Iron sets these days.. No 3 or 4 irons?

[scotth]

1 hour ago, upndown21 said:

With that said I carry my 5i close to 200 and unless I am playing a really long course (6900 yds or more) my hybrids only get used 1-2x other than on the tee box.

On average I only carry 170 - 175 with my 5 iron unless I really over swing.  If I catch it just perfect it might be 185 but that's pretty rare.  For me a 200 yard shot is usually a choice of 3 or 4 iron or 7 wood depending on the turf, the lie and what's in front of the green.  

This year with the super soft/wet ground around here it also makes it hard to determine just how far I hit clubs.  In years past in Dallas or Austin by this time in the summer everybody hits every club 10 to as much as 30 yards farther because the ground is so hard :)

[MuniGrit]

Hybrids bring in more profit for the club manufacturers than Irons. 

[alfriday]

Look at the specs for the irons, not the number on the bottom of the club.  It used to be a 3 iron was 24 degrees and 38 inches long.  The 24/38 rule (more a guideline) was that most amateurs don't have enough swing speed to hit an iron on a consistent basis with less than 24 degrees and/or longer than 38 inches.  I used "and/or" in the last sentence because I've seen it stated both ways.  Some modern 5 irons are lower lofted and longer than the 24 degrees 38 inches.  The forgiving head designs help the player get the ball up, but the rule still works as a general guideline for many players.  

 

 

[dbuck]

My 5 iron is 21.5* !!

I carry 20* and 23* hybrids, and I hit the 23 longer than my 5 iron.  This compliment gives my pretty decent coverage though. I carry 5-PW (43.5), then 48,52, and 56 wedges beyond that.

[1badbadger]

5 hours ago, MuniGrit said:

Hybrids bring in more profit for the club manufacturers than Irons. 

This isn't why manufacturers are configuring iron sets with 6 or 7 clubs instead of 8.  

When I was an equipment tech for Bridgestone, the j40 irons stock set was 5-PW.  The 3 and 4 irons were available separately and individually.  Because we offered the 3 and 4 irons, it didn't "force" customers to buy the more expensive hybrids.  Some players already had existing hybrids that they had purchased (usually a different brand), or if they did buy new hybrids, it was more often from a competitor.  

When the following line was introduced (j15) we went to a 4-PW base set, with the 3 iron available as an option because we noticed the majority of players who purchased j40 irons added the 4 iron.  Keep in mind the models in the j40 and the forged models in the j15 line are designed for low to mid handicappers and pros.

One thing that has to be taken into consideration is there is a big reason why manufacturers don't make 1 and 2 irons anymore, and 3 and 4 irons are becoming optional add-ons...it's due to the way equipment has evolved.  For those who remember a time before hybrids existed, and 2 irons were common, you'll have to admit they were never easy to hit.  Fast forward 30 years to today, where PW are commonly 44 - 45* instead of 48 - 50*.  That means a modern 2 iron would be about 3* stronger than they were 30 years ago.  Basically a 1 iron.  If they made 1 irons today, they would have less loft than most 3 woods.  Plus, the ball spins about half as much as it did back then.  That's the big reason for long irons becoming extinct.  Golf balls used to have crazy spin, which helped get low lofted irons in the air.  We realize now that even though guys like Nicklaus and Norman could hit towering long irons, the trajectory really wasn't very efficient.  The more we learned about the nuances of ball flight and what makes an efficient trajectory, the more obvious it became that the balls were spinning way too much.  As a result, the modern golf ball is way better, but as it evolved, clubs evolved with it.  That's why modern clubs wouldn't work very well with balls from back in the day, and why clubs from back then won't work well with the modern ball.

[Typhoon92]

Don't rule out a high lofted FW either.  I carry a 4 iron and a 5 wood.  I'm awful with a hybrid...snap hook city.  At the women's Open championship many of the women carried 7 and 9 woods ( don't know where to find them but they must be available).

I grew up. Fw guy and just don't get along with hybrids.  I prefer to drive a 5 speed over an automatic as well !

[1badbadger]

5 hours ago, Typhoon92 said:

Don't rule out a high lofted FW either.  I carry a 4 iron and a 5 wood.  I'm awful with a hybrid...snap hook city.  At the women's Open championship many of the women carried 7 and 9 woods ( don't know where to find them but they must be available).

I grew up. Fw guy and just don't get along with hybrids.  I prefer to drive a 5 speed over an automatic as well !

This brings up another interesting aspect...about 15-20 years ago, high lofted fairway woods became very popular. Callaway's "Heaven Wood" was the club that started the trend.  It had the loft of a 7 wood, and the shaft length of a 4 wood.  They also released a "standard" 7 wood, 9 wood and the "Ely Would" which was an 11 wood.

Other companies followed, but Callaway absolutely owned the high-lofted fairway wood market...until Adams introduced the Tight Lies.  But when hybrids were introduced, they kind of pushed the high lofted fairway woods out.  But for guys who are more comfortable hitting a wood than a hybrid, it's still a good option.

[scotth]

21 hours ago, Typhoon92 said:

Don't rule out a high lofted FW either.  I carry a 4 iron and a 5 wood.  

I do like fairway woods as well.  I switch my 5w and 7w in and out of my bag depending on how my lower back feels and what course I am going to play fairly often.  

Think I will probably try a few gigagolf hybrids before I buy a new set of irons.  If I hate the hybrids they have that 30 day return policy.  

Then I can decide if I am going to add the 3 and 4 iron to set or use some combination of hybrids and 5 and 7 wood.

[WUTiger]

On 8/12/2017 at 2:41 PM, 1badbadger said:

Other companies followed, but Callaway absolutely owned the high-lofted fairway wood market...until Adams introduced the Tight Lies.  But when hybrids were introduced, they kind of pushed the high lofted fairway woods out.  But for guys who are more comfortable hitting a wood than a hybrid, it's still a good option.

Callaway has come back full circle on the high-lofted FWs.

The XR16, the GBB Epics and the Steelheads all offer 3+, 3, 5, 7, 9. The XR16 and Steelhead also offer a 4W, and 11W; the XR16 and the Epic offers a Heavenwood (7W loft and 4W shaft length).

And, between this bloc and the original S2H2s, the Hawkeyes came out circa 2000. I stumbled onto a set of Hawkeyes in 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9Ws; excellent shape, recently regripped in midsize, got 'em for $45 each.  X2Hot and other FW models also had a wide spread of high-lofts.

Cobra offers the F7 model, featuring adjustable 3-4W, 5-6W and 7-8W.

Edited August 19, 2017 by WUTiger

[StefanUrkel]

Iron numbers are meaningless nowadays. Game improvement 6 irons(mid 20 degrees) are basically rocket launchers

[onthehunt526]

2 hours ago, StefanUrkel said:

Iron numbers are meaningless nowadays. Game improvement 6 irons(mid 20 degrees) are basically rocket launchers

On that note, some are that low... I think the Taylormade M2 (both year's models) was a solid 25° for a "6-iron". Most GI and SGI models hover around 27 or 28 degrees for the 6-iron these days.

I get some of it, the only issue I have with it, is the scoring irons have slightly bigger gaps.

In GI models the 3-iron is mostly on life support, in SGI models it's dead, it's still holding in "fair condition" in player's models, though a lot of pros prefer a hybrid or 5-wood in that spot.

[WUTiger]

18 hours ago, onthehunt526 said:

In GI models the 3-iron is mostly on life support, in SGI models it's dead, it's still holding in "fair condition" in player's models, though a lot of pros prefer a hybrid or 5-wood in that spot.

I took a look at Shane's Equipment List. Violation!!! It looks like you've gone from Sweet 16 to Sweet 26.

Just wanted you to be aware you can only carry 14 clubs in tournaments. 

[onthehunt526]

16 minutes ago, WUTiger said:

I took a look at Shane's Equipment List. Violation!!! It looks like you've gone from Sweet 16 to Sweet 26.

Just wanted you to be aware you can only carry 14 clubs in tournaments. 

I know rule 4-4 very well... If you count my 9 putters it would be a sweet 34, lol. 

 

[StefanUrkel]

Has a 2 iron ever been part of an iron set? I'm trying to think of the last 1 or 2 iron that was popular anyways. Probably a ping or Titleist

[ladders11]

As a kid I used to carry Driver, 3-wood, 5-wood, and 7-wood. People did this all the time. Since this was the 90s and we were hauling used sticks, those "fairway woods" looked like this:

Now people carry Driver, 3-wood, and then "hybrids" like this:

What used to be considered a wood is now considered a hybrid.

I still carry a 4-iron because my poor shots are usually controlled and short, whereas my hybrid is more consistent with distance but can have a great wide dispersion. I dislike being on the side of the green due to hooking my hybrid, but don't mind being short in the fairway from a poor 4-iron.

[scotth]

9 hours ago, StefanUrkel said:

Has a 2 iron ever been part of an iron set? I'm trying to think of the last 1 or 2 iron that was popular anyways. Probably a ping or Titleist

My Cobra's that I play with and purchased in 1995 came with a 2 iron.  Back then as I recall most of the sets came 2-PW.

After about a year pulled the 2 iron in favor of the 7 wood that I still carry.  

 

[Hacker James]

11 hours ago, ladders11 said:

As a kid I used to carry Driver, 3-wood, 5-wood, and 7-wood. People did this all the time. Since this was the 90s and we were hauling used sticks, those "fairway woods" looked like this:

Now people carry Driver, 3-wood, and then "hybrids" like this:

What used to be considered a wood is now considered a hybrid.

I still carry a 4-iron because my poor shots are usually controlled and short, whereas my hybrid is more consistent with distance but can have a great wide dispersion. I dislike being on the side of the green due to hooking my hybrid, but don't mind being short in the fairway from a poor 4-iron.

Interesting comparison. Many of the hybrids have a distinguishable shape something like a long potatoe but some are difficult to distinguish from a fairway wood. One example is the Bobby Jones Black. I have one of the 21 degree hybrids and it looks no different than  a 5 FW in terms of shape. So, I really do not know what constitutes a hybrid anymore. Shorter shaft, lowered COG, cup or miraged face, perhaps. 

[1badbadger]

14 hours ago, StefanUrkel said:

Has a 2 iron ever been part of an iron set? I'm trying to think of the last 1 or 2 iron that was popular anyways. Probably a ping or Titleist

Absolutely.  It used to be very common for iron sets to come 2-PW.  Sometimes, they even came like this: