TaylorMade SIM UDI and DHY Review

The TaylorMade SIM UDI and SIM DHY utility irons replace the brand’s GAPR line-up that launched two years ago. TM say both offer long game solutions to golfers who prefer irons over hybrids.

The manufacturer changed how golfers approach the long game when they introduced the first Rescue (hybrid) in 2001, and they’ve actively explored other long game solutions to fill gaps between longest irons and woods ever since.

SIM Max Rescue has been a massive hit in 2020 (Rory McIroy, Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa have them in their bags) but lots of players still love the look and performance of a long iron.

Related: WITB Collin Morikawa

That love sees TaylorMade introdice SIM UDI and SIM DHY to replace the GAPR family.

TaylorMade SIM DHY

RRP: £229

Lofts: 2-17° / 3-19° / 4-22° / 5-25°

Stock shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana Limited 55 (A) 65 (R) 75 (S)

Stock grip: Lamkin Crossline

Adjustable hosel: No

The SIM DHY (Driving Hybrid) is a more forgiving long iron replacement.

Even though the body’s wider there’s still a clean look at address.

The hollow body has a forged face fast (so you can expect great feel), there’s a new lightweight Speed Foam inside (to maximise perimeter weighting and tune sound) and TaylorMade say they’re great for hitting long irons higher and getting shots to land softly from any lie.  

Related: Best Hybrid 2020

What you need to know about TaylorMade SIM DHY

Versatile shaping

You get a cleaner more refined address look than the GAPR MID. A wide playable sole is designed to perform from the tee, fairway, rough and difficult lies.

Lightweight SpeedFoam

TaylorMade have used SpeedFoam to fine tune sound, feel and ball speed performance ever since they first introduced the hollow-body P790 iron in 2017. A new 35% lighter SpeedFoam means additional perimeter weighting and forgiveness, with no trade-off in performance. 

Take it low

A low centre of gravity, hollow-body construction is combined with an ultra-thin C300 forged face to ramp up forgiveness. The low back CG construction generates high flighted shots with extra peak height, meaning shots land on a steep descent angle and stop quickly.

Related: TaylorMade launch P-Series irons

Straight through

A Thru Slot Speed Pocket in the sole mean the bottom of the face is not attached to the sole, increasing face flex and improving ball speed, especially when shots are hit low on the face.

Just like TaylorMade SIM drivers there’s also Inverted Cone Technology to improve ball speed retention on off centre hits.

Fit me up

The adjustable hosel (which allowed loft and lie adjustments) found on the previous GAPR has been removed from this series. TaylorMade say they expect orders of the SMI DHY to be heavily customised and they can bend loft or lie by up 2°.

How does TaylorMade SIM DHY compare to GAPR MID?

TaylorMade SIM UDI

RRP: £229

Lofts: 2- 18° / 3-20°

Stock shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana Thump 90 (S) 100 (X)

Stock grip: Lamkin Crossline

Adjustable hosel: No

TaylorMade have been creating UDIs (Ultimate Driving Irons) since 2014.

This new model is slightly thinner both on the sole and top line with a little less hosel offset. It focuses a little more on performing from the tee, so shots launch a little lower, spin a little less and produce a flatter more penetrating flight.

Expect to see both the UDI and DHY played on tour this year.

RELATED: Which TaylorMade iron suits me?

What you need to know about TaylorMade SIM UDI

Tour validated shape

TaylorMade started the development process of UDI with far more feedback from their elite tour players than they did with GAPR.

There’s a rounder leading edge, a thinner topline and minimal offset, which better players to tend to like. All of which help increase shot workability.

Hollow body construction

A hollow-body construction is filled with SpeedFoam to create a low and forward centre of gravity model. UDI is designed to produce a powerful, penetrating ball flight.

Forged and fast

An ultra-thin forged C300 face includes Inverted Cone Technology to maximise ball speeds from the centre of the face and preserve it on off-centre shots.

A Thru Slot Speed Pocket also reduces speed and launch loss for shots hit low in the face.   

Fit me up

The adjustable hosel (which allowed loft and lie adjustments) found on the previous GAPR has been removed from this series. TaylorMade say they expect orders of the SMI UDI to be heavily customised and they can bend loft or lie by up 2°.

Related: TaylorMade SIM Max Rescue hybrid review

How does TaylorMade SIM UDI compare to GAPR LO?

How do the TaylorMade SIM UDI and SIM DHY compare against the SIM Max Rescue?

We asked Tomo Bystedt, TaylorMade’s Director of Product Creation for Metalwoods, to explain more about the technology in SIM UDI and SIM DHY.

Why do golfers need utility long irons? What is it that hybrids don’t deliver?

When we designed the GAPR, we did lots of research around different players and how they attack the ball, and ultimately it came down to a few different things.

There’s a control element missing with high-lofted fairway woods and hybrids, and workability can also be a challenge, especially for better players. There’s a big difference in players who hit down on the ball (who are more suited to irons) compared to those who sweep shots off the fairway.

Visually some find comfort in having a shorter club (utility irons are shorter than hybrids), and we definitely found there are golfers out there who struggle to hit high-lofted woods and hybrids, they’re just more capable of making a repeatable swing and making consistent contact with an iron in their hands.        

What did you learn from the previous GAPR range?

We had a ton of feedback from tour players, club golfers, fitters and retailers, so we learned a lot. The biggest change is removing the adjustable loft sleeve. Players want to be able to change loft or lie independently which the loft sleeve struggles to deliver (as itchnages two specs at a time). The new models will predominantly be custom fitted so we’ll bend the hosel for loft and lie at our facility.  

The GAPR’s one-length idea (all three models had the same length shaft) was good, but fell down a little because visually the clubs were so different in size, and golfers respond to length visually as well as physically.

The new SIM UDI and DHY have a 0.5-inch shaft length difference between the two clubs, which accounts for the visual difference in size (DHY is bigger). We’ve also made both new models 0.5” shorter than the corresponding GAPR LO and GAPR MID.

Tweaks to the DHY mean it also has less of a right tendency to the GAPR Mid and we’ve reshaped the leading edge to improve turf interaction.

How does a golfer decide whether they fit TaylorMade SIM Max Rescue, SIM DHY or SIM UDI?

Start with looking at what your game is like. Ask yourself how far do I hit it? Do I hit shots high or low? These two things can separate you between the UDI and a DHY or Rescue.

If you’re on the stronger player side and have high ball speed and tend to use this club a lot from the tee, the UDI is a really good choice. A good rule of thumb is faster speed players and golfers that hit it higher are definitely more in the UDI camp.

If you want more height and versatility and don’t have a very fast swing speed, you really should be looking at the DHY and SIM Max Rescue. The choice between the DHY and Rescue comes much more down to visuals. Setting each down, which speaks to you more? Can you hit one better than the other, do you naturally prefer irons or hybrids?

The Rescue will be more versatile if you find yourself hitting shots with it from the rough and fairway bunkers, where thanks to the straighter face the DHY can be manipulated to control trajectory, and is often a better choice from the tee.

Tell us a bit more about how forgiving each model is. Many would assume SIM Max Rescue would be most the forgiving TaylorMade model.

It depends how you interpret forgiveness but the DHY has the highest inertia between the three models. Because of the shorter front to back dimension we’re able to load up lots of weight in the toe and heel, it creates a low centre of gravity and makes the DHY extremely forgiving. The Thru Slot speed pocket also helps with forgiveness in long iron replacements as mishits often tend to be low in the blade.

The DHY is the most forgiving, but it’s very closely followed by the SIM Max Rescue, it’s important to remember the Rescue has face roll and bulge and TwistFace too. So if you count that as forgiveness they will help you get in the fairway most often when shots are hit from the toe and heel.

GAPR wasn’t too widely used on tour, will more players put SIM UDI and SIM DHY in play?

Yes for sure, we’ve involved the tour guys a lot in the development of these new models. We asked them what they wanted to see from these clubs and we’ve listened to their feedback, so we’re very confident you’ll see more on tour.

We expect both models to be in play for different course and conditions. But let’s not forget the SIM Max Rescue has been a huge hit – DJ won with two in his bag, while Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa are both playing the club regularly too.       

Related: What’s in the bag of TaylorMade’s Tomo Bystedt?

Data comparison: TaylorMade SIM UDI, SIM DHY and SIM Max Rescue

Review written by: Simon Daddow   

Job title: Today’s Golfer – Equipment Editor

      

TaylorMade SIM DHY

RRP: £229

Lofts: 2-17° / 3-19° / 4-22° / 5-25°

Stock shaft:  Mitsubishi Diamana Limited 55 (A) 65 (R) 75 (S)

Stock grip: Lamkin Crossline

Adjustable hosel: No

TaylorMade SIM UDI

RRP: £229

Lofts: 2- 18° / 3-20°

Stock shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana Thump 90 (S) 100 (X)

Stock grip: Lamkin Crossline

Adjustable hosel: No