The 4 iron spot.....

[DNice26]

I have a Mizuno H4 with CTaper Lite X that has been very good so far.

[Drewhill44]

My 4 iron matches my set... Bridgestone J15's. I have it at 22* loft.

[AB1981]

I go from i15 5 iron to an old Adams Idea 20 degree hybrid @39.5”. I carry the 5 iron 195 and use the hybrid for everything from 200-215. So nothing in the 4 spot I guess.

[mxskier]

Have been working on gapping a ton recently, even on my best struck shots, my set 4i only goes 5-7 yards farther than my 5i, and I need to nuke it to get there. (altitude makes low lofted clubs so hard to flight up). Going to try out a 4H, just hit it and it certainly carries farther than the 5 by at least 10-12 yards, however hybrids sometimes feel weird. I'm considering getting the 0311P 4i, or perhaps a MP20 HMB 4i, in that spot.

Any thoughts from the group?

[GooseHook]

Nothing. Driver-4 Wood- 3 driving iron - 5 iron.

[kstrong84]

I made a similar move to squeeze in a 50...MP-5 4i through PW, and MP-25 3i.

What do you carry for fairways and the rest of your wedges?

[kstrong84]

Haha no way, 4 irons are great! Especially for punch shots....I go utility iron for my 3

[getitdaily]

Driver

3wood (15)

18.5 hybrid

50, 54, 60

[aussieb]

HMB has been the solution for me. I tried a Callaway UT, Srixon U65, JPX919HM and a litany of MB/CB. It's like the hybrid of long irons! I struggled with this one particular 200-220m par 3 until finding this club. Also bagging the HMB 3i with KBS Proto as more of a driving iron for other tracks, but starting to prefer the 19* G400 hybrid in this spot as the regular option at home. Considering adding another KBS Proto to the HMB 4i, or something similar, as the extra speed and launch of graphite has been welcome on colder mornings when you're a little tight

[mxskier]

Whelp, got golf club purchase happy, just ordered the P to match the T 4 iron to compare with the 4H. Something is gonna go on the BST haha

[third-times-a-charm]

I've just recently discovered the magic of punching out with a 4 iron and I've been making some crazy saves with it.

[brew4eagle]

[Pepperturbo]

I've played at alltitude a number of times, and never had a problem getting my 4i, 3i or 17* 2i up. You probably know this, but maybe your 4i isn't far enough forward in your stance. A common problem I see with people is long irons slowly creep back to near 6i, middle of stance. Put a 4i there and it will be nearly the same yardage as 5i and look more like a punch trajectory shot.

Last week I was on an elevated 210 yard Par 3 into nice breeze. Using my 620 / 24* 4i hit ProV1 195yds to front of green, and I am 70yrs old. Yep, it was nuked but I call it "nutted", as all irons should be. lol

[mxskier]

@Pepperturbo I should clarify, not getting it "up" to me means not having a land angle over 43 degrees into a green. I hit most of my irons about 90 feet high landing 47 degrees, 5 iron is about 85 feet coming in at 43, then 4 iron 0311T is 75 feet coming in at 37 so only carries a few yards more than my 5 iron and rolls more. the 4H does seem to get back to about 90 feet and 45 degrees. I also pulled the trigger on an 0311P 4 iron that may fit the bill.
I have a problem of buying tons of clubs to fill a hole, and I only have this one. the ho in me is strong right now.

[Pepperturbo]

@mxskier - Interesting.. I hit the ball low to mid trajectory and use spin to stop the ball on the green, the old fashion way I guess. I have no idea of those numbers, never saw the need. As long as my ball does what it's told, I am good to go. If conditions dictate a high ball I adjust to make it happen. lol Good luck with the ho... she can do you in.

[mxskier]

@Pepperturbo yea, I only know them because I've started playing from the tips a lot more, which on a 7000-7500 yard course means I have several par 3s that are in the 220-230 range, some with danger. So I need to be able to carry it 220 and then stop fast and not roll through.

[Pepperturbo]

@mxskier - At altitude don't long courses and holes play less? I was playing golf in Truckee at 6k altitude and Mammoth 7k+ a few years back. Played the tips of each course and holes played less.

[mxskier]

@Pepperturbo yup, but 7500 yards at 1 mile = 6900 yards at sea level, so a pretty beefy course. So 235 yard par 3s = 215, which, again, is pretty big I'd argue for mere mortals. Hell, even PGA tour guys with that type of par 3 are pulling hard 6 or 5, some even 4 irons, themselves.

[Pepperturbo]

@mxskier I play some courses here in CA and Maui with no altitude help, 205-225yd Par 3's. The two longest are uphill into breezes, one has pond to cover at 190, real ball breakers. lol I am an ole guy and use 17* 2i on all of them. My AoA creates plenty of spin so I am still able to stop my 2i on the green. Most of the time I Par them, a few birdies now and again too. But when their 225, uphill into breeze, it's 2i to the edge at best, maybe just short of green surface, and chip tight to tap in. You have a good day... I am off...

[Pepe8714]

If you struggle to hit your 3/4/5 irons then you simply don’t swing fast enough to hit them. In a modern day 5 iron (take your pick) if you don’t carry it 200 yards with ease, then you need fairway woods or hybrids.

long irons are the lightest weight heads and lowest lift = swing speed is the only solution.

 

again, if you’re not swinging your long irons ~ 100mph or 200 yard 5 iron in the air, it’s just physics

[brew4eagle]

Not true for everyone. I don't carry my 5 iron 200 yds, especially 'with ease'. However, I don't struggle to hit the 4 or 5 iron. 5 iron carries about 180, 4 iron about 190, and these numbers fit my gaps well.

[Pepperturbo]

@Pepe8714 - Sorry, but I, too, disagree with your assumptions on yardage. I don't struggle hitting long irons and my carry yardages been the same for years.
I am a competitive sort. Played with a 40yd old the other day that out drove me by 50+ yards, he hit all clubs 20yds further and I still beat him, no less, using weak lofted Titleist 620 CB&MB irons. LOL - We were playing 70.7/129 par 72 course and I finished 3 over. I really love this game. PS, that's a brag...

[BostonWRX]

U500 with same shaft as my irons

[Oqvist]

22 degree hybrid goes after my 5i.

[dubbelbogey]

I know some folks have questioned the Trackman data, but this is what they reported last year: REVEALED! Trackman launches 2019 PGA Tour and LPGA Tour stats | GolfMagicPGA Tour average 5-iron distance of 194 yds, LPGA Tour, 161 yds. Sure, many on Tour can and do hit it farther, but to say that you shouldn't play a 5i if you can't hit it 200yds seems, well, a bit off base.

(And if you Google for other stats that are other than Trackman, you'll still find the average of PGA tour distances range from 190 to 230, from several sources.)

 

[azgreg]

I used to carry a 4h but I'm hitting my long irons pretty good right now so a 4i occupies that spot.

 

[MP4444]

It depends on how I'm doing with ball striking and what I'm getting out of it at that time.

Either a set 4i, players distance 4i, sgi 5i, or 23 degree hybrid.

I hit regularly on a Skytrak and look at carry, spin, and decent angle. I'm looking for that spot to carry 205-210, spin above 3500rpm, and come in greater than 48 degrees.

When my ball striking is in peak form for me I can get that out of a set 4i but most regularly a players distance (718 TMB 4i) is in the spot.

I feel like I get the best forgiveness out of the 23 degree hybrid but if I catch a low spinner because of strike it can carry way long and I really don't like the long miss.

The one thing I learned is to keep all of the clubs that I rotate through this spot because I now know it will likely always be a rotation.

[jgreer1421]

Srixon u65 bent to 22* w/ amt X100. Had to gd tour ad shaft in this, which was soft stepped... smooth, high launch. Just lost a bit of control with my ss.

notable bargain club for me was the mizuno mp18 hifli 4 iron. Smaller top line, but still forgiving. Have the 5&6 hi fli’s in my bag with ti x100’s.

[mxskier]

@MP4444 Right on there man, that's my plan. Because of Denver air, getting a 4i to land at over 45 degrees can be challenging when not hitting it super pure. So I have a 22* 4H in play now, have the 0311P 4i coming (that may or may not stay depending on the offset look) and then my regular set 4i. Though having just hit on trackman at sea level readings, my 4H was coming in at between 50 degrees, so may actually be too high for that altitude.
Either way, not selling the clubs after a few days is going to be the key for me too.

[MP4444]

@mxskier I like it man. It's all about going with what gives you the numbers you are looking for based on the way you are playing at the moment.
I've sold and bought back the same 23 degree hybrid twice because I get to a point that I think I'll never play it again but it always eventually makes it way back in the rotation.
The one idea I'm currently considering is getting a steel shaft installed in the hybrid to see if I can get better dispersion and consistency when trying to take off some speed.
I've also had times where I game both the 4h and 4i and just go with 19deg hybrid and driver at the top end.
Between 4i/4h, 2i/2h, and 3w, that is the one part of my bag that changes a lot round to round.