Maximizing my utility iron

[blackyatx]

I wanted to take a dive into the utility iron market to use as driving iron.  I had a fly z+ 3 iron (20) that I felt had poor gaping to relative to my 4 iron, as in they went 185 each.  I thought maybe getting a hotter face club might solve the issue, so moved to a 2020 forged tec 3 iron bent to 18 at 39.5 in and set the lie to 59.5 (KBS R+).  I got about 5 more yards, and a small fade tail vs my normal straight or draw.  Not exactly what I was hoping.  So I thought why not try the forged tec utility 2 iron in the project x catalyst shaft at the same lie/length.  Good news is I can get to 220-230.  Bad news, that fade has turned to slice on 9/10 shots.  

 

Like many of us, it is those great shots that want to makes us want to get this to work.  Plus this is doing exactly what I want.

 

The results above did not make any sense to me, or at least until recently, maybe.  When I regripped my flyz 3 iron (D3), I noticed it had S+ stamped on the shaft (though I did not feel any difference).  The forged tec was built by cobra with to 0.25 inches longer with a 3- iron R+ (D4), so the shaft was hard stepped in flex I think?  The utility iron (D2) was kept as is, but the shaft weight 85 g (30 g difference to R+).

 

The flyz 3 iron now has the proper gapping relative to the 4, so my guess is I was sensitive to the flex.  Though I could still hit this club straight in the S+.  Based on this, I suspect the half hard stepping of forged tec 3 iron was also why I saw a small increase in distance but still improper gapping.  The utility iron I have no idea, but the huge difference in shaft weight seems to be the biggest driver to me.  The shaft may not fit me either though I read that this px shaft is meant for smoother tempos, which I tend to favor (love KBS/Nippon and tour blue/green).  I would love to get fit...but the closest are 2 h each way, so I would like to gather the most amount of info as possible first or maybe solve the issue here.

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

 

[Valtiel]

Weight is often the biggest issue when it comes to these longer clubs, as you were leaning towards. A 30g drop in shaft weight is pretty huge, AND the swingweight is coming in lighter as well, so kind of a double whammy in potentially the wrong direction. That much drop in weight can easily through off your timing and release, commonly leading to a more over the top move which could explain the slice. For reference, in order to get your utility iron with its 80g shaft up to a similar feel as the previous 3-iron at D4 with the 110g shaft, you would likely need to bring the utility up to D6+. That starts to get tricky, so I would honestly ditch the light shaft and get something with more weight in there. 

Also the difference between the S+ and the R+ is a full 10g, which is much more likely what you were sensitive to, and again goes back to a weight issue. It sounds like you have a bit to sort out here, but assuming you're gaming the set 4-iron, the Forged Tec 3-iron, and the Utility 2-iron, my personal recommendation/opinion would be to leave the KBS R+ shafts in the 4 and the 3, and do something like the KBS Hybrid shaft in either the R (100g) or S (105g) flex. That would create a much nicer weight progression and help with what is likely the weight issue in the 2-iron. From there I would tweak the lofts for gapping purposes (that 3-iron is probably a bit strong). 

Can you confirm the specs of your 4-iron? I'm not sure if you have the Fly Z+ there as well, but at 23* you should be looking at a 3-iron around 20* and a 2-iron around 17* for general gapping purposes. If you're needing an 18* 3-iron to get the proper gapping then you may be running in to an issue where you're not generating enough speed or enough height at these lofts. 

[blackyatx]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.  All my clubs in the bag are D3/D4 SW.  I do play Fly z+ irons through the bag, my 4 is 23*.  The top of my bag goes 4i, 4h (22*), 3 wood (15*).  After reshafting my 3i, I  can play it interchangibly with my 4h to achieve the same course results.  Course set-up determines which I use.  I was originally aiming for a 17* forged tec iron, but cobra would only bend 1 degree either way, so I had to get 18.  I was also not sure I would have enough speed to use it, so cheap experiment.  Ironically, I have no issues hitting it off the tee or turf.  However, the distance is still off presumably because of the hard stepped shaft, so I bought the 2 utility instead.  I cannot hit the utility off the turf.  My main goal was to turn the utility into a tee shot driving iron anyway, and pull the 60* wedge for the days I want it.

 

I looked into 95 steel fibers and recoils but read both of those tended to favor more aggressive swingers.  I could not find much on the KBS other than they tend to splinter or crack, but I really want to try it in the weight you suggested.