Equipment
Forum Thread of the Day: “Beefy driving/utility iron?”
Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from golfman009 who is on the lookout for a “beefy” driving/utility iron. A fan of the G400 Crossover, golfman009 is searching for a club offering “around 17 degrees” and wants the club to be a released from the last five years. Our members give their thoughts and offer their suggestions.
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.
- Sonja Henie: “The Srixon ZU series is awesome. I have the ZU65 in 2 iron (18) and the 3 iron (20) — incredible club. The new version which is almost identical is the ZU85. Ridiculously easy to hit for a long iron. I’ve also used the G400 crossover. I like it but prefer the Srixon. I found that if you hit the Ping slightly high in the face (maybe off the tee), you get this weird dead shot that travels about 80 yards low and soft. It goes nowhere. But it is a great club if you hit it properly.”
- MelloYello: “If you don’t mind something larger, the original Callaway X-Utility or X-Prototype models are probably the way to go. They are bulky, but they out-perform a lot of their competitors. They are as forgiving and powerful as any driving iron I’ve ever hit.”
- jorgegm022: “I would go try the CBX Iron-wood. I’m playing it with the steel shaft, and it is phenomenal!”
- Ping’s Duck: “Controller driving iron is lots of fun and pretty straight forward, having bulge and roll face, and cheap to find on eBay. A little older than past 5 years though.”
Equipment
Neal Shipley, AKA, the “Big Fridge’s,” custom stamping
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.

“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
Equipment
From the GolfWRX Classifieds: L.A.B. Purple DF3 with Masters cover
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.

From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Whats in the Bag
Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4

3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4

5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4

Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms

Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105

Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Dan
Jun 4, 2019 at 9:23 am
Ping Rapture is solid. I game a Callaway x utility 18 deg w/ steelfiber 95x. Think of a Rogue 3wd trajectory with rouge 5wd distance. Plus it has the same cup face tech and a forged neck for easy bending. Super long.
Ransom
Jun 3, 2019 at 3:33 pm
I’d just move up to the next gen Ping G410. I play it with an Aldila NV Green 80-X shaft and it’s a little boom stick! I can count on it for a solid 240 off the deck every time.