Driving Force

WORDS: STEVE KEIPERT

The re-emergence began at the Open Championship two years ago. Australia’s Jason Day, a noted high-ball hitter, sought a club to keep his golf ball out of the capricious Lancashire winds at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.

After some initial testing, Day was among 12 players that week to add one of TaylorMade’s Ultimate Driving Irons to his bag. The company’s newly minted UDI line included 1-, 2- and 3-irons, with Day opting for the club commonly referred to as “the knife”, wielding his 1-iron to a tie for 58th.

“Our intention initially was to see if this was going to be an interesting option for our Tour guys,” said TaylorMade’s director of iron creation, Tomo Bystedt, at the time. “We weren’t really thinking of bringing it to retail initially. It was more, ‘Let’s see how it does on Tour,’ and in the early meetings we saw there was a lot of interest from them.”

And an idea that began as an experiment caught on in a hurry.

“Our goal was to get UDI ready by the Open Championship at Hoylake, because we knew the conditions would likely be firm and fast, and we believe our guys – like Justin Rose and Jason Day who’ve tested and used this club – could have a competitive benefit by having a club like this in their bag,” Bystedt said.

TaylorMade can’t be credited with reviving the driving-iron trend single-handedly. In recent years most of the leading equipment manufacturers have bolstered their long- and driving-iron options, giving everyday golfers more choices when it comes to that murky area between the 5-iron and fairway woods.

The modern incarnation of driving irons remain the domain for better ball-strikers, although advances in technology have helped alleviate the loss of control golfers with faster swing speeds invariably used to find. And just like that, the very clubs thought to be obsolete in this era of hybrids began making a comeback.

TAYLORMADE TOUR PREFERRED UDI

The hollow construction of the Tour Preferred UDI (Ultimate Driving Iron) allowed engineers to move weight lower and forward, resulting in faster ball speeds and a higher launch angle than traditional driving irons. By increasing the launch angle, TaylorMade engineers effectively made driving irons more playable than past models, making it easier to hit high, towering shots with low-lofted irons.

A 455 Carpenter Steel material, which generates more pronounced ball speed, along with milled score lines across the face, give golfers tremendous control with the UDI, allowing them to flight shots lower as well as the ability to manipulate trajectory.

The UDI features TaylorMade’s renowned Speed Pocket Technology. This Tour-proven technology allows the face to flex more efficiently for better distance and greater consistency and is a key design element in creating UDI’s high launch conditions. Other features include an advanced sound-dampening system for a soft feel and a crisp sound that appeals to better players.

Specifications: The UDI line includes a 1- (16°), 2- (18°) and 3-iron (20°), but only the 2-iron is available in left-handed. A KBS C-Taper Lite graphite shaft in regular, stiff and X-stiff flexes is standard, this shaft chosen as it promotes a mid- to high trajectory and controlled spin.

RRP: $219 each. www.taylormadegolf.com.au

CALLAWAY APEX UT

Callaway insists “some serious speed technology” went into developing the company’s Apex UT irons. The Carpenter 455 Forged Face Cup helps create higher ball speeds all across the clubface to get the distance golfers seek. This is the same technology used in Callaway’s fairway woods and hybrids to help the face flex more consistently across a larger area.

The genesis of the Apex UT’s forgiveness is a sole weighting that lowers the centre of gravity so that these utility irons are easier to hit and easier to launch. The Hollow Body construction increases forgiveness in a traditional long-iron shape to help golfers feel confident over every shot with the Apex UTs.

Specifications: Available in 2- (18°), 3- (21°) and 4- (24°) models, in right- and left-handed. They come standard with a KBS Tour-V or UST Recoil 680 F4 shaft, plus additional shaft offerings at no extra charge.

RRP: $320 each. au.callawaygolf.com

TITLEIST 716 T-MB

Titleist’s offering in the driving-iron sphere provides the most playable and forgiving performance in the game through a sophisticated, high-tech construction. The 716 T-MB features a thin, fast face that provides speed and launch for more distance. High-density tungsten is used to position the centre of gravity low and deep, which allows for a stronger loft. The result is a high launch, low spin and more carry distance. Additionally, the muscleback frame with extreme tungsten weighting provides a powerful combination of forgiveness with the high launch.

Among the benefits to golfers are the speed and distance generated from the thin, fast face; the high launch/low spin combination for long carry distance from the 716 T-MB’s low and deep centre of gravity; more ball speed from off-centre strikes thanks to the high-density tungsten; high moment-of-inertia design; and lower turf resistance from the wide sole with camber and trailing edge relief.

The 716 T-MB’s forgiving high moment of inertia design – with an average of more than 80 grams of tungsten per head – drives higher ball speeds across the face for more consistent distance on off-centre hits, without the loss of workability or shot control at the T-MB’s Tour-preferred blade lengths (same as Titleist’s AP2). The T-MB, with high-density tungsten weights precisely placed in the heel and toe, has nearly seven percent higher moment of inertia than the 712U.

Specifications: Available in 2- (17°), 3- (20°), 4- (23°) and 5-iron (26°) models, in right- and left-handed.

SRP: $309 each (steel), $349 each (graphite). www.titleist.com.au

SRIXON Z U45

Designed to suit the needs of skilled players, the Srixon Z U45 sports a refined, iron-like head shape that helps find fairways off the tee and adds playability on aggressive shots into the green. The Z U45 features a compact topline and more compact flange with a slimming mirror chrome finish, which generates a compact, powerful address view that transitions smoothly to the irons. The Z U45 features an ultra-soft forged 1020 carbon steel body, which is capped with a thin, high-strength SUP10 steel face for higher ball speed. The Z U45’s lower and deeper centre of gravity also helps promote higher launch and increased playability.

A double laser milling process places two different laser milling patterns on the clubface, one parallel to the grooves and another slightly angled. The result is more stable spin performance and more confident distance control from every lie. Tests have proven that iron faces with this unique pattern have closer distance gaps for shots hit in wet and dry conditions than those without it.

Specifications: Available in lofts of 18°, 20° and 23° with various shaft options. Right-hand only.

RRP: $264 each. www.srixon.com.au

PING CROSSOVER

Ping’s new G series includes an entirely new club category, the G Crossover, which combines the best of hybrid and iron technology. Where the origin of hybrids was to close the gap between fairway woods and long irons, the Crossover line blends hybrids and irons.

While not a traditional driving iron (the Crossover is far more forgiving, higher launching and more versatile), it links the precision, workability and control of an iron with the speed and forgiveness of a hybrid. An innovative cascading internal sole engages the entire face, sole and top rail in flexing to maximise distance. Extreme heel-toe weighting helps locate the centre of gravity low and back, and expands the perimeter weighting to create a high moment of inertia across both axes for maximising forgiveness. Its iron-like precision and

workability come from the flat, Carpenter 455 machined face, a narrow top rail, lie adjustability and appropriate offset.

Versatility is at the core of the Crossover concept. It’s suited from the tee, for fairway shots and escapes from rough or sand. The design produces a high trajectory with a low to medium spin rate, yielding the triumvirate of objectives: distance, control and workability.

Specifications: Available in 3- (18°), 4- (21°) and 5- (24°) models, in right- and left-handed.

RRP: from $390 each. www.ping.com