight was similar to my four iron. I love flushing a 4 iron, but it doesn't happen as often as I would like so the hybrid helps me score better. I also bent my 5 iron slightly strong to cover the gap as the hybrid is slightly longer.

Did you go with the 21* or 23* H1 as the 4 iron replacement? I just got a 23* as a 4i (haven't hit it yet). Just now reading a lot of folks going with the 21* to pair with iron sets starting at 5 iron.

Two thoughts:

1. Check the lie angle of the iron. If by chance the lie is too upright, this will cause misses to left.
   
2. Consider softstepping the 4i shaft; this will improve launch.
   

I play Apex Pros 5-PW and a few months back combined them with a rogue pro 4 iron, same shaft. It’s been brilliant. For me it feels easy to hit like a hybrid but way more accurate. The 4 hybrids I tried just went too high and hard to control.

Both of these posts are good points.^^^^^^^^^

TourEdge Exotics IronWood. Period. Same length and shaft, that was in your 4 iron.

X forged utility.

Or any iron from a more forgiving model (Rogue pro, Rogue X, Taylormade p790, Titleist TMB) can act as a bridge between your irons and hybrids.

A different 4 iron.

Buy everything and see what works best

I know the odds of someone in an exact similar situation as I am are low, but, thought I would get opinions anyway.

I play X-forged irons 4-PW. I'm having a hard time hitting the 4 iron. It mainly goes low and left. I have 4,3,2 Epic hybrids. I can hit my hybrids OK but, they are just not very accurate - that's why I replaced my 4h w/ a 4i.

 

I'm about a 6HC and can hit my 4i about 195. Was considering trying a Callaway 4 UT. I can go back to try and work on accuracy with the 4h or try to keep working/ the 4i since it is new.

 

Thoughts or suggestions on accurate 4 choice?

 

I am considering putting my 4i out to pasture as well. I went and hit some 7-woods. Good God they are easy to hit HIGH and long.

I just picked up a 7 wood, and it’s much easier to hit than both my 4i and 3h. Both of those are about to get benched.

I really like the X-Forged UT 4 iron (and 3 iron...). Goes same distance as my MB 4 iron, but a little higher, and less punishing on vertical mishits.

The Callaway UT are great. Easy to launch and flow into your irons. I like my Srixon U for feel a bit better and it also matches my irons. Either are a good choice. Match up the shaft to your irons perhaps the lighter version for swing weight and higher launch.

Titleist 917 7 wood with Diamana blueboard solved my problem. Can count on it to carry a pond ar 200 yards and stick on the green.

Titleist 917 7 wood with Diamana blueboard solved my problem. Can count on it to carry a pond ar 200 yards and stick on the green.

Maybe the best replacement for your 4-iron is another 4-iron. How about swapping our your X Forged with an Apex CF16 or CF16 Pro? I just got fit for new irons, am getting AP3’s in the 4 and 5 and AP2’s in everything else. It’s crazy how much easier the AP3 long irons are to hit but I don’t want or need them from 6-iron down.

 

Just a suggestion.

Best suggestion so far imo. A well hit 4 iron is an absolute weapon, especially if you play in wind a lot. I'd be looked at a GI or SGI 4 iron to put in the bag instead, like a Rogue Pro for example.

If you don’t mind switching brands , hit an m4 4 iron. Thing is stupid easy to it. Put the same shaft you have in your irons and order it 1 degree flat. High, long and starting even off the toe. Of course it’s 19 degrees so you would probably have to weaken it 2 degrees or you could get an m4 5 iron and strengthen it 1 - in general if you are looking at SGI or distance irons the lofts will be pretty jacked so you will need to bend them to match your set.

Put a softer flex shaft in and swing smoother.

I'm slightly confused about the 7 wood recommendation. Unless you have very strong lofted trampoline effect irons I would think that a 9 wood is equivalent to a 4 iron.

I game the Epic 7 wood (21 degrees) and 9 wood (24 degrees). 7 wood is my 215 - 230 club and I can hit it 240 if I really stamp on it. No way I can hit a 4 iron that far.

This 4 iron slot is also giving me fits. 9 wood used to be my favorite club but when I picked up some swing speed my 9 wood started to develop a case of the lefts. It's now the club that I most frequently hook severely and it's costing me strokes because it comes out often on short par 4's and long par 3's. Thinking of an i500 retro loft 4i or the 818 H1 which can be adjusted to have a fade bias. Perhaps the Ping G400 9 wood on the small minus to open the face and flatten the lie angle, but then it's only 23 degrees and may go too far unless I cut down the shaft. The problem is finding demo clubs. 9 wood demo heads are incredibly scarce in Australia and if any fitters stock them then they usually only have senior or ladies flexes in the demo shafts.

For the time being I have completely pulled the 4 iron from the bag. I go 5 iron to 3 Hybrid. I’ve found that I can just choke up about an inch or so on Hybrid and it as far as I would a well struck 4 iron. I don’t have many 4 iron shots each round anyway.

An iron style 22* hybrid with the heaviest, stiffest shaft you can manage!

An Adams Super 9031 23* hybrid is what I replaced my 4 iron with. I have an s300 shaft in it that matches my irons. Gapping and weight matches up nicely with my Fly Z+ irons. I can't seem to find any club that can knock it out of the bag. I've tried various Driving irons over the years, and keep coming back to this one.

When his 4 iron is balky he uses a Mizuno fli hi number 4. Works great. It’s a lot easier to hit a serviceable shot with a DI.