Rebirth of the 1-Iron... sort of...

Recently in my travels around looking at newer golf equipment... I actually found that Mizuno and TaylorMade, started making 1-irons again... sort of... Mizuno with their MP-H5 irons the which is a set 1-pitching wedge... Taylormade a while ago any released their Tour Preferred UDI which comes in 3 lofts 1, 2, and 3 iron... not really what I would call the old butter knife but close... So this is more a nostalgia discussion than anything... Does anyone in TST universe still own a 1-iron? Does anyone remember a good shot they've hit with one? And finally, would anyone ever stick one back in the bag for the hell of it maybe just for one round... Thanks...

Yes, I have an old Ping Eye 2 1-iron that came with the set when I bought it four and a half years ago. It still has the original ZZ-lite shaft in it and looks fairly unused actually.

I hit it very few times, mostly just while messing around, but I do remember one decent shot I hit with it. It went a bit shorter than my current 3-hybrid goes and about as far as I currently hit my 3-iron (which is both a different club and a much improved swing), with a bit of a fade. I only used it on the course a few times for fun on short par 4's off the tee, so I don't have much experience with it in that regard.

Depends on if I have to use it during said round I wouldn't ever consider playing with that old Eye 2 1-iron ever again, those things were still pretty hard to hit even for the most forgiving club of the era. I would be somewhat interested in at least messing around with the driving irons just to see how they compare to my current hybrid (since they appear to be a hybrid of a hybrid and an iron).

The longest iron I've ever used, or plan to use, in a tournament is my 3-iron. I still don't even use that club unless it's a specific course where my strategy requires it (a nearby course measures 5966 from the back tees and is tightly tree lined, so I use it for nearly every tee shot there) or it's a windy day where the 3-iron becomes both more accurate and longer than my 3-hybrid (since it has a lower flight). There just isn't enough benefit to my game from carrying an iron like that for it to be worth it over a hybrid under normal circumstances.

I have a Tour Edge Forged V-Blade 1-iron, which I mostly am just messing around with right now. I hit my 2-iron pretty well so when I saw it on eBay, I figured "what the hell, I'll buy it." You would actually be surprised to know, I thought it would be Damn near impossible to hit, it's really not, (I'm not trying to say it's easy to hit, but it's easier than I thought it would be, easier than hitting a 460cc Driver off the deck or a long explosion shot, but harder than a 3-wood off the fairway) I can hit it about 225-230 carry, maybe 245 total off the tee... a little less than that off the fairway, I would never try this out of the rough unless I was trying a very low punch and I had branches like 3 feet off the ground 15 feet in front of me... It runs like a bat out of hell, even when it's soft... I would carry it in a round, in a tourney I'd either have to take out 2-iron, 4-wood or 52 degree wedge in a tourney, but just to screw around sure, especially if I was in a 3-club tourney... because I could putt with it... :-P

A friend of mine carries an old Cobra 1-iron in his bag. We have some tight driving holes on our course, and he uses it about three times a round.

He let me hit it. Worked OK off a tee, but not off the turf. If you want a looooow draw, it's the club. I get about the same distance out of my 4i, with higher trajectory.

(He hits the 1i farther than I can).

The re-birth of the 1-iron might be found with the advent of driving irons.

Callaway: Apex UT

TM: UDI

Ping: Rapture

And more. . .

Callaway makes a 18 degree "iron"

http://www.callawaygolf.com/photos-an-enticing-look-at-the-new-apex-ut-irons.html

The Apex UT doesn't come in one-iron loft does it?

The new generation hollow driving irons aren't really 1 iron lofted.    I would like a modern 13, 14 or 15 degree dedicated DRIVING IRON for a couple of the tighter courses around here.   The lowest loft I've seen is 18 degrees in the modern driving irons ... my guess is that these aren't dedicated driving irons at all - they are essentially hollow hybrid irons designed for both use off the fairway and tee.

I play Titleist 690 MB irons and love the feel when you get it right. Before that, I had Maxfli A10's and blades, which were made of relatively soft metal and had a real buttery feel to them. I have always struggled with keeping fairway woods straight, but find I can hit consistently with the 3-iron. When I saw Maxfli 1 & 2 irons on ebay, I went for them. However, I find that, even on a good hit, I don't get any advantage over my Titleist 3-iron, so I have taken them out of the bag again. Whether this is because I simply prefer the Titleists to play with, I don't know.

For many better players, this may be the case: If you can actually hit a 1-iron, you don't need a 1-iron - other technology is more reliable.

It doesn't really even matter if you're a better player or not in this case. Other technology is more reliable and often higher performing, because I can hit my 3-hybrid further and just as accurately as my aforementioned 1-iron. The hybrid goes further to properly fill the gap between my 4-iron and my 3-wood, it is more forgiving on less than perfect strikes (Lee Trevino said to hold up a 1-iron during a thunderstorm, because nobody can hit one), and gives me results that are just as accurate as the 1-iron. There is no benefit, at least to me, to carrying a 1-iron over that hybrid and I would guess that it's the same way for most other players on the planet.

See my signature and I also have an older set of Titleist DCI's in 1-PW. The one in the sig is a true butter knife. I am not great with it, but at least off the tee I can get it in the air and in the general direction and distance I intend. I have hit a few really good shots with it over the years, actually some of my most memorable shots.

The DCI is a cavity back, and while not huge, it is almost hybrid like compared the the "real" 1 iron. I have at times been fairly consistent with it.

I have a Callaway 20* Heavenwood 3H that gives me close to the same distance and is much easier to hit.

I play with vintage gear a lot, so the old butter knife is usually in the bag; sometimes swapped out for the 5 wood.