UK What should I put between driver and longest iron?

[Seamie]

Out of the game for a few years so not very well informed when it comes to equipment post about 2015.

 

Need some advice on putting together a bag for 2021. If I’m playing regularly enough later in the year I’ll go for a proper fitting and look at new clubs, but for now it’s the second hand market.

 

This is what I have and am happy with at the moment:

 

Driver - Original TM M2 - 265 carry

Srixon z745 irons - 4-P

Cleveland rtx 2 cb 50

Vokey sm5 54 and 58

 

Love the driver, irons and wedges but I need help filling the gap between irons and driver.

 

4 iron is around 190. I’m confident with it in terms of consistency of striking, however I  feel like I’d be more confident hitting a something higher launching into a green where I need to stop it. My gaps also get small here, my 5 iron is 182, so 5 yards more here would be good.

So I’m open to changing the 4 iron.

 

So in summary I guess what I’m looking for is 

higher and slightly longer 4 iron (190 club) and then two clubs to fill the gap between the 190 club and driver.

 

I’m not actually too bothered with gapping at this end of the bag and don’t care too much if the yardages overlap, the two use cases I have in mind at the moment are:

 

1) From the tee when driver isn’t the option

For this case I probably want something in the 210-240 range with premium on control. Don’t mind this being something that is flighted lower.

 

2) Something I can hit high from the fairway and possibly rough 

Needs to be longer than the 4 iron or it’s replacement and give me confidence to hit into greens where I need some height and stop. Doesn’t need to go more than 220. Not too many occasions I’m that far away and would be looking to hit a green.

 

Any suggestions on clubs to look at, or alternative thoughts on how to set up this part of the bag are much appreciated.

 

Cheers

[matt_bay]

4i - Srixon z545 (For more ball speed and forgiveness)

 

3H - Titleist 818 H1 (inexpensive and adjustable)
 

Secondary Tee Club - 2/3i (Mizuno HMB, Titleist u510, TaylorMade p790) or low spinning 4/5 FW (TS3,Sim)

[Vater]

I can only speak from my perspective, but I assure you that it was methodically thought through.

 

For your case #1 - I use a 15* 3W. Mine happens to be a legendary V Steel, so I imagine a SIM or M6 FW would be the current version.

 

For your case #2 - I use a 19* 3H. I picked an M3 because the head size was attractive to me precisely to sweep off the fairway or to pick out in the rough. And I went with a hybrid over a FW to give me a better swing plane than a FW.

 

And the reason why the combo above works for me is that I'm using a 4i that really works for me. So as you noted, OP, getting the 4i right - in addition to the two suggestions above - should lock in the top of your bag.

[Bye]

I agree with the above.
 

A friend of mine had a set of Srixon’s and had the same issue with the 4 iron. He went for the Srixon hybrid 4 iron which solved the yardage issue.

 

A Titleist hybrid is a good shout as well, I just got one on eBay 818 brand new for £100. The 816 is a very good club too.

 

Then throw in a 3/4 wood, loads of good options here from a few years ago. Can’t go wrong with a Callaway, Titleist 915 onwards

 

 

[Seamie]

Thanks for the responses so far.

 

Not been able to find too much in the way of reviews, but the Mizuno jpx fli hi appeals to me as the 4i replacement. 

 

Looks like these are supposed to be more like for like replacements in terms of distance, so would expect that the 4 would probably give me the gap to my 5i that I want. I could also get it in the same modus 120 shaft as my irons.

[wcdixon]

Went through process you're going through this past year after almost 7 years away from the game - updated entire set and used a Callaway XR Steelhead 5w and 3w and alternated between a GAPR HI 4 hybrid at 21* and a Cobra F6 4 hybrid at 20.5* to fill that hole between my driver and in my case, 5 iron.

Decided I wanted to add some sort of club in the 20 degree area that could give me lower flighted stingers (iron, hybrid, utility) so last week swapped out the 3w and 5w for a used like-new Callaway Epic Flash 5W lofted down to 17*, and then found a used like-new GAPR Mid 4 (20*) and Epic Flash 4 hybrid (21*).

 

Only been able to hit them indoors but so far loving the Flash 5w lofted down as an all-purpose fairway wood, and still got to put in some practice to make the GAPR Mid work (tougher to hit than a regular hybrid but love the lower ball flight to 210 yds when struck solid) and the Flash hybrid actually tends to fly too far - need to find a controlled inbetween swing for it to get it's yardages down to around 210-215 yds instead of the 225 yds it was reaching sometimes.

 

So I guess my short answer is look at Callaway's or Taylormade GAPR (or new DHY 4 utility, if you have the $) haha.

[phizzy30]

I would recommend a 3 or 4 metal to fill the gap between your driver and longest iron.  Based on your numbers, you need a 240 to 250 club and I think either 3 or 4 metal would fit the bill.  If 3 metal launches too low and doesn't spin enough, then go with 4 metal. 

[Members Only]

3 hours ago, Seamie said:

Out of the game for a few years so not very well informed when it comes to equipment post about 2015.

 

Need some advice on putting together a bag for 2021. If I’m playing regularly enough later in the year I’ll go for a proper fitting and look at new clubs, but for now it’s the second hand market.

 

This is what I have and am happy with at the moment:

 

Driver - Original TM M2 - 265 carry

Srixon z745 irons - 4-P

Cleveland rtx 2 cb 50

Vokey sm5 54 and 58

 

Love the driver, irons and wedges but I need help filling the gap between irons and driver.

 

4 iron is around 190. I’m confident with it in terms of consistency of striking, however I  feel like I’d be more confident hitting a something higher launching into a green where I need to stop it. My gaps also get small here, my 5 iron is 182, so 5 yards more here would be good.

So I’m open to changing the 4 iron.

 

So in summary I guess what I’m looking for is 

higher and slightly longer 4 iron (190 club) and then two clubs to fill the gap between the 190 club and driver.

 

I’m not actually too bothered with gapping at this end of the bag and don’t care too much if the yardages overlap, the two use cases I have in mind at the moment are:

 

1) From the tee when driver isn’t the option

For this case I probably want something in the 210-240 range with premium on control. Don’t mind this being something that is flighted lower.

 

2) Something I can hit high from the fairway and possibly rough 

Needs to be longer than the 4 iron or it’s replacement and give me confidence to hit into greens where I need some height and stop. Doesn’t need to go more than 220. Not too many occasions I’m that far away and would be looking to hit a green.

 

Any suggestions on clubs to look at, or alternative thoughts on how to set up this part of the bag are much appreciated.

 

Cheers

1) Some sort of driving iron or hybrid or UDI/DHY (Like a sim udi or gapr or srixonudi or mizuno to name a few)-that's what i hit in the range you described

2) For 250+ ydg. a damn solid 3 wood! 🙂 Although, I do not hit it that often!

[leftymatt]

2 hours ago, Seamie said:

Thanks for the responses so far.

 

Not been able to find too much in the way of reviews, but the Mizuno jpx fli hi appeals to me as the 4i replacement. 

 

Looks like these are supposed to be more like for like replacements in terms of distance, so would expect that the 4 would probably give me the gap to my 5i that I want. I could also get it in the same modus 120 shaft as my irons.

 

I just picked up a 22* one of these late this season! It's the 2014 version, but I would imagine they are similar.  

 

I don't want to completely steer you from looking at a different type of hybrid or utility iron. Lots of good ones out there and you can do the same thing where you fit one of those heads with your preferred iron shaft and get the lie angle just right. BUT, I think the Fli-Hi direct replacement is a great buy and works exactly as advertised... if you have any specific questions about it, let me know

 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by leftymatt

[SSturm24]

My Driver carry is roughly the same as yours and I play a 3 wood and a 19* Hybrid that fit into those exact gaps you mention.  I have a 15* Callaway Diablo Octane Tour that has never been beat out by another 3 wood that I can hit 240 - 260 and a Titleist 913 hybrid that I can hit 215-225, but also is easy to manipulate and cut down to 200 or so.  I got the 3 wood at Golf Galaxy a few years ago for $30 and the hybrid was $70 or $80.  The clubs work for me and I'm not necessarily using them as much as the rest of my bag so spending less there and more on Driver/Irons/Wedges is nice.

[Seamie]

18 minutes ago, leftymatt said:

 

I just picked up a 4h one of these late this season! It's the 2014 version, but I would imagine they are similar.  

 

I don't want to completely steer you from looking at a different type of hybrid or utility iron. Lots of good ones out there and you can do the same thing where you fit one of those heads with your preferred iron shaft and get the lie angle just right. BUT, I think the Fli-Hi direct replacement is a great buy and works exactly as advertised... if you have any specific questions about it, let me know

 

 

Thanks - did you go with a similar shaft in the fli hi as you iron shafts?

[getitdaily]

Hopefully a lot of yards.

[ChipNRun]

For 4i, you're getting a distance fall-off from 5i: consider softstepping the 4i to improve launch and smooth out swing, and/or going to slightly lighter shaft. 

 

Case 1 - Consider a 4W.* This is more versatile than a 3W, and with a cut shot can deliver modest stopping power. And, many golfers get more reliable hits from 4W than 3W. You would need a side-by-side to figure this out.

 

Case 2 - Consider a 7W. Lots of tour pros are adding this as a second FW. Scott Stallings said this in a Sept 2019 Golf Digest article (p. 36):

"My 7 wood is a more versatile than a utility iron. I can hit it high or low, and the height on full shots into par 5s is so helpful, especially when you're coming in from 240 to 260 yards. I've found a utility 2- or 3-iron doesn't stop very well from that distance."

 

For Case 1/Case 2 as package, you might consider either 3W + 5w, or 4W + 7W.

 

*That said, at 2020 St. Louis Golf Expo the Callaway and TM reps were both talking "better launching 3 woods." Calla had lowered weights on Mavriks to improve launch, and TM had brought back the heavier V-steel sole (circa 2005) for the SIM woods.

 

I'm not sure how much you can save on used Mavrik or SIM woods.

 

If you can't test out used woods in the shop, look at Callaway Preowned and their return policies. You would have to get them and test them quick. Mavrik, Epic Flash and Steelhead XR fairway wood blocs are offering lots of choices this month.

[joostin]

First, your bag still holds up great - some golfwrx classics in there.  Not sure if you have any preference or dislike for fairway woods or hybrids, but my take:

 

4W-5W:  To keep with the wrx classic clubs, I'm gonna say Cobra F6 Baffler lofted down.  Since you pointed out yardages probably less than 3W, that can be a super versatile club.

 

7W or 3 hybrid:  I'd prefer 7W for height, but maybe try both, like Titleist 915F and 816H1 or newer.

 

4I:  Srixon Z 545 or newer since you already strike your Z 745 well.  545 is pretty long and consistent with your irons.

[llewol007]

I would keep the current line up and add either a adjustable 3 hybrid and depending on your yardage is on a par 5 and whether you want the ability to possibly hit into it for your second shot then maybe a 3 wood or a 4 wood

[jomatty]

You can get a titleist ts2 16.5 FW for cheap used right now.  I like mine quite a bit.  Then add a 19 degree hybrid or a 7 wood depending on your preference...

[ChipNRun]

@Seamie,

 

Didn't realize you are in UK. Callaway Preowned may be rather complicated. CPO web site gives shipping instructions. Good luck on finding long clubs!

[leftymatt]

18 hours ago, Seamie said:

Thanks - did you go with a similar shaft in the fli hi as you iron shafts?

 

Yep, I went with the exact same shaft.

 

For a long time, I played a 22* hybrid w/ graphite as a 3i replacement that was an inch over my set 4i. I loved the hybrid (still have it as a back-up), but from a gapping perspective, I struggled a bit trust the distance when I needed to take some off of it. More often than not I was hitting it further than I'd like creating a new mini gap. I could have maybe cut the shaft down a bit, added weight to the head to dial it in, but I wasn't so sure I could make that work.

 

I'm not knocking hybrids w/ graphite at all -- if you can dial in the specs they can gap correctly. But going for something like the JPX Fli hi or a driving iron w/ your set steel is a way to remove one of the variables.

Edited November 21, 2020 by leftymatt

[madeintheshade]

21 hours ago, Vater said:

I can only speak from my perspective, but I assure you that it was methodically thought through.

 

For your case #1 - I use a 15* 3W. Mine happens to be a legendary V Steel, so I imagine a SIM or M6 FW would be the current version.

 

For your case #2 - I use a 19* 3H. I picked an M3 because the head size was attractive to me precisely to sweep off the fairway or to pick out in the rough. And I went with a hybrid over a FW to give me a better swing plane than a FW.

 

And the reason why the combo above works for me is that I'm using a 4i that really works for me. So as you noted, OP, getting the 4i right - in addition to the two suggestions above - should lock in the top of your bag.

This is my set up as well. 3 wood. 19* hybrid. The gapping works well for me.  

[Members Only]

20 hours ago, leftymatt said:

 

I just picked up a 22* one of these late this season! It's the 2014 version, but I would imagine they are similar.  

 

I don't want to completely steer you from looking at a different type of hybrid or utility iron. Lots of good ones out there and you can do the same thing where you fit one of those heads with your preferred iron shaft and get the lie angle just right. BUT, I think the Fli-Hi direct replacement is a great buy and works exactly as advertised... if you have any specific questions about it, let me know

 

 

Great choice!