The Death of the Low Irons

[BrofessionalGolfer]

It's pretty wild that all these big name golf club brands have actively phased out the low irons in place of hybrid clubs. The new Taylormade sets, for example, offer 4 through PW, AW...3 irons are no longer an option when purchasing most new golf sets. 2 irons forget it! I don't know about anyone else, but I've never had a problem hitting a 2 or 3 iron off the deck. Actually, more than 50% of the time I'd use either club is off the tee on a narrow fairway or long par 3. I know these clubs are still out there, but it's a shame they are being phased out. I find hybrid clubs to be extremely light and I have such less control.

Anyone else feel the same way here? 

[SavvySwede]

It doesn't really matter. The new 3 and 4 irons hit as far as the old 2 irons so you aren't losing out on anything.

[Pendragon]

12 minutes ago, BrofessionalGolfer said:

It's pretty wild that all these big name golf club brands have actively phased out the low irons in place of hybrid clubs. The new Taylormade sets, for example, offer 4 through PW, AW...3 irons are no longer an option when purchasing most new golf sets. 2 irons forget it! I don't know about anyone else, but I've never had a problem hitting a 2 or 3 iron off the deck. Actually, more than 50% of the time I'd use either club is off the tee on a narrow fairway or long par 3. I know these clubs are still out there, but it's a shame they are being phased out. I find hybrid clubs to be extremely light and I have such less control.

Anyone else feel the same way here? 

It's all about supply and demand. 99% of all who play golf couldn't hit a 2iron or a 3iron if their lives depended on it. As a low single-digit player for over 55 years (and a course record holder), I haven't carried a 3iron in at least 10 years. And I never carried a 2iron. The golf club manufacturers are going to make what golfers want, and the reality is that there is virtually ZERO demand for the clubs you're talking about. 

[DrvFrShow]

The lofts are stronger on all the clubs now. The 5 iron in most sets is the same loft as the 1984 Titleist 3 iron. The 4 iron is the same loft as the 1984 Titleist 2 iron - that's 20 degrees. My 6 iron is the same loft as the 1984 Titleist 4-iron, and is very close to the 4 iron in the Ping i20 set. Plus the manufacturers lowered the CoG and are using tungsten weights for forgiveness. So do we really need the 2 and 3 irons anymore? Not really. 

Most sets used to come with two or three clubs that few people could hit: the 2,3, and 4 irons. This was back before the days of modern tech. Even today, not many people can hit a 4 iron off the deck. Your average golfer will opt for a hybrid instead of a 5 iron.

 

[BrofessionalGolfer]

14 minutes ago, Pendragon said:

It's all about supply and demand. 99% of all who play golf couldn't hit a 2iron or a 3iron if their lives depended on it. As a low single-digit player for over 55 years (and a course record holder), I haven't carried a 3iron in at least 10 years. And I never carried a 2iron. The golf club manufacturers are going to make what golfers want, and the reality is that there is virtually ZERO demand for the clubs you're talking about. 

Very good point @Pendragon

[saevel25]

48 minutes ago, BrofessionalGolfer said:

Anyone else feel the same way here? 

It doesn't matter. Actually the modern iron technology have been a big boost to high handicappers. 

Most high handicappers can't get proper gapping in the long irons. They hit their 4 irons as long as their 6 irons on average. This was because they launched to low for their swing speeds. 

Though your personal experience might differ, on average the modern iron design has greatly helped golfers with slower swing speeds. 

Honestly it doesn't matter what the label is on the iron. You still have to build a set using 14 clubs. If a 4 iron today is the same loft as a 3 iron in the past but because of modern design now flies higher, longer, more forgiving, and lands softer for golfers. That is a big bonus for golfers who struggle with their longer irons. 

If you don't struggle with longer irons you are probably a better player and will most likely not look at these type of clubs anyways. 

 

[graham57]

For some reason I have never been able to hit the ball consistently with hybrids, they just don't feel right for me on address. I play Titleist 690 MB irons and have a 2-iron (albeit CB) in my bag. My latest addition is a Controller "Roll and Bulge" 1 iron, and I'm delighted with it. These clubs force you to concentrate at address and I am convinced the result is a cleaner hit. Based on my handicap, I should not even be looking at these clubs, but the long iron shots are one of the most stable parts of my game!

[Natural Patrick]

I love my 4 iron. I just took my 3 iron out of the bag last fall and added an extra wedge. I don't have any Hybrids in my bag yet.

[phillyk]

Some manufacturers, like Taylormade, offer 2 and 3 irons still.  They just don't necessarily come with a set.  I play a 2 iron (18 degrees) and I love it! I don't plan on switching to a hybrid soon.

[stealthhwk]

1 hour ago, BrofessionalGolfer said:

It's pretty wild that all these big name golf club brands have actively phased out the low irons in place of hybrid clubs. The new Taylormade sets, for example, offer 4 through PW, AW...3 irons are no longer an option when purchasing most new golf sets. 2 irons forget it! I don't know about anyone else, but I've never had a problem hitting a 2 or 3 iron off the deck. Actually, more than 50% of the time I'd use either club is off the tee on a narrow fairway or long par 3. I know these clubs are still out there, but it's a shame they are being phased out. I find hybrid clubs to be extremely light and I have such less control.

Anyone else feel the same way here? 

I actually like hybrids better myself. But if Im hooking the ball, I prefer my long irons. I like having options so I hope golf companies dont make long irons extinct. Matter of fact, I hope it stops after the practical elimination of the 3i. So...maybe part of me feels that way. Lol!

[utrinqueparatus]

1 hour ago, BrofessionalGolfer said:

It's pretty wild that all these big name golf club brands have actively phased out the low irons in place of hybrid clubs. The new Taylormade sets, for example, offer 4 through PW, AW...3 irons are no longer an option when purchasing most new golf sets. 2 irons forget it! I don't know about anyone else, but I've never had a problem hitting a 2 or 3 iron off the deck. Actually, more than 50% of the time I'd use either club is off the tee on a narrow fairway or long par 3. I know these clubs are still out there, but it's a shame they are being phased out. I find hybrid clubs to be extremely light and I have such less control.

Anyone else feel the same way here? 

I think that it is possibly worthwhile checkin the lofts of the irons concerned, The M2 Tour Irons have a 3 iron set at 18.5 and a 4 iron set at 20.5. The M2 4 Iron is set at 19.5. Historically a one iron was set at 16, a 2 iron set at 19. So in fact the M2 Tour 3 iron is in fact a 'strong' 2 iron while the M2 4 Iron is in fact a slightly weak 2 Iron. With regard to 2 irons and 3 irons not being available you might care to check out the Mizuno range as they have 1, 2 and 3 irons. The MP15 has a 3 iron set at 21, the MP25 has a 3 iron set at 21, the MPH5 has a 1 iron at 16, a 2 iron at 18 and a 3 iron at 21.

[golf_guy86]

1 hour ago, BrofessionalGolfer said:

It's pretty wild that all these big name golf club brands have actively phased out the low irons in place of hybrid clubs. The new Taylormade sets, for example, offer 4 through PW, AW...3 irons are no longer an option when purchasing most new golf sets. 2 irons forget it! I don't know about anyone else, but I've never had a problem hitting a 2 or 3 iron off the deck. Actually, more than 50% of the time I'd use either club is off the tee on a narrow fairway or long par 3. I know these clubs are still out there, but it's a shame they are being phased out. I find hybrid clubs to be extremely light and I have such less control.

Anyone else feel the same way here? 

I feel the same way. I would have been upgrading my irons by now but I love hitting the long irons. It’s almost an art form to hitting long irons off the deck. I went in to a golf shop to hit some hybrids and just don’t feel the same way about them compared to irons. I wish I still had my 2 iron still (traded it in). Now days it’s almost like your being forced to hit a hybrid. I can hit my 3 iron 220-230 avg. then my 3 wood is 270's so I have a big gap on the upper end. Not good to have. I have to try and layoff a 3wood to hit anything about 250. I feel some pressure to have to get a hybrid sometime soon.

 

[DrvFrShow]

The only place I hit a 4 or even a 5 iron is off the tee.

[9wood]

The longest iron in my bag any more is a 6 iron. Anything longer than that is either a driver, FW or hybrid

[chilepepper]

I don't carry an iron longer than a 4. That said I doubt folks who have trouble with longer irons practice with them much. I think they give up on them. 

Theres always the alternative to nip a 1/2 " off the shaft and give it some time on the range before completely giving up on them. Not a real significant change. But psychologically it could be the ticket for some folks

[9wood]

35 minutes ago, chilepepper said:

 I doubt folks who have trouble with longer irons practice with them much. I think they give up on them. 

 

For me personally, I didn't really have any trouble with long irons. It's just that I found out that I can hit the ball longer with my hybrid which has replaced my long irons

[BrofessionalGolfer]

The bottom line is that 95% of us are not even close to professionals meaning we cannot have phenomenal ball striking for every club. We need to find what works and stick to it until we have the time to develop other aspects of our game. Irons work very well for some. If it ain't broke don't fix it! 2 iron off a tee on a par 5? If you can get a par or bogey out of it, why not right?

 

[JonMA1]

When it was time to buy a new set of irons, I opted for a set that had a 4i instead of the 4h. My old Adams 4h was nice in that I could hit it high and long (relatively) with little effort. But there were days when I really struggled with it. I'm glad I have the 4 iron now.

I have a couple of old sets that have 3 irons. I have no doubt they have weaker lofts than even the 4 irons of today, but you'd never know it by the ball flight I get from them. (Maybe the low flight is due to the head design or shafts.????) They are tougher to hit and I can't get nearly the distance from them that I can with the Mizunos, but it's kind of rewarding to hit one well.