Anyone doing the Fowler/Na? 4i Replacement

[third-times-a-charm]

Has anyone replaced the set 4i from your players or MB/CB irons with a SGI or GI 4i ala Fowler with the Speedback and Na with the Rogue Pro? What were your thoughts/results? Is it a good 'hybrid' club to have in the bag instead of a DI if you want to keep a traditional 3h/3w/driver setup?

[Cptwiggly]

As soon as my Srixon Z forged get delivered, my plan is to play z585s in the 4 and 5 iron and 6-P in the Z forged. My reasoning is my swing gets less steep as I go up my bag. I prefer the blades for the turf interaction but after 6 iron it’s less noticeable. The z585 in 4 and 5 will give be more height to better hold greens.

This is all in theory until I put it into action. I’m currently playing the z585s so I know how the long irons perform.

[Vienus]

Fleetwood has a Srixon 4 iron and the rest P7TW

[gdb99]

I just bought a set of Callaway FT irons, and really like the long irons. I’m thinking about going back to my Mizuno MP 4’s and carry 7-PW, of those, and 5 and 6 iron of the FT’s. Maybe even put the 4 iron in the bag, they are so easy to launch.

[Chadwickog]

I do 3-4i c300 forged 5-gw fg tour v4. Works pretty well.

[BostonWRX]

I went p790 4 iron and p760 5-pw. Haven’t got to use them yet tho too cold here

[NYCGolfNut]

I play a slightly weakened Ping i500 5i along with 6-P in the Blueprints. Though the gap between the 5i and 6i is more than normal, it works fine for me. As was noted above, the swing on the 5i is not as steep, and I can afford to back-off a bit to make it smooth and unhurried, and still get the distance I am looking for.

Experimenting with clubs and set-ups is half the fun of this game for me. Try different things and play what works for you.

[nfreda2211]

I recently bought an f9 4 iron to replace a f7 4 hybrid. I lost some height but my dispersion has improved and it’s a better option off the tee on the short par 4’s.

[nfreda2211]

The rest of the set is ping i210 5-8 and cobra king mb 9-gw

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

I've tried it more than once. The big problem was the head looked so different from my other irons, I couldn't get used to it. I actually have an old Srixon cavity in the 4i slot now, and it works a bit better and is slightly easier to hit than my set 4i.

But my usual club now in the 4i slot is a 23* hybrid. Works better than all the driving irons, GI irons, and set 4i I have tried.

[GolfMinimalist]

I use a utility iron in place of my 4I. My iron set is either blades or small cavity backs. I like the look of the blade 4I, but the ball speed loss on mishits is too much. I've gotta be smart sometimes. :)

[Valtiel]

I'm testing the Srixon 585/565 for a 3i and 4i replacements right now. Aesthetically they blend super well with a players CB set, I just need to get the specs dialed in to see if they will fit.

[SammyShaf]

I use a 712u 3 iron and then go 5-PW. I don't have cartoonish wrx length so I figure the 712u mishit will be better than the thin 4mb and try to avoid those distances.

[rufus mangler]

I'm going through the same thing. The look of a "driving iron" type of club is strange to me. The z545, 565, 585 isn't that much larger than my 745 4 iron. So, I may try an 23 hybrid.

I hit a 4 iron once, maybe twice a round. Tough to justify a big expense.

[bodhi555]

Looking to perhaps do this with a 3 iron over the winter season. Quite happy with the VR Pros 4 - PW, but thinking maybe MP20 HMB, or T100 for the 3 iron?

[third-times-a-charm]

I also dont think a dedicated DI is worth it for me as I like to keep a 3h and even hit it off the tee.

 

Right now I'm still using Apex CF16s 4-PW so I'm experimenting with an Epic 4i in the 4i slot to use on the tee and fairway.

 

We have some long Par 5's and one long Par 3 (190-210yds) on my course.

[lefty99]

Experimenting with a 23* hybrid to replace 4i; I play 718CBs. I hit the hybrid higher, and so far a little more consistently. Still experimenting; it's probably just pride why I don't accept the change yet.

[wam78]

Currently testing the Bridgestone hf2 4i, bent 1* strong to go along with the tour b cb's. Still keeping the same shaft as with my iron set, so not going graphite on it just yet. The nice thing is it does not look drastically different at address. A touch more offset and a little bigger sole towards the toe.

[Hit em good]

I use a 24° MP Fli Hi 4 iron. The trajectory and distance are perfect.

Funny, the rest of my irons are MP64's, and I hit the 5iron with great trajectory/distance, but the 4 iron 64 does falls off big time.

Hit em good

[getitdaily]

I have driver-3w-3h and jpx900tour 5-pw

I have a t200 4i bent to 22. I just ordered a mp20 hmb 4i to test. I'll keep whichever of the 4irons that works the best.

T200 has been ok. It launches high and goes. But I missed 2 shots left with it last time out where every other mid/long iron was struck well. The t200 offset may not play well for me.

[SuperDave]

I pulled the 4 iron for a Callaway XR 7 Wood ... not going back !!

[ZNDavis]

I’m going: driver, 3w, TMB 2i, TMB 4i, then 5-9 in regular irons. Having that extra bit of confidence and oomph on the 210-225yd shots is worth swapping in that 4 iron, though I don’t have it graphite shafted like Rickie does

[eddiebigeddie]

I’ve recently done this. My set up is: Driver, 4 wood (16), F9 4 iron (19.5), F7 Hyb (20.5), 5-Gw. The hybrid and 4 iron DONT get hit much, but depending on the lie I have decided which I use. The 4 iron for me is straighter and lower trajectory while the hybrid is higher and better out of rough.

[third-times-a-charm]

Update after a month: I may kick my 3h out of the bag and just go 3w to SGI 4i w/ graphite shaft to my irons....

This really is a great club to have in the bag. It's not huge and chunky like made-to-be-DI clubs but it still has heft being an SGI club, and its miles more reliable than a hybrid which can just be weird at times with spin and hooking.

I'm getting almost the same distances, too, depending on roll due to the teach in this SGI club. YMMV of course but I'm thinking real hard about getting rid of that 3h.

I may try putting the same shaft from my irons into this SGI 4i and giving it a go, but we'll see. Right now a graphite hybrid shaft has been great.

[Ri_Redneck]

I just scored a new MP-18 Fli-Hi 3i (19*) head as a possible low launch alternative to my 7w. It's really difficult to keep the 7w low into a strong wind and it causes a serious gap. So the plan is to have the Fli-Hi in the bag on windy days and the 7w when conditions are better. I have a Rip Tour 115 3i shaft left over from the last set I bought, so I'll us that. My 4i is 39", so I think I'll start the Fli-Hi at 40" and work from there. Curious to see how it goes.

BT

[SoloShot84]

I have 4i P790 with 5-8i P760/ 9-Pw P730 combo

can't be any happier

[EaglesGolf99]

Been doing it a number of years.

 

5 Iron & 6 Iron.... SGI / GI

7-9.... Players CB or MB

48°, 52°, 58°.... Personal Handgrind

 

........ The top of the bag rounds out with an 18° 2 Hybrid and 23° 4 Hybrid!

[Myherobobhope]

I'm in the middle of an existential crisis / bag rebuild.... it's going very slowly due to lack of funding... I'm trying to find the clubs that spark joy in my bag.

I'm not going to go through my entire bag (I'm happy to if interested, but it doesn't involve your question).

The question with a 4 iron for me is: What role does it play in my bag and how much utility do I get out of it?

My 4 iron is supposed to go around 210 yards. I don't find myself at this distance often, and I don't have a ton of confidence in my 4 iron for this shot. I use it for punch shots and low runners occasionally, but can easily fill that roll with a 5 iron or hybrid.

My basic plan at the top of my bag for hitting into greens is a 240 hybrid and a 220 hybrid. Then maybe a lofted up 5 iron at 205 and 15 yards between my irons down to 7 iron. I'm not sure, but that's the current plan.

[Therealpatgiles]

Vapor pro combo 3 iron. There are new ones available on the bay. Im pretty wild some days with the driver but I can hit that vpc 3 iron 235 240 straight all day long.

[ChipNRun]

I kept my set 4i, but reshafted it with a SteelFiber hybrid shaft (see below). This improved launch, adding a few yards for tee shots and allowing me to hit it off the fairway (from a good lie).

I only carry three wedges, so I have a curious 4i and 4H combo in the bag (4H 10 yards longer). If I went back to four wedges, I would carry either the 4i or the 4H depending on the course.

For those thinking about a friendlier 4i for their bag, I often see good quality 4 irons in the used club barrel - probably acquired in trade-in if player went to hybrid.