Hello!
I game the TE Forged, 5-PW, bent 1* strong. I love these irons, but am experiencing a 20-25 yard gap between my 24* hybrid and 26* 5i. As a solution, I was considering replacing the 5 & 6 irons with “hotter” versions to help smooth that gap.
24* hybrid: 185
26* 5i: 160-165
30* 6i: 155
34* 7i: 145
Any suggestions on Maltby irons that would help close the gap?
Without knowing the shafts and the club lengths, it is difficult to understand why you are experiencing the gap. My educated guess would be that the hybrid has a lighter graphite shaft in it and is played at a longer club length than a normal 4 iron would be. No face technology or any technology in an iron clubhead is going to make up a 20 yard gap if the overall club lengths and club weights remain the same. Of course lofts do have a major effect. Some kind of adjusted length progression and loft progression in the #5 and #6 might need to happen. You could try a slightly stronger #5 iron, like the TS3. It is 25 deg. and might help some. It doesn’t really matter what the actual loft of the hybrid is related to the #5 iron since the hybrid is probably lighter and longer, which is contributing to the gap and the distance you hit it. Might look at the Tour TC Hybrid H5 which is 25 degrees to replace the #5 iron. The challenge is to close the gap between your current hy and 5i without creating another gap between the #5 and #6 or the #6 and #7. Lofts are considerably stronger in iron sets today trying to replace just the #5 and #6 without effecting the gap that could arise between the new #6 and #7 is something else to be aware of.
Not sure if this helps any, but just some things to consider.
Britt Lindsey
Have a look at the M890 h5 28* hybrid. By adjusting the head weight and the total length, it should be possible to fill the distance gap between the 5i and 24* hybrid.
Thanks for this, Britt.
Great point about my hybrid playing longer and lighter than a standard 4i. You’re exactly right – my hybrid is 1″ longer than my 5i and has a lighter shaft.
This gives me more to think about as I work to close this gap without opening another one.
Cheers!