TaylorMade SIM DHY and UDI Utility Irons

The new TaylorMade SIM DHY and UDI utility irons represent both a jump to the left and a step to right for the company. In either case, both are a giant stride away from the GAPR experiment.

If you’re the kind of golfer who finds utility irons exciting, we could probably hang out. Sure, irons are sexy, wedges are cool and putters are fun but utility irons are kinda like kale. They are potentially good for you but they’re no meat-lovers pizza with extra everything.

You may or may not find the new TaylorMade DHY and UDI utility irons exciting but they are interesting, especially within the context of GAPR. And depending on your game, you may find something that fills a, uh, gap.

GAPR: Folly or Forethought

Two years ago, TaylorMade took a stab at creating a new category in that undiscovered country between driving irons and hybrids. GAPR LO, MID and HI bridged a gap many of us didn’t know existed and did so rather garishly. They performed but looks-wise they were, well, an acquired taste.

Do golfers need three options between irons and metal woods that aren’t hybrids? Apparently not, as GAPR is gone and TaylorMade is calling the new models what they are: utility irons.

“Our opportunity with GAPR was a foray into some new clubs, some new thinking,” says Tomo Bystedt, TaylorMade’s Senior Director of Product Creation. “Now our opportunity is to refine those things and learn from what we’ve seen in the field and from what we’ve seen on Tour and learn from what we’ve heard from our fitters.”

GAPR’s problems were twofold. First, the basic black with seafoam green accents simply didn’t look like anything else in the TaylorMade lineup. If you wanted a seamless transition from an M-series fairway wood to your P790 irons, GAPR wasn’t it. The new SIM DHY and UDI utility irons, however, most definitely are.

The second problem was simplicity or, more precisely, a lack of it. Three choices in a category you didn’t know you needed were three too many.

A vague similarity to the Titleist T-MB aside, the new SIM DHY and UDI utility irons certainly look like they belong and TaylorMade has done a nice job of simplifying the selection process.

SIM DHY: A Jump To The Left

It sure seems longer than eight years ago that TaylorMade bought out Adams, doesn’t it? Adams was under the TaylorMade tent when it released its original DHy (Driving Hybrid – get it?). The new SIM DHY shares the name and enough DNA to be considered second cousins but you should probably think of it as a slimmer, better-looking GAPR MID.

“It’s a very sleek look,” says Bystedt. “We’ve definitely cleaned up some of the lines.”

Of the two new utilities, SIM DHY is the more forgiving, with a wider sole and lower profile to get the center of gravity as low as possible. The SIM DHY also features a more versatile leading edge compared to the GAPR MID. “That’s helped us to get this club more versatile from bad lies, from bunkers and from the rough,” says Bystedt. “It was very important for us to improve how the club interacted through the turf.”

The SIM DHY also has a bonded hosel (GAPR had an adjustable hosel) to save some weight and slim down the package. That, says Bystedt, came at the request of TaylorMade fitters and Tour staff.

“We’re going to a fixed, bendable hosel, offering more flexibility,” he says. “You can change the lie angle without affecting loft and vice versa.”

Loft and lie can be adjusted plus or minus two degrees.

What would a TaylorMade club be without SpeedFoam™?  SIM DHY features a lower-density SpeedFoam™ (some 35 percent less dense that what is used in UDI) to keep the overall weight down and make the CG as low as possible.

SIM UDI: A Step To The Right

While the DHY is a slimmer, sexier take on GAPR MID, SIM UDI (Ultimate Driving Iron) is a better-looking version of the GAPR LO.

“Both are very clean and sleek looking at address,” says Bystedt. “There’s nothing very funky going on.”

As we mentioned, SIM DHY is the more forgiving club, so it will have a little more offset while SIM UDI will have a little less. UDI also has a more traditional high toe shape compared to DHY. In addition, the heavier, denser SpeedFoam™ used in SIM UDI allows for a low and forward CG placement. TaylorMade says that creates a more penetrating ball flight. SIM DHY’s lighter SpeedFoam™ helps keep the CG low and back to help get the ball up in the air.

SIM UDI has a narrower sole and thinner topline compared to GAPR LO. And – because it also has a bonded hosel – UDI has a cleaner transition from the back of the club to the hosel.

Overall, SIM UDI and SIM DHY share much of the same technology. While GAPR featured a cast C300 steel face, the new SIMs have a forged C300 steel face. Those are the same materials used in the SIM Max fairway woods and hybrids.

“The face is forged precisely to get the exact dimensions of all of the thicknesses,” says Bystedt. “And it wraps onto the sole, so there’s a continuous ledge there – very thin – keeping that flexibility all the way through the face.”

Both clubs also feature a TaylorMade mouthful: the Thru Slot Speed Pocket™. We discussed it in our article on the SIM irons back in January. TaylorMade says the Thru Slot Speed Pocket™ increases face deflection for better ball speed and forgiveness on low face shots.

Weaker Lofts?

Loft Police take note: both UDI and DHY feature weaker lofts than their standard GAPR counterparts. Oh, yeah, the stock shafts are shorter, too.

“We’re trying match up with P790 length,” says Bystedt. “That makes for an easier flow when matching with an iron set.”

You’d think shorter shafts and weaker lofts would equal a shorter club. You’d be wrong.

Bystedt says TaylorMade’s player testing showed the SIM DHY 19-degree model with slightly more ball speed than the 18-degree GAPR MID. SIM DHY also spun less, launched a little higher and flew a little higher. That translated to 2 1/2 more yards of carry and just under four yards more total distance.

Comparing the 18-degree SIM UDI to the 17-degree GAPR LO, ball speeds were the same. However, SIM UDI’s higher launch and lower spin yielded three more yards of carry and more than four yards more total distance.

Looking at shafts, it’s clear TaylorMade is leaving the GAPR experiment in the rearview mirror. All the GAPRs featured the same KBS Hybrid shaft. The new SIMs are switching it up to better match the shaft to the target player.

“The DHY shaft is going to be a little softer tip, helping that higher launch,” says Bystedt. “The UDI shaft is going to be a little bit heavier and firmer for workability and a little bit flatter trajectory.”

Both irons feature Mitsubishi Diamana shafts: the Limited Hybrid in the SIM DHY and the Thump Hybrid in the SIM UDI. Both are listed, sort of, on Mitsubishi’s website. But in a prepared video, Bystedt stated, “we designed new shafts for both of these.” It would appear these are somewhere between made-for and real-deal, leaning toward the made-for side.

In either case, TaylorMade is telling us both irons are eminently playable. The UDI is aimed at scratch to 15-handicappers while the DHY is good for handicaps all the way up to 30.

Price, Availability and GAPR’s Last Rites

The TaylorMade SIM DHY and UDI utility irons will retail for $249, which is on the upper end of the utility iron category. Callaway’s X-Forged utility is also $249 while Titleist’s U-series is $250. The Wilson Staff Model utility and the PING Crossover are $229 (the PING, due for replacement, is being discounted to $189). The Srixon and Cobra utilities retail for $199.

As mentioned, the SIM DHY stock shaft is the Mitsubishi Diamana Limited Hybrid. It’s available in three different flexes: the 55-gram A flex, the 65-gram Regular and the 75-gram stiff.  The Lamkin Crossline 360 is the stock grip. The DHY will be available in four different lofts (17, 19, 22 and 25-degrees).

The better-player focused SIM UDI features the more robust Diamana Thump shaft. It’s available in Regular flex (80 grams), Stiff (90 grams) and X flex (100 grams). The Lamkin Crossline is still the stock grip but the UDI will be available in only two lofts: 18 and 20 degrees.

As mentioned, both models are loft and lie adjustable plus or minus two degrees.

Both irons will be available at retail Sept. 4.

TaylorMade is clearly giving official last rites to the GAPR idea. Golfers didn’t see the need for – nor did they flock to – clubs that weren’t quite a utility iron but weren’t quite a hybrid, either. TaylorMade isn’t mincing words with the new SIMS – they are most definitely utility irons.

And squawk all you want about not being influenced by Tour use but it’s clear GAPR didn’t get much love from TaylorMade’s pro staff. The company hopes the new SIMs will change that.

“We’re going to see these out on Tour, more so than GAPR,” admits Bystedt. “It’s really because we’ve taken feedback from Tour players and incorporated all that into these clubs.”

For more information, visit TaylorMadegolf.com