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Utility/Long iron replacement... MP 20 HMB, King Forged Tec, Epic Forged

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jfrigo1003

jfrigo1003

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Just curious if anyone has tried either club yet in either a 2 or 3 iron. I know a lot of people recently and even some tour guys have the more forgiving, stronger lofted long irons at the top of the bags and I kind of want to go that route also. Ive owned the first 790 UDI, U85, G410 crossover...also have hit the demos for the new 790 UDI and Titleist U500

I just bought MP 20 MMC 4- Pw so im leaning towards staying with Mizuno and getting the HMB, but the King Forged Tec looks better to my eye. Also Im really considering the Epic Forged 4 iron. The HMB and Forged Tec 3 irons are 19* and the Epic Forged 4 iron is 19.5*. The HMB does have a 2 iron at 16.5* that I would weaken a degree.... The other sleeper right now b/c of the sale price would be the F9 speed back 4 iron

I know what my gapping is, what I would primarily use the club for, and what i want out of the club.... but my question is who has tried these clubs at the top of the bag and what are your thoughts??
 
I tried most of them in a fitting recently, and I got the most forgiveness and ball speed from the Titleist U510. The Taylormade was in second place. I was not able to try the mizuno.

I like it for the tee and fairway. If I'm swinging poorly, its my first choice.

My Driver swing speed is 106, and my angle is steep....if that paints a better picture.

Good luck!
 
AnthonyC said:
I tried most of them in a fitting recently, and I got the most forgiveness and ball speed from the Titleist U510. The Taylormade was in second place. I was not able to try the mizuno.

I like it for the tee and fairway. If I'm swinging poorly, its my first choice.

My Driver swing speed is 106, and my angle is steep....if that paints a better picture.

Good luck!
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thanks. I haven't tried the 510, only the 500 so far. The first time I hit it at PGA store I loved it. At my club champion fitting it was extremely heavy with a Tensei Pro Orange shaft so we didnt get good feedback from it
 
the f9 price right now really catches my eye!! a lot of guys on here have loved that 4 iron as a stronger lofted "utility"
 
I may be biased here, but don't sleep on the Srixon ZU85 range either - I have the 18 degree 2i in my bag and it is a bit of a beast and easy to hit from both tee and deck

I can't comment on the others you have listed as I haven't hit them
 
jfrigo1003 said:
Just curious if anyone has tried either club yet in either a 2 or 3 iron. I know a lot of people recently and even some tour guys have the more forgiving, stronger lofted long irons at the top of the bags and I kind of want to go that route also. Ive owned the first 790 UDI, U85, G410 crossover...also have hit the demos for the new 790 UDI and Titleist U500

I just bought MP 20 MMC 4- Pw so im leaning towards staying with Mizuno and getting the HMB, but the King Forged Tec looks better to my eye. Also Im really considering the Epic Forged 4 iron. The HMB and Forged Tec 3 irons are 19* and the Epic Forged 4 iron is 19.5*. The HMB does have a 2 iron at 16.5* that I would weaken a degree.... The other sleeper right now b/c of the sale price would be the F9 speed back 4 iron

I know what my gapping is, what I would primarily use the club for, and what i want out of the club.... but my question is who has tried these clubs at the top of the bag and what are your thoughts??
Click to expand...

My general thoughts about the low lofted Utility Iron is that they're great off of par 4 tee boxes, specifically producing straight, low trajectory bounce and roll shots.
I think the reason the 2 or 3 Utility Iron is not more popular is because most players LOVE to swing driver off of tee boxes, so the Utility ends up sitting in the bag , not used.
The higher lofted (22* or 23*) Utility Iron seems to be more useful, because with that much loft most players can produce some good shots from a fairway lie.
 
1OCgolfer said:
Epic Forged 4 iron is 18 degrees btw aka a 5 wood
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So I hit the forged tec 4 iron and epic forged 4 iron displays today .... omg, wow! The epic forged is insane! I loved the forgiveness of it but the ball speed was insane!

For me this is a utility/ driving iron club. I’m not looking for a 4 iron. I know it’s strong lofted at 19* but that’s what I wanted was a new tee club. The Epic Forged carried 20 yards father than the Forged Tec. I think the Epic is 1 degree stronger, but speeds were not close... I do think the Forged Tec felt great

But for what I was looking for, the Epic Forged is seriously impressive! My utility is bent to 17* and the epic was on avg 5mph faster


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Do you want raw ballspeed or something that could be hit into the green as well?

If budget is a thought go F9. Thing is a driving iron that can still hit a soft landing shot when needed. I think @Tenputt t had a several month period where he never missed a fairway with it.
 
M2Giles said:
Do you want raw ballspeed or something that could be hit into the green as well?

If budget is a thought go F9. Thing is a driving iron that can still hit a soft landing shot when needed. I think @Tenputt t had a several month period where he never missed a fairway with it.
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Simply a driving iron... I’m still carrying a 4 iron in the mizunos..

Just wanted a replacement for my current utility. I don’t have any use for it to go at greens


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Some stark raving Epic Forged 4i reviews in the Grandaddy thread today... :unsure:
 
M2Giles said:
Do you want raw ballspeed or something that could be hit into the green as well?

If budget is a thought go F9. Thing is a driving iron that can still hit a soft landing shot when needed. I think @Tenputt t had a several month period where he never missed a fairway with it.
Click to expand...

@M2Giles is correct. For a significant part of the year, the Cobra F9 4 iron (the Rickie Fowler setup) was my favorite club in the bag. At one point, I had something like 40 plus tee shots with it and only missed the fairway a couple of times. Attached are examples. I struggled with my swing the last part of the year and I brought a hybrid back into the bag, but I fully believe the F9 4 iron will be a part of my bag next year.CBA548C6-D5D4-4612-B6DA-2DBF0E50C65E.jpeg214482B2-A3E5-4C34-A244-EBD9A182E962.jpeg
 
jfrigo1003 said:
So I hit the forged tec 4 iron and epic forged 4 iron displays today .... omg, wow! The epic forged is insane! I loved the forgiveness of it but the ball speed was insane!

For me this is a utility/ driving iron club. I’m not looking for a 4 iron. I know it’s strong lofted at 19* but that’s what I wanted was a new tee club. The Epic Forged carried 20 yards father than the Forged Tec. I think the Epic is 1 degree stronger, but speeds were not close... I do think the Forged Tec felt great

But for what I was looking for, the Epic Forged is seriously impressive! My utility is bent to 17* and the epic was on avg 5mph faster


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
That's what I like to hear. I've heard nothing but great things about the Epic Forged 4 iron and I'm currently selling some clubs to put one in the bag.
 
I received the epic forged 4 iron from THP secret Santa. I have not played a round with it, but man, that thing at the range has been a blast. I don’t have trackman or laser, but right now I have it slated to replace the 5 wood in my bag, but I am not so sure that it shouldn’t replace the 3w instead? I mainly use the 3w off the tee as an alternate driver and my 5w out of the fairway. At the range I have been using it off the tee and the grass and having good success with both. I haven’t carried a 4 iron in my bag in probably 10 years. I have not tried any others on your list.

I have a few rounds this weekend and should know more. But these companies are all putting out some sick choices. The forged tec set is high on my list for 2020.
 
Tenputt said:
@M2Giles is correct. For a significant part of the year, the Cobra F9 4 iron (the Rickie Fowler setup) was my favorite club in the bag. At one point, I had something like 40 plus tee shots with it and only missed the fairway a couple of times. Attached are examples. I struggled with my swing the last part of the year and I brought a hybrid back into the bag, but I fully believe the F9 4 iron will be a part of my bag next year.View attachment 8917570View attachment 8917571
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For the current price of the f9, ive been on cobras website everyday this week wanting to buy it. I wish the Rickie 4iron with the AD IZ would be reduced also like the current 4i. But those are some great numbers and I know plenty of THPer's have raved about it also.... I like to hit things in store first and then maybe find a deal somewhere. If I cant then ill just order a custom new one to my specs. Luckily with the Epic Forged its actually the exact shaft other than weight that I got fit in to at Club Champion
 
jfrigo1003 said:
the f9 price right now really catches my eye!! a lot of guys on here have loved that 4 iron as a stronger lofted "utility"
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Hell, I play the 5i as a utility, 21 degrees.
 
I played my first round with the epic forged 4 iron today. I took the 5w out of the bag to use it. The thing is a weapon! These are my numbers with arccos

67844648-D2E2-4660-899D-A28A0219D8D3.png
 
oumagic said:
I played my first round with the epic forged 4 iron today. I took the 5w out of the bag to use it. The thing is a weapon! These are my numbers with arccos

View attachment 8918051
Click to expand...

You were crushing that ball all day off the tee! It was awesome to watch!
 
I've tried the strong lofted 4 iron option before and found for my skill level(10hdcp) it was a struggle to keep the thing down as most are still designed to go high! That's why I bag a HMB 2 iron at 3 iron length and I can't say enough good things about this club.
 
Chopper81 said:
I've tried the strong lofted 4 iron option before and found for my skill level(10hdcp) it was a struggle to keep the thing down as most are still designed to go high! That's why I bag a HMB 2 iron at 3 iron length and I can't say enough good things about this club.
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Damn this is what I was waiting to see! I just bought Mizuno MMC's so I wanted to stay with an HMB in the 2 iron spot lol... but after hitting the Epic Forged 4 iron I was hitting it 10 yards farther than my current 2 iron. That was one of my concerns also are these distance clubs still hit it high whereas at that spot of the bag I want a low controlled flight. I already ordered mine so we'll see how it goes
 
oumagic said:
I played my first round with the epic forged 4 iron today. I took the 5w out of the bag to use it. The thing is a weapon!
Click to expand...
Anyone considering a utility iron should try out an Epic Forged 4 iron. @oumagic absolutely crushed the ball with his Epic 4 iron this weekend!!
 
Roadrunner said:
Anyone considering a utility iron should try out an Epic Forged 4 iron. @oumagic absolutely crushed the ball with his Epic 4 iron this weekend!!
Click to expand...
I was looking through my Arccos numbers and yesterday on #9, my 4 iron tee shot was 247 yards. For those reading this, I am not a scratch golfer with an insane swing speed that hits the ball 300 yards; I hit the ball pretty well, but a good drive from me is usually around 270 yards. I think when it is all said and done, the 5 wood will be back in the bag and the 3wood will be replaced by this. My average distance after 2 rounds from tee and fairway with this club is now 221 yards. The sample size is small with this one, but my larger sample size with 3 wood off tee and fairway is 224 yards.
 
jfrigo1003 said:
I know what my gapping is, what I would primarily use the club for, and what i want out of the club.... but my question is who has tried these clubs at the top of the bag and what are your thoughts??
Click to expand...

My first "driving iron" was a Titleist DCI Oversize Plus 2-iron that I played with my DCI 962 4-GW set. Then I tried a Mizuno FliHi II. Now I've got the Wilson mentioned below.

While I sometimes get too optimistically aggressive hitting to greens, I rarely do so from the tee. In my decades of experience, I've found that nuclear holes--7s and 8s--almost always begin with a badly errant drive. As I might hit driver foul pole to foul pole, my driver comes out when I see wide open spaces for a landing area. Otherwise , I'm happy to hit an ugly line drive with my driving iron that at minimum leaves me an unincumbered second shot.
 
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