Utility Iron or Hybrid?

[kknouse23]

I've carried a  Hybrid in my bag for several years and hit it fairly well.  I've become a stronger long iron player and have hit a longer utility iron a couple of times.  Thinking of making the switch but curious of the pro/cons??

[Shrek74]

I think the 3 biggest cons for the long iron / utility iron are:

1. Far less forgiveness on mishits.
2. Much lower ball flight.
3. Due to lower forgiveness, disbursement will likely be worse.

I'm not a long iron / utility iron user as I love my fairway woods and hybrids, but these are the 3 that jump out to me the most. Some will say the irons give you better control, and to someone who wants to work the ball that's likely true but only to a point as hybrids nowadays can be very workable.

Really comes down to what you're looking for that club to do. What window you want to see the ball go through. What you want to be able to do with the ball in flight. Etc, etc, etc.

[Bossfan]

I have one of each. They are both 4s. I went to a fitting trying to figure out the gapping between the 4w and the 5i. That was the combination that worked best for me. They are both pretty forgiving but the hybrid is the longer of the two. I probably trust the utility iron more off the tee because if my swing is a little off the hybrid can get a little hooky. To me it’s really an individual thing best to either try both or go to fitter to figure out what is best for you.

[revkev]

The ability to hit long irons passed me by long ago even when I was a low single digit handicapper.  But the pros and cons of each are pretty straight forward:

Hybrid, flies higher and is generally easier to hit particularly out of the rough.  It is also useful around the green for chips shots.  The cons are that its harder to control in the wind and some people have trouble hooking it.  

 

Long iron launches lower and can be a great option off the tee on windy days or tighter holes.  the negative is that it is not as versatile and because it launches lower doesn't hold well on firmer greens.

 

I see that you live in TN.  If you are playing hilly mountainous courses the hybrid would seem to me to be the better choice.  Hard to get those long irons to run up a slope. 

 

Good luck 

 

[cnosil]

21 hours ago, kknouse23 said:

I've carried a  Hybrid in my bag for several years and hit it fairly well.  I've become a stronger long iron player and have hit a longer utility iron a couple of times.  Thinking of making the switch but curious of the pro/cons??

It has been said already utility irons are easier to hit than traditional long irons.   They launch lower with less spin than hybrids and as a result tend to be a bit more workable.     For some that is a pro and for some that  is a con.  Ultimately you need to figure out how those clubs fit in your bag and do they enable you to do what you need to do on the course.