...and the 2i goes back in the bag. Does anyone still use these things??

Long story short, my (18*) hybrid broke today. It finally bit the dust. That thing had seen just about every part of a golf course.

When I say it 'broke', I mean the shaft snapped about half-way up the grip, most likely due to a few too many frustrated slams into the ground, buggy etc. But as often as it made me angry, it gave me a lot of good results as well!

I don't want to rush out and buy another one just yet, because I plan on overhauling my set in the (hopefully) not too distant future, as a reward for achieving a single-digit handicap. But when I do, I want to be measured up, and go about demoing a range of irons/drivers/woods etc before buying.

So, until then, the ol' trusty 2 iron will be hopping back in the bag. Before I had the extra wedge I used to carry the 2i all the time, and I had no problem with it. I could get a good, strong, yet low ball flight out of it. I'd use it to hit the ball around 170-180 (metres - off a tee), and the more I think about it, the more excited I am to be putting it back in the bag! haha.

BUT MY QUESTION IS

Do many people still use them? In recent times, more and more iron sets are coming out 4i-PW. But isn't it funny that the price has held up?? I realize there are obvious advantages for a lot of people (incl. myself) to use hybrids, but surely some of you VERY LOW handicappers still prefer the irons?

I haven't hit a 2 iron in over 10 years.

I still have a 2 iron and will put it in my bag and take out the 5 wood on really windy days, which we get from time to time here in the midwest.  I'm not a fan of hybrids, I struggle hitting them and hit long irons much better so I still carry a 3i and 4i and at times a 2i.

And here I thought I was the only one.  I've had a 2 iron in my bag for about 10-11 years and I love it.  It's mainly an alternate to driver off the tee and I can hit it pretty well.  I had considered a hybrid, which I am more confident using when hitting off the deck on a par 5 (or when I screw up a par 4) but off the tee I have zero confidence over it.  The 2 iron is a security blanket of sorts for me

I have 2 sets of irons and carry both 1 and 2 iron with both sets and have for 25 years. Obviously at my 12ish handicap I am not hitting 240 yard stingers, but I have always been shortish with irons and the long irons cover a gap.  1 iron is good for about 220ish.  My Titleist DCI 1 iron is deep cavity and offset, so it almost looks hybridish. Used to carry a 16* Taylor Raylor back in the pre hybrid days, but it was redundant distance wise and the 1 iron was better off the tee. The Wilson 1 iron is the quintessential butter knife. It is more demanding off the fairway, but fairly dependable off the tee.

Over the years, I have hit some of my very best (and worst) shots with the 1 iron.

It is getting harder and harder to get sets with a 2 iron much less a 1 iron, but I guess only dinosaurs like me use them. But with the hotter lofts common now, the new 4 iron is really a 3 iron.

I have a few 2-irons with matched sets (3 Hogans, a MacGregor, a Mizuno, a Powerbilt, a Burke, and a Titleist),  and other than the Burke, I don't use them. I get more than enough distance from my 3-iron (not posting my average distance, but trust me it's enough). A 19 degree hybrid goes just as far my 2-irons. It's almost as straight, and I can hit it higher if needed. I haven't ditched any of them, but I liken them to a rotary telephone. They still work and the nostalgia factor is neat, but sometimes you just gotta get with the program in order to get more done.

Every once in a while, but it's a Titleist Tour Model 2 iron, so there's absolutely nothing forgiving about it.  If I had a PING Zing or Eye2 2 iron I'd probably carry it more often in lieu of a hybrid.  As Fourputt pointed out, many modern 3 irons are in fact traditional 2 irons.  My Titleist 775•CB 3 iron is 20*, so I consider it a 2 iron.

And from my examination of numerous golf sets of golf shops across the country, the majority of new sets sold aren't 4-PW, they're 4-GW.  Still 8 clubs, and they're all about 3-5* (or 1 club stronger) than they used to be, so we're still getting the equivalent of a 3-PW set.

I don't have a 2i, but a 3i in my Pi5s (21°), which I recently started to get back into my bag.

Although I have a 20° hybrid, the 3i has a more boring flight and is easier to play into the wind.

greetings

michi

I have a 2i that I carry most of the time. Sometimes it's straight and beautiful but I can't always count on it. What I love about it is that I can keep it low and move it left or right at will. Very handy in the woods which are plentiful where I play. A "rescue" club of a different stripe.

So I go driver, 3W, 2I, 3H, 5i. Sometimes I leave the 2 out and other times (tournaments) I throw the 4 in. I really like carrying 12 clubs though and I won't sacrifice the short game.

My S2 3i has less loft (18*) then most old trusty 2i's ...... I take it seldom into the course, bc I can't handle it from the fairway, although from a tee it can be very good.

18* 3 iron?!?  That's a 1 iron.

It used to be my go-to club when my driver was being a bad boy.

Now the 2h does the same job, and I can hit it off the fairway much better than the 2i.

I still hit with it occasionally, though. I figure if I can hit a 2i well, I'm doing a few things right.

Yesterday was the first round since putting it back into the bag after the hybrid broke.

I used it twice from the tee. First was a par 4 where I would usually take hybrid. I smoked the 2i, at LEAST as far as the hybrid with great flight etc. I nearly slam dunked the PW with my second, but missed the 6 footer for birdie :(

Second time was on a par 3, playing about 170m. I didn't hit it all that well (like most of my shots yesterday) but it still went straight, in the air, and found it's way onto the green.

All in all - I'm not rushing out to get another hybrid just yet..... haha