CRITERIA
Our judges evaluated Hot List candidates in four areas.
- Performance ( 45%)
What happens to the ball when it’s struck by the club. - Innovation ( 30%)
How a ball’s technology, advances the category. - Look/Sound/Feel ( 20%)
What the golfer experiences before, during and after impact. - Demand ( 5%)
The relative interest in a product and its reputation.
(L) Low-Handicapper | (M) Mid-Handicapper | (H) High-Handicapper
Callaway
APEX PRO 16
Performance 4½ stars
Innovation 4½ stars
Look / sound / feel 5 stars
Demand 4 stars
Verdict The forging process gives the carbon-steel head a supple feel, but it’s inside where this players iron shines. The progressive weighting has heavier slugs low in the long irons with less weight in the middle irons. The short irons have no extra weight. Plus, the distance is explosive. Think Mentos in a bottle of Diet Coke.
Comments (L) You can work the daylights out of the ball. (M) They’re hot across the entire face, not just the centre.
Cobra
KING FORGED TOUR/ONE LENGTH
Performance 4 stars
Innovation 5 stars
Look / sound / feel 4 stars
Demand 3½ stars
Verdict A milled channel provides the space for 12 grams of discretionary weight (via two tungsten plugs in the toe and one in the heel). Not only does the weight enhance performance on mis-hits, but it helps you launch the ball, too. The one-length-set is highly intriguing, but it remains a love-it-or-loathe-it kind of approach.
Comments (L) Struck me as surprisingly easy to hit. Long, too. (M) Extremely forgiving for a club in this category.
Mizuno
JPX 900 TOUR
Performance 4½ stars
Innovation 4 stars
Look / sound / feel 4½ stars
Demand 3 stars
Verdict The carbon steel is forged in a manner that creates tighter tolerances and improved durability. The company-dubbed “power frame” establishes a larger sweet spot and better performance on off-centre strikes. A club to make aficionados realise the company has moved well past its muscle-back blade heritage.
Comments (L) A lot of spin, a little rise and then a drop. It made it so easy. (M) A low-penetrating flight, invariably straight.
Mizuno
MP-25
Performance 4½ stars
Innovation 5 stars
Look / sound / feel 4½ stars
Demand 2½ stars
Verdict The MP-25 is forged from a boron-infused carbon steel that the company uses in its JPX 900 Forged game-improvement iron. Stronger than traditional steel, the boron allows for a thinner clubface and a slot behind the face that provides additional ball speed. That means these play like an old set of blades – just on steroids.
Comments (L) Offers help without sacrificing feel. (M) Great sizzle off the face with tons of pop.
Ping
i200
Performance 4½ stars
Innovation 4 stars
Look / sound / feel 4 stars
Demand 4 stars
Verdict Weight saved from thinning the face has been reallocated to the hosel and toe areas to expand perimeter weighting for more forgiveness. Unknown to many will be the availability of a “power spec” model (with stronger lofts). Think of it like Ping’s version of a nightclub’s underground venue.
Comments (L) The larger head gave me confidence. My distances were spot on. (M) It’s hard to hit a bad shot. It’s like the entire head is the sweet spot.
Ping
iBLADE
Performance 5 stars
Innovation 5 stars
Look / sound / feel 5 stars
Demand 4½ stars
Verdict Like a fullback with speed, the iBlade is sleek but hits with an authority you’ll remember. The face remarkably is only 0.068 of an inch thick (slightly more than that of a 5-cent coin) and produces a powerful strike. The iron’s stability is helped by a tungsten weight low in the toe. These players irons make it easier to trust your swing.
Comments (L) It’s like an extension of your arms: You don’t even feel the club going through the ball.
(M) Consistently clean through the turf every time.
TaylorMade
P770
Performance 4½ stars
Innovation 4 ½ stars
Look / sound / feel 4 stars
Demand 3½ stars
Verdict In recent years TaylorMade has lacked an iron that looked like a tour club. That’s not the case here. Presented in a frame that screams tour-pro ability, the forged, carbon-steel hosel and face are joined to a 70-gram tungsten sole piece in the 3- through 7-irons to help launch and forgiveness.
Comments (L) The compact head shape is ideal. (M) Gets through the ball with minimal effort.
Titleist
716 AP2
Performance 4½ stars
Innovation 4½ stars
Look / sound / feel 5 stars
Demand 5 stars
Verdict The company didn’t tinker much with a club that players were happy with. That’s not to say they didn’t advance it from the previous AP2. Tungsten in the heel and toe provides a lower centre of gravity and better effectiveness on mis-hits. The sole is also wider with more trailing edge relief, helping produce crisp divots.
Comments (L) As close to using a blade without actually using a blade. (M) A robust feeling at impact.
Wilson
FG TOUR V6
Performance 4 stars
Innovation 4 stars
Look / sound / feel 4½ stars
Demand 3½ stars
Verdict This is a players iron that appeals to the shot-maker thanks to 38 grams of mass behind the impact area to improve feel. But it also features forgiveness elements: there’s tungsten in the toe and heel of the long irons to improve off-centre hits. Another tungsten slug is low and centred in the middle irons to make it easier to launch the ball.
Comments (L) Surprisingly forgiving. Accurate and consistent. (M) The ball roars off the face.
Bridgestone
X-CB
Performance 3 stars
Innovation 3½ stars
Look / sound / feel 4 stars
Demand 2 stars
Verdict Sometimes in this category the topline and offset aren’t in proportion to the heel and toe length. No such issues here, plus there’s a wider sole for smooth turf interaction. Ample mass behind the hitting area produces a pleasant feel at impact, and having three steel-shaft brand options from Nippon, KBS and True Temper is useful. The appearance is throwback, but it’s not an old-school club.
Comments (L) The weight distribution made for a powerful feel. (M) Excellent distance control.
Srixon
Z 765
Performance 4 stars
Innovation 4 stars
Look / sound / feel 3½ stars
Demand 2½
Verdict These irons are forged from soft S20C steel and feature a tungsten weight towards the toe to allow the centre of gravity to be closer to the centre of the face to improve forgiveness. This is an effective way to offer extra help in a shape better players appreciate. A sole with more bounce in the leading edge will power through the thickest rough your superintendent can grow.
Comments (L) Excellent balance. You know where the club is at all times. (M) Divots are thin scoops rather than big chunks.
Tour Edge
EXOTICS CBX FORGED
Performance 4 stars
Innovation 3½ stars
Look / sound / feel 4 stars
Demand 2 stars
Verdict A clean, compact package that brings all the heat you could want without sacrificing looks, sound and feel. A forged deep cavity helps mitigate mis-hits, but one feature not to overlook is the dual-level flange that provides additional feel on shots struck low on the face, or where most everyday players make contact.
Comments (L) It flights a bit lower than most, but it’s easier to control as a result. (M) Easy to frame the ball at address.
Vega
MIZAR
Performance 4 stars
Innovation 4 stars
Look / sound / feel 3½ stars
Demand 1 star
Verdict If you’re into the vintage vibe with a touch of high-end smugness, you might have found your next set – provided you can sign the cheque for the hefty price. The soft, carbon-steel body is married to a springy, maraging-steel face, and the milled lines in the rear cavity aren’t just for decoration. Closer inspection reveals that the cut becomes deeper towards the bottom of the head and is angled and sized to allow for more weight in the toe. This helps control trajectory and provide more energy transfer on toe hits.
Comments (L) It has the “wow” factor. Hot off the face but not at the loss of feel. (M) More height than expected with long irons.
