Am I misguided carrying a 3 iron?

[Shindig]

I carried a 3-iron for a while, and even made a birdie or two off of it. Carry the 14 clubs that you believe will produce the best golf for you. If your metric in golf is "quantity of shots hit really really high," then a hybrid is right for you. If it's score, there's no telling which it is, because it depends on where you use your 3-iron.

If you've ever hit a 3-iron solid, you know that feeling can't be replaced by a hybrid.

I swear I posted somewhere a long time ago about how I wish people would stop telling me how many shots I'm leaving on the course by not having a hybrid instead of my 3-iron and 4-iron. But who knows where that post is now, or even if it was in the forum or the main site.

I think this was it:

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/threads...-on-the-3-iron It got me to get a 3-iron old demo iron, which got me to get a 3-iron with my current iron set. It isn't in the bag at the moment, but that's another story. It isn't the reason that the golf magazines list.

[dbuck]

You should use whatever clubs with which you are comfortable and enable you to move the ball around the course, regardless of what the marketers say.

I play irons 1-PW, even though I am not "qualified" to do so. I am a little "underpowered" I think on my irons--a good smooth summertime 7 is about 155, but the rest of the irons are in 10-12 yard increments off that, so it works for me. I don't own a true hybrid, but I have an old Taylor Raylor 16*, kind of the forerunner of the hybrids. For me my 1 irons are more consistent in distance, direction, and trajectory. I may have to try one of the newer hybrids for a fairer comparison, but I am rambling.

Try some hybrids and if they are better great; if not, stick with what works for you and enjoy!

[Acropo]

I always carry a 4-h, often carry an old 7 wood and sometimes carry a 3-h. I agree with the posters above who find the hybrid goes further than its supposed iron equivalent, which tends to leave a bigger gap to the next iron. I also agree that shaping a shot with a hybrid is not at all easy to do - irons seem to be better for that. But the hybrid is there to make long shots easier - and there is no doubt at all (in my mind) that you can stop a hybrid quicker after a long carry than you can with an equivalent iron.

For reduced length in order to bridge the gap, there are choices: choked down, open the face up, shorten the swing. (Potential problem: a tendency to hook shorter swing shots, especially low punches. Opening up the club face helps to reduce it but doesn't keep the ball down, which is usually the intention of a punch...!)

Finally, as I'm in an agreeable mood, I go along with the idea that one shouldn't tell someone else what to play with!

[robby_i_am]

I still carry my 3 and 4 eye2 irons and LOVE them....maybe i should make the switch...but i like the feel of hitting antiques.

[DaSportsGuy]

Never carried a 3 iron, probably never will. Didn't really replace it with a 2 hybrid, just the way my set panned out.

[Robielucy]

Gotta throw my 2 cents in...
I carry a 3 and 4 iron, as well as a 5 wood and a 2 iron. My golf mates question why so many long clubs, as the 5 wood would be fine alone. Frankly, I hardly use the or 2 or 3 iron....but it's just a crutch...I hate taking out stuff--I MIGHT NEED IT!
Now, lets not get into the 3 wood and driver issues.....

[mdl]

As a lot of people have said, this is obviously a personal decision. I got what's probably a 2h (19˚, no "iron" number). Personally I love it. I carry it 205-210 standard, can ease up and hit it more ~200, and can deloft it a bit and put it ~220, and I've hit it ~240+ off the tee before. I never use my 3i any more.

For punch shots, I do fine with my 4i there, putting the ball back in the stance a little and my hands forward a bit. So I don't buy the need for a 3i for those kinds of shots. I also don't think you should keep a 3i in the bag as a sort of measure of how good a golfer you are. The only reason you should stay 3i over 3h is if you hit it more consistently, or if you're like iacas, and you feel you have more control over shape and ball flight and whatnot with the 3i.

[Tiger Spuds]

I carry a 3 and 4 iron even though I can barely use them.It would make infinitely more sense for a high handicapper to ditch them and start using hybrids, but I'm odd about having the classic irons in there.a 5-PW doesn't feel like a complete set of clubs to me, and I'd suggest a lot of people feel the same way about that.Ridiculous way to carry on in the face of possible massive improvements in score with Hybrids really.Just one of those things.

[tm22721]

I was misguided until I got rid of anything longer than a 7i.

After that my score dropped from mid 90s to low 80s.

[Gordon McTavish]

If he's able to punch out with the 3i better than any other club, why should he scrap that, just to learn how to hit the same shot with a hybrid? Because that's how some pros do it? Doesn't make sense to me. You play to your strengths, and play away from/work on your weaknesses.

I love this quote. It always amuses me that discussions about blades usually result in comments such as "Just because Pros use blades, doesn't mean the average player should. Yet now we're expected to play hybrids because the Pros do as well?

A quick look at the "Players" section on the Titleist website shows that only two of the list players (10) aren't carrying a 3-iron. I agree with ControlJunkie, play to your strengths and use the equipment that works for you.

[jrm1493]

My previous set was 5-pw with a 3 & 4 hybrid and the best club for me in the set was the 5i, far better than the hybrids which I can hook off the planet. My current set I got the 3 & 4 iron because of the good vibes with the old 5i, and also carry a "2.5" hybrid, but the honest truth is if I have to be in the fairway I go to the heavy steel-shafted 3-iron because I know where it will go and can't easily hit a snap hook with it like I can with the hybrid. The hybrid goes about 10 yards farther and usually higher (though not always) but I am quite a bit less consistent with it. The 3-iron is a steady old girl and I'm not going to give her up anytime soon.

[wmiller]

Bought a 3 hybrid to try one out. Played it for a while, but I can't control it like I can a 3 iron. The iron is back in the bag, the hybrid is sitting in the staff bag, collecting dust. I will probably need it someday. Just not today. The comments about 'that's what the pros play' is utter nonsense to me. I can't play like a pro, so I really don't care what they play.

[doof_dizzler]

You may have just answered my question for me. I just realized in my last round I used my 3 iron twice for punching out and having to go under a branch.

Ummm... I'm not sure what kind of hybrid you're considering, but it should work just fine for low punches too!! There shouldn't be any difference between a 3i & a 3h for a half swing punch under a branch.

[Blades4me]

I carry a 3 and 4 iron, the two most commonly replaced clubs with hybrids..... at least in my opinion. I shoot in the 90's, mostly because of my short game, but I still can hit a fat shot with the irons and put a drive in the woods. That is getting better, and I'm working on distance control on the short game.

It all depends on what you like. If you can hit your 3i well I'd leave it in your bag, if not replace it with hybrid. Personally I love my long irons and go all the way to a 2i, heck I have one set of clubs that go all the way to the 1i I'll put in the bag once in awhile. I don't have any hybrids in my bag anymore. That isn't to say they aren't any good, cuz they are. I just perfer irons to hybirds and yes, I was cut from a different bolt of cloth.

[Blades4me]

Ummm... I'm not sure what kind of hybrid you're considering, but it should work just fine for low punches too!! There shouldn't be any difference between a 3i & a 3h for a half swing punch under a branch.

I didn't find that to be true. Most hybrids are very bottom weighted to get the ball up quick and make them easy to hit. When I did carry 2 hybrids I found that the only hybrid I could do decent knock down or punch shots with was a iron design hybrid, (Bridgestone Air Muscle). Everything else went too high, so I had to take alot off of the shot to keep it down, which cost me distance.

[iacas]

Ummm... I'm not sure what kind of hybrid you're considering, but it should work just fine for low punches too!! There shouldn't be any difference between a 3i & a 3h for a half swing punch under a branch.

Not true at all.

Edit: D'oh. Guy already said why:

I didn't find that to be true. Most hybrids are very bottom weighted to get the ball up quick and make them easy to hit. When I did carry 2 hybrids I found that the only hybrid I could do decent knock down or punch shots with was a iron design hybrid, (Bridgestone Air Muscle). Everything else went too high, so I had to take alot off of the shot to keep it down, which cost me distance.

[MSDOGS1976]

I love my hybrids and use them as direct substitutes for the irons they replace (3, 4, & 5). I find them easier to hit than their respective iron. I can hit long irons, but through trial and error I've found that on less than perfect hits the hybrids give me a better end result. I've also found the hybrids to be more forgiving from less than ideal lies. Whether it be from the rough, hardpan, an ackward stance hybrids make hitting a decent shot much easier.

Same here. I started with just one hybrid and now have 3. I told my pro yesterday I was playing old man's golf. Of course I am old.

But I am also playing more consistent golf than at anytime in my life.

[Elvisliveson]

I too love my 3 iron, so I use a 2 iron hybrid instead of a 5 wood.