All things equal, do UT irons fly higher/land softer than long irons?

[Htk084]

Thinking about getting one to replace a long iron. Same shaft, loft, etc, which one flys higher?  I need it to be able to stop on greens compared to a 4 iron i210.  Thank you

[jvincent]

It will depend on what you are playing now and the construction of the utility.

 

Lower CG will help with launch and spin and a hollow face construction will also help a little bit but just to set expectations you're not likely to see a dramatic difference.

[anth]

Generally speaking I would say yes

[Red4282]

@jvincenthit it on the head. It just depends on what long irons you have and what utility you compare. But the most launch “friendly” utilities will at least be as good or higher than just about any long iron. There are just a few utilities like a p790 that arent so high launching.

[wam78]

Agree with above.  P790 and u500 are just a couple of examples of UT irons that are low spin because of the more compact profile.  Zx utility and x forged UT I find to launch and spin a little more.  That is just what I’ve seen from my delivery with each club.  YMMV.

[Htk084]

4 hours ago, Red4282 said:

@jvincenthit it on the head. It just depends on what long irons you have and what utility you compare. But the most launch “friendly” utilities will at least be as good or higher than just about any long iron. There are just a few utilities like a p790 that arent so high launching.

 

I would be replacing an i210 4 iron with the new g425 crossover. Same shaft and loft.  
 

thanks for your replies!

[spring70]

10 hours ago, Htk084 said:

Thinking about getting one to replace a long iron. Same shaft, loft, etc, which one flys higher?  I need it to be able to stop on greens compared to a 4 iron i210.  Thank you

Depends, but

 

Ping Crossover G410/G425 fly lower than G410 long irons

CallawayUT fly lower than Mavrik Pro long irons

TM UDI lower

 

[Pepperturbo]

High and soft spin depends somewhat on shaft, loft, your swing mechanics, ball characteristics, and how hard you hit it.

 

My 718 T-MB 2 iron is 17'.  It's my opinion T-MB 2 iron was behind Titleist U-500, design at address appear similar.  I can hit it moderately high or low, and stop the ball on the green, all depends on how I set up to the ball, and manipulate the club though impact.

 

Yesterday, Par 3, 230+yd to Blue back pin, I used 2i and landed the ball on the front of the green, ball released and rolled 5-10' to front middle of green.  I hit the ball about as solid as I could into a breeze, and got a pretty mid-high trajectory, maybe 80'+ apex.  As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to get there.

Edited June 7, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[Htk084]

1 hour ago, spring7 said:

Depends, but

 

Ping Crossover G410/G425 fly lower than G410 long irons

CallawayUT fly lower than Mavrik Pro long irons

TM UDI lower

 

Oh darn really?  Good to know thank you

[spring70]

12 hours ago, Htk084 said:

Oh darn really?  Good to know thank you

for me at least

[phizzy30]

19 hours ago, Htk084 said:

 

I would be replacing an i210 4 iron with the new g425 crossover. Same shaft and loft.  
 

thanks for your replies!

If anything it will launch a little higher.  Spin really depends on what shaft you put in it. 

[J_Tizzle]

I'd say general rule of thumb, yes they'll go higher, land softer, and fly farther. 

 

Of course lots of variables in play.  If you're looking for something easier to hit and higher (but not necessarily notably longer in my experience) you could consider the G425 long irons (not Crossovers).  I have hit the 4i of that and it probably apexes out 15-20ft higher (but of course could be the shaft differences), but goes 10-15 yards shorter than my Crossover.

 

With that said, I will say my Crossover is 100% built for tee balls, I can smoke it off a tee about 230 and then whatever it rolls, but I will hardly ever try to hit it off the ground because its just too low flying.

[Jc0]

14 hours ago, Htk084 said:

Oh darn really?  Good to know thank you

 

It depends on what clubs you play. By nature hollow body irons have a cg higher than game improvement irons because of the extra material needed at the top of the head. If you use players irons hollow body will probably launch equal to a little higher at equal loft. If you use game improvement irons they will normally launch lower because GI irons have more mass low, hence a lower cg. Playing i210 I would say you would see similar ball flight with hollow body irons but it would be more forgiving.

[Htk084]

3 hours ago, J_Tizzle said:

I'd say general rule of thumb, yes they'll go higher, land softer, and fly farther. 

 

Of course lots of variables in play.  If you're looking for something easier to hit and higher (but not necessarily notably longer in my experience) you could consider the G425 long irons (not Crossovers).  I have hit the 4i of that and it probably apexes out 15-20ft higher (but of course could be the shaft differences), but goes 10-15 yards shorter than my Crossover.

 

With that said, I will say my Crossover is 100% built for tee balls, I can smoke it off a tee about 230 and then whatever it rolls, but I will hardly ever try to hit it off the ground because its just too low flying.

What loft is your crossover?  Yeah I thought of a g425 iron that could be perfect 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Htk084

[animalgolfs]

17 hours ago, spring7 said:

Depends, but

 

Ping Crossover G410/G425 fly lower than G410 long irons

CallawayUT fly lower than Mavrik Pro long irons

TM UDI lower

 

Original G launched high but absolutely no spin -true iron replacement but had driving iron spin #'s

400 was basically the same in hyperpearl ...touch more spin

410 tried improved launch , seemed to incorporate i500 tech in larger footprint . Much more of an iron replacement than driving type.

I bet the 425 launch low- designed strictly as a driving iron

[J_Tizzle]

On 6/8/2021 at 11:07 AM, Htk084 said:

What loft is your crossover?  Yeah I thought of a g425 iron that could be perfect 

 

It was the 4 Crossover to the 4i, so comparable lofts I think.  Plus if you really wanted you could put a graphite shaft in the iron and stretch it out a little more with just the lighter weight.

[COL_B]

On 6/8/2021 at 8:00 AM, J_Tizzle said:

I'd say general rule of thumb, yes they'll go higher, land softer, and fly farther. 

 

Of course lots of variables in play.  If you're looking for something easier to hit and higher (but not necessarily notably longer in my experience) you could consider the G425 long irons (not Crossovers).  I have hit the 4i of that and it probably apexes out 15-20ft higher (but of course could be the shaft differences), but goes 10-15 yards shorter than my Crossover.

 

With that said, I will say my Crossover is 100% built for tee balls, I can smoke it off a tee about 230 and then whatever it rolls, but I will hardly ever try to hit it off the ground because its just too low flying.

 

I'm going to disagree with the "land softer" part, and say a long iron is going to spin significantly more than most utilities, and will stop shorter in most cases.

 

This assumes the player has the swing speed to hit a 3 or a 4 hard enough to generate a solid trajectory.

 

I've played all nature of long irons and Utlities over the past few years - Srizon U65, U500, T-MB, P790 UDI, and Taylormade RSi2 UDI.  The Srixon 18* and 23* spun more than the others, but all were significantly lower spinning than conventional 4i or 3i.

 

Utilities may fly higher, but they spin less and roll out more.  If you are looking for distance off the tee, utility is going to give more total yardage more consistently. But hitting into a green on a Par 3 or long approach, a conventional gives a better chance of holding it.

Edited June 13, 2021 by COL_B

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

57 minutes ago, COL_B said:

Utilities may fly higher, but they spin less and roll out more.  If you are looking for distance off the tee, utility is going to give more total yardage more consistently. But hitting into a green on a Par 3 or long approach, a conventional gives a better chance of holding it.

 

That's been my experience as well. I'd really like to get some proper data measurements, but that's what I've seen on the course.

 

[Red4282]

3 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

That's been my experience as well. I'd really like to get some proper data measurements, but that's what I've seen on the course.

 

Heres one comparison

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

3 hours ago, Red4282 said:

Heres one comparison

 

 

Interesting. Not as much difference in spin as I'd have expected, and I was a little surprised to see the hollow-bodied iron produce more spin.

However, the extra length and material of the shaft in the DI might account for the difference: steel shaft in the Srixon CB vs graphite in the driving iron, 30 grams or so difference in weight and about 1-inch difference in length. Dunno.

 

Anyway, that video did get me thinking about putting a graphite shaft in my Mizuno Fli-hi #4. I completely follow their reasoning on it.

[PEI_Golfer]

On 6/7/2021 at 7:53 AM, Htk084 said:

Thinking about getting one to replace a long iron. Same shaft, loft, etc, which one flys higher?  I need it to be able to stop on greens compared to a 4 iron i210.  Thank you

 

Find yourself an I500 4i and have it bent a bit weak if you want to gap it better.  I had 2 sets of I210s, one with the 4i and my current with an I500 4i and find the launch and peak height noticeably different, both had the same shafts as I re-shafted the second set.

 

I was initially going to have it bent weaker from the std loft, but changed my mind as it still get high enough for the stopping power if needed and works well off the tee, which is its initial intended use.

Edited June 13, 2021 by PEI_Golfer

[cardoustie]

I have Cally x forged UT in 27 and 30, very high, easy to hit

 

The Srixon ZU85 also good but finding them very shaft sensitive, larger footprint though

[Htk084]

51 minutes ago, PEI_Golfer said:

 

Find yourself an I500 4i and have it bent a bit weak if you want to gap it better.  I had 2 sets of I210s, one with the 4i and my current with an I500 4i and find the launch and peak height noticeably different, both had the same shafts as I re-shafted the second set.

 

I was initially going to have it bent weaker from the std loft, but changed my mind as it still get high enough for the stopping power if needed and works well off the tee, which is its initial intended use.

Thank you for the recommendation. I was thinking about that but decided to try the crossover out- we’ll see how it goes

[Htk084]

I saw a video of Marty jertson on 2nd swing and he said the g425 crossover was designed to go higher than the g425 iron but lower than the hybrid, it was designed to be in between these two flights. Also was specifically made to launch higher with more spin than the g410 crossover.  In case anyone was interested 

Edited June 13, 2021 by Htk084

[COL_B]

2 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

Interesting. Not as much difference in spin as I'd have expected, and I was a little surprised to see the hollow-bodied iron produce more spin.

However, the extra length and material of the shaft in the DI might account for the difference: steel shaft in the Srixon CB vs graphite in the driving iron, 30 grams or so difference in weight and about 1-inch difference in length. Dunno.

 

Anyway, that video did get me thinking about putting a graphite shaft in my Mizuno Fli-hi #4. I completely follow their reasoning on it.

I think your explanation is spot on. Those clubs he is hitting are so different, I'd be cautious about generalizing from the results. 

 

The DI Matt is hitting is 3/4" longer and I think they said 30 grams lighter -- he is generating 10+ mph more ball speed, so he is generating 6-7 mph more clubhead speed. That is going to have a big effect on spin at the same loft.

 

I would also note that Z765 are not exactly "conventional" irons -- they are strong lofted, very low spinning irons compared to others in the category. Like 1000+ rpm lower than comparable players irons.

 

So take an already low spinning iron, bend it even stronger, then compare it to a DI that is longer and lighter, and the results are understandable -- but not something you can extrapolate from.

 

I play a 718 CB 3i -- that thing will spin 1500+ more than the Srixon. And it will stop significantly shorter, despite a lower trajectory.  It will fly shorter, too. But If I want it to go further I will hit a 2.

Edited June 13, 2021 by COL_B

[mackepa]

My X Forged UT definitely launches a little  higher than an iron of same loft but I feel like it spins less. I get a lot of hot runners with it even when I get it in the air a bit. 

[COL_B]

I sold my Srixon 765 for the same reason - I got tired of hitting good shots that flew greens or rolled off.

 

They were awesome on the range. Not so much on the course. The distance dispersion on them was significantly higher than the 718 CB, and when the greens are hard, I couldn't stop them as well.

 

The CB are basically like throwing darts, and even spin well enough on thin shots to let you get away with a bad strike.

[J_Tizzle]

10 hours ago, COL_B said:

 

I'm going to disagree with the "land softer" part, and say a long iron is going to spin significantly more than most utilities, and will stop shorter in most cases.

 

This assumes the player has the swing speed to hit a 3 or a 4 hard enough to generate a solid trajectory.

 

I've played all nature of long irons and Utlities over the past few years - Srizon U65, U500, T-MB, P790 UDI, and Taylormade RSi2 UDI.  The Srixon 18* and 23* spun more than the others, but all were significantly lower spinning than conventional 4i or 3i.

 

Utilities may fly higher, but they spin less and roll out more.  If you are looking for distance off the tee, utility is going to give more total yardage more consistently. But hitting into a green on a Par 3 or long approach, a conventional gives a better chance of holding it.

 

Thats totally fair, and I'll be honest, I've never hit mine with stock shafts with the intention of making them a long iron replacement.  I've almost exclusively used mine for chasing tee shots.

 

And I'm sure all of it is very dependent on which one with which shaft and what you try to do with it.  Like I said, mine have all been low launch, low spin, running hot by design, but I can also hit some pretty playable shots into those 220 yard par 3s with it as well.

[PEI_Golfer]

1 hour ago, Htk084 said:

Thank you for the recommendation. I was thinking about that but decided to try the crossover out- we’ll see how it goes

 

On two different occasions with different shafts I tried the 410 DI out and just couldn't make it work (long time Rapture DI user as well).  At the time, the I210 4i just out performed it.  And while that could have just been a comfort/familiarity thing, you have to go with what works.

 

Haven't tried the 425 out, but also haven't found a reason to since adding in the I500.  

Edited June 13, 2021 by PEI_Golfer

[J_Tizzle]

1 hour ago, PEI_Golfer said:

 

On two different occasions with different shafts I tried the 410 DI out and just couldn't make it work (long time Rapture DI user as well).  At the time, the I210 4i just out performed it.  And while that could have just been a comfort/familiarity thing, you have to go with what works.

 

Haven't tried the 425 out, but also haven't found a reason to since adding in the I500.  

 

I will add the i500 is hot hot hot.  I have 5-U and a G410 20* crossover.  I actually tweaked the lofts on the 5i 2* strong and the 6i 1* strong to cover the gaps at the long end of my bag, and if you got a 3i i500 I assume its a missile launcher.