Mizuno MP-57 and MP FLI-HI Questions

[Shindig]

As many of you know, I'm going to be getting Mizuno MP-57s for my next set of irons. I got fit for them on Friday and I plan to place the order next week. At the moment, I'm looking at MP-57 irons 3-P. My question lies with the 3.

My current set - a starter set - came 4-P,S. I intend to get a 3-Iron with the MP-57s and use it. I have a Cobra 3-Hybrid which I like from the fairway, the rough, and even fairway bunkers. I had - still own, but rarely use - a 4-Hybrid. I've found that I prefer the 4-Iron to that. I still stand by the sentiments I stated back in October here , in which I said that I believe the longest iron in my bag should be the one I hit well, and if that's a 3-Iron, it's a 3-Iron.

Back in November, I bought a Cobra 3100 3-Iron for $5 that had been a demo club. Even though the grip is weird and the shaft is too long, I can hit it decently well off a tee and maybe 50-50 from the grass. I've only tried this on the range, though - it's never been in my bag for a round. So I'm quite capable of hitting a 3-Iron. I imagine my ability will be better with a properly fit 3-Iron.

I believe that the MP FLI-HIs are essentially hybrid-replacements that look like traditional irons. I much prefer this look over the wood-type look of a "traditional" hybrid. Furthermore, they are listed under irons on the Mizuno Custom Club fitting sheet; the 3 FLI-HIs (2, 3, 4) are listed followed by 2-L.

So, my questions are as follows. The second one is the one I consider to be the most important to me.

* Does anyone here use the MP-57s and the MP FLI-HIs in combination? The lofts match, but are there any other considerations I need to worry about? I realize that they were intended to be used together, so I doubt there's any worries.

* Will my iron and wedge fitting apply to these? I have -.5" on my length, with 61 (which I believe is standard) lie and standard loft.

* Any suggestions on whether the 3-Iron should be from the MP-57 set directly or the MP FLI-HI? The price difference is not significant. I'm just not really sure what I'll see on them.

[michaeljames92]

if i were you i'd get the 3 iron and when you get better you'd probably choose that over your cobra hybrid. also let me know how the 57's go. i am looking to get a set of these in the coming months. im using my father's burner xd's and the soles are just huge. looking for something a little thinner. hope everyhting turn out well.

[JSC924]

The 3 iron is one of the most problematic clubs in golf. For me, I always make solid contact with the golf ball but the accuracy is just not there. I can work the ball both ways fairly well but constantly worry about double crossing my 3 iron and always end up hitting a hard hook instead of a slight draw. The low loft just exaggerates the side spin way too much. I can't hit a fairway wood off the deck to save my life, therefore I carry a hybrid instead of a fairway wood. The problem I run into with the hybrid is distance control. I can hit my 17* hybrid anywhere from 210-250 yards depending on the roll due to the lack of trajectory. I would like to carry a couple of fairway woods which have a much higher ball flight but I cannot hit them straight no matter what I try with my swing.

What I'm trying to say is buy the 3 iron now or later on, but really look for an alternative to your 3 iron (Hybrid, 7 Wood, FLI-HI; they all have their pros and cons). If you decide to buy the FLI-HI, I would suggest the same shaft as the rest of your irons so your distance is more predictable.

And to answer your question, you should get matching specs in the FLI-HI as your iron set. Loft, length, lie should be in line with your club fitting.

[The Golfing Polack]

This is from my experience at the range today. I just got the MP 57s last week, and hadn't had a chance to hit all of them. I'm coming from a set that used 3-4 hybrids and then 5-pw. I found the 57 3 iron very easy to hit with a great trajectory. I only hit it off the deck, so I'm not sure how it would be off the tee, but the feel was sweet when I caught the sweet spot, which is surprisingly big for forged irons on this set. I'd try the 3-iron that's coming with your clubs for a while. I was hitting mine about 225-230 today with a slight tail wind.

[mn723]

I got new MP-57's this year and am struggling with my 3 iron. Granted, the season is young here in Minnesota, but after playing 4 rounds and hitting the range once I'm finding the 3 iron to be troubling. I either chuck it or hit it decent but no more than 15-20 feet off the ground. Maybe I just need to find my swing or practice more. I also switched from Ping i3 oversize to MP-57 so the new 3 iron looks like a butter knife compared to the Ping.

[follyforhire]

Shindig, with the way you seem to work on and think about your game, I bet you'd figure out pretty quickly how to hit the mp-57 3-iron well. You already have a 3 hybrid, why not get the 57 3-iron, and continue to use the hybrid until you get comfortable with the 3-iron?

That said, the MP Fli-Hi is a great club. I carried both a 2 and a 3 for a while last year (while I was chopping away with a set of MP-29s, goodness that was a dumb experiment - the 29s, not the Fli-Hi!). I absolutely loved them and found them every bit as easy to hit as my old Eye2+ long irons (the clubs I went back to after the MP-29 debacle). They're weighted well, feel great, and are reasonably forgiving - all the normal good things we say about clubs we like. I'm not much of a worker of the ball, but my pathetic attempts to hit normal shots like a highish fade, and slightly lower draws and cuts met with reasonable success.

I would think that you'd have no real problems integrating the fli-hi into your set. It's not going to give you any drastically different trajectory or distance; it's just going to give you some help. I would think you should match it, for fitting purposes, to the rest of your irons (consistent shaft, length, and lie).

You're in good shape whichever way you go here. You'll probably really like the fli-hi, but you also might learn to really like the 57 3-iron. I would say something like, "hell, sell your hybrid and get both," but I think I've read before that you're a grad student. Having recently spent several years there myself, well, let's say I know what a credit card bill looks like!

Congratulations on the new clubs. I hope you enjoy them and will look forward to hearing about your game with them.

[DJYoshi]

I use the MP 60's...from learning on my pops' X-16's in January - July last year. it wasn't a hard transition at all to use the MP60's. I suffered when I didn't hit a clean shot...but I think it helped me strike the ball better. Before I could only get a X-16 4 iron to 190. Yesterday I took my MP-60 5 iron 205. for me...that's unbelievable....
they're extremely easy irons to adjust to.
as long as you don't try to kill each shot...it's just like hitting a full cavity back club.

As for the Fli-Hi's...I personally don't like them. they're easier to hit than irons...but for the $, I'd rather spend it on something else that might be easier to hit. I don't see the need to carry a fli-hi 2.

[Shindig]

Thanks for the help guys! I ended up going with the FLI-HI, which is partially a cop-out on my part. I figure if I like it, I can do well with it, and maybe eventually even order the set's 3-iron. If I don't like it, I can return it and stick with my hybrid. At the moment, I can put both it and the hybrid into the bag, since without one or the other I'd have only 13. Once I decide which to keep, I can figure out a 14th club then.

[Island Par]

How'd the fli-hi turn out for you?

[Shindig]

How'd the fli-hi turn out for you?

I love it now. Putting a heavy steel shaft in it was a mistake, so I got it re-shafted to a lighter steel shaft. Now it's great! I can control the trajectory much better than I can with the Cobra "traditional" hybrid, but it's just as forgiving when I'm just going for a standard shot.

[Island Par]

THat's great! I have the 3i 21*, was having problems with it at first as i was slicing it right (probably due to the offset). I don't know if what i did was right but i started shifting my stance facing a bit left and it now flies straight at 200-220. Did you have the same problem?