Talk to me about driving irons...

[WanLefty]

> @MtlJeff said:

> Everyone yells at me when I say this, but I'm not sure why there's much benefit to getting a driving iron rather than just buying a GI 3 iron which is much cheaper.

>

> You can get a 18-19 degree Ping G410 iron for like 125$ or whatever it is and it will perform the task you want

>

 

I think the only real issue with this is the potential offset, if that's not an issue then totally an option.

 

Wan

[Golfrnut]

> @johncia said:

> I also need help in this category. I’ve favored a 5w (about 240yrds) over a hybrid, but my next club is a p760 4i I only hit about 210. I rarely tee off with the 5w and feel like I’d get more utility out of a 3i or 2i p790.

>

> I just haven’t pulled the trigger and I don’t know why... I have it in my cart online, but can’t seem to justify replacing the 5w.

>

> Any suggestions?

>

> Ps: club I’m considering is a p790 3i bent 1.5 deg strong with a project x6.5 steel shaft.

 

IMO, at that point, you may as well just get the UDI. Unless you are looking for some of the subtle differences that will be there from bending strong (added offset/less bounce), you are at the 2I loft at that point anyway. You can always order it as a shorter length if you wish, or if you want a shaft offering that’s not available through TM, just buy a head from somewhere (ebay is full of the 2017) and have a builder spec one up for you.

[Bebsport678]

> @balls_deep said:

> I'm a pretty high ball hitter. I currently have a 19* hybrid I've been using but I find it can go a bit too high/spin quite a bit (I spin it backwards on greens). It goes about 225 carry for me (set to 20*) but gets affected by the wind a lot. I always feel like I have to set up for a fade and I also have it set flat as if I worry about it going left on me. I also grabbed a TM Gapr mid thinking it would offer a bit more help and height than a traditional driving iron but found it still goes insanely high for the loft (partially shaft related I'm sure). Basically, I hit my 4 iron around 210 carry. Looking for something that goes straight and is easy to flight high or low when needed and doesn't want to go left. T-MB 3 iron with graphite shaft? P790 UDI? I'd like to have a tee club for shorter par 4s I can knock down and run out but still use on long par 3s and second shots into par 5s around the 220-230 mark.

>

> For reference: when I say high ball hitter I'm just over 6k spin with a 7 iron and around 120ft peak height with 50 descent angle. Driver is around the 110 mark.

 

Have you tried testing out a low spin ball? Seems like your describing a ball issue and not a club issue.

[Pepperturbo]

> @MtlJeff said:

> Everyone yells at me when I say this, but I'm not sure why there's much benefit to getting a driving iron rather than just buying a GI 3 iron which is much cheaper.

>

> You can get a 18-19 degree Ping G410 iron for like 125$ or whatever it is and it will perform the task you want

>

 

They shouldn't yell at you. lol For many golfers, your comment makes sense. It just doesn't make sense for someone like me and price is not a factor.

 

I had 2016 T-MB 17* 2 iron but recently upgraded to 2018 T-MB 17* 2 iron that resembles a blade yet designed to get the ball up although easy to manipulate trajectory. On the other hand, a GI 3iron is more challenging to control trajectory due to CB forgiving design, offset, wide soles and bounce factor. Here's what I see; my 4i has 24* loft with 2* of bounce and minimal offset, as opposed to a stock G410 4 iron is 19*-20* and 5* of bounce plus twice as much offset. Mind you, I am not knocking anyone's choice of clubs; they just don't work for me. It's not that I can't flight a GI 3iron, I don't need its game improvement help, and don't like to have to think about overcoming it's CB tendencies to make certain shots.

 

For example, I have a set of almost new RSi TP irons that set in the garage collecting dust. I played them for a few months but found the specs required me to pay closer attention to overcome offset, stronger lofts and general head design tendencies. IMO Playing good golf is difficult enough, no need to compound game difficulty with a clubhead design that opposes how I play the game. Think about it, that may be the same reason for someone to not play blades except I could hit RSi TP irons fine, just didn't like how it influenced my mental approach to the game. Have a good day.

 

 

[jvincent]

Has anyone on this thread tried the Callaway X-Forged Utility?

[Fairway14]

> @"Old Tom Morris" said:

> I think its foolish to have a club limited to tee use. (Besides driver). There are so many options nowadays. I carry a T-MB 3 iron but I can hit it on fairway and light rough lies. If I couldn't hit it well without a peg under it, I'd put a different club in the bag.

 

There are usually 14 par 4 or par 5 tee box shots required. Why not have several clubs suitable for tee box play? Off the 14 tee boxes I probably average driver off six of them 3-wood off four of them, and either 3-hybrid or 4-iron off the other three tee boxes.

[DMartini]

> @jvincent said:

> Has anyone on this thread tried the Callaway X-Forged Utility?

 

have 3 in the game bag at the mo 18*, 21* & 30*

[jvincent]

> @DMartini said:

> > @jvincent said:

> > Has anyone on this thread tried the Callaway X-Forged Utility?

>

> have 3 in the game bag at the mo 18*, 21* & 30*

 

How do you like the 18*?

[DMartini]

> @jvincent said:

> > @DMartini said:

> > > @jvincent said:

> > > Has anyone on this thread tried the Callaway X-Forged Utility?

> >

> > have 3 in the game bag at the mo 18*, 21* & 30*

>

> How do you like the 18*?

 

really fantastic club, i personally dont use it off the deck for me thats the 21* job, from the tee on tight & narrow par 4s though the 18* is the ducks nuts.

[Tree Levino]

How are people liking the TM UDI with Hzrdus? Anybody bent it a couple degrees weak? Thinking this might be a good 2/3 iron

[Valtiel]

If you're referring to the 2019 P790 then it is a killer club. I don't think there is really anything out there that is longer and it still maintains a sleek, players look to it. I also think it was a good move to put a 100g shaft in it stock over the 80g that came before it. Hard to go wrong there IMO. I have a 21* that I am testing right now and IMO they are one of the best looking driving irons out there. Just enough mass to be confidence inspiring with clean, smooth lines that make it feel like a players long iron. I'll be picking up an 18* as well if my tweaks to the 21* keep it in the bag.

 

[Tree Levino]

My worry is that it’s going to go too far. I had a sim practice session booked last night and I hit the Gapr lo a few times. Thing was ridiculous. 260-270 with roll. I feel like stopping these things on a green is a no go so you’d have to roll it up. Not a big deal. With roll it end up at 3W distance though. Maybe I need a 3i and then a strong 2 driving iron as well for when it’s windy.

[Valtiel]

That is a little easier to dial back though. Bending them weak, shortening length etc etc. I agree that getting a 3i and bending it a few degrees weak for launch and spin combined with a standard 2i for distance would be a good match. I have done very similar for the same reasons.

[LoopySwing13]

As someone who has bought and sold almost every UDI club from TM, Srixon, and Titleist I think you need to be 100% honest what you want out of it.

i tried building UDIs as 1/2 irons with light weight shafts, and then built some more 2/3 type irons with shafts matching my irons. Both worked well for their main purpose (either a true driving iron or a true long iron replacement) but I could never seem to find both. I settled in keeping the 2 iron P790 since I had bought and sold it 3 times already but it’s really just for short courses and dry fairways in the summer.

I ended up bending my 4-iron from 23* to 21.5* and found that gave me enough to be a driving iron when needed. I was also fortunate to find the only 5 wood I have ever loved, so maybe that helped too.

Long story short, I learned the following things in my journey with UDIs:

1) build for the yardage gap/need you have

2) consider matching your iron shaft for feel/weight/ballflight

3) be realistic with the outcome (is this really working or just a once in a while club)

4) don’t buy and sell them 25 times in 2 years

good luck.

[jah7838]

I've tried a few over the past few years, but still haven't found one that I absolutely love. I recently found a deal on a couple of Adams Dhys (21* and 24*) just to try. They were ok, but just not what I was looking for. It was something about the way they set up and how they went thru the turf that I didn't like, so I sold the 24* here on the BST forum, and I'm trading in the 21* for a used 20* U45 that is currently on hold for me at my local Golf Galaxy. I'm going to throw my preferred hybrid shaft in that one (100g VTS) to see how that work. I'm pretty excited about that experiment.

I found a recoil 125 recently and put that in my 4 iron for fun, and I think I'm going to like it. I have DGTI s400 shafts for my 5 iron all the way down through my wedges. The weight of the Recoil is very good. I don't know if it'll replace my Adams 23* Super 9031, but I'll see how it goes. Numbers on the monitor were good, but I need to get it on the range and course before I'm completely sold on it.

[CRB357]

Adams 9031 Super Proto w/Diamana D+ produced a nice low to mid trajectory. Could hit it high if needed. It’s a smaller head profile similar to H2.

I’ve used a bunch of the clubs mentioned. I’m a high speed/spin/high ball hitter. I’m just going back to a regular older blade 2 iron. Anything modern just goes too high and I can’t get over the look at address.

[Sons_of_Pitches]

I like the Mizuno MP-18 MMC Fli-Hi Utility [2 iron]. May want to give that one a shot.