Opinion & Analysis
The death of the 3-iron and what it means for your bag setup
The 3-iron is almost extinct. It sounds like an odd statement, but it’s very true. Don’t believe me? Go try and buy one in a set. They are not easily found.
As we evaluate this topic, I’ll refrain from specs from “players” clubs as these are not the irons normally purchased. Yeah, it might skew the data, but even the players capable of playing the long irons are opting out of the 3 iron. And let’s be honest, should any of us be playing a blade 3-iron?
Mizuno only offers 4-PW in the JPX line now. Titleist only offers a 3-iron in T100s, while the rest are void of 3-irons. TaylorMade provides 4-PW in the P790, P790Ti, and P770. Callaway has done the same, only offering a 3-iron in the “players line” of clubs, while the rest is again void of the-iron. Cobra golf has also followed suit.
So are 3-irons just too hard to hit? Is that why no one is buying them, thus causing the OEMs to stop making them? The only ones left to buy are the “players” 3 irons, and those aren’t even reasonable unless you’re a professional.
What if I told you we were being deceived? What if I told you the 3-iron is still very much alive in all the iron sets available but under the guise of a different number?
Let’s hop into the “wayback machine” and take a quick look at the history of iron lofts.
The year is 1970, and the vast majority of irons available are blades. You know, the razor-sharp leading edges that are ready to break your wrist with a deep divot.
The image above is an actual snippet from a catalog from the ’70s. At this point, the 1-iron was virtually extinct, and in 1975, Lee Trevino was immortalized by his joke about how God couldn’t hit a 1-iron, which typically fell in the 18-degree range at the time. 2-irons were standard issue in the set, and the lowest loft you might find is 20 degrees.
Then the ’80s came, and things started to progress. As you might expect, lofts started to decrease. It wasn’t because of flight windows, or launch numbers, because they didn’t have that kind of technology readily available to measure those attributes. It was simply a quest for distance.
Then in the ’90s, you’d pretty much see all iron sets with 21-degree 3-irons, down to 48-degree PW’s, and 21 degrees being the norm for the lowest lofted 3-iron. 2-irons at this time were typically 18 degrees and available by request only.
Then came the 2000’s, an era we all should be familiar with. This is where things started to get interesting. Not only because lofts continued to be strengthened, but because the hybrid became a new option to replace the long irons. Adams Golf made a killing as it perfected this golf club, creating the Idea line that was in the bags of most of the senior tour players and many of the PGA Tour players. These were a fan favorite at retail too. The hybrid was an easy long iron to hit and quickly started to replace 3-irons in golf bags across the country and even on tour.
By this time the pitching wedge lofts started to get pushed to 46 degrees, which was a big jump, to be honest. In the 1970s, MacGregor was making pitching wedges with 49 degrees of loft. So, for the 90’s to be around 48 degrees, it wasn’t too much of a shock. But in the 2000s, we now saw PW’s drop to 46 degrees; a half club stronger. This is where the downfall began, in my opinion.
The first decade of the 21st century needed the gap wedge, also known as the approach wedge or utility wedge or just plain old “wedge.” Now, keep in mind, this club wasn’t anything new. The gap wedge existed ever since the beginning because at 50-52 degrees it was simply a pitching wedge from the ’70s. But it became a necessary element for the bag since the lofts of every iron were starting to move farther and farther away from the sand wedge.
Now in 2020, the average loft of the PW is 43.5 degrees, and the average 4-iron loft is 20.6 degrees. Turns out, the 4-iron from 2020 is .3 degrees stronger than the average 2-iron (20.9 degrees) from 1970. We have come full circle! Instead of maintaining those classic numbers, of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, PW, the new sets are labeled 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, P, G.
I wonder how many golfers out there carry a 4-iron thinking it’s a club they can hit? Probably too many! Obviously, the 3-iron is dead at this point, since it would actually carry the loft of the elusive 1-iron Trevino claimed was unhittable!
Now, it’s time to discuss how we got to this point. You’ll hear a lot of companies talk about “flight windows” or “launch angles” and how it was changed by engineering, lowering CG’s, and increasing speed through thin faces. Some will talk about how the ball has changed, and it just launches higher, and it requires the lofts to be strengthened, or it will just go too high!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that is all a bunch of baloney, and here is why: They started making gap wedges as part of the set. If the launch was too high or the window was too different, why make a matching gap wedge with the same technology and have the loft of a pitching wedge from the 1990s? Wouldn’t that launch or window then be too high for that club too? And yet you still need to buy another gap wedge to fit the 52-degree range. If the average golfer bought a 2020 game improvement set today, they would find the set make up to be 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, PW (43.5 degrees), Gap #1 (48.6 degrees), Gap #2 (52 degrees). That means if you happen to carry a 56 and a 60 degree, you now have the same amount of label wedges (5) as you do irons (5)!
Five wedges in the bag! Does anyone think this is weird?
Furthermore, when was a higher launching iron shot a bad thing? Wouldn’t average golfers benefit from a steeper angle of descent so the golf ball stops quicker on the green?
I conducted a study where I tested a Titleist 716 MB 8-iron with 39 degrees of loft to a TaylorMade P790 9-iron with 40 degrees of loft. All the data was captured on the Foresight GC2 launch monitor. It wasn’t a perfect test since they didn’t have the same shaft or loft, but my findings were surprising none the less. They went the same distance, almost down to the decimal. The Titleist went 165.2 yards, and the TaylorMade went 165.1 yards. Launch was only .6 degrees different while peak height was less than four feet different. So, unless you are Tiger Woods, you are not noticing a difference out on the golf course.
Some of you might think, “so, the label on the bottom of the club changed, it’s all going the same distance. So, what’s the big deal?” To me, it’s the confusion it creates more than anything. By decreasing the lofts, you’re just making the numbered iron go farther, and you are creating even bigger problems by having large gaps with the sand wedge when all amateurs need those clubs. It’s also putting clubs into the hands of golfers when they have no business hitting, like the 4-iron with 20 degrees of loft. Titleist has already made a T400 5-iron with 20 degrees of loft, and that’s just silly.
There also is the argument that golfers love distance, and when they start playing and can hit a 7-iron relatively far, it helps grow the game. Growing the game isn’t a bad thing, but if they are new to the game, they shouldn’t have any preconceived notions of how far to hit a 7-iron, and that means loft at that point becomes irrelevant.
I will not refute that a 40-degree lofted game improvement iron will be slightly longer than an identical lofted players club, but I think you’d be surprised to see the actual difference is a maximum of about three yards longer. The technology works, but by no means is it so substantial that we need to change the label on the bottom of the golf club.
The bottom line is that loft is king, regardless of the technology involved, and I have seen, but one equipment company make a change backwards! This is TaylorMade with their P770 irons. In comparison the P790, they increased the loft by one degree in the short irons and up to two degrees in the long irons, to add height and spin to the irons to improve performance. Imagine that, more spin and height are an advantage! And that was backed by their testing and their data.
Now to even further nail down my point, it is worth noting that TaylorMade Golf offers the highest lofted Pitching Wedge in the industry at 49 degree, which are in the Tiger lofts of the P7TW irons. That same iron set has a 22.5-degree 3-iron. At 22.5 degrees, it is typically the lowest-lofted iron in the golf bag of the best iron player on the PGA Tour in 2019. Of course, he has the skill to play an iron with lower loft, but the point that history reveals to us is that the effective loft of playability for an iron is about 22 degrees and higher. Anything lower lofted than that is typically replaced with a hybrid. This is not just a trend for the amateur golfer either, and it is even happening on tour with the best players in the world.
We will probably never see the lofts rolled back, but the least we can do is update Lee Trevino’s quote, “if you ever find yourself in a thunderstorm, lift up your 4-iron, because not even God can hit a 4-iron.”
Opinion & Analysis
Brandel Chamblee PGA Championship Q&A: Rose’s huge McLaren risk, distracted LIV pros and why Aronimink suits the bombers
PGA Championship week is here, and Brandel Chamblee did not hold back in our latest discussion ahead of the season’s second major.
In our 2026 PGA Championship Q&A, golf’s leading analyst made the case that PIF pulling LIV’s funding has left its players competing in a state of confusion, called Justin Rose’s mid-season equipment switch a huge risk at 45, and explained why Aronimink will be a bombers’ delight this week.
Check out the full Q&A below.
Gianni: With the PIF confirming that they’re pulling funding from LIV at the end of the season, what impact do you expect that to have on the LIV players competing at the PGA Championship?
Brandel: I would imagine that they have all been thrown into a state of confusion, and will be distracted, not knowing where they are going to play next year and not knowing exactly their road back to either the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour. Or in Rahm’s case, being tied to a sinking ship for the next few years, likely playing for pennies on the dollar in events that no one cares about or watches.
I doubt this would put him in the best frame of mind to compete at his highest level. Keeping in mind, however, that majors are the only time that LIV disciples get to play in events that matter, so never disregard the motivation they have to prove to the world they are still relevant.
Gianni: Justin Rose switched to McLaren Golf equipment mid-season while playing some of the best golf of his career. What do you make of the change?
Brandel: I don’t really know what to make of Rose switching equipment. It seems a huge risk on his part, even though it is likely, in my opinion, that the clubs he’s playing are similar, if not the exact grinds, to what he was playing previously, with a McLaren stamp on them.
Having said that, at best, it is a distraction when he seemed to be as dialed in with his game as any 45-year-old could be and trending in the majors to perhaps do something that would definitely put him in the Hall of Fame. At worst, given the possibility that these clubs aren’t just duplicates of his old set stamped with McLaren on them, he’s made an equipment change that would take time, and 45-year-old athletes don’t have the time to do such things.
Gianni: Aronimink has only hosted a handful of professional events since it hosted the 1962 PGA Championship. What kind of test does it present, and does a course with less recent major championship history tend to level the playing field?
Brandel: Even though Aronimink has only hosted a handful of meaningful professional events, it has been fairly discerning in who can win there. When Keegan Bradley won the BMW Championship on the Donald Ross masterpiece in 2018, he was the 2nd best iron player on tour coming into that week. When Nick Watney won the AT&T at Aronimink in 2011, he was 2nd in strokes gained total coming into the week.
In 2020, Aronimink hosted the KPMG Championship, and Sei Young Kim won. On the LPGA that year, she was first in greens in regulation, putts per green in regulation, and scoring average on the way to being the LPGA player of the year. And then there is the 1962 PGA Championship won by Gary Player, who eventually became just one of a few players to win the career grand slam on the way to winning 9 majors. It is a formidable test, and if it’s not softened by rain, it will bring out the best in the upper echelons of the game.
Gianni: Is there a specific hole at Aronimink that you think will do the most to decide the winner?
Brandel: The hardest hole at Aronimink in each of the three tour events that have been played there since 2010 has been the long par-3 8th hole, with the par-4 10th being the second hardest, so most of the carnage will happen around the turn, but with the par-5 16th offering opportunities for bold plays and the tough closing holes at 17 and 18, the finish is likely to be frenetic.
Gianni: The PGA Championship has always sat in the shadow of the other majors. What does the ideal PGA Championship look like in your eyes, and what would it take for it to carve out its own identity?
Brandel: The PGA Championship, to whatever degree it suffers from the comparison to the other three majors, is still counted just as much when adding them up at the end of one’s career. Almost 1/3 of Nicklaus’ major wins were the five PGA Championships he won. Walter Hagen won 11 majors, five of which were PGA Championships.
Tiger Woods twice in his career won back-to-back PGA Championships, and those four majors count just as much as the other 11 he won. The PGA may not have the prestige of the other three, but it carries the same weight. Having said that, I preferred the identity that it had as the last major of the year.
Gianni: You nailed your Masters picks. Rory won, Scottie finished solo second, and Morikawa surged to a tie for seventh. Who are your top 3 picks for the PGA Championship and why?
Brandel: I am not a huge fan of majors played on golf courses that have been shorn of most of the trees, although I understand some of the agronomic reasons for doing so and of course the ease with which it allows members to play after errant drives. However, at the highest level, it all but eliminates any strategy off the tee and turns professional golf into an even bigger slugfest. That means that it will likely be a bomber’s delight this week, but fortunately, Scottie Scheffler is long enough to play that game and straight enough to play it better than anyone else.
The major championships give us very few surprises anymore, going back to the beginning of 2012, so the last 57 majors played, the average world rank of the winners has been better than 15th in the world. So look at the highest ranked and longest drivers who are on form coming into the PGA Championship who also have great short games as the surrounds at Aronimink are very challenging. That’s Scottie Scheffler by a mile and then McIlroy and Cameron Young with a far bigger nod towards DeChambeau than I gave him at the Masters.
In this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, we dive into one of the most interesting flatstick releases of the year with a full review of the new TaylorMade SYSTM 2 putters. After spending time on the greens, I break down what makes this design stand out, where it performs, and why it has me completely torn between loving it and fighting it. If you are into feel, alignment, and consistency, this is one you will want to hear about.
We also take a look at some of the putters in play on the PGA Tour last week. From familiar favorites to a few surprising setups, there is always something to learn from what the best players in the world are rolling with under pressure.
To wrap things up, I walk through the process of building a set of JP Golf Prime irons paired with Baddazz Gold Series shafts. From component selection to performance goals, this is a deep dive into what goes into creating a unique custom set and why this combo has been so intriguing.
This year my 50th birthday. Gosh, where has the time gone?
As a teenager in rural Missouri, some of my junior high and high school years felt interminable. Graduation seemed light years away. But the older I get, the faster life seems to fly by.
I’m also increasingly aware of my mortality. My dad died recently. Earlier this year, a friend and fellow PGA of America professional and I were texting about our next catch-up. The next message I received was news of his unexpected passing at 48. Shortly after, a woman I dated in college succumbed to cancer at 51.
Certainly, one can share perspective at any age. Seniors help freshmen, veterans guide rookies. But reaching this milestone feels like as good a time as any to do one of those “what would I tell my younger self?” articles.
I’ve had a uniquely varied career in golf. I started as a 27-year-old, average-length-hitting, 14-handicap computer engineer and somehow managed to turn pro before running out of money, constantly bootstrapping my way forward. I’ve won qualifiers and set venue records in the World Long Drive Championships, finished fifth at the Speedgolf World Championships, coached all skill levels as a PGA of America professional, built industry-leading swing speed training programs for Swing Man Golf, helped advance the single-length iron market with Sterling Irons®, caddied on the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions, and played about 300 courses across 32 countries.
It’s been a ride, and I’ve gone both deep and wide.
So while I can consult and advise from a lot of angles, let me keep it to a few things I’d tell the average golfer who wants to improve.
1. Think About What You Want
Everyone has their own reason for picking up a golf club.
Oddly, as a professional athlete, I’m not internally driven by competition. That can be challenging, as the industry currently prioritizes and incentivizes competition over the love of the game.
For me, I love walking and being outdoors. Nature helps balance my energy. I prefer courses that are integrated into the natural beauty of their surroundings. I’m comfortable practicing alone. I’m a deep thinker, and I genuinely enjoy investigating the game, using data and intuition to unearth unique, often innovative insights. I’m fortunate to be strong and athletic, so I appreciate the chance to engage with my abilities. Traveling feels adventurous. I could go on.
You don’t have to overthink it like I do. For you, it might be as simple as hitting balls to escape work, hanging out with friends, and playing loosely with the rules and the score.
The point is to give yourself permission to play for your own reasons, and let that be enough.
But if improvement is your goal, thinking about your destination—and when you want to get there—is important, because it dictates the steps you need to take. When I set out to go from a 14-handicap to the PGA TOUR as quickly as possible, the steps I needed were very different from those of a working golfer trying to break 90 in six months. That’s also different from someone who just wants a few peaceful hours outside each week, away from work or family.
None of these goals are better than the others, but each requires a different plan that you can work backward from.
2. There Are Lots of Things That Can Work
One of the challenges of golf is that, although there are rules for playing, there aren’t clear, industry-wide standards for how to best play the game. There’s a lot of gray area.
You might hear a top coach or trainer insist that a certain move is the best way to swing or train. Then you dig a bit deeper and, much to your confusion and frustration, another respected coach or trainer says something completely different. I don’t think anyone is trying to confuse you—at least I hope not. It’s just where the industry is right now.
You have to be careful with advice from tournament pros, too. They might be great at scoring, but they’re also human and sometimes just as susceptible as amateurs to believing things that don’t really move the needle. Tour players might describe what they feel, but that’s not always what they’re actually doing when assessed with technology.
I recently ran a test on my YouTube channel (which connects to my GolfWRX article “How to use your hands in the golf swing for power and accuracy”), and, interestingly, two of the most commonly taught hand actions produced the worst results in the test.
Coaches can certainly help. If you find someone you connect with to help navigate, that’s great. But there are many ways to get the ball in the hole. In the current landscape, you may need to seek multiple opinions, think critically, and use your own intuition to discern what seems true and whose advice resonates with you.
I’d recommend seeking someone who is open-minded and always learning, because things constantly change. Absolutes like “correct” or “proper” should raise a red flag. AI can be useful, but it tends to confidently repeat popular advice, so proceed with caution.
3. Get Custom Fit
If you’re serious about becoming a better player, getting custom fit is hugely important. There’s no sense fighting your equipment if you don’t have to. Most better players get fit these days and, if they don’t, they’re usually skilled enough to work around clubs that aren’t ideal.
If you plan to play for a long time, it’s worth spending a little more upfront to get something that truly fits you and your game, rather than continually buying and discarding equipment.
Equipment rules haven’t really changed significantly since the early 2000s. To stay in business, manufacturers keep pushing those limits. If you pull a bunch of clubs and balls off the rack and test them, you’ll find differences. I’ve tested two new drivers and seen a 30-yard total distance gap. Usually, the issue isn’t bad equipment; it’s that the combination of components simply isn’t the best fit.
It’s like wearing a new pair of floppy clown shoes. Sure, they’re shoes—but you won’t sprint your best in them compared to track shoes that fit perfectly.
Be wary of what’s called custom fitting, too. Sometimes the term is used as a marketing strategy rather than an actual fitting. In some retail settings, fitters may be incentivized to steer you toward higher-priced components. That doesn’t automatically mean it’s not the best fit, but you should be aware of potential biases.
I learned a version of this lesson outside of golf. Years ago, I bought a tennis racquet at a big box store from a seemingly knowledgeable employee who thought it would suit me best. The racquet gave me tennis elbow, and I spent months recovering with rest and acupuncture. The next season, I invested more time and money to find what actually fit me, and I walked away with something amazing that I still play with years later.
So if you’re going to get fit, be smart about it.
Find someone you believe has deep knowledge—possibly with certifications, but not necessarily. Make sure there’s a wide inventory across many brands. Check recent reviews for the individual fitter if possible. Make sure you trust that the fitter has your best interests at heart. If they’re wearing a hat or shirt with a specific brand’s logo, proceed with caution. Unless you specifically want a certain brand or look, be wary of upsells, especially if two options perform nearly the same.
Also, while golf is called a sport of integrity, there’s a thread of manipulation in the industry. I once drafted an equipment article for an industry magazine, structured just like one of their previous popular stories, with matching word count and great photos. The assistant editor loved it; it was useful to readers and required little work on his part. But the editor-in-chief nixed the story. When I asked why, I was told it was because I wasn’t an advertiser. It turned out the article I’d modeled mine after was a paid ad cleverly disguised as editorial content.
I really dislike games, clickbait, and fear-based manipulation. I hope this changes, but golfers deserve to know it exists.
4. Distance and Strategy Matter
There’s a real relationship between how far you hit the ball and your scoring average, even at the PGA TOUR level.
I experienced this early in my pro career. I started as a power hitter, swinging in the high 120s and breaking 200 mph ball speed with a stock driver.
Back then, some instructors advised swinging at 80%, so I tried slowing down for more accuracy. That worked fine on shorter, tighter courses. But on longer setups, I was coming into greens with too much club, and par 5s stopped being
RBC Heritage Tour Report: More minis, course-specific setups, Spider & GTS launches
Justin Rose WITB 2026 (April): Full WITB breakdown with new McLaren irons
Best fairway woods of 2026: The most versatile fairway woods + the most forgiving fairway woods
What’s the story behind Webb Simpson’s custom-stamped irons?
Cadillac Championship Tour Report: Spieth’s sizable changes, McLaren Golf launches, and more
The 24 players who can win the Masters
Rory McIlroy’s winning WITB: 2026 Masters
Kristoffer Reitan’s winning WITB: 2026 Truist Championship
J.J. Spaun’s winning WITB: 2026 Valero Texas Open
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2026 Cadillac Championship
Alex Fitzpatrick WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus...
Kristoffer Reitan’s winning WITB: 2026 Truist Championship
Driver: Ping G440 Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft:...
WITB Time Machine: Rory McIlroy’s winning WITB, 2021 Truist Championship
Rory McIlroy’s victory at the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship 2021 (now the Truist Championship) marked a significant return to form,...
Collin Morikawa WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (8 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Tour (14 degrees) Shaft:...
-
Equipment2 weeks agoJustin Rose WITB 2026 (April): Full WITB breakdown with new McLaren irons
-
Equipment1 week agoWhat’s the story behind Webb Simpson’s custom-stamped irons?
-
Equipment2 weeks agoCadillac Championship Tour Report: Spieth’s sizable changes, McLaren Golf launches, and more
-
Whats in the Bag3 days ago
Kristoffer Reitan’s winning WITB: 2026 Truist Championship
-
Whats in the Bag1 week agoCameron Young’s winning WITB: 2026 Cadillac Championship
-
Whats in the Bag3 weeks agoNelly Korda WITB 2026 (April)
-
Equipment2 weeks agoJustin Rose on the switch to McLaren Golf, learnings from previous equipment moves
-
Tour Photo Galleries2 weeks agoPhotos from the 2026 Cadillac Championship
HfJeff
Feb 23, 2023 at 2:10 pm
I am a below average golfer and love the 3 iron. Not getting into the weeds of angles and loft and shifting weight, I hit it straighter and further than hybrids on the long fairway shots. I know it is a matter of practice makes perfect, but this old Dunlop 3 iron is coming along for the ride if I get a new set.
Kevin
Feb 9, 2022 at 1:01 am
What does it all matter.Just use the club that goes the required distance no matter what the number on the bottom of the club says.It seems that most club makers are selling to your ego .
Pingback: The 7 Best Golf Irons For High Handicappers In 2021 - DunedinGolf
Pingback: 2 Hybrid Vs 4 Wood – Which Club Is Better To Carry? - (MUST READ Before You Buy)
Todd
Apr 15, 2021 at 4:56 am
Best thing I’ve read in awhile. I’ve been trying to tell people this when we stand on a par 3 and I grab my Ping Eye 2 5-iron and they are pulling 7 and looking at me funny. People just don’t get it. This quest for “who can hit their irons the longest” is beyond silly. After driver (and arguably 3-wood, to reach long par 5’s in two), it’s distance CONTROL that is most important. If I need the ball to travel 165 yards to the pin, I don’t care if it says 6,7,8,9 or elephant on the bottom. It’s whatever implement gets the job done. If I knock my “6” iron stiff, and your “8” iron (which is the same club as my 6 with a different number stamped on the bottom), and you blow it over the green or sideways, what good did that do you?
TW
Mar 4, 2021 at 5:59 pm
I think they need to stop making sets in numbers. An ideal set for me would be driver, 3 wood at 14 degrees, 5 wood at 18 degrees. Then irons spaced out in 5 degree gaps, 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60.. Putter to finish! I think that is 13 clubs but who cares, lighter for the caddy! It would remove ego as golfers would accept that some use the 40 degree iron to reach that 150 whereas some use the 35 or 30 iron! If golfers wanted to stop their set with the longest iron being 25 or 30 thats fine they can adopt a 25 degree fairway wood/hybrid! no marketing & no ego, simple really!
AMG PUMA
Feb 15, 2021 at 7:08 pm
A cavity back or whatever head shape golf club set with PW or GW stamped in the sole wont ever be a wedge. A wedge club has its own design.
HKO
Feb 13, 2021 at 1:44 am
almost the best article on WRX ’til the P770 part. why’d you ruin such good one with a silly shill at the end?
Mo
Feb 2, 2021 at 12:12 pm
@Taylormade for shame 42* pw? 18* 4i iron?
Utter joke
Rick
Feb 3, 2021 at 10:39 am
Sorry that club died 10 years ago
Tony Wright
Feb 1, 2021 at 7:40 am
Great article thanks!
Shallowface
Jan 31, 2021 at 2:15 pm
Perhaps it is time we did away with the terms woods, hybrids, and irons, and just referred to everything as a “club.” Driving club. 2 club, 13 degrees. 3 club 15 degrees. 4 club 18 degrees, whether wood, hybrid or iron. 5 club, 21 degrees, which is where some current 5 irons are starting to fall, and so on until you get to the wedges.
Benjamin Hendricks
Jan 31, 2021 at 9:04 am
I hit long irons well and have the speed to use them. My current 4 iron is 1* weak of standard at 23* and it goes as far as my 2 iron did in the 90’s. It at times is tough to stop on greens because the ball we play doesn’t spin as much on longer shots AND greens have gotten firmer and faster in the last 20 years. I used to hit 2 iron into greens and not worry about stopping the ball (balata days). Really the issue is #1 the ball doesn’t spin enough on long iron shots #2 greens are firmer and faster than ever and a WAY distant #3 is the clubs themselves. the reason good players are ditching long irons are #1 and #2, not the clubs themselves. irons are more accurate for high speed/high spin players usually, a hybrid or high lofted wood is only necessary because of the ball and conditions. We are being forced to stop the ball with height/angle of descent more and more every year.
Chris
Mar 12, 2021 at 5:05 pm
Your 4 iron is weak of standard. What standard is that? There your issue. There is NO standard in golf. It’s the worst used word ever.
iLovett
Jan 29, 2021 at 6:19 am
Also, that quote wasn’t about a 4 iron
iLovett
Jan 29, 2021 at 6:17 am
That’s weird, I have a new Taylormade P770 3 iron… it’s 19.5 degrees stock.
With the post-modern lofts it’s arguable that at 20-22 degree 4 irons are actually high launching 3 irons that stop. If you have speed and want some roll, you need a low spin 2 iron these days
James
Jan 26, 2021 at 6:04 pm
I absolutely love my Mavrik Pro 21 degree loft 4 Iron. Absolute go-to fairway finder. Way easier to hit and launch than older gear.
Bud
Jan 25, 2021 at 3:47 pm
Thank you for doing this article. I get tired of golf club sales people trying to compare my Ping eye2 + to there modern 7iron and telling me I hit theirs further.
Beeno
Jan 25, 2021 at 4:52 am
A few points as a counter argument:
1. You are still limited to 14 clubs in your bag and except for the driver and putter, the rest of the clubs need to travel an exact distance every time and all the time. The only thing the driver needs to do is travel as far as possible and land in a good spot for a second shot.
2. You mention most clubs sold in the 70’s were MB blades. The lofts on blades have not changed much even for today’s modern blades. These clubs are meant for good ball strikers and the reason elite golfers prefer to play them is distance and direction control. (There might be other reasons)
3. Your so called loft jacked clubs (GI and SGI) are meant for mid to high handicap players that need help with distance and elevation. If all these modern clubs with higher MOI and lower CG still had traditional lofts, the ball would go nowhere and too high for a slow swinging high handicap player and an elite player will struggle to get consistent yardages.
4. If you removed the numbers on all the irons and just added degrees of loft, your set make-up will still look the same as you are only allowed 14 clubs. Depending on your skill level, the type of club will obviously perform different for different types of players.
5. Because elite golfers are murdering golf courses, today’s courses are playing much longer for the average golfer. The modern golf ball can be blamed for this. The modern golf ball is designed for elite players with high swing speeds.
6. I’m sure if you have a bit of talent, put in the time to practice and hone your skills, get properly fit for your clubs and get lessons so someone can keep you in check, you will be able to hit any club produced (even a 1970’s 2-iron). Unfortunately we live in an era where we want things easily and we want it now and we don’t care about the cost to get it.
Shallowface
Jan 31, 2021 at 2:08 pm
The thing is, CGs are not lower today than they were several years ago. Check out the MPF measurements on The Golfworks website. Regardless of whether or not you agree with how they weigh the various factors to compe up with a points rating, the actual physical measurements of the clubheads DO NOT LIE.
Euan Hardman
Jan 22, 2021 at 11:20 am
Basically, what this excellent article is saying is that all the irons should have been re-stamped 2 numbers lower. The PW is actually an 8 iron and we have to buy a 48 AW (9 iron) and 52 GW (PW) to fill the gap.
Now I know why I have trouble with my 4 (2!) iron.
ChipNRun
Jan 18, 2021 at 7:30 pm
I carry a 22* CB Pro Tungsten set 4i (hollow head) refitted w/ a hybrid shaft. It’s a driving iron now, and gives a low fairly hot draw – one club that flies low when needed.
Kevin Ricciardelli
Jan 18, 2021 at 7:20 pm
The clubs could not be “jack-up” if the ball didn’t fly higher. Balata balls from the 70’s back, simply flew lower. Blade clubs flew lower due to higher COG. The lofts are stronger because they can still be playable. Look at the 3 iron lofts available from Ping. Standard, Power and Retro.
Karaten’s Ghost
Jan 18, 2021 at 4:17 pm
Everyone talks about loft-up like distances aren’t different.
Why does no one address that the ball goes further today all on its own? Test some of the jacked lofts with balata, and you may realise this isn’t just marketing.
Also, there’s more margin on a $300 hybrid than a $130 iron.
Cody Reeder
Jan 18, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Well written Weston,
Thanks!
Mark Paschal
Jan 18, 2021 at 7:00 am
This article ignores the other changes that go along with modern clubs that allow for higher launch angles and steeper descent angles. If you really just changed the numbers on 70’s clubs you would have much lower ball flight, less forgiveness, less solid contact due to the longer shafts. There is much more to an iron than loft, and comparing irons from different manufacturers with similar lofts doesn’t render the other variables moot. This was an enjoyable read but definitely from the “equipment hasn’t improved” camp.
Weston Maughan
Jan 19, 2021 at 11:33 am
I would probably need to write another 2 or 3 articles to cover all the aspects, but to say I’m from the camp that golf clubs haven’t improved is a stretch. It wasn’t an article discussing forgiveness of iron design, which we both know countless studies confirm low CG and perimeter weighting has become better each year.
Take into account all the other changes… golf ball, improvement of irons designs, low CG’s and shaft lengths increasing… regardless of all the factors you throw at it, every golf club since the inception of the game has had a loft between 8° and 62° and you can call them what ever you want, but you still need them in a consistent gapping.
Lastly, the rational of needing to preserve flights and trajectories appears to be a logical discussion. But how has this necessary change never touched the sand wedge. It’s some how avoided the changes all together and sits at 56°. If the preservation of flight due to ball changes and club design are true, we would need to have 50° sand wedges by now. Thoughts?
Ken
Jan 26, 2021 at 5:25 pm
Weston, you are spot on. I had two sets of irons, CDI 990 and JPZ-EZ identical lofts through the set just different numbers on the sole. I hit them the same distances even though one was an all steel players cavity and the other had plutonium embedded somewhere. Anyway truth be told the old clubs flew straighter because the lower MOI made them easier to square up at impact. Resistance to twisting at impact also means resistance to squaring up at impact. That’s why even pros don’t like to turn over their current drivers and use a 3 wood for that instead.
An additional issue with new clubs, an amateur does an online club fitting and they are asked how far they hit their 7 iron and they respond with the yardage their current 7-iron, which was a 5 iron at the time the fitting algorithm was created and they wind up with a shaft flex that is too stiff.
gregory aziz
Jan 17, 2021 at 9:04 pm
Well researched and enjoyable article but the author omitted the BEN HOGAN FORT WORTH 15 model,
which addressed this weighty subject of loft strengthening in 2015.
I am on my 2nd set and have not looked back.
Al Fiscus
Jan 25, 2021 at 9:42 am
Exactly- still on my first !! The undiscovered blessing of sets with 44 degree PW’s is that we GET TO fill in the 48 & 52, hopefully matching our 56 & 60.. Blades are far superior in ALL 4 of the upper lofts.. SCOR proved that, & they’re still in my bag..
Roy
Jan 17, 2021 at 9:00 pm
Best article on WRX in a long time – thanks!
Jake DeJong
Jan 18, 2021 at 10:07 am
Agreed. Thoroughly researched and well written.
Anyone in disagreement is just an ostrich.
Milo
Jan 17, 2021 at 8:28 pm
I’m gonna buy a 12.5° Lynx Prowler driving iron. Thoughts?
Micheal
Jan 17, 2021 at 2:43 pm
Your information is incorrect, I just bought a set of Taylormade P790’s 3 iron though pitching wedge.
Bob
Jan 17, 2021 at 1:15 pm
The 3-iron didn’t die. It was just given a different number. Please stop with the drama.
Dwight L. Cramer
Jan 17, 2021 at 11:08 am
The same thing has happened with fly fishing line weights. If you fly fish, you know that the line and the rod must match up (i.e., a 4 wt. line for a 4 wt. rod, a 6 wt. line for a 6 wt. rod). But, in the universal quest for distance (not just golfers have that obsession), the line manufacturers have embraced ‘technology’ to create a marketing advantage, and it’s taken them in one direction, while the rod manufacturers have done the same, and headed off elsewhere. In other words a brand xx line rated as 4 wt. and a brand yy rod rated at 4 wt. may not be compatible. This creates real confusion for the fisherman, especially the newbie, or the guy who’s more into fishing that gear. (Free hint for newbies to fly fishing–buy the Orvis entry level set up and be done with it.)
A golfer
Jan 17, 2021 at 10:54 am
This is a great article and I really appreciate the historical data provided. The one counter argument I would make is that the “long irons” in many of these sets look and behave very similarly to hybrids. I would bet that a 20* Hot Metal or Mavrik, for example, would launch materially higher than a 20* blade, unlike the 39-40* example provided.
A golfer
Jan 17, 2021 at 11:12 am
The other important counterpoint is that jacked lofts in game improvement sets are a way of helping offset the early extension and flip that poor players almost universally exhibit. These players present way too much loft at impact, so they may actually have less of an issue launching the ball up at any given loft and swing speed level.
Paolo
Jan 25, 2021 at 1:48 pm
This is the only advantage . To strengthening lofts .
Forget numbering irons just put the lofts on them .
A Golfer
Jan 17, 2021 at 10:49 am
This is a great article and I really appreciate the historical documents pulled out. The one counterpoint I would make on the long end, is that many of these sets have “long irons” that look and behave very much like hybrids. I think if you took a 20* Hot Metal or Mavrik and put it against a 20* blade you would see a material difference in launch angle, unlike with the 39-40* example you provided.
Webster
Jan 17, 2021 at 9:07 am
It’s all about the loft/length relationship to me. My 150 yd club has pretty much always had 40* loft and 36″ length. Started playing seriously in the mid-90’s and that was pretty much the std for an 8 iron. Today I’m playing X-hot Pros that have a 40*, 36″ club…it just happens to have a 9 stamped on it; still goes 150yds.
John Little
Jan 17, 2021 at 6:52 am
Instead of iron numbers why not just stamp loft numbers. 4 degrees apart. A typical conversation might be.I made the par 3 7th with my 38 degree. Oh really! I did it with my 42.
Munter
Jan 17, 2021 at 4:16 am
Not sure about all this “loft jacking” ballyhoo.
I replaced half my AP2s with Mizuno JPX Hot Metal Pros a few months ago – 4i to 7i. Best upgrade I’ve ever made. Literally. Period.
OK, so actually now I have two 7 irons. The AP2 is still used a lot, it goes about 145m. Pretty standard for a 14 handicap, right?
The amazing thing is this: the JPXs go loooong. I now pull out 4i on any hole where I need to go 180-190m. Sometimes it rolls out past 200m. Where I would have sprayed my 3-hybrid, now I pull out my 5i, with a LOT more confidence it will go straight and looong.
So, with all respect, i now play much better golf, not because my lofts are jacked, but because the “hot” technology actually works. Forgiveness + cranking distance when you middle it. This *cannot* simply be about lofts, otherwise I would have been getting the same results with my AP2s, just one club less.
Jake DeJong
Jan 18, 2021 at 10:09 am
Anecdotal. No facts. Come back with launch monitor results?
Nate
Jan 17, 2021 at 1:21 am
I read a lot of these articles from Golfwrx. This is a stand out. Nice work.
Reece
Jan 16, 2021 at 11:40 pm
I bought a brand new set p790’s this last week and it came with a 3 iron. In left hand no less.
Lefthack
Jan 16, 2021 at 9:21 pm
Great article. My newish irons were a 5-PW set of Nike Vapor Pro Combos and I’ve been on the search for the 3 and 4 (the 2 is only available in right hand). I scored a 3 off the classified that is 20 degrees and can’t wait to hit it. I have no issues hitting my 3h and 4h but they take up more room in the bag than irons would.
Rich Douglas
Jan 16, 2021 at 7:02 pm
I’ve always maintained the theory of “loft deflation,” even when countered with the launch angle issue.
But if you keep your head about you, it really doesn’t matter. The numbers on the clubs have shifted, but it’s still the same 14 clubs, more or less. So I don’t have a 3-iron, but everything is shift down and I fill the gap between the PW and the SW with a wedge. It’s still the same number of clubs doing the exact same things.
Two advantages here: First, it’s not just lower lofts. A 4-iron with a 3-iron’s loft is still a 4-iron in length. It’s 1/2-inch shorter and, thus, easier to hit on center. That makes the entire set easier to hit than before.
Second, low-lofted irons are being replaced with hybrids, which have better perimeter weighting, lower CGs, and are easier to hit and to loft.
But if everything shifts down, doesn’t that create a gap between the 3-wood and the rest of the set? Yes, but who cares? Most players cover it with a hybrid, better to hit than a true 3-iron. Besides, most players can’t hit the ball well enough for that gap to matter anyway.
I haven’t carried a 3-iron in nearly two decades, and I dumped my 4-iron recently. That’s because I went to single-length irons built at 36.5″ (8-iron length). You just can’t generate enough clubhead speed to get a 4-iron to gap properly anyway. But the advantages of single-length irons–so much more consistent–outweigh having to swap the 4-iron for the hybrid.
Frank
Jan 16, 2021 at 7:07 pm
I beg to differ on the 4-iron length with 3-iron loft, I have a set of Hogan blades from the 60s and the 2-iron is 38.75″ which is in between today’s 3-iron and 4-iron “standard” length. They’re not just decreasing the loft, they’re increasing the length, too.
Rich Douglas
Jan 16, 2021 at 7:08 pm
Not if you’re paying attention. And it certainly isn’t an industry trend.
KP
Jan 16, 2021 at 5:00 pm
Great article. I always feel like manufacturers use their marketing to trick people into thinking that they’ve engineered something special that gives players more distance and forgiveness. Fact is they’re bs’ing us into buying new equipment every year. Crossfield and Shiels have done many videos that demonstrate how little difference there is in golf equipment year to year.
Rich Douglas
Jan 16, 2021 at 7:07 pm
Especially in irons. There have been only a handful of useful developments since the days of forged blades and nothing else:
— Perimeter-weighted cast irons (starting with Ping)
— Perimeter-weighted forged irons (starting with Hogan Edge)
— Multi-metal designs (allowing for higher COR on faces, more extreme perimeter weighting, and altered CGs)
— Graphite shafts good enough for irons
That’s about it. That Nike sling thingy, the twice-a-year TM bouncy clubs, or anything else are just derivatives from the above.
Jon Barton
Jan 16, 2021 at 7:20 pm
The manufacturers have been very clever. They have slowly turned a set of 3iron to SW (9clubs) into a set of 5,6,7,8,9.W. (6 clubs) with an option to add a 4i and in some cases a 3i. Great deal for them 6clubs for the price of 9.
The SW is usually not included in a modern set.
So we golfers also get to choose an extra 3 wedges, lucky us. But just a minute, that means we now buy an extra 3.
So the original 9 shrinks to 6. With an option of buying an extra 5.
So we now buy 11 for the price 14!
Oh, and maybe a utility or two as well. ?
Michael R Geiger
Feb 14, 2021 at 7:22 am
100% spot on!
Brandon
Jan 16, 2021 at 4:43 pm
In my opinion, a set that starts with a 22* 4 iron and stops at a 46* pw is perfect. 4 degree gaps between each club. Carry a 18 or 19* 5w,hybrid, or utility iron. Whatever 3 wedges you want above your pw. If I played a set with a 43* pw I’d need 2 gap wedges, which is just ridiculous. I think loft jacking is just to pad the ego of the short hitter who thinks he is hitting his pw as far as a player hits their 8 or 9 iron.
Ben Wallace
Jan 16, 2021 at 4:37 pm
True. However, it doesn’t matter what the club is designated so long as the player can hit the club and knows the carry numbers for the club. I don’t care if the clubs have a number, symbol, degree listing, letters of the alphabet, or names of rock and roll bands as the club’s designation so long as I know which club I am pulling out the bag. I won’t be reaching for a long iron anyway. I play driver, 3w, 5w, 7w, 4h, 5i-PW, 54, 60, and putter.
Bas
Jan 19, 2021 at 5:17 am
Same, but I play 4w, 7w. And my irons are GI, so the lofts are probably a bit stronger, so they are 6i-AW (26-49 degrees).
I can’t hit an iron with a loft below 26 degrees.