3/4 irons.......

[Macster]

The 'Lets Argue about...." thread got me thinking about this one too, so lets toss the salad again over this:

I played on Sunday, pretty inconsistently I might add too. But, being one of the dying breed of people who still carry long irons, one shot in particular made my day.....

Good drive left me with 210yds to the green on Stroke index 1 at a friends course, Par 4/464yds,.........so 3 iron in hand, I managed to sweep it away and watch it fly like a bullet to the green, running slightly too far and coming to rest on the left rear apron. Delicate chip and a 8" putt and I walked off with a very satisfying Par, which proved all too rare on the rest of the round.

So, just why dont more people actually TRY and use their 3 & 4 irons instead of giving up and buying Hybrids ????

Discuss

 

[JT77]

sounds like a nice par mate.

I have a 4 iron that I like a lot, I also have a 3 iron in the car, but only use it no and again, when I take the hybrid out of the bag!!

 

[kid2]

Evening Chris.
I use a 4 Iron i wouldnt dream of swapping it for a hybrid bascilly because i learned with them......I can hit it fairly consistently but i love watching the flight of it....
I use a 3 hybrid also mainly because my irons only go from 4 - PW. but i dont think ill ever change my 4 iron.

 

[jammydodger]

I use my 3 iron all the time especially on shorter par 4's off the tee. I also like to use it into the wind to keep the ball flight down a wee bit

 

[brendy]

Too many folks give in to the "easier to hit" hybrids.
I still carry my 3 iron and use it weekly. If you can hit a 5 iron, you can hit a 3 and wth a little practice, it is a great weapon especially on windy days.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I use my four iron a lot but find that my 3 hybrid is simply mopre versatile than a 3 iron. As I tend to be wayward, the hybrid gives me more options out of the rough in terms of getting distance. I need it on a couple of the par 3's at my place and its higher flight gets the ball stopping better.

I'd love to get a TP 3 iron as I've qualms about pulling one and using it. Maybe there will come a time again when my swing is solid enough to justify a place for the 3 iron but sadly not for a while

 

[JT77]

I have thought about taking out the hybrid for a bit a putting the 3 iron back in full time, as I very rarely use the hybrid, so it is just taking up space in the bag!! think I maybe give it a whirl!

 

[Sneds]

The set I purchased was 4i - PW. I would love to use a 3i, but simply do not have one x

 

[JT77]

my Irons are 4 4-pw, but I have a mizuno 3 iron that a mate didn't use, got it for a fiver!!

 

[Imurg]

I've not used 3 or 4 irons for about 5 years now. I used to years ago, before hybrids when there was nothing else. I played often enough and had a good enough swing to use them. Best shot I ever played with the 3 was 180 uphill on the 9th at Forest of Arden to 3 feet from the pin.
Until recently, the swing hasn't been consistent enough to use the irons instead of the hybrids. Plus the hybrids are so damn easy to hit and so versatile why struggle?
Now I've got my new MP58's I'm having a rethink. I've only got 5-pw but I've been hitting the 5 iron so well. Creamed one 180 yards uphill the other day (SC measured) to set up a birdie. Really toying with getting a 4 to go with it. But I think the 3 may be a little ambitious...

 

[haplesshacker]

One thing to bear in mind is the strength of lofts in most modern irons. A 5 iron today has a similar loft to a 4, or even a 3 iron from 20 years ago.

Semantics you may cry, to which I would reply, totally. But it is a factor.

The other reason, leaving skill and ability out of the equation, is that more of us are playing parkland golf, where target golf seems to be the norm. Links golf generally requires a lower penetrating ball flight because of the wind. Not so with parkland golf so much.

Yes, hybrids are easier to hit, and as with the driver debate, why not.

Each to their own.

 

[RichardC]

Love hitting my 4 Iron. I would hit a 3 Iron but my irons were 4-PW so until I go out and get one the 4 does it for me.
I do have a hybrid 3 Iron but absolutely hate it!!!!

 

[Swinger]

I was gutted about Mizuno not doing a 2 and a 1 iron in my Mp68's so you can guess my view.

Have a collection of 1 and 2 irons which I love using and wouldn't be without a 3 or a 4 iron or both depending on how many clubs I'm carrying around on the day (full or half set).

I disagree with hybirds being more versatile especially when the wind gets up. Last thing I want in my hand is a hybird then.

I put hybirds and rescue woods/irons in a similar bracket as chippers, tri ball putters and people who use high bounce wedges off tight lies. Oh and draw bias drivers.

But then I have always been a bit of a purist.

Very little feels better on the course than drilling a long iron low and hard.

 

[Owen_Thomas_14]

I think the long irons are probably the best clubs in the bag in my opinion. Easy to hit low/high, left/right anything really and they are great for those tricky Par 4s...............or am i just saying this because i cant hit hybrids

 

[Region3]

I grew up and learnt to play before hybrids, so when I started again last year it seemed natural to get 3-PW.

I have a hybrid but it sits inbetween my 3i and 3w yardage-wise. I actually find 3 iron easier to hit straight than my hybrid too

 

[RGDave]

I love my 3 and 4 irons. Off a tee peg, I'd take a 3 iron any day. Off the fairway not sat up...?...um, not so easy.
I'm always swapping things in/out of my bag. My hybrid is staying.

 

[JustOne]

I love my 3 and 4 irons. Off a tee peg, I'd take a 3 iron any day. Off the fairway not sat up...?...um, not so easy.

Ditto. I have 2 and 1 irons that I used to like hitting but now I'm thinking about scrapping the 3 iron for a 17° fairway wood. They also stop quicker as they tend to have a load more backspin. It's rare that I get my 20° to 'run on a bit' if it lands on the green at 200+ yds... maybe 10 feet at most.

 

[stevek1969]

Still use both, the 3 iron keeps a lower flight into the wind than a hybrid ,great for up here in Scotland

 

[CrapHacker]

So, just why dont more people actually TRY and use their 3 & 4 irons instead of giving up and buying Hybrids ????

Discuss

So what did you write on the card ?

4

Not

4, but I used my 3I so proves I'm a man god, nyaa nyaaa ne yaa yaaa.

The chances are, if you'd used a hybrid you could have stopped the ball on the green quicker, so it wouldn't have run through, and you might have got a birdie instead of just another boring par.

Last week I left myself under a group of trees without a shot to the green. Tricky lie as well. Only about 140 to go.

I needed to keep the ball fairly low at the start, other wise I'm clunking into the lower branches. I need to set it off a good 30 yards left of target. Then I needed to fade the ball over the greenside bunker, pitch onto the green, and stop before it ran through the back.

I'm a pucker 18 handicapper ( SOME suggest it should be a lot higher - but I'm not one to hold a grudge ). You bigger boys may be able to play that shot with a punched down, hands forward 3i or 4i, but I couldn't.

I managed to play that shot deliberately and effectively with a gripped down hybrid with a 3/4 swing. And it worked.

And you think I'd swap the feeling of playing a shot like that for the ability to keep a ball lower into the wind ?

That was my shot of the day.

Are you suggesting that only low handicappers should be allowed to play miracle shots?

Racist !! Iz it coz I iz black ?

 

[golfing_man]

The post about lofts being stronger now is right on. (One reason for 170-yard 8 irons becoming the norm.)

Plus, most folks simply don't have the clubhead speed needed to hit a long iron... Ball just thuds off the face, if they're lucky enough to make decent contact.

Sean