Utility Iron Shaft Match Irons or Fairways?

[Brenkj]

I stumbled on a great deal for a barely-used Titleist U-510 4 Utility.   It came with a Hzardous Smoke 5.5 shaft.   I like the club a lot, but it feels different from the rest of my clubs, which causes some inconsistent contacts.    I know very little about clubs, but I'm guessing that's because the shaft is different from all my other shafts (DG 105 R300 in irons; Tensei AV Blue Reg. flex in my driver and fairways).   If I decide to put a new shaft on it, in theory should I focus on something to match the shafts on my irons, on my fairways, or something else?     Thanks.

[VanTheMan0519]

I have a Srixon ZX utility. It came with a recoil 95 which is about 20 grams more than my fairway and 25 grams less than my irons. 
 

I subbed it out for a 113ish gram shaft. I don’t like it. It’s too heavy for what I want the club to be used for. With it being say 10 grams less than my irons I might as well should’ve used a steel shaft that’s in my irons. 
 

So after my rant, it’s all about feel. I want the 3 utility to be primarily a tee club 80% of the time and should have kept the lower weighted shaft. Not sure what I want to do yet. 

If you’re using the club from the tee on short par 4’s go lower weight. From the fairway maybe try and get close to irons. 

 

[Brenkj]

Thanks for the response.    I’ll probably use it off the tee once in a blue moon.  Mostly for long fairway shots (par 5’s mostly).  

[jvincent]

2 hours ago, Brenkj said:

Thanks for the response.    I’ll probably use it off the tee once in a blue moon.  Mostly for long fairway shots (par 5’s mostly).  

 

I'm the opposite of @VanTheMan0519, I prefer my utility to feel like my irons so I have the same shaft as my irons in mine. Modus 120.

[Pepperturbo]

I don't carry a utility iron.  I have always carried a 2 iron, mine is 17'. 

My 2, 3 & 4 irons have Tensei AV White AM2 's' shafts (90g, 92g, 94g) weights, and 5-LW have MMT 125g 's' shafts. 

[phizzy30]

Driving irons will typically launch pretty low IMO.  I believe that they should be paired with something that launches a little higher and spins more so you can get it air born and have it land as soft as possible.  A mid/mid type of shaft for driving iron works well for most golfers.

[mcounci2]

I'm currently wrestling with this as well. S400 in irons, Ventus Red 7S in 5w. Currently playing a RIP Phenom 100 in my U500 and I'm not in love. Not sure whether to build a little longer with an actual hybrid shaft or go with a DG 120, MMT 125, or Recoil 125 at iron length.  I like the idea of graphite in the utility club, but I'm not totally sure why

[bnperrone]

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with fairway woods and I think it’s because I looked at them as an extension of my driver instead of irons. I believe I have a driver swing and an everything else swing. 
 

To answer your question, I would start pretty similar to your irons but maybe a bit lighter if need be.

[Mainehacker21]

This is why they make the lighter graphite shafts that play more like iron shafts, think recoil, steelfiber, mmt, catalyst, etc. If you’re not using it off the tee, a lot of people do match their iron shafts, if you want to go lighter and keep the steel stability, try TT Elevate 95 

[Spoon]

I use MMT 105 in irons and in my 3/4 driving irons I use MMT 90 hybrid which is around 98g

 

wanted something to launch higher. Was previously gaming graphite iron shafts snd they were too demanding and not very forgiving on all but perfect strikes. 

[rx7mark]

I use the Maltby FDI iron hybrid heads to replace my hybrids and long irons and have tested twice with my iron shafts,  Steelfibers and Xcaliber Fast Tapers, in these heads but have had no luck.  I agree it depends on the ball flight you are after. My iron shafts just don't get the consistency and flight I am after.   I have used Nunchuk's for many years in my woods and hybrid's in the past, so tired one in the FDI's and these have become my favorite clubs in my bag.  Long, straight, and consistent.  But my favorite part is that my misses are not in the woods or water, but might be a little short on a bad swing, but still in the fairway, or at least not in trouble.  I often out drive my buddies off the tee with my 18 degree FDI.  FYI, I use the wood Nunchuk's version just because I had them, the hybrid shaft would probably work as well, but I have not had luck with the iron version of the Nunchuk's.  The Xcaliber FT's blend very nicely, they feel like they have a similar profile.

[Phabs]

Fairways… I’ve always figured the speed and launch conditions match fairways closer than my irons. 

[Russ757]

19 hours ago, Spoon said:

I use MMT 105 in irons and in my 3/4 driving irons I use MMT 90 hybrid which is around 98g

 

wanted something to launch higher. Was previously gaming graphite iron shafts snd they were too demanding and not very forgiving on all but perfect strikes. 

Exactly my setup 

 

 

Wish all mmt shafts were matte

[Stuart_G]

On 10/9/2021 at 9:25 AM, Brenkj said:

I stumbled on a great deal for a barely-used Titleist U-510 4 Utility.   It came with a Hzardous Smoke 5.5 shaft.   I like the club a lot, but it feels different from the rest of my clubs, which causes some inconsistent contacts.    I know very little about clubs, but I'm guessing that's because the shaft is different from all my other shafts (DG 105 R300 in irons; Tensei AV Blue Reg. flex in my driver and fairways).   If I decide to put a new shaft on it, in theory should I focus on something to match the shafts on my irons, on my fairways, or something else?     Thanks.

 

Depends really on the length you want to play the utility at.

 

Shaft weight is the most important spec to nail down first.

 

If it's a direct iron replacement - at long iron lengths - then you should lean toward something closer to your iron shafts - maybe a touch lighter.  The longer the playing length, the lighter the shaft weight will likely need to be.   But no matter what, you shouldn't get anywhere near the fairway wood weight.

 

Stiffness is purely about personal preference for the feel of the shaft loading/unloading and it's more pronounced the longer the club.   But you can only really find the best shaft in that respect by testing.

Edited October 11, 2021 by Stuart_G

[Spoon]

23 minutes ago, Russ757 said:

Exactly my setup 

 

 

Wish all mmt shafts were matte

Yeah! The modus graphite is the perfect matte finish 

[markheardjr]

2 hours ago, Spoon said:

Yeah! The modus graphite is the perfect matte finish

 

I play Evenflow 75g in 3wood, RDX Black in Hybrids and Modus GOST in my 5iron. They blend very well. I am going to pick up a GOST for my 6i next. Only issue to speak of is the GOST in irons comes out to D0, so need just a little tip weight to get to my preferred D2 in longer irons.

 

Also I have the GOST TX, and would probably drop to X if I had access to that instead.

Edited October 11, 2021 by markheardjr

[Spoon]

52 minutes ago, markheardjr said:

 

I play Evenflow 75g in 3wood, RDX Black in Hybrids and Modus GOST in my 5iron. They blend very well. I am going to pick up a GOST for my 6i next. Only issue to speak of is the GOST in irons comes out to D0, so need just a little tip weight to get to my preferred D2 in longer irons.

 

Also I have the GOST TX, and would probably drop to X if I had access to that instead.

If Nippon releases a GOSt iron shaft that would be awesome. Game over!

[byoshio82]

It all depends on what you want this club to do? 
 

I use mine for tight par 4’s off the tee and rarely anything else. Swap out a hybrid if it’s a open course to have another option coming into par 5’s. 
 

I can certainly

hit it off the deck but rarely get into that situation when playing. Therefor I use a Ventus HB Blue 9X in both my hybrid and driving iron.