4 iron replacement...

[Allanxyz]

I'm thinking of changing out my 4 iron and after some advice. Not played in a while but my 4 iron doesn't give me happy memories. I've a fairly new set of JXP pros 4-PW.

4 iron was/is traditionally the least used club in my bag and would stay nice and shiney for a long time without much cleaning intervention on my part! I used a 3 iron in my old set which i used now and again often but now have a 21deg hybrid (which I now use as a 3 iron replacement)...

With the 5 iron I'm fairly confident, wouldn't necessarily worry over a shot, whereas with my 4, my guess is that unless I catch it perfect (which is rare) it will actually go on average about as far as my five iron. So I'm thinking of getting a four iron replacement... just started thinking about it last night and had a look on the internet about a Mizuno fli-hi iron replacement...

Now this could be ideal as I can simply get it built to the same spec as my JPX pros with same shaft, lie length etc. but what I don't know if if it will fit in distance gapping wise into my set. Surely it can't be an iron replacement for all JPX 4 irons as I imagine they call go different distances.

So without going to a custom fit and paying possibly half what the club is worth..how do I try a +1/4 inch, KBS stiff 4 Fli-hi to see if it fits between my 5 iron and hybrid (I don't know what that distance should be, but that's another thread!)

Any ideas?

 

[pbrown7582]

ebay and a shaft bung/extender?

 

[Foxholer]

To me, the 21* Hybrid is a 4-iron Replacement.

If you are happy with the performance of that, why not get another, at 19 or 18 which is the 3i replacement. While fluffing around with a mixture of clubs can be fun, it's not really conducive to solid Golf.

You don't HAVE to have 14 clubs in the bag btw!

 

[Allanxyz]

ebay and a shaft bung/extender?

Sounds a bit scary! To be honest I've never bought anything on ebay let alone a bung/extender.. I certainly would avoid using my work computer

 

[One Planer]

How much of it is mental though?

The difference between a 5 iron and 4 iron is 1/2" of shaft length and 3° of loft.

I remember, a while back now, may have been Bob giving someone a lesson. Couldn't hit, I'm sure it was a long iron.

Bob passed him a club and said hit that.

Chap having the lesson did, without checking, and hit it pretty well.

Bob then showed him the club he'd been hitting.

From memory it was a 2 or 3 iron.

My point. If you get it into your head you can't hit a club, you've already lost.

** APOLOGIES BOB IF IT WASN'T YOU

I'm no fan of hybrids, but I do understand why people have them. From my point of view, the same swing flaws that stop people hitting a long iron, will be the same when hitting a hybrid. Nothing changes there, only the club being used, so is it really worth it?

 

[harpo_72]

I had this problem end of last season, was thinking about changing the 4 iron. I was striking it okay but really did not want it to put pressure on me. So I got an Adams super 4i replacement as a trial. It hasn't left the bag, just feel like I can smash it from any lie, and the distance I get gives me confidence through the rest of my game. By that I mean I don't stand on tee thinking I need to hit it this far, I just think well I can tidy this up with any of my long clubs and get close or on the green ...

So I would drop the 4 iron look at your current hybrid distance and see how that fits in with your bag. Foxholer is right you don't need 15 clubs but some clubs are what I would term as "stand ins", for me I don't need a 3 wood for fairway shots and my 3 wood is as long as most people's driver .. So do I need the driver or the 3 wood? Well I have space in the bag for both so I can choose when either is appropriate.

 

[Allanxyz]

To me, the 21* Hybrid is a 4-iron Replacement.

If you are happy with the performance of that, why not get another, at 19 or 18 which is the 3i replacement. While fluffing around with a mixture of clubs can be fun, it's not really conducive to solid Golf.

You don't HAVE to have 14 clubs in the bag btw!

I guess this relates to a thread I opened about knowing your distances... I only know that on a few of the par threes at my current course I used to use a 3 iron and now I use my hybrid... so assumed it was a 3ish... It's got adjustable by a degree or two so could alway play around there.

You're right though the Fli-high comes in at 22° also...

Guess I need to find out the distance of my 5 and my hybrid and see if the gap is big enough to deserve another club.. still the question is, how do I fill that gap without expensive custom fitting for a potentially 80 quid club...

As for...

You don't HAVE to have 14 clubs in the bag btw!

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard on this forum, the guys over at Taylormade and Ping would be weeping if they heard such nonsense

 

[harpo_72]

How much of it is mental though?

The difference between a 5 iron and 4 iron is 1/2" of shaft length and 3° of loft.

I remember, a while back now, may have been Bob giving someone a lesson. Couldn't hit, I'm sure it was a long iron.

Bob passed him a club and said hit that.

Chap having the lesson did, without checking, and hit it pretty well.

Bob then showed him the club he'd been hitting.

From memory it was a 2 or 3 iron.

My point. If you get it into your head you can't hit a club, you've already lost.

** APOLOGIES BOB IF IT WASN'T YOU

I'm no fan of hybrids, but I do understand why people have them. From my point of view, the same swing flaws that stop people hitting a long iron, will be the same when hitting a hybrid. Nothing changes there, only the club being used, so is it really worth it?

I agree with that in the main, but golf is a mental game as well and if your standing at a 200yard par 3 and needing to make a bogey or better what will be easier psychologically?

I also do think that a flat faced iron is just good to have in the bag for the drilling it into the wind or from under the trees .. but a 3 wood can be manipulated if practiced.

 

[MadAdey]

I'm thinking of changing out my 4 iron and after some advice. Not played in a while but my 4 iron doesn't give me happy memories. I've a fairly new set of JXP pros 4-PW.

4 iron was/is traditionally the least used club in my bag and would stay nice and shiney for a long time without much cleaning intervention on my part! I used a 3 iron in my old set which i used now and again often but now have a 21deg hybrid (which I now use as a 3 iron replacement)...

With the 5 iron I'm fairly confident, wouldn't necessarily worry over a shot, whereas with my 4, my guess is that unless I catch it perfect (which is rare) it will actually go on average about as far as my five iron. So I'm thinking of getting a four iron replacement... just started thinking about it last night and had a look on the internet about a Mizuno fli-hi iron replacement...

Now this could be ideal as I can simply get it built to the same spec as my JPX pros with same shaft, lie length etc. but what I don't know if if it will fit in distance gapping wise into my set. Surely it can't be an iron replacement for all JPX 4 irons as I imagine they call go different distances.

So without going to a custom fit and paying possibly half what the club is worth..how do I try a +1/4 inch, KBS stiff 4 Fli-hi to see if it fits between my 5 iron and hybrid (I don't know what that distance should be, but that's another thread!)

Any ideas?

This to me is a no brainer. Get the MPH4. I have got the 3 and 2 iron in my bag.

 

[Allanxyz]

I had this problem end of last season, was thinking about changing the 4 iron. I was striking it okay but really did not want it to put pressure on me. So I got an Adams super 4i replacement as a trial. It hasn't left the bag, just feel like I can smash it from any lie, and the distance I get gives me confidence through the rest of my game. By that I mean I don't stand on tee thinking I need to hit it this far, I just think well I can tidy this up with any of my long clubs and get close or on the green ...

So I would drop the 4 iron look at your current hybrid distance and see how that fits in with your bag. Foxholer is right you don't need 15 clubs but some clubs are what I would term as "stand ins", for me I don't need a 3 wood for fairway shots and my 3 wood is as long as most people's driver .. So do I need the driver or the 3 wood? Well I have space in the bag for both so I can choose when either is appropriate.

Sound advice... I'll maybe look at the Adams iron replacement... guess the appeal was that I already know roughly what the custom fit should be like... I guess why should it be so different with the Adams...

How much of it is mental though?

You could definitely be right... I did read somewhere about a person having a "limit" to irons... for some it was 3, others 4 others 5... it sounded scientific but can't remember where I heard it... I've never been a big fan of hybrids either and would prefer to sort my 4 iron out... maybe once I get back out on the course I'll pay it a little more attention and see how it gets on before taking the plunge on anything...

Sort of wish I'd have got the MP H4 when I had my fitting at Mizuno... although it's meant to blend into the MP range I found it easier to launch than the JPX pro 4 iron... the guy persuaded me a matching set was the way to go though...

 

[Allanxyz]

This to me is a no brainer. Get the MPH4. I have got the 3 and 2 iron in my bag.

Oops, overlapped there... this was also my regret from the custom fit... MPH4 vs Fli Hi...what's the difference? Fli-Hi should be friendlier in theory?

 

[MadAdey]

Oops, overlapped there... this was also my regret from the custom fit... MPH4 vs Fli Hi...what's the difference? Fli-Hi should be friendlier in theory?

I had my MPH4 custome fitted when I got my irons. I tried the fli-hi and did not really like them, I am not much of a rescue club fan, then again I do not like hte look of hybrids much either. I do not think they are hard to hit at all. They are great tool for off the tee on shorter par 4's and you can whack them out of the short rough easy enough.

I was a little bit aprehensive when the fitter told me to try one, but after a couple of whacks both off a tee and the grass I fell in love with them. I jsut found the Fli-Hi to be like most rescue clubs and they just go too high. The MPH4 you can control both trajectory and shape and having them fitted the same as my irons with the same shafts my bag just flows seemlesly all the way down to the 2i.

 

[JohnnyLarge]

When I was looking at replacing my clubs last year, the one thing I looked at was not carrying any clubs I couldn't hit. I was fortunate in the respect that we have a resident clubfitter at our course who just happened to have an ex-demo set of Wishon 555c and 555m for sale with the PCF Micro Tour wedges to match. These started at 5 iron whereas my other set had a 4 iron I didn't use very much. To fill the 3 - 4 iron gap, he gave me a go with a Wishon 775 f/h hybrid in 24 degree. I was amazed how easy it is to hit from even quite difficult lies.

I was fortunate in the respect that:
a) I work there and he's a friend
b) He's got a launch monitor
c) He chucked in a free loft and lie to my spec and the shafts just happened to suit me.
d) Not only did he have the 24 deg 775fh, he had the 21 deg one too.
e) I got the lot at an amazing price

You probably won't be as lucky as me but I would recommend custom fitting. This will identify what loft you need to actually need to replace a particular club. It's no good replacing a 4 iron with a hybrid that you will hit miles further than your 5 iron. You need the gapping/distances to be pretty consistent throughout the bag. Allied with having clubs that fit me, buying a second hand Garmin S1 and bag mapping my clubs/using a club yardage chart, my scoring improved no end and my handicap came down a fair bit. The shafts in the hybrids are fairly short too. I just let the head do the work and away the ball goes, dead easy.

Take your time finding the right hybrids and you'll ever wondered why you used 3 and 4 irons. The only thing you might find a bit tricky is hitting that low boring shot into the wind but that's a hard one to hit anyway. Just club up a bit and give it a whelt!!!