2 iron. Hybrid or 5 wood!!

[JT77]

No Gary, I play at Galgorm Castle, I go to Chris at Belvoir for lessons as their setup is top notch and Chris was recommended by a friend, i get on well with him and feel I am going in the right direction.
Belvoir is a lovely course like, I would probably try to get april may as I would think its still a bit damp!
I had a tm udi 2 iron, it was great, off the tee and fairway, even from the rough, but got tempted by the shining new titleist tmb, should never have offloaded the taylormade even though me and tm fell out over the irons i had! hahaha
As good as the tmb looks, it isnt the most forgiving of utility irons, if I were you and you want second hand, I would look at the tm udi and the srixon.
Pinberry, I totally understand what you are saying, but some people dont get on with hybrids as well as others, thats why I was thinking 5 wood as I get on well with my 3 wood off the deck, and the fairway!! If I got a 19 deg fairway thats adjustably and crancked to 20 deg, it might be the option!

 

[garyo]

I play off scratch and just took out my 4 iron out and replaced it with a 24degrees hybrid. My swing speed is quite high (107mph with driver), yet with the advance in technology long iron are destined to history in my view, save for the guys with very high swing speeds (114mph+). The hybrid launches higher and spins like a 6 iron, which means I'm able to hold the ball a lot more when I go for greens from 200yds. If you pay attention to senior events, where swings speeds are probably closer to what good amateurs are producing, you will see the vast majority of guys don't use long irons.

Interesting to hear that you think their days are numbered mate...I have noticed there are quite a few advocates on here of the higher lofted hybrids in place of the longer irons. At the risk of playing devil's advocate though, is there still a bit of a stigma attached to the whole thing that will keep long irons in play for a while yet?

I get what you're saying alright about the approach shots specifically, but I suppose in my case I am just after a driving stick really, one that's guaranteed to go straight every single time, low, roll out to 250...hardly a lot to ask is it?!

 

[r0wly86]

Interesting to hear that you think their days are numbered mate...I have noticed there are quite a few advocates on here of the higher lofted hybrids in place of the longer irons. At the risk of playing devil's advocate though, is there still a bit of a stigma attached to the whole thing that will keep long irons in play for a while yet?

I get what you're saying alright about the approach shots specifically, but I suppose in my case I am just after a driving stick really, one that's guaranteed to go straight every single time, low, roll out to 250...hardly a lot to ask is it?!

There is still a stigma I'm sure, same with high woods. Which is ridiculous if something works for you use.

The stigma is going quite quickly though. Finding new sets of irons that come with 3 is a rarity, most even start at 5 irons now. When I started 3-9 was just standard.

I still love my 2 iron though, and hit as well as any club I have. So I have not been tempted with a hybrid. But I am getting a new set this year so will go in with an open mind

 

[Coffey]

I am sort of going through the same issues at the moment as well.

I currently have the TM M2 3wHL which is essentially a 4 wood. Really easy to hit off the deck and goes like a rocket but can sometimes spin a bit too much off the tee. But i take that considering how easy it is to hit off the deck.

I also have the Srixon U45 3 iron with a graphite shaft, I find this really easy to launch but its not great from the rough at all. Much better off the tee. Goes miles and it is quite forgiving - not as forgiving as a hybrid though.

That has led me to purchase a 2017 m1 19 degree hybrid. Did not get on with it at all at the start but now striking it really well. Great from the tee and from the deck. Seems to be much easier to hit that the 3 iron and goes further too.

I am currently swapping and changing them as I feel the 3iron is straighter than the hybrid but the hybrid i can use in more situations. It is a difficult decision but I think when the ground is harder in summer I will be using the 3 iron a lot more.

 

[garyo]

No Gary, I play at Galgorm Castle, I go to Chris at Belvoir for lessons as their setup is top notch and Chris was recommended by a friend, i get on well with him and feel I am going in the right direction.
Belvoir is a lovely course like, I would probably try to get april may as I would think its still a bit damp!
I had a tm udi 2 iron, it was great, off the tee and fairway, even from the rough, but got tempted by the shining new <script id="gpt-impl-0.6497731855462598" src="https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/gpt/pubads_impl_180.js"></script>titleist tmb, should never have offloaded the taylormade even though me and tm fell out over the irons i had! hahaha
As good as the tmb looks, it isnt the most forgiving of utility irons, if I were you and you want second hand, I would look at the tm udi and the srixon.

Ah right, very good! I must remember to give you a shout if/when we're next booking in up there! Funny you mention the Srixon also, it was only on a current thread in the For Sale/Wanted section on here that I had heard of those, so both it and the TM UDI have been added to the ebay saved searches. Think I just need to pull the trigger on something and start the process of elimination!

 

[JT77]

No probs, I am up with Chris Friday so hopefully I get sorted! haha!
Good luck hunting for the right club, thats 250 straight high launch and soft landing :O
haha

 

[pinberry]

Interesting to hear that you think their days are numbered mate...I have noticed there are quite a few advocates on here of the higher lofted hybrids in place of the longer irons. At the risk of playing devil's advocate though, is there still a bit of a stigma attached to the whole thing that will keep long irons in play for a while yet?

I get what you're saying alright about the approach shots specifically, but I suppose in my case I am just after a driving stick really, one that's guaranteed to go straight every single time, low, roll out to 250...hardly a lot to ask is it?!

Absolutely, a lot of stigma. Which makes no sense. My 4 iron carried 195ish, with spin in the region of low 3000rpm and launch angle of 15*. With the hybrid I carry same distance, with 4500-5000rpms and a higher launch angle. This type of performance is guaranteed to make my life from 190-200yds a lot easier. That's before taking into account that mi***** with a 4i are a lot more penalising than mi***** with a hybrid. The only drawback of having a hybrid is that you can get the low draw that travels a mile.

Mind you, I also have a 19* hybrid which I use off the tee. There might be some merit in considering driving irons for that type of distance.

The point however is that traditional 2,3 and 4i are performing worse than hybrids and driving irons. Unless your swing speed is very high, in which case you are able to create good launch conditions with 3 and 4i.

 

[garyinderry]

Absolutely, a lot of stigma. Which makes no sense. My 4 iron carried 195ish, with spin in the region of low 3000rpm and launch angle of 15*. With the hybrid I carry same distance, with 4500-5000rpms and a higher launch angle. This type of performance is guaranteed to make my life from 190-200yds a lot easier. That's before taking into account that mi***** with a 4i are a lot more penalising than mi***** with a hybrid. The only drawback of having a hybrid is that you can get the low draw that travels a mile.

Mind you, I also have a 19* hybrid which I use off the tee. There might be some merit in considering driving irons for that type of distance.

The point however is that traditional 2,3 and 4i are performing worse than hybrids and driving irons. Unless your swing speed is very high, in which case you are able to create good launch conditions with 3 and 4i.

I agree completely but there is nothing to stop someone having the best of both worlds. Say 4 hybrid then driving iron.


I have 5 hybrid in the bag for example. In terms of launch, spin and consistency of strike, it beats the 5 iron all day every day.

 

[garyo]

There is still a stigma I'm sure, same with high woods. Which is ridiculous if something works for you use.

Couldn't agree more with you there.

I am currently swapping and changing them as I feel the 3iron is straighter than the hybrid but the hybrid i can use in more situations. It is a difficult decision but I think when the ground is harder in summer I will be using the 3 iron a lot more.

The Srixon has definitely made it onto my list from the reviews on here. Like yourself, I think I'd like to pick something up so then I have the choice at least...and obviously torture myself every Friday night thinking about ground conditions and wind forecasts

 

[94tegsi]

I go up to a 4-iron, then 4HY and a 19 degree HY. The 4 iron is straighter than the 4HY but a little shorter and launches a little lower. So all depends on risk, when there is a little more room I use the 4HY, if I need to hit straight with less danger short, I use the 4 iron.

I then mainly use the 19 degree off the tee for mid length par 4's and into par 5's.

But I am thinking of getting a driving iron at some point this year as well... If only it was a simple answer! Ha

 

[garyo]

Absolutely, a lot of stigma. Which makes no sense. My 4 iron carried 195ish, with spin in the region of low 3000rpm and launch angle of 15*. With the hybrid I carry same distance, with 4500-5000rpms and a higher launch angle. This type of performance is guaranteed to make my life from 190-200yds a lot easier. That's before taking into account that mi***** with a 4i are a lot more penalising than mi***** with a hybrid. The only drawback of having a hybrid is that you can get the low draw that travels a mile.

Mind you, I also have a 19* hybrid which I use off the tee. There might be some merit in considering driving irons for that type of distance.

The point however is that traditional 2,3 and 4i are performing worse than hybrids and driving irons. Unless your swing speed is very high, in which case you are able to create good launch conditions with 3 and 4i.

Took me a while to work out the swear filter there for mis-hits! But would agree with your thoughts really...

I've only ever been on trackman once, when starting back about 3 years ago and looking for something a little fresher than my TaylorMade Burner Bubble driver, but can remember that I do have a high swing speed, or at least I did at that point! I wouldn't have much bother with launching the long irons, in fact I probably hit the ball too high in general (the local comedians often state "that one will have snow on it when it comes down" etc) which is something I've been working on to help when it blows, and why I feel like I'm specifically after a low-launching fizzer off the tee that I can hopefully keep straight as well.