Equipment

The most popular design trend in irons you’re just noticing now

Published

4 years ago

Aug 20, 2020

When it comes to being a golf equipment junkie, irons have always been the most fascinating clubs to me. They are designed cohesively from top to bottom and vary greatly in aesthetics from set to set—more so than any other club in the bag beyond a putter.

What also makes irons appealing, is—if you feel so inclined—you can use a set from 30 years ago and play golf without noticing a huge drop off in performance—depending on the style of clubs of course. Any modern game improvement irons with lighter weight, higher-launching shafts, and fast faces are going to go further, fly higher, land softer, and offer better performance on mishit shots thanks to technology—but as many golfers have proven, you don’t need technology to enjoy the game.

So where does this leave us with modern iron design?

It used to be that when picking a set of irons you had to make the choice between game improvement or blades. There were few options in the middle, and those options that existed still trended strongly towards one or the other.

Then came along “combo sets”—and we have covered them in the past (Greatest forged combo sets of all time)—beyond a few exceptions these were configured from the manufacturer with little wiggle room for swapping out clubheads for performance. But a few years ago, that started to change for the better, and we are seeing a modern revolution in the way irons are designed from OEMs.

The modernization of iron families

This is where custom fitting, as well as “big data,” is helping OEMs change the way they think about iron design and building a perfect set for every golfer.

If we go back, some of the earliest examples are the 2011 TaylorMade Tour Preferred line that featured blades, muscle cavity irons, and large CB’s, which could be interchanged quite easily—although the CB irons were noticeably larger than the other two clubs.

Another example from that era were the Mizuno MP-63 and MP-53 irons, which looked very similar from an overall design perspective, but the MP-53 offered more forgiveness thanks to a wider sole and undercut cavity. The sets were released simultaneously and could be custom ordered as a combo set.

Past examples can be found from almost every OEM, but now more than ever, we are in the golden age of optimization and club fitting. With the help of new manufacturing technologies that allow engineers to produce smaller clubs with faster faces and higher MOI, we are seeing entire lines of irons being released together in the hope of providing every golfer with the opportunity to get everything they can out of a set of irons. The most recent examples being the TaylorMade P700 Series and the Mizuno JPX 921.

Other examples include

Titleist T-Series

PXG’s Gen3

Srixon Z-Series

Honorable mentions go to Cobra for its Forged Tec irons that blend into longer irons as well as Ping’s i500—which although not a perfect “looks” match to other Ping irons, has become a mainstay for a number of players looking to maximize long iron performance.

Where this leaves you

When looking for your next set irons, think less about matching and more about maximizing.

Thanks to club designers who have put endless hours into sculpting each edge and radius on iron heads in CAD and master shapers that put on the finishing touches, you can mix and match to your heart’s content and still have a set of clubs that matches perfectly behind the ball—becuase that’s where it matters the most.

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Whats in the Bag

Kris Kim WITB 2024 (May)

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Kris Kim what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. More photos from the event here.

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

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Equipment

Welcome to the family: TaylorMade launches PUDI and PDHY utility irons

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.

TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.

TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.

Can you see where this is going?

Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”

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TaylorMade PUDI

TaylorMade PUDI technology cutaway (via TaylorMade)

Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.

In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.

TaylorMade PDHY

TaylorMade PDHY tech cutaway (via TaylorMade).

Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.

Club Junkie’s take

Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.

For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.

PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?

TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:

PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family

Pricing, specs, and availability

Price: $249.99

At retail: Now

Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)

Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)

PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed

PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Gianni Magliocco

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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