Longest iron to carry as a function of driver distance?

[brew4eagle]

I don't know my swing speed, but my driver distance is about 220-225 carry and about 240-245 total.  Based off of those #s what is the longest traditional iron you'd recommend I carry?  The lofts of my iron set are 21*, 24*, 27*, 31*, ... .

[ThinkingPlus]

Your 24° should probably be your lowest loft iron to play.  My driver numbers are slightly shorter and my irons stop at 25°.  I add 2 hybrids, 3W, and driver to fill out my set.

[gripandrip]

What's the longest traditional iron you can consistently hit? That would be my first question... and then you would have to look at gaps to determine the top end of the bag.  There are so many options out there to fill out the top of the bag. Hybrids, hybrid irons, even more and more 7 woods are showing up.

[cardoustie]

My irons start at 6i .. and I carry a driver 270 .. in the summer .. in Toronto

[brew4eagle]

41 minutes ago, gripandrip said:

What's the longest traditional iron you can consistently hit? That would be my first question... and then you would have to look at gaps to determine the top end of the bag.  There are so many options out there to fill out the top of the bag. Hybrids, hybrid irons, even more and more 7 woods are showing up.

I quit carrying the 3 and 4 iron (21 and 24*) a long time ago based on reading too much (don't get to play enough so spend a lot of time on here and elsewhere).   I hit the 5 iron (27*) well off of the tee and  from good (fluffed) lies.  Not so great off of tight lies, and rarely try it out of rough unless have to keep it low under trees.  Just trying to decide if I should give the 4 and/or 3 some time out on the course rather than just keeping them in the closet because the pundits tend to say long irons are too hard to hit for slower swing speeds.  I also received a Z U85 23* for Christmas that I've yet to hit, so that might fill the gap to my 19* hybrid.  Also have an old Steelhead 20* 7 wood with steel shaft I could try.

[gripandrip]

10 minutes ago, brew4eagle said:

I quit carrying the 3 and 4 iron (21 and 24*) a long time ago based on reading too much (don't get to play enough so spend a lot of time on here and elsewhere).   I hit the 5 iron (27*) well off of the tee and  from good (fluffed) lies.  Not so great off of tight lies, and rarely try it out of rough unless have to keep it low under trees.  Just trying to decide if I should give the 4 and/or 3 some time out on the course rather than just keeping them in the closet because the pundits tend to say long irons are too hard to hit for slower swing speeds.  I also received a Z U85 23* for Christmas that I've yet to hit, so that might fill the gap to my 19* hybrid.  Also have an old Steelhead 20* 7 wood with steel shaft I could try.

Sounds like you have a decent plan to solve your issue. If you don't hit the 3/4 iron well, and don't see having the time to get them back into play, then why punish yourself. You seem to have options to fill your gaps. Working the 5 iron into your comfortable rotation seems like a realistic objective that would help with the gapping. The U85 is a pretty good alternative, but I would think you still have to confirm the gaps. I have a U45 that I sometimes put in the bag in place of my 3 iron, and it is pretty easy to hit.

[frisco9]

1 hour ago, brew4eagle said:

I quit carrying the 3 and 4 iron (21 and 24*) a long time ago based on reading too much (don't get to play enough so spend a lot of time on here and elsewhere).   I hit the 5 iron (27*) well off of the tee and  from good (fluffed) lies.  Not so great off of tight lies, and rarely try it out of rough unless have to keep it low under trees.  Just trying to decide if I should give the 4 and/or 3 some time out on the course rather than just keeping them in the closet because the pundits tend to say long irons are too hard to hit for slower swing speeds.  I also received a Z U85 23* for Christmas that I've yet to hit, so that might fill the gap to my 19* hybrid.  Also have an old Steelhead 20* 7 wood with steel shaft I could try.

 

It seems to me you are going down the right path like many have stated.  If you are having issues off tight lies in fairway with your 5i maybe you experiment with a hybrid at that loft/distance too?  Like you and many I go back and forth with hybrid to iron and where that transition is.  

[RainShadow]

 I hit it about as far as you, maybe a little shorter.

My longest iron is a 26* 6 iron. 38".  160 carry.

I have a G410 26* hybrid that I hit 170-175. 39.25" 

I played a five iron until I was about 50 years old, then moved to 1st gen Cally Apex Hybrid at 26*, and I had already replaced the 3 and 4  Irons with the same in 20* & 23* several years earlier. Those played more iron like.

The 3 iron was the first to go as a hybrid ( Nickent 3dxDC) was way more versatile for my game and the courses I played. I was probably about 42 or 43 yrs old then.

 As others have stated, be aware of gaping and what you expect to use it for. 

 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2021 by RainShadow

[Pepperturbo]

I don't know your age, but I am 70 and still benefit from long irons including 4, 3 and 2 iron, and currently carry a 16* 4wd and 9.5 driver.  I actually take great satisfaction from a well struck long iron, short irons are no-brainer.

 

Won't tell anyone what they should carry equipment wise, mostly because skill and approach to the game probably differ.  I'll just say, loft numbers mean nothing.  What means something is how far you "CARRY" each of those lofts and how far you carry the closest wood?

[BogeyParBogey]

Maybe add another U85?

[BREWMASTER95060]

Your ball striking is?

a) excellent

b) ok

c) poor

[596]

I hit driver about 220 to 230.  The longest iron in my bag is a 36* 8 iron.  My hybrids start at 32*.  I play a ping k15 6 hybrid which is the same as my mizuno jpx800 7 iron.  I have more head covers then not, in my bag

[Jack Pearsall]

A little bit of your golf soul shrivels up when you bench your 4 iron.

Fact.

[bvanlieu]

When faced with that 180y forced carry into a breeze from the light rough, I always pull a head cover off. 

 

Best to just date the 4i at the practice range, and marry the 4H on course JP 🙂 

 

- b

Edited February 28, 2021 by bvanlieu

[kjbuckeye]

On 1/26/2021 at 2:00 PM, brew4eagle said:

I quit carrying the 3 and 4 iron (21 and 24*) a long time ago based on reading too much (don't get to play enough so spend a lot of time on here and elsewhere).   I hit the 5 iron (27*) well off of the tee and  from good (fluffed) lies.  Not so great off of tight lies, and rarely try it out of rough unless have to keep it low under trees.  Just trying to decide if I should give the 4 and/or 3 some time out on the course rather than just keeping them in the closet because the pundits tend to say long irons are too hard to hit for slower swing speeds.  I also received a Z U85 23* for Christmas that I've yet to hit, so that might fill the gap to my 19* hybrid.  Also have an old Steelhead 20* 7 wood with steel shaft I could try.

If you're not hitting a club consistently, you should definitely swap it for something else. In this case, I would recommend something with a hotter face and more forgiveness than the vr pros you carry. Think of something like p770, p790, apex, zx5, etc. You need a little more bang for your buck. You can also test hybrids starting at the 5 iron loft. Moral of the story, your consistency stops at the 5 iron, so replace it with something that gives you the ball flight and consistency you're looking for.

[brew4eagle]

43 minutes ago, kjbuckeye said:

If you're not hitting a club consistently, you should definitely swap it for something else. In this case, I would recommend something with a hotter face and more forgiveness than the vr pros you carry. Think of something like p770, p790, apex, zx5, etc. You need a little more bang for your buck. You can also test hybrids starting at the 5 iron loft. Moral of the story, your consistency stops at the 5 iron, so replace it with something that gives you the ball flight and consistency you're looking for.

The VR Pro Combo 5 iron is somewhat similar to those iron designs mentioned.  It has a welded thin face insert with a pocket cavity design to pull more weight from the face.  I think it's more of a loft issue (ie, swing speed issue) than a hot face design issue, as the VR Pro Combo has a hot face design in theory.  Anyways, I've decided to stick with the 5 iron, but definitely leaving the 3 and 4 irons out of the bag unless the 5 iron becomes much more consistent (w/ technique).  Still haven't tried out the Z U85 23* driving iron as I haven't played in 2021, but I think it has a good chance of working well with all of that weight down low.  We'll see...

[Roejye]

I have almost the exact same driver carry as you and the lowest lofted iron I have is a 28° 6 iron. Granted a big reason for that is that's the lowest iron my set came with lol. I could probably hit a 5 iron from my set ok, but I doubt it would be super consistent.

[MG_TX]

I would look at yardage happing and not so much on the loft. My lowest lofted iron is my 5 at 22* and I am in the 230-235 carry range off the tee. My 5i is my 180-190 club.