Hybrid OUT Driving Iron IN...

[mvhoffman]

 

I'm dropping the hybrid for a driving iron. For countless rounds recently I have been inconsistently "hitting" my hybrid and dropping strokes because of it. No matter what type of swing, i'm hitting maybe 1/5 good shots with it. It ends up causing me strokes. Last weekend I didn't use it and shot a 74. This weekend I used it again and shot an 81. Yesterday on a much longer course I didn't use it and shot a 75.

Since getting my Ping i25's at the end of last season I have shot my lowest round to date (-1) 70, and fell in love with having a long iron game. My 4 iron is used from the tee, fairway, rough, etc. They are so easy to hit. I was looking at Ping crossovers when a good friend offered this Rapture 2 iron head. It will be here Friday and wont get to play with it until Saturday but I am looking forward to it.

Question for the group, should I shaft it with a graphite shaft I have from a hybrid that was in my bag for years that was my go to (head cracked) or should I shaft it with the Ping CFS shafts that I have in my irons? Confidence is the same with old cracked hybrid and current irons (could hit them from anywhere)?

[JoeFrigo]

hard to really say. If you want max distance then go with a graphite shaft (ive used tensei pro orange, la golf ozik black tie, and currently have GD Tour AD DI)..... For about a month last year I had the Srixon U85 with a Dynamic Gold Amt White x100 in it. The steel shaft was the most accurate and easiest to control for me. I just didnt like the chunkiness of the U85 head

 

overall most important thing is probably weight. the tour ad and TPO for me were 95g, ozik 105g, x100 118g .... combination of the 2, the ozik was the best shaft and mix for distance + control

[mvhoffman]

Thanks Joe. I am going to give the Matrix program H7.1 HD shaft a try first. This has been my go to hybrid shaft for many years until the Aldilla NV 105g S shaft that is in my current hybrid. The Matrix is a R flex tip trimmed for increased stiffness, etc. Its a tank. If it doesn't work out, i will likely just get a CFS shaft off of ebay and use that since it is the shaft I have in 4-LW of my i25's.

[Morety]

I'm in the same process. Currently have 15 clubs in the bag but I haven't pulled the hybrid once after I added a Titleist U500 3 iron. Just feel so much more comfortable with it and I don't have the big misses like I do with the hybrid.

[jgaudy15]

I have the same head in a matrix ozik white tie xx and it’s the best fairway finder I’ve ever owned. Prefer it to my driver when hitting into wind. However, I typically use it off the tee, I don’t hit it off the fairway/rough at all.

[scooterhd2]

i'd consider trying graphite first and if there are major control issues, you can go back to steel. But the graphite should give you a little more speed and increased launch to maximize distance.

[bunta]

To all you driving iron players out there, in your experiences, which driving iron out there, old or new, launches the highest ?

My frequently played golf courses gets really baked out greens in the summer... just looking for some help with height.

[manima1]

The Srixon U-series launch very high.

[mootrail]

Reshafted and rebagged my Rapture D.I. recently. The stock shafts were a bummer. I like Recoils and went with a Recoil 780 ES SmacWrap, but use what you like. Still one of the longest DIs out there with better then most turf interaction.

[setter02]

I found the Rapture DI easier to hit than the UDI at the time and gamed it with my i20s for 2 seasons. Great club, but it was primarily used off the tee and occasionally off the deck into par 5s.

[mootrail]

p.s. I forgot that the Rapture D.I. has a .355 taper tip which is not the .370 of most all hybrid shafts and the options you mentioned won't work. Finding a .355 taper tip shaft to match the stock 39.75" length (D0 SW) was really tricky. I ended up custom ordering my Recoil 780 ES SmacWrap from UST who have an option to taper tip on request. The 83g shaft I choose was within a couple grams of the stock shaft.

The other option I considered was a Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH that comes in 39.5" #1 & 39" #2. I don't remember the hosel depth, but I think #2 is the right #.

 

[mvhoffman]

I ended up trying the Program shaft and did not like the feel at all. It is a high launch hybrid shaft but does not get the Rapture off the ground. Kick points seems all wrong. I ended up ordering the CFS steel shaft that is in in the rest of my i25s. It was a shaft pull at 37.75 inches which will match the 39.5 length after being put together. It was suppose to arrive yesterday but is "in transit" in the USPS network somewhere. I will update once I actually get it and put everything together.

[mootrail]

I measured mine at 37 5/8" to the top of the hosel and guessing a 1.25" insertion depth, that's 38 7/8". Hope you're right and I'm wrong, but 37.75" doesn't seem possible.

[mvhoffman]

regardless, I can toss an extender in it. no worries. I usually do under standard anyway