Equipment
TaylorMade releases Tour Preferred UDI (Ultimate Driving iron)
TaylorMade’s new Tour Preferred UDI (Ultimate Driving Irons) are low-lofted, hollow-bodied long irons designed to launch the ball higher and with more ball speed than traditional long irons.
“We designed the Tour Preferred UDI for players seeking a club that delivers incredible distance off the tee and a high-performance alternative from the fairway,” said Tomo Bystedt, TaylorMade’s Director of Iron Creation. “The clean, traditional look at address inspires confidence and the SpeedPocket technology provides amazing distance and consistency.”
TaylorMade achieved this performance by moving weight lower and more forward in the club head, which produces a higher launch angle with lower spin. The driving iron’s hollow body is made from 450 stainless steel, while its clubface is made from stronger, thinner 455 Carpenter Steel that helps the club produce faster ball speeds.
TaylorMade’s Speed Pocket, a 3-millimeter slot in the sole of the iron, is said to allow the face to flex more efficiently for distance and consistency and further encourage high launch characteristics in the UDI. It’s the same pocket that’s used in the company’s SpeedBlade irons, which are some of the longest-flying irons in golf.
Although the UDI’s look similar to TaylorMade’s Tour Preferred MC irons, they have thicker toplines and lower face profiles that better suit the design of driving irons.
The UDI’s are available in three models: a 1 iron (16 degrees), 2 iron (19 degrees) and 3 iron (20 degrees), and will carry an MSRP of $199. A KBS C-Taper Lite shaft comes stock in the driving irons, which the company says also promotes a mid-to-high trajectory and controlled spin.
TaylorMade staffer Justin Rose had a UDI 3 iron (20 degrees) in his bag during his wins at both the Quicken Loans National and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open last week.
See the rest of Rose’s Winning WITB here.
Rose is expected to have a UDI in play this week at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England for the Open Championship, and TaylorMade expects other golfers to put the club in play as well.
This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.
Joel Thelen
Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.
First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.
Mitchell Meissner
Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.
Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.
Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX
7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX
Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.
@Lamosteve began:
Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine
Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6
Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
- JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
- jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”
Justin Rose WITB 2026 (April): Full WITB breakdown with new McLaren irons
What’s the story behind Webb Simpson’s custom-stamped irons?
Memorial Tournament Tour Report: Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young switch up drivers, and more
Cadillac Championship Tour Report: Spieth’s sizable changes, McLaren Golf launches, and more
Russell Henley’s winning WITB: 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge
Kristoffer Reitan’s winning WITB: 2026 Truist Championship
J.T. Poston’s winning WITB: 2026 Memorial Tournament
Best irons 2026: Best irons overall, most forgiving irons, and more
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2026 Cadillac Championship
Bud Cauley WITB 2026 (June)
Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament. Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura...
Hannah Green WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Titleist GTS3 (10 degrees, D4 SureFit setting) Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana RB 53 S 3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees,...
Asterisk Talley WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 S 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (16.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue...
Brianna Do WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (9 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 3-wood: Callaway Elyte Titanium (15 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 5-wood:...
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Bigleftygolfer
May 28, 2015 at 1:21 pm
I can’t hit a hybrid to save my life I am a struggling 5 HC (my low is a +4 when I played competitive as an amateur after a short pro career as a point of reference) and this Udi is the best / most versatile / easy to hit club I have ever owned I have miura lh prototype baby tournament blades and honestly the 2 iron Udi is easier to hit than my six iron! It flies much higher than I expected and I have verified that it can be bent by 2.5 degrees on a Mitchell press even though it is cast. Since I am a stinky lefty with no endorsements anymore I had to “adjust” my 2 iron to replace an old driving iron so for people wondering I was able to re shaft it with a kbs c taper s+ firm tip 41″ and adjust the lie to down -1 also adjusting loft by 2.5 degree strong (which is max) I now have a club that is about 10 yards shorter than a perfectly struck 3 wood with a much better workability and forgiveness factor. I am actually considering pulling my 3 wood and buying another 2 iron (although that may get confusing as I will have two identical looking clubs in the bag after swapping out shafts maybe paintfill or something to represent which one is the one iron lol). This club flies about as high as my 4 iron without ballooning and rolls for days. It has a carry for me with this setup of about 225 with a total distance of around 250 verified on trackman. I wish TM made a club labelled with a 1 and a 3 for the lefty player but once again us lefties get no love! My three wood maxes out from the deck at around 260 on a well struck ball. Hope this information answered any questions about this club oh yeah it is also very easy to flight in the wind which is something hybrids just can not accommodate!
dunn2500
Jul 17, 2014 at 3:12 am
Cmon…. $200 for a thicker mc iron….you can buy single irons for $100….why are these utility irons so much….I’ll stick to my fli hi which started all this buzz anyway
Jake
Jul 16, 2014 at 11:03 am
Just received this information from TM support: “The 2 and 1 UDI are going to be 18 and 16 degree lofts. They are going to have a higher trajectory than the Rocketbladez Tour irons. The UDI will be a longer 2 iron than the Rocketbladez Tour. It is built with driver DNA.”
Rich
Jul 15, 2014 at 9:41 am
Not to be a nark but I think there’s a typo in the story. The 2 iron is 18 degrees, not 19. It even says so on the hosel in one of the photo’s.
Matt Wiseley
Jul 15, 2014 at 12:30 am
Jake,
Like yourself I am an iron guy to. I say get the 2 iron, if you end up needing more yards, have it bent a degree or so. Since the club is forged, this is an easy fix.
Good luck
Billy
Jul 15, 2014 at 3:51 am
It’s CAST. Not forged.
Jake
Jul 15, 2014 at 10:40 am
Are you able to bend cast, just not as easy as forged?
K
Jul 15, 2014 at 11:53 am
You can bend most cast, just be careful.
Or just put a heavier shaft in it, in my mind its pointless to make a 2 iron with a 110 gram shaft. Toss a S400 in there and let it hit the ground early.
Quintin Carr
Jul 14, 2014 at 10:07 pm
Are these going to be a limited release or a general release. I’d really like to get my hands on the 1 iron.
Billy
Jul 14, 2014 at 11:30 pm
It’a General Release on 8/1/14.
Quintin Carr
Jul 14, 2014 at 11:40 pm
Thanks Billy!
Jason P.
Jul 14, 2014 at 8:00 pm
If you want to buy a driving iron with basically the same technology go to hireko.com and order their new Dynacraft Driving Irons. They have 3 lofts to choose from. I use their 18 degree model and it is flat out hot and straight off the tee for those short par 4’s . Plus it is 3-4 times cheaper and you can have it built with the shaft and grips you want.
Jim
Jul 14, 2014 at 5:51 pm
Still sounds like a form of birth control . The udi
Rich
Jul 15, 2014 at 9:37 am
Good call, LOL!
Pingback: TaylorMade’s Tour Preferred UDI is Open-ready | Spacetimeandi.com
Jake
Jul 14, 2014 at 2:01 pm
I currently play the rocketbladez tour 19* 3-iron. I’m looking for a club to fill between my driver and 3-iron and saw these come in 19* 2 iron and 16* 1-iron. Would it be redundant to get the 2-iron or is this a lower trajectory driving iron?
Curt
Jul 14, 2014 at 3:25 pm
It states both head slot technology and shaft helps to launch the ball high.
MHendon
Jul 14, 2014 at 4:38 pm
How about a 3 wood.
Jake
Jul 14, 2014 at 4:56 pm
Appreciate the snarky comment. Havent used a 3 wood in years. I like the feel of irons. Do you have suggestion of a different (non-driving iron) 2 iron to help fill gap? What is the point of a high trajectory 2 iron?
Cal
Jul 14, 2014 at 5:30 pm
I play a fli hi 3 iron right now but will be getting one of these when they’re released. The purpose, I think, of the high(er) launching 2 iron is to be more versatile from the tee AND the fairway during long approach shots. While this iron is supposed to launch higher than the MC line, I’ve read that it spins less than a normal iron leading me to believe it will still have a piercing flight even if it is high. As for your first question…if it were me, I would get the 2 iron and see what kind of yardage gap I had. Then I would adjust the loft to whatever I needed. The hollow design and new speed pocket may help you eek out a couple more yards and still have a landing angle that could help you hold a green if needed. Good luck!
mhendon
Jul 14, 2014 at 6:44 pm
can’t beat Adams hybrids, got two in my bag. Try one of their tour models in a real strong loft.
Jeff Trigger
Jul 14, 2014 at 6:58 pm
TM’s thing is high launch, low spin. I guess this is the Tour Preferred UDI featuring SLDR technology. I doubt these launch that high, just higher than the low ball hitting TP irons.
Zak Kozuchowski
Jul 14, 2014 at 7:57 pm
Our testing found that the 2014 Tour Preferred CB irons were actually pretty high-launching for their size. I wouldn’t call the Tour Preferred MC irons low-launching, either.