TaylorMade Ultimate Driving Iron Gets Officially Official

Written By: Tony Covey

Just a couple weeks ago, the latest ‘prototype‘ (wink, wink) in the TaylorMade arsenal, the Ultimate Driving Iron (so much for no nonsense names) found its way onto the tour van, and into the hands of TaylorMade’s PGA Staffers.

In just its first week on tour, Justin Rose won the Quicken Loans National with a UTI UDI (in the bag). And damn if he didn’t just win again in Scotland. Other TaylorMade staffers have been testing the UDI, and as you might also expect, TaylorMade reports that their guys love it.

Maybe you’ll love it too.

Given the timing, it was a reasonable assumption that the UDI was created with an eye towards this week’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. TaylorMade would offer it up to its staffers as an easier-to-shape alternative to fairway woods and hybrids; designed to better meet the demands of links golf.

Retail availability was less certain. UDI, as interesting as it may be to some of you, strikes me as a horse-for-the-course kind of club. The prevailing wisdom was that no matter how ULTIMATE the performance on tour, the club itself would likely never see the fluorescent lights of a retail shop near you. UDI isn’t designed with the average golfer in mind.

If the Mini Driver is niche, then UDI is ultra-niche.

Taking Niche Mainstream

The thing is, while this isn’t a wholly new TaylorMade, it is a slightly different TaylorMade, and part of the current strategy appears to involve taking these actually-tour-inspired niche products and making them available to the consumer.

It’s one of the things a segment of golfers has, for years, asked of TaylorMade to do. For now anyway, the company seems intent on obliging despite the undeniable fact that a Tour Preferred Ultimate Driving Iron won’t ring the register with nearly the same intensity as the next SLDR Driver.

How un-TaylorMade is that?

Rather than flood the market with yet another round of drivers (it has been a couple of months already, right?), the company has dedicated a portion of its summer efforts to a couple of limited run products with not a ton of profit potential (or fanfare). It’s a little strange, but then again, summer is slow. It is only July.

Let’s talk in September.

About the UDI

• Distance – CHECK
• High-Performance – CHECK
• Traditional – CHECK (really?)
• Speed Pocket – CHECK

My god, this Ultimate Driving Iron thing has EVERYTHING. Except, well, it’s a driving iron which most of us don’t need, and if we did, probably couldn’t hit well anyway.

Going back to that bit about this slightly different TaylorMade….many of you probably don’t need a UDI, but its availability supports the notion that if TaylorMade is going to put it in the van, it’s going to put it in the stores.

It’s hard to get too pissed off about that.

 *Pictured are the TaylorMade UDI 2-Iron (left) and the TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 3-Iron (right)

From a design perspective, the idea behind UDI is to blend the distance and playability of a rescue club (dammit, TMaG, how’s about just calling it a hybrid like everybody else?), with the shot-shaping control of an iron. The point here is that UDI makes it easy for accomplished golfers to flight shots low and otherwise manipulate trajectory as needed.

Sounds like something that could be useful on an Open Championship course, doesn’t it?

The hollow cavity of the UDI allowed TMaG designers to position mass lower and farther forward, which, along with a thin, unsupported 455 Carpenter Steel face, promotes faster ball speed (forward) and higher launch (low). And yes…as Tomo mentioned, it’s got a Speed Pocket.

TaylorMade claims that it’s the increase in launch angle that makes the UDI more playable than previous models. Apparently the catch-all playable, in this particular case, speaks to the ease with which you should be able to hit high shots, with low lofted clubs.

Also, there’s the obligatory stuff about crisp sound and great feel.

The Rebirth of the One Iron

For those of you who either can’t read a spec sheet or just happened to gloss over it, take note that TaylorMade is offering a 1-iron option in the UDI.

With the 12° Mini Driver, TaylorMade basically revived the 2-Wood. Now with a 16° UDI, TaylorMade has given the 1-iron new life. Astounding. Everything old really is new again.

That reminds me…did you guys see that story about the lab in Toledo that just found several vials of viable Smallpox?

For those who don’t want or need (basically for those of you who aren’t insane) a 1-iron, the UDI is also available in 18° and 20°; lofts which more directly compete with similar offerings from Titleist, Callaway, and Adams.

So. . .Whaddaya Think?

I’m actually quite curious to hear your thoughts on the UDI.

I enjoyed a bit of playful fun at the expense of the Mini Driver, but you guys were largely receptive to it. That surprised me.

Mocking aside, the Mini has proven to be the best addition to my bag since I started playing this ridiculous game. There were concerns that it wouldn’t be playable from the fairway, let alone the rough. They were unfounded. I hit it better than any fairway wood I’ve ever played, and I hit it confidently from EVERYWHERE (except side hill lies).

Could the UDI prove similarly versatile? If I can hit a Mini out of 3-foot heather, most of us should be able to hit a UDI off a fairway…and out of the rough.

That said, I really don’t know where the UDI make sense for most guys (I did say the same about the Mini). Is it something you’d put in your bag every day? Is it just for recreating the experience of The Open at home? Is it a club you buy because of some sense of nostalgia, but never use for anything more than banging balls at the range?

Is it anything you’d even consider spending your money on?

It’s not that I’m necessarily opposed to the UDI, but as a mostly average golfer, I’m just not sure where it fits. Of course, if TaylorMade is to be believed, the UDI was never intended for guys like me anyway. Neither was the Mini.

Pricing and Availability

The TaylorMade UDI is available starting July 14th (that’s today). Retail price for the UDI is $199. Custom shaft options are available, and you can bet upcharges will almost always apply.