Utility Iron Distance

[Mainehacker21]

Weighing picking up a Srixon u85 4 iron which is 23*. My apex cf19 (non pro) 5 iron is 23.5* which I hit about 205. My question is, id love the utility to go about 215-220 for gapping. I don’t have the opportunity to hit this ahead of time. Since it’s only a half degree difference, does the fact that it’s a hollow head and lighter graphite shaft bode well for getting comfortably more distance out of this thing than my 5? Especially since the Srixon will likely have a higher flight. I know all hypothetical without hitting the club...

[76mpg]

Not extremely helpful, but I have a U85 and it is a rocket - sometimes off the tee it is silly long for its stated loft. I think it would be a fair amount longer than your apex, you could bend it a degree or so to get what you need out if it as well. They are awesome utilities.

[Stetson]

1” longer shaft that is lighter may not add 15 yards BUT it’s nothing a bending machine and 30 seconds can’t fix. 

[Valtiel]

Depending on how you feel about offset, you may want to consider the U83 3-iron instead for several reasons. First, there is a good chance that extra length and lightweight graphite helps you pick up speed, but for many people it also hurts dispersion and strike quality, especially if you have reasonably heavyweight iron shafts. IMO you are better off getting the extra distance you need from loft rather than length and dropping weight. Second, the 3-iron gives a bunch more options in terms of bending. The U85 already has quite a bit of offset, and if you ended up needing to strengthen the 23* 4-iron, it could start looking wonky in a hurry as well as potentially going in to the negative bounce angle range. Bending the 3-iron weak gives you a much wider range to play with, and you would have the option of going to a heavier shaft for consistency and getting your distance from stronger loft more easily. I hope that makes sense, just my two cents!

Also, the lighter 3-iron head would give you more room to potentially have the head hotmelted for extra weight which IMO is awesome for softening feel on hollow driving irons.  

Edited September 19, 2020 by Valtiel