The TaylorMade RSi Tour Preferred UDI iron is ideal for those players who want to play a long iron when they know they should be using a hybrid.
The UDI stands for Ultimate Driving Iron and really when we call it a hybrid, it means a hybrid iron for high swing speed players who can launch the UDI high enough to stop on the green.
Of course, the other use is as a driving iron where stopping on impact is not the issue as the larger, squarer looking head will offer more forgiveness than the standard RSi iron, but still give the same consistency and accuracy.
The head is cast from 450 Carpenter Steel and is hollow in order to move the centre of gravity lower and further back to get a higher launch than the equivalent lofted long iron.
At address the UDI sits very well and is pleasing on the eye with a thicker top line, small offset and nice mid-sized head to give you the feeling that this iron will play easily.
The profile of the face is still that of a long iron, but after hitting a few shots you realise that the UDI is so much easier to use. Unlike the RSi irons, there are no face slots on the UDI because the hollow head would not support the engineering required to put them in.
The trajectory is lower than a hybrid, but higher than the comparable iron, hence the Tour Preferred moniker, as this is designed to provide the shape of shot better players will want from a long iron in a more forgiving head.
The general feel of the club is lighter than average and this is due in part to the excellent KBS Tour C-Taper Lite steel shaft that comes in a classy matte finish and weighs 110g in a stiff flex.
Like the RSi irons, the Advanced Speed Pocket is there to increase ball speed from low centre strikes on the face and this is the type of club is where it comes into its own.
There are different sizes of Speed Pocket in the Tour Preferred range depending on the TaylorMade iron you are using, but the greater head size of the UDI gives them the opportunity to put the largest one they can in there.
The feel and the sound were good for a hollow iron and the combination of the hollow head with the Speed Pocket slot on the sole worked well.
The overall performance was good enough, but compared to other irons in the market, the feel was not as good as some forged versions of this style of iron.
The lofts go up to a 5-iron replacement at 26° which is a nice option if you are moving up from some of TaylorMade's player irons. However with the standard RSi iron being a little larger and more forgiving, I would be heading to that set first and use the UDI as a driving iron in the 16° to 18° range.
The UDI is a competent hybrid driving iron and if you are a TaylorMade loyalist or want to match it into an RSi set then that would be the ultimate way to use it.