Sub 70 699U Utility Club

Utility club, long iron replacement, hybrid alternative, driving iron…whatever you want to call it, the Sub 70 699U is one of the easiest to hit utility irons I’ve ever tried.  Designed to give the player all the speed and forgiveness of a hybrid, but with the looks of an iron, the 699U is a great fit between your woods and irons.  Even better, it’s an absolute steal starting at just a hundred bucks.

The Looks

Listen, while you may not mistake the Sub 70 699U for a compact player’s head, it still fits in pretty clean with the 699 irons we reviewed here.  The overall aesthetic is exactly the same as those 699 irons.  Being a driving/utility iron, the 699U has a thicker topline and noticeable offset, but that’s to be expected in this category of club.  If you’re the player that prefers the look of an iron over a hybrid, the 699U will get it done.

How Does it Feel?

Sub 70 made the 699U’s body out of stainless steel and the face with a thin “carpenter steel.”  This carpenter steel is intended to allow for maximum flex in the face (aka “spring”) to promote faster ball speeds as well as more forgiveness.  It’s important to note, that the 699U head is hollow.  Like the 699 irons, Sub 70 injected a “TPE” material into the head to make it more stable, as well as tune the feel and sound.  As a result, you’re left with a massive sweet spot and a ton of forgiveness.  From a general perspective, the 699U feels lively and clean.  The sole glides through the turf smoothly and the ball feels hot over most of the face with plenty of feedback.  A pure shot feels about as sweet as it gets.

How Does it Sound?

The Sub 70 699U sounds a lot like the 699 irons.  Having a hollow head with a foam/resin injected in it typically results in a “slap” sound and the 699U follows suit.  The only slight difference between the utility and regular iron is that the utility is a little less muted.  Most shots have a more pronounced sound but still falls in an acceptable range.  Don’t worry, absolutely no one will mistake the sound for a metalwood.  What you have is a crisp textbook utility/driving iron sound.

On-Course Performance

I wasn’t lying when I said the Sub 70 699U utility iron is the easiest I’ve ever hit (within its class of course).  Typically, I find utility irons to be somewhat awkward, if not difficult, to hit.  Why?  I have no idea, but I just do.  With the 699U, it was a different story from the very first ball.  The ball got in the air easily with a strong flight and good carry.  While the distance was great, the lower spin and control were the most impressive.  I also found the 699U to be extremely easy to manipulate.  Hitting lower-flighted shots was a nice tool in the bag and being able to shape the ball both ways with ease was great.

The icing on the cake is the 699U’s forgiveness.  By design, the 699U has a larger sweet spot which was definitely noticeable.  No, I actually do NOT hit the dead center of the face every time.  When I would hit shots higher on the face, I naturally expected to see distance loss, however, these shots still flew true to distance.  There was similar forgiveness toward the heel and toe as well.  It felt like only significant misses were actually punishing.  Don’t get me wrong, the 699U won’t save a terrible swing, but will certainly make the long iron section of your bag easier to play.

Final Thoughts – Sub 70 699U Utility Club

I know I’m going to get accused of praising everything I review and being a fanboy here, but I gotta tell ya, the Sub 70 699U has renewed my interest in utility irons.  The club is flat out really good.  Oh, and it’s $100.  Now, I’m not looking to replace my hybrid, but I could see a world where my 4 iron is out and the 699U is in.  The club didn’t just feel and sound great, but the performance and forgiveness impressed our whole group throughout testing.

If you don’t believe me, but are interested, I’d suggest reaching out to Sub 70.  They are fantastic to work with (honestly, some of the best in the business) and offer a great demo program if you need a hands-on experience.

Stock Sub 70 699U Utility Club Specs