Playing windy Open Championship-like golf? Consider a driving iron

July is the greatest time of year to watch the best players in the world tackle links courses, and one thing that makes links golf so interesting is watching how the pros make changes to their clubs to handle the conditions, especially when it comes to adding long irons and driving irons back into their bags.

Why use a driving irons vs. a fairway wood?

Golf on proper links means playing next to the ocean, and with ocean currents comes Mother Nature and ever-changing winds. The higher the golf ball flies and the more it spins the more impact the wind has on its final direction, and, conversely, the more flighted and lower a player can hit the ball the better control they will gain.

With smaller heads and centers of gravity located closer to the face, driving irons allow for a tremendous amount of control over trajectory and give players the option to hit lower shots easier compared to fairway wood and hybrids.

With so much talk about how far professional golfers hit the ball now, links golf and the conditions players face provide a canvas for the best in the world to hit amazingly creative shots like the one Rory McIlroy hit on the final hole of the Scottish Open in 2023.

If you yourself are looking for a creative club in the wind, we’ve assembled a selection of options that can work for almost any golfer.

Ping iCrossover

The Ping iCrossover is the only utility iron on the market that offers consumer-level adjustability on par with fairway woods and hybrids, which makes it a great choice for those looking to dial in their launch conditions depending on course.

Ping iCrossover Custom Utility Iron

$249

Now fully adjustable for loft and lie with Trajectory Tuning 2.0, the Tour-inspired iCrossover’s compact design elevates long-iron performance from a lower CG and maraging steel face that generate faster ball speed and higher launch to carry shots farther. An EVA polymer in the cavity helps deliver a solid feel and sound. The rounded lead edge ensures smooth turf interaction, a toe screw and tip weight increase MOI and shorter club lengths provide added control. The MicroMax grooves deliver consistent performance from wet and dry grass. The adjustable hosel offers eight loft and lie settings for customizing ball flight. TOUR-INSPIRED DESIGN Refined shaping, compact blade length Precision-milled MicroMax grooves Shorter club lengths for control FASTER. HIGHER. Lower CG for more energy transfer, ball speed High launch with stopping power Solid feel and sound MARAGING STEEL FACE Lower bend hinge point increases speed and launch Smaller internal cavity w/EVA polymer improves feel

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Titleist U505

The Titleist U505 offers hybrid-level forgiveness and ball speed in a club that resembles a more traditional (yet slightly larger) long iron.

Titleist U505 Custom Driving Iron

$269.99

An extremely versatile, high-launching utility iron that now looks and feels dramatically better. U•505 lets you reclaim your long iron game. Drawing on Tour input, the refined design provides the high, explosive launch you expect from a utility, now with a remarkably solid feel and sound. U•505 is the ultimate, high-launching utility. A new, cleaner design creates more confidence at address, while the refined Max Impact Technology, reengineered chassis and new Variable Bounce Sole all improve the feel and overall performance. It all adds up to a versatile utility that plays like an iron. TOUR-VALIDATED LOOKS With a shorter blade and shallow face, U•505 sets up the way Tour Pros feel a utility should. Now with an even cleaner design, there is nothing to distract you from hitting the exact shot and shape your playing position demands. ENHANCED FEEL With distance as a priority for a utility, engineering feel becomes a unique challenge. For U•505, Titleist engineers use a refined Max Impact Technology with added dampening in the polymer muscle badge to guide the frequencies created at impact into the ideal player range. IMPROVED OFF-CENTER ACCURACY U•505 features a more stable, reengineered chassis and a lower CG position to help maintain speed and stability on strikes made away from center. The new single taper face improves performance towards the heel for tighter overall distance dispersion. EFFORTLESS TURF INTERACTION Working with Tour Pros and the grind experts at Vokey Design, our engineers were able to further improve our Variable Bounce Sole by softening the trailing edge to allow the club to flow faster through the turf, even after contact. A scoring iron refinement for one of the longest clubs in your bag.

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TaylorMade P-UDI

The TaylorMade P-UDI as well as the P-DHY offer two distinct options for golfers depending on their style of play and looks preferences. The P-UDI is a more compact profile for players looking for a direct long iron replacement while the P-DHY is longer heel to toe and has added offset for a touch more built-in forgiveness.

TaylorMade P-UDI Custom Utility Iron

$249.99

Tour inspired shaping for a playable and balanced look at address. Strategically positioned CG for a penetrating ball flight with backspin for players who demand shot making with long irons. INDIVIDUAL MASS OPTIMIZATION Featuring advanced thick-thin back wall construction, sound stabilization bar, and deliberately distributed mass to maximize forgiveness. Each iron is uniquely designed with every gram strategically placed to achieve specific performance goals with premium forged feel. OPTIMAL LAUNCH AND FORGIVENESS Designed to deliver easy launch, increased forgiveness and enhanced consistency. The new internal weighting structure combines with proven technologies such as the forged 4140 OptiFace, Speed Pocket™ and up to 26g of tungsten. THRU-SLOT SPEEDPOCKET The Thru-Slot Speed Pocket™ provides increased face flexibility while preserving ball speed and distance on low face strikes.

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Want to overhaul your bag for 2024? Find a fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

Golf.com Editor

Ryan Barath is GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com’s senior editor for equipment. He has an extensive club-fitting and -building background with more than 20 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. Before joining the staff, he was the lead content strategist for Tour Experience Golf, in Toronto, Canada.

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