The Great 2 Iron Debate.

[RoverRick]

Last week, during a conversation with a friend of mine, I was talking about how I played and said I was smoking my 2 iron into the wind longer than the other guys were hitting their drivers. (Lower trajectory less spin etc...) And he says, "You carry a 2 iron." I said it was a Mizuno MP FLI HI 18*. He said that was not a 2 iron. Well, I admit up to that point I called it that because it is much easier to say 2 iron than it is to say Mizuno MP FLI HI 18* every freaking time you say what club you use.

 

Just as someone who plays a 17.5* 39" Rocketbladez calls that a 3 iron, because that what it say on it, even though it is closer in specs to a 2 iron. But it is still an iron. If it is an iron with a 3 on it, it is a 3 iron. Never mind all the technology that goes into the Rocketbladez. This is another debate, but in the world of Woods, Hybrids or Irons this is an iron. Yes, I call fairway metals woods even though they have no wood in them. But I call irons irons when technically they are made of either cast stainless steel or forged steel or stainless steel.

 

The Mizuno MP FLI HI 18* (my 2 iron) is a forged stainless steel high tech body with a maraging steel face plasma welded into it. It is very high tech but then so are most modern irons. Hybrids are supposed to be in between woods and irons but for the most part have evolved into more wood like than iron like. These are a step towards more iron like but the debate is can I call this a 2 iron or not?

 

He said that a 2 irons comes in a set. It is a blade. It is therefore a driving iron. I said this is not a driving iron, because it is not meant to replace the driver. The sole of a driver for the most part is designed to hit the ball off of a tee. These have a sole designed for turf interaction. They can hit the ball from a variety of lies, there for this is a long iron, and since it has a 2 on it, it is a 2 iron. He went on to say that it is too big to be a 2 iron. I showed him a picture of a R11 Rescue, CFT 6 iron and the Mizuno MP FLI HI 18* 2 Iron. The CFT is about equivalent to a RBZ or other GI iron and if anything on the small side.

 

 

So now is your chance to join in the debate, is this a 2 iron or what is it? Yes, we can call it a utility iron, but then again arn't they all utility irons. For the timid, you can just vote but please feel free to express your opinion.

[hckymeyer]

Yup, gotta agree with RP on this one. I would call it a utility iron or hybrid iron. I have a set of Maxfli Revolutions that contains both a 2i and 1i. The Fli-HI isn't either of those.

[The Dansome]

I asked Google

 

 

 

 

[RoverRick]

I asked Google

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently Google did not know either because under 2 iron they show an MP59, a Victory Red CB and several others that have never offered a 2 in that particular iron.

[The Dansome]

I'm officially confused. This is Mizuno's story

 

[RoverRick]

The issue was that I said "2 Iron", BTW, I have had that open on my computer for hours. Yes they call it a hybrid iron. The question to me is it really sacrilege to call the Mizuno MP FLI HI 18* a 2 iron.

 

Obviously, golf clubs are divided into seven catagories. Drivers. Fairway metals, Hybrids, Irons, Wedges and Putters....

 

These can be further divided but there are a number of categories of irons. Blades, Muscleback, cavity back, half cavity, game improvement, super game improvement and utility or hybrid irons.

 

When compared to the Rescue 11, 909H, Pro Black or CFTs all that I have here, the Mizuno MP FLI HI 18* is like none of those.The closest thing it is to is the 2 iron Ping Eye 2 that I used to have.

[whiskey golf]

I think that clubs such as the Fli Hi, Titleist 712 U, X Proto, etc. are considered utility irons or driving irons but they are not legit "2-irons". A 2-iron is part of a set but it doesn't have to be a pure blade, in my opinion it should at least be a players cavity and look blady or something. For example, the Mizuno MP-H4 2 iron can br technically bought in a set but I don't really consider that a 2 iron because in reality, it's an updated Fli Hi with a new name and look and it's been incorporated into an iron set.

[apprenti23]

I have played the callaway x tour utility irons -18,21, and 24 for oh about 6 years now? I've never called them 2/3/4 irons- I've always said utility irons.

 

But I voted driving irons because they are definitely not hybrids

 

I have an xforged '13 "2-iron" and a new x utility prototype 18* quite the difference!

[Blade]

I actually call it a 2U (Utility). But for the purpose of getting Richard going, which is always entertaining, it's a 2i. Shhh, don't tell Richard.

[hckymeyer]

I think Utility Iron should be added as a voting option

[The Dansome]

Apparently Google did not know either because under 2 iron they show an MP59, a Victory Red CB and several others that have never offered a 2 in that particular iron.

 

Google reads the word iron and there may be a 2 in the file name as well.

[The Dansome]

I think Utility Iron should be added as a voting option

 

That's a good call

[RoverRick]

I think Utility Iron should be added as a voting option

 

Actually, utility is simply an adjective that describes the type of iron it is. Also, the driving iron should be removed because A. it is also a type of iron. and B. the definition of driving iron preclude having a 2 on it.

 

Driving Iron: Another name for the number one iron. Formerly one of various iron clubs used for shots through the green. Driving Mashie: Obsolete club with less loft than a mashie iron and used for driving and long shots through the green.

>>> http://www.golfselect.com.au/armchair/glossary.aspx?word=D

 

 

[BestGrips.com]

Actually, utility is simply an adjective that describes the type of iron it is. Also, the driving iron should be removed because A. it is also a type of iron. and B. the definition of driving iron preclude having a 2 on it.

 

Driving Iron: Another name for the number one iron. Formerly one of various iron clubs used for shots through the green. Driving Mashie: Obsolete club with less loft than a mashie iron and used for driving and long shots through the green.

>>> http://www.golfselec...ary.aspx?word=D

 

 

 

Just went to that site. Some pretty redonKulous (with a capital K) terms. Never heard of dawn patrol. That sounds like something from game of thrones!

 

Zoomie is another one

Zoomie: A drive that goes further than most drives ever hit by the golfer who smacked it.

[Mr_Theoo]

Just went to that site. Some pretty redonKulous (with a capital K) terms. Never heard of dawn patrol. That sounds like something from game of thrones!

 

Zoomie is another one

[/size]

 

Im gonna start using zoomie lol

[MmmmmmBuddy]

Dead Weight: Overall club weight.

 

Hmmmmm...

 

I thought that Dead Weight was My Partner...

[MmmmmmBuddy]

As far as the debate goes, Call it what you want.. I have a 19* DHy and a 22* Hibore. When someone asks me, I say " My 19* or my 22*." When I played Mizzy MP14 1-pw, I would say "That was the Knife, or the Deuce."

[RoverRick]

I think Utility Iron should be added as a voting option

 

 

That's a good call

 

You guys are right. The poll should be modified. According to GolfSmiths and Wikipedia and eHow and Golf Channel there are six types of clubs,

1. Driver
2. Fairway
3. Hybrids
4. Irons
5. Wedges
6. Putter

These should be the official choices.

 

 

 

[Shambles]

Designations have pretty much lost their meaning ever since club makers took up marketing as a major.

 

 

Shambles

[Sluggo42]

20 years ago, I had a set if titleist muscle back blades, with a 2 iron.

THAT was a two iron. The same one Tiger uses to hit his stingers with.

Anything else isn't...

 

I only hit it off a tee though, impossible to play off grass.

[hckymeyer]

RR, it sounds like you already have your mind made up and don't really want our opinions. Why did you start the thread then?

[BestGrips.com]

I'm starting to lean the other way. I have a 3 iron and a 3 flihi that's bent strong. I still think its a driving iron, but a driving iron is a lot closer to an iron than hybrid.

[The Dansome]

I thought we were going with Zoomie

[RoverRick]

Well, of course it is a utility iron. Just as a Rocketballz is a game improvement iron or an Adams CMB is a players cavity back iron, but you do not say I hit my game improvement 8 iron on the par 3 today. Or I hit my muscleback 5 iron. So why it is such heresy to say I hit my2 iron off the tee on 15 and was in the fairway instead of the trees like usual. Instead of I hit my 2 utility iron .....

 

 

I will say that the Adams does look like a hybrid. But certainly the Titleist and Mizuno look like irons. The Callaway looks like a driving iron but am told by people who have seen on in captivity that they look better in person.

[BIG STU]

What RP is saying is what I call a real 2 iron. The other clubs I call utility irons or driving irons. History repeats itself. In the 90s Mizzy came out with a "driving iron" it was sorta a cut down hybrid had a face plasma welded to it was hollow inside. We had one of those horrible things in the golf shop that my partner took in on a trade. I tried to hit that thing and it had no feel at all of course then I was hitting Mizzy 33s that had a real 2 I that I had bent back 2* or so. That driving iron had the most clunky horrible sound you ever heard. Had a customer (sucker)finally buy that thing he liked it except the sound. I ended up drilling a hole in the back for him and adding some spray insulation foam threaded the hole and put a 1/4 allen screw (shallow) in it. This guy loved it he cant hit woods for some reason he is about 70 years old and still plays with that thing. Never figured out why Mizzy made such a piece of junk. Got another friend in his late 60s that has one of those new Adams 2 hybrids that a club pro sold him outta the pro shop. Don't know what the "pro" was thinking 18* with a stiff shaft and this guy hits a 13* driver off the tee. He cant hit that Adams to save his life wonder why? I guess I am too old school on some things a real 2i or 1i is a blade that came with a set has a thin sole and is what us old timers refer to as a "butter knife"

[L.I. Rich]

Great post and conversation. I think that the larger point is, when we hear someone say that they're smashing their two iron, what do we assume the club was? For me, my reaction is, "Wow, you play a 2 iron!?", looking for confirmation and maybe qualification, such as "Yeah, I can't keep my woods or hybrids straight anymore, so I'm re-bagging my old eye2 2 iron". So, when we talk and hear others describe their game, is there a different meaning assigned to striking a traditional 2 iron versus a Titleist 712u, FH, or DHy? I think there probably is, but I can't quantify it exactly. I saw the Titleist at the local Golfsmith and was impressed with how short the shaft was, felt like a 6 or 7 iron, and thought, "Wow, I think I could swing that!"

 

I'd been carrying my 3 2010 FliHi as well as my regular 3 iron for a couple of weeks. I had just got the Mizzy and was giving it a shot. I've been hitting the (included in my set ;-) ) 2 and 3 off the tee quite a bit this year to try to hit more fairways,and wanted to see if there was a better option. I personally prefer the irons in my set fwiw- the 3 FliHi shaft is as long as my 2 iron. Anyway, if someone were to ask me, after seeing a nice tee shot struck with an iron, "Hey what did you just hit?", and it was the FH, I would feel that I was misleading them if I only told them it was a 3i.

[revkev]

Well I'm enjoying the conversation but have to say that I don't really care. All I care about is how the ball flies and where it ends up - I don't care what club I had to use to make it fly and end up there the way I wanted to.

 

I play a 5 wood (no arguments there), a 23 and a 27 hybrid and will typically call them either by degree or by number - who gives a you know what when I'm pin high 20 feet from 185 yards or 25 feet from 195 with the 5 wood, really?

 

I see gals on the LPGA and some guys on the Champion's tour who's longest iron is a 7 and they do fine.

 

If a guy needs to hit a 2 iron to make himself feel good I'm not arguing with him when I see the heavier flange and he calls it a 2 - if that's what he wants it to be so be it.

 

In RR's defense I hear announcers on TV call utility irons a 2 or a 3 every week - its easy enough to see that they are some sort of utility iron despite the call - I'm guessing that the Pro doesn't care what others call it - he cares that it performs the way he wants it to.

 

It's a utility iron beyond a doubt - I buy the fact that I don't call my 8 iron a game improvement 8 iron or a super game improvement 8 iron or a player's 8 iron or whatever the heck it is.

 

It's a 2 iron because that's how it's marked, it's made of iron - if you want to go in depth its an utility iron.

[apprenti23]

I think it seems like everyone likes calling it a utility iron...

[BIG STU]

HaHa, thanx for votin!! You're right and I think that I've been looking at it wrong. I think if you started and played a real 2i, then your thoughts would be as ours are, or if you bought a set that had a 2i in it and you set it aside, you still looked at a 2i in that manner. And actually, I pulled the 2i from my set in the early '90s, when I went with a 5w in it's place because my swing had flattened due to my second shoulder surgery and I just couldn't bring it in trajectory-wise where I needed to be. It's kinda funny cuz ability had nothing to do with the move cuz I was a +1 at the time and had just won my second Club Championship.

 

I just couldn't hit a 2i, HaHa. Not that ya have to be our age group, it's just if you've had a real 2i in your set. Because I think this comes down to ego cuz when a guy says that he plays a 2i, and I'm talkin a REAL 2i here guys, people think, "damn, he must be a player & have a sweet swing." So while I hit a 19* FLI HI, and I can hit with anybody, to call it anything but a 19* Utility would be embarrassing to me, and I'd feel sleazy, so I just can't do it. If you can, bless ya! Go bang that 2i, LMFAO!!

 

Playing a FLI HI and calling it a real 2i is akin to riding a bike with training wheels and calling it a real bike, haha

 

However, as was mentioned also, call it what you'd like, if it makes ya feel good

 

Thanx a lot for votin Bro, and if ya ever get back to the Keystone state, I don't care where, call me, and we'll figure out where the hell ya are and if a get together's possible.

 

Play well my Friend

 

 

Fairways & Greens 4ever

[BIG STU]

RP I carried a Ping Eye 2 one iron up to about a month ago I can still hit it but not consistant any more. I had been switching around in the winter due to sparse fairway grass to a 7 wood. I can hit it pretty good can hit a variety of shots with it so I carry it all the time. if I have to hit a real bullet screamer because of the wind here I hood down my cally 3 wood and let it loose. I was one of those guys that over 50 could not accept it and I was trying to pull off crap I could in my 20s 30s and even early 40s. I have learned to accept my age now and everyone says I am strong for my age. I guess with age comes wisdom. I have learned to use my brain better instead of my cajones. My realization came last year I was -2 on the back side of a pretty good course. I was playing with a good friend of mine who in his own right is an accomplished player and instructor. I had 240 to a par 5 over water and I was wide open and went for it--- splash! got rattled took a snowman. My friend asked me what in the hell I was thinking? There was no way I could carry a 3 wood over water that far maybe at 25 but not at 55. yep I learned that day of my own mortality. Got off the orig subject sorry but I guess they can call it whatever they want to.