If majority of the LPGA don't use 4 irons.. why do you?

[bombs]

I've just made the shift from 4 iron to 4 hybrid and life on the course has never been easier.

 

Can hit it anywhere on the face and still get incredible results. Impossible to hit it fat. Goes through the rough with ease. Workable. Can hit it high/low. 100% stress free golf. 

 

Admittedly I'm not practicing as much as I used to but I feel like i've stumbled on a cheat code. 

 

SO GolfWRX.... why the long irons? Let's be honest - we know you can't hit em 😘

Edited October 12, 2023 by bombs

[nichho]

Why stop at 4i. Why not do yourself a favour and get a bag full of hybrids?

[craz-e]

Because I don't play on the LPGA. 🤷‍♂️

[philly2kuk]

1 hour ago, bombs said:

I've just made the shift from 4 iron to 4 hybrid and life on the course has never been easier.

 

Can hit it anywhere on the face and still get incredible results. Impossible to hit it fat. Goes through the rough with ease. Workable. Can hit it high/low. 100% stress free golf. 

 

Admittedly I'm not practicing as much as I used to but I feel like i've stumbled on a cheat code. 

 

SO GolfWRX.... why the long irons? Let's be honest - we know you can't hit em 😘

I’ve no issues hitting mine and use it multiple times a round. My father is the same, 66 and can pure a long iron with no issues but we are both up and down with hybrids.

[sheezymaneezy]

Because I'm a macho man who bombs it 350y from the tips. 

[Honman]

I've used a four hybrid for years, but I've been mucking about with a U505 4 instead. Although it's a utility iron, in size it's probably close to the Adams Idea Pro 2, which is probably the best hybrid I ever owned. 

[RCGA]

Hybrids are too finicky. It's the type of club you really need to demo for a couple of rounds before commiting (and with a few shafts) but that really isn't an option for most of us. It's easier to do on tour when they'll hand you a half dozen head/shaft combos. With us, maybe you get a few hits in a simulator. 

 

Forgiving irons (players distance, for example)

- Cheaper heads

- Cheaper shafts (steel) 

- Easier to reshaft & swingweight 

- Easier to bend

- Limited gear effect 

- Usually shorter shaft = more control 

- One less headcover 

Edited October 12, 2023 by RCGA

[JD3]

Use whats best for you no matter who else has what. For me, Ive long since settled the hybrid question ...I don't need one. Would rather have a utility iron for shots up to about 225 yards. Beyond that I'd rather have a 5-wood.

[Andrew R]

Agreed. Off the rack hybrid was hit or miss depending on the day. Got fitted at Pxg for a new one about 6 mos ago and it’s better but I’m much more consistent with my z785 4 iron. 

[Andrew R]

And… ya know… I’m much longer than lpga players… 😉

[iNeedMoreGolf]

I like 3 hybrid and need it. 4 iron tough on some lies yes... but most of the time i hit it just fine and i do like the challenge and feel. The trick is to get it to go the number but thats a different talk. I also find it easier to escape under tree situations with a 4 iron then the 3 hybrid.

[ShortGolfer]

Irons can be easily bent to 2* upright.  I want clubs fitted to my swing, so I don't have to fit my swing to the club.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

Actually, I've been tempted to buy another 3 Iron and see if I can bend it 3 degrees to make it a 2 Iron..... Just for fun. 😄

[gripandrip]

Always been a fan of my long irons. I have a 3 hybrid, in the closet. Never could get all that comfortable with it. A 3 iron is a very versatile club and will probably stay in my bag (as well as my 4 iron)

[Lobbing Iron]

I hate my 4 iron, but I have had a hit and miss relationship with hybrids.  I might try something like an icrossover/zxu/u505 in that spot.  I really like the idea of hitting something much more forgiving there (or even the 5 iron),

[Kmagnuss]

This reminds me of people who are vegetarian/vegan or do crossfit/any type of martial arts... as soon as they change over they have to tell everyone about it and think you're weird for not already being on the other side.

Edited October 12, 2023 by Kmagnuss
Because Chuck Norris

[Radeon962]

I have not played a 3 iron or 4 iron in over 20 years. I had played higher lofted fairway woods (20* and 24*) for most of that time.  I switched to a combination of fairway woods, Apex UW and hybrids the past 2 seasons.

 

Coupled with PXG irons and the top end of the bag has become much easier to play. 

[AngryGilmore]

Because I like the odd looks people give me when I whip out a 3 iron.   But honestly, I have a 3 and a 4 iron in the bag because I hit a 3 iron better than a hybrid.  I top/shank hybrids but I hit my 3 pretty well.   The 4 iron is my "escape" club.  In the woods and need to knock it low under a canopy of trees and still put yourself in position for an easy shot into the green?  4 iron.

[jas904]

Because my 4 iron is 24° which is a lot of others 5 irons. 

[Propofol_Papi]

Because my favorite feeling in golf is hitting a 4 iron pure. 

[rsballer10]

Because that's not what works for my game. 

[drn92]

10 minutes ago, jas904 said:

Because my 4 iron is 24° which is a lot of others 5 irons. 

I keep looking at the PXG 0211 irons but the 6 is the 24 degree club!  
 

drn92

[mantan]

IMO, the LGPA in the title is just a click baity trap to get guys into their ego, lol!

 

The real issue is the age old club loft problem.  Tom Wishon advocated for years that the average golfer can't hit an iron lower than 24* consistently or longer than 38*

 

The modern day 5-iron is often 23*-25*.  The modern day 4-iron has the loft of an old school 3 iron.  The new PING G430 has a 19* 4-iron...that's the same loft as a lot of 3 hybrids.

 

Hitting a modern day 4-iron, IMO, comes down to the loft in your particular set and if it's truly what we think of as a 4-iron.  I bet a lot of guys who love their 4-iron are hitting 23*-24* 4-irons.   Which is why so many sets now are sold 5-GW or have multiple wedges in the set. It's essentially because the current 5-iron is an old school 4-iron.

 

 

Edited October 12, 2023 by mantan

[pgheaja]

I play a 4 iron instead of a hybrid because I know it isn't going left 

[MattM97]

I have a 4i but I don't use it a ton as I don't often find myself in that gap, a lot of times my 3H is just fine. But there are times where it has come in handy off the tee on windy days.

[getitdaily]

Because I can actually hit my 4i. I can hit it high enough to stop quickly in a green. It sits between 205 and 215, perfectly placed between my 5i and 20* hybrid.

[eric61]

I’ve been trying all year to replace my 4 iron with a 4 hybrid because I do generally agree that a hybrid is easier to elevate and more forgiving than a long iron.

 

I’ve just basically found that every hybrid I’ve tried comes with new, worse problems than the 4 iron.

 

The one I’ve liked the the best was a Stealth 2 Plus. But it’s a low-spin club, and instead of carrying 205, which is the gap I need this club to fill, it tended to want to carry like 220. Couldn’t get it to stop on greens, either — which isn’t great for a club that I need to hit into really long par 3s. I really liked the TSR3 too, but found the same problems.

 

I’ve tried a couple others and found that I hit them so high, with so much spin, that they’re actually shorter than my 4 iron. Yes, I know that’s a delivery problem — I can’t put LPGA-quality swings on the ball! — but it’s one I couldn’t really solve easily.

 

I also found that a bunch of them, like the regular Stealth 2, are too upright for me. I play everything with flatter lie angles, which is part of why I always like Ping and Titleist woods.

 

The best middle ground I’ve found is a utility iron — the Ping iCrossover 4. I was working with a fitter on this spot in the bag last week, and his conclusion was the iCrossover is the clear winner. It hits the peak height I need, lands soft, fills the gap, and is easier to hit than the 4 iron without any of the really bad misses I saw with hybrids.

[MtlJeff]

I have read the average driver SS on the LPGA tour is ~95mph though that data is 3-4 years old. Maybe it's a bit faster now

 

I swing a good 10mph faster than that , which means i can more easily generate the launch needed to maximize a 4 iron. 

 

I think the question is more about launch than how difficult it is to hit. Many LPGA players probably can't launch a 4 iron even if they hit it perfectly, it would carry less or the same as their 5

[AllDunn]

How else am I supposed to keep it under all those limbs and branches when I'm punching out of the woods?

Edited October 12, 2023 by AllDunn

[Jdudley13]

I love my 4 iron and have never gotten along well with Hybrids, I even have a 2 iron as a fairway finder. They aren’t for everyone but it works for me