With so many new options hitting the market the top end of the bag can get muddled really quick. There’s already so many reason to have more head covers in the bag than ever before with players opting out of the long irons in their set, but once you’ve decided what that last iron is how do you fill the rest of the bag up to the driver?
Utility irons? Hybrids? Fairway woods? Utility woods? Not to mention having to ask yourself if you’re the proper candidate for a mini driver. Callaway just launched three new options for the top end of your bag, so let’s dive in to these choices in this installment of Bag Builders.
Where do we start?
The first question we need to answer is where the iron set stops. The more skilled of a player you are the more likely you are to have more irons in the bag. There’s still pros on Tour rocking 3-irons in their set. That’s wonderful for them, but the reality for most amateur golfers is that you’re probably stopping the set at the 4- or 5-iron. Some folks have even started stopping the set at the 6-iron. This is actually something I experimented with this summer, but couldn’t find the right option to replace some of the shots that I’d normally hit so the 5-iron got to stick around. An important note here is that I am not considering utility irons in this question. Only the irons in your set. So if you’re a player who moves to a utility-style iron after your set, that would be considered the start of our long game coverage.
Based on what your longest iron in the bag is, we then need to figure out how many slots are left to fill. This will require you to take another look at your bag and depending on how many wedges you play, the answer is going to vary. Typically if we stop our iron set at the 5 and we play four wedges, we’re going to need three more clubs between the 5-iron and the driver. So now it’s time to do some math. I’ll use my own bag as an example:
What do I need for my game?
My 5-iron carries about 200 yards in the air. My driver carries to about 275 yards. That means that I need three clubs to cover 75 yards worth of distance as efficiently as possible. For me, the ideal setup is going to be two clubs with a great amount of versatility that can split the work between roughly 210 – 240 yards. So for my bag I’m looking for about a 215-yard club and a 230-yard club. And then I would fill in the gap between that longest club and my driver with something that gives me about 250-260 off the tee and off the deck. Likely a fairway wood.
So we’ve nailed down what I need. A 215 club, a 230 club, and a 250 club. Now we have to figure out what clubs I need to get to those distances. Playing with flight in the top end of the bag is very important. Knowing that you have versatility allows you to cover more gapping between longer options, and being able to stretch out a long option to increase roll-out and total distance or add spin and take some distance off is the difference between a lethal long game player and a mediocre one. That being said, the faster speeds you’re able to produce the more likely you are to desire more creativity.
Options for slower players
For slower players, the long game area of the bag may still be used for par-4 approach shots, and the emphasis there is going to be an easy to hit club with a tight dispersion that prioritizes landing conditions and consistency over creativity. Typically I would tell any player that they need to be confident in hitting a green from 185 yards. So if wherever you stop your iron set doesn’t provide that coverage, you need to think of your long game options as an extension of the iron set. This may mean going into hybrids which are great tools at performing like an iron would in that slot, while producing more ball speed and launch to make it easier on the player. I would not suggest that slower players look at utility irons. There’s a reason your iron set stops where it stops. There’s so many good options on the market to help assist you after that point, so don’t be afraid to try some options.
I think one of the best options for slower players is the new Callaway Apex Ti Fusion Super Hybrid. Its just so easy to hit. I’ve given two to my dad and it’s completely changed his game. He has a lot of trust in his fairway woods, but moving into the irons can be more challenging as he continues to improve his game. The Super Hybrid has been a great in between for him. The 16º replaces his 5/6 iron and the 22º replaces his 7/8 iron. So he can keep the 8 iron in the bag and continue to improve his strike without feeling like he’s losing shots because of it. He went from hovering around shooting 100 to consistently shooting in the mid 90s just because of the addition of the two Super Hybrids. He’s never worried about the ball getting up in the air, and the Titanium face of the latest iteration produces ball speed regardless of how it’s struck.
Options for faster players
For faster players who may stop their iron set closer to 200-215 yards, there’s a bit more freedom of choice for how to choose the first option after the iron set. The utility iron category has become quite popular in recent years, and these options are great for players still looking for shot shaping and flight control. For players who want to work the ball high, low, and both ways, utility irons are going to be the right choice. Great for players that are tipping out courses and find themselves on 220+ yard par-3s on a consistent basis. It’s nice to have the control and the spin of a utility iron when trying to be as precise from 220 yards as they are from 170 yards.
The new Callaway Apex UT has really impressed me. I am not a fan of utility irons. I don’t normally play them. Most of the time they’re overly clunky, they don’t provide tons of confidence behind the ball, and they feel like junk. The new UT’s design is clean, more compact than others, and provides LOTS of ball speed while feeling pretty good considering the category it lives in. Having the face and the sole of the club designed as separate pieces is a really cool way for them to add some more technology to the face, and the new Utility Ai Face iteration has already proven itself in my numbers. Toe hits aren’t as crazy low spin as others and the ball stays in the air. You’ll still lose some speed and some distance, but you won’t be completely boned. To put it bluntly. I’ve got a 22º option built up with a Fujikura Ventus HB Red and it’s an easy addition to my bag in that 4-iron slot. This takes care of that 215 yard club I talked about needing.
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The Apex UW – It has a cult following for a reason
The new Apex UW is our final new product to talk about, and this one’s the most interesting. It’s a lot of things, depending on the player’s hands that its in. For me, it’s an ultra consistent high draw secondary tee option that goes about 220 yards (using the 23º offering) with a good amount of spin. I can also float in a cut with this to about 205 yards, or flight it down and let it run. It’s proven to be more versatile of the tee for me than I think it may be advertised to do so.
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Off the deck I’ll hit it a little bit higher on the face with less spin and it gets closer to carrying about 230 yards. It’s also the easiest club I have to hit out of crappy lies in the rough. Matted down grass, patchy dirt marks, tree roots in the way, the UW doesn’t care. That step sole design really does work and I think that the priority most people should set if they are thinking about putting this in the bag is that its primarily an off-the-deck club. Which for me has been fantastic. This is the 230-yard club I talked about needing. I actually originally thought I was going to have to choose between the UT and the UW for the bag, but turns out… I can put both in! I’ve got my 23º UW built up with a Mitsubishi Diamana RB and it’s quite the tool.
I think the UW would also be a great option for semi-decent ball strikers who don’t love hitting fairway woods off the deck. A UW is much easier to mentally stand over and get a little bit steeper on than the longer profile of the fairway wood. For some players this alone may be the difference in playing a UW or a fairway wood. It can be particularly useful when you also want something that’s a little bit more workable than a traditional fairway wood, while still having a better ability to hit from subpar lies than a traditional hybrid. I can shape and flight my UW in ways that would be extremely difficult with the fairway wood equivalent.
So we’ve got my 215 club and my 230 club, but what about that 250-260 club?
For me, it’s about the course I am playing. If I am going to need that distance off the tee, I am 100% going to grab a mini driver. Probably the Callaway Elyte Mini because it’s the one that spins the most for me, and I like having a bit more spin off the Mini. It allows me to ensure that it won’t run out from me. Lots of times where I regularly play 250 carry turns into a max rollout of 265 before you get into trouble. Spin helps me control that confidence.
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If I am playing a course where I think I’ll need to hit a longer approach or have a shot at a par-5 in two, I’ll reach for a fairway wood offering. Usually something in the 16.5º realm works well for me. It helps me personally to see a little bit of loft on my fairway wood. Just makes it mentally easier to get through impact and stay down on the ball just a touch longer.
Where does this all leave us?
It may seem like it requires a lot of work to fill the top end of the bag. And that’s because it is. Gapping this are of the bag is just as important as gapping your wedge set. Knowing what tools you have, how far they go, and the different ways that they can get there is extremely important to higher success on the course. It doesn’t really matter what speed or ability you have, the long game are of the bag is often overlooked. People know that they don’t require as much precision in the top end, so they excuse a lack of performance. In reality, dialing in your long game can have a large and immediate effect on the score card. Particularly if you realize that you need to add more long game options, like my dad.
