Am I the only person left in the world that loves long irons and hates hybrids?

[B of H]

I think the important thing to note is that if we were still playing balls that spun more then hybrids wouldn't be in very many bags on tour.  With balatas you could hit a lower shot with a long iron into a green and it would check even in firm conditions.

[Kieran123]

I used to have 3,4, and a 5 Hybrid in my Slingshot set.

Could hit them easily but they did fly pretty high ( which has it's benefits )

Now my 4 iron is my longest iron and I was like WTF? why is this flying so low? when I first hit it - but am getting used to it....much more satisfying hitting a long iron than a Hybrid IMO.

I think I am going to buy a 3 Hybrid in the near future and not a 3 iron but we'll see

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Kieran123

I used to have 3,4, and a 5 Hybrid in my Slingshot set.

Could hit them easily but they did fly pretty high ( which has it's benefits )

Now my 4 iron is my longest iron and I was like WTF? why is this flying so low? when I first hit it - but am getting used to it....much more satisfying hitting a long iron than a Hybrid IMO.

I think I am going to buy a 3 Hybrid in the near future and not a 3 iron but we'll see

If you're playing on a calm day and tend to hit the ball very straight, a hybrid is a great club.

[Elvisliveson]

After 4+ years of experimenting with 2/3 hybrids, I went back to the 5 wood. Less versatility but more dependability and firepower for reaching those pesky par 5s in two or driving off those holes where the fairway ends 230 yards out. I carry 4i-9i and 4 wedges.

[Gerald]

I still carry a 2 iron at some courses, bc I can hit it dead straight and it can be as long as average hackers hit their drives and I never was very fond of the hybrids, untill I bought a Wilson Staff Fybrid 19.5 which is about a combo between a 5W and a Hybrid. It goes out the same distance as a 2i or 5W but is much easier to hit. It actually took me some time before hitting it dead straight, but now I can also grip down on it a bit and hit a punchlike shot with it of about 170 yds.

And from the rough or from a decent lie in a fairway bunker it is a great tool too.

At the time major companies offered 2 irons most were lofted about 20 degrees and most of todays 3 irons are 20-21 degrees, so it about makes no sense any more to buy a 2 iron.

[B of H]

I use an 18* 2-iron, I hit it about 225 in the air about 20 to 30 feet high at it's apex when i'm trying to control it on a tight hole.  It goes 250+ after roll in normal conditions off the tee with that lower 'shot'.  I'll use it off every tee if it's windy and tight, when I hit it into a green I usually widen my stance and it gets up there high enough to land on most greens without an issue.   My old hogan apex 1-iron is 17* and I still like to take it out every once in a while, great club but it goes a touch lower than the cobra.

I hit the 2-iron 262 with a 5 yard draw off the 13th tee sunday into a slightly left to right 10-15mph wind on firm fairways, I bet it only got about 20 feet off the ground tops, it was beautiful.   I outdrove two drivers and an 18 degree TM hybrid by 20 or more yards on that one because they all lofted it up in the wind, one guy smoked his driver and it shot up so bad it got carried about 30 yards right and only went about 250 (guy hits it 280+ normally).   If there is a hybrid that does that then i'd love to get one.

[MasterP]

I bought a TM rescue a few years ago and liked it at first, mainly because I couldn't hit long irons.  As time went on I got better at hitting long irons, and started hooking my hybrid, bad!  Now it might just be the hybrid I have doesn't fit my swing anymore, but I prefer my 4i for most shots in the 200 range.  I can hit my 3h 225 or so, but I never know where it's going to go.  So unless there isn't trouble around the green, or it's a long par 5 second shot the hybrid stays in the bag.  If I'm 225 out with trouble around the green I'll play my 4i and hope to roll it up there (if possible), or layup short with something else.

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by kevin.chan

Can we buy a 3 iron and bend it to the loft of a 2 iron and re shaft it to the length of a 3 iron ?

Will this able to solve the problem ?

Drops the bounce by 4 degrees.  With such a shallow angle of attack, this might not be that big a deal, but generally bending clubs past a degree or two throws things off considerably in terms of impact dynamics.

[B of H]

Update:

I bought an Adams Pro Black deep face 20 degree with a 85 gram xs ust shaft of some sort on ebay and just took it in to put a real shaft in it (x100).  The guy tried to talk me into a bunch of graphite nonsense at first but I asked him "if this is supposed to replace my 3-iron distance wise and I want it to be as heavy as my irons and go as low as possible then why would I want a graphite shaft?"

he said I could pick it up thursday.

:)

Nobody there understood why I would want anything to go as low as possible so I set up with it on track man and hit it 240 dead straight but super high with a ton of spin with no warm up.  (forgot the numbers)

we'll see how this thing performs I guess.

[Stuuk1]

Couldn't agree more with the OP. The only 'wood' I carry in my bag is my Ping - Rapture 9 Degree driver. I have always played with my trusty ping i3's for the last 10 years or however long (they just came out when I bought them...) I hit the ball too high as it is ad struggle to keep it down. Currently bought some Mizuno mp-29's and teaching myself to hit down more on the ball. Us here in the UK playing true links golf courses need our long irons! I have never hit, and never will hit a hybrid! I've always hated woods off the deck although accasionally used to hit my Titleist 975D off the deck... LONG LIVE THE 1 IRON!!

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by B of H

Update:

I bought an Adams Pro Black deep face 20 degree with a 85 gram xs ust shaft of some sort on ebay and just took it in to put a real shaft in it (x100).  The guy tried to talk me into a bunch of graphite nonsense at first but I asked him "if this is supposed to replace my 3-iron distance wise and I want it to be as heavy as my irons and go as low as possible then why would I want a graphite shaft?"

he said I could pick it up thursday.

:)

Nobody there understood why I would want anything to go as low as possible so I set up with it on track man and hit it 240 dead straight but super high with a ton of spin with no warm up.  (forgot the numbers)

we'll see how this thing performs I guess.

You're truly a man among men. I'm actually a little surprised your driver has positive loft.

[max power]

Clearly, look at his avatar.

Originally Posted by sean_miller

You're truly a man among men. I'm actually a little surprised your driver has positive loft.

[arogolf]

Im back on the long iron train.  I cant blast em like a hybrid, but the control and predictability is hard to beat.  I think my 20 and 23 hybrids will be taking a break during the warmer months...

[Dee Bee]

I love both hybrids and long irons....but i did replace my 3, 4, and 5 long irons with hybrids recently and i loving it. Me personally i can almost always hit a good to decent shot with the hybrids but no so consistant with the irons

[B of H]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

You're truly a man among men. I'm actually a little surprised your driver has positive loft.

I realize this is sarcasm but...

the point is that the club companies and instruction magazines like golf digest have basically brainwashed everyone into thinking that long irons are impossible to hit and even the pro's aren't playing them anymore.  Well, that is complete garbage.  A lot of pro's are still using long irons, it's only the weaker/lower trajectory pro's that have taken to hybrids exclusively and some may use them on firm courses when there isn't as much wind...but still were talking about hybrids a lot of time that aren't like the ones they offer retail.  IMO long irons are just as easy to hit as mid-irons...I think it's all in some peoples heads.  If you hit the ball high and solid consistently with lots of spin naturally then hybrids don't really help you and in fact in some cases hurt you.

[Leftygolfer]

One thought I have is get an older model mizuno 2 iron.  The MP 60 might have a 2 iron or even like the MP 17 (I think my buddy plays some old mizuno muscle/blade).   It would match just fine with the 68s.  Also, I have the MP fli His and they play exactly like an iron.

[sean_miller]

If money and a low tolerance for short term frustration are not an issue, then there is no reason not to do this.

Quote:

One thought I have is get an older model mizuno 2 iron.  The MP 60 might have a 2 iron or even like the MP 17 (I think my buddy plays some old mizuno muscle/blade).   It would match just fine with the 68s.  Also, I have the MP fli His and they play exactly like an iron.

[B of H]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

If money and a low tolerance for short term frustration are not an issue, then there is no reason not to do this.

not to do what?