Packed with forgiveness and power, these game-improvement irons will have you playing better in no time.
We considered 19 models; 13 made the list.
GOLD
LISTED ALPHABETICALLY
Callaway
epic forged
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★½
VERDICT
The Epic Forged was designed to deliver distance in new ways using an old-school material – stainless steel. But even without the use of multiple materials, these irons have more than enough technology to justify their price. For the first time in a Callaway forged iron, the cupface design extends through to the pitching wedge. Completing the distance-driven package is the stock shaft, Aerotech’s Steelfiber FC.
COMMENT
“They hide the stuff going on behind the head nicely.
Half-a-club longer than what I play. Hits high bombs.”
Callaway
Mavrik
Performance ★★★★½
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★★★
VERDICT
The objectives are speed and launch in the long irons; speed and spin in the middle irons; and spin and launch in the short irons. To achieve this, the company relied on artificial intelligence to produce a new cupface that has different face designs for each iron. The use of tungsten encased in microsphere-filled urethane allows for centre-of-gravity positions that help you launch the ball high despite strikingly strong lofts.
COMMENT
“Feels like an explosion in your hands. Clean at address with enough offset to frame the ball.”
Cobra
king speedzone • one length
Performance ★★★★½
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★½
VERDICT
Cobra took design cues from fast automobiles and focused on five properties: weight, stability, power, feel and spin. Perhaps most notable is the unusual step of removing three grams of weight from the topline in the 4 through 7-iron. That leaves a channel in which two thin strips of carbon fibre are placed to keep the structural integrity of the topline intact and the removed weight is repositioned low to help ball speed and launch angle.
COMMENT
“High ball flight and long. Great numbers on the launch monitor. Super forgiveness.”
Mizuno
jpx919 hot metal
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★★
Demand ★★★★
VERDICT
A combination of unique materials and design has led to a forgiving, powerful iron in an attractive package. Helping achieve this is a complicated one-piece casting of Chromoly 4140M – a high-strength steel alloy – that allows for a face with plenty of rebound for more distance. The sweet spot was positioned half a millimetre lower than the JPX 900. Doing this allowed for stronger lofts in the 4 through 7-iron for more velocity with a similar launch angle.
COMMENT
“Control on all shots. A good iron for the aspiring player without being too difficult to hit.”
Ping
g710
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★★
VERDICT
Ping used modal analysis to identify undesirable frequencies, then applied an epoxy behind the face to damp them. The maraging-steel face creates a metalwood-like face flex, and tungsten in the toe and shaft boosts the moment of inertia to mitigate the loss of speed on mis-hits by more than 5 percent compared to the G700. The Golf Pride grips come with Arrcos shot-tracking sensors. The black colour is modern-age cool.
COMMENT
“The two-tone face frames the ball nicely, and the black disguises the length from heel to toe.”
PXG
0311 xp gen3
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★
VERDICT
PXG hasn’t been shy about creating irons with distinct characteristics. The 0311 XP is its latest example. Perhaps the most technologically ambitious club in its line, a dual polymer core addresses two needs: a high-strength outer polymer provides support for the thin, flexible face, and a softer, high-rebound inner core increases face loading at impact. The generous sole provides more effective bounce to prevent digging.
COMMENT
“The feel is like a players iron, but they’re so stable
on mis-hits. It’s like autocorrect for golf shots.”
TaylorMade
p790 ti
Performance ★★★★½
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★½
VERDICT
Building off its P790, the company went with an all-titanium construction that includes a 9-1-1 titanium-alloy body and a machined 6-4 titanium face insert backed by a urethane foam that allows the face to flex. The lighter titanium structure enhances ball speed and allows for the use of massive amounts of tungsten. That lowers the centre of gravity by as much as two millimetres compared to the P790, allowing for stronger lofts to produce more distance.
COMMENT
“These look really sharp. The feel is light, and it’s an easy swing through impact.”
TaylorMade
sim max
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★★★
VERDICT
Producing ball speed with a towering launch in an iron that feels good and looks great is fairly complicated. To increase ball speed, the “speed bridge” structure in the back cavity accommodates a flexible through-slot, and a thinner face than the M6 has more flex and saves up to six grams. A vibration damping system runs from heel to toe – substantially larger than on the M6 – and channels provide flexibility throughout the damper.
COMMENT
“The sound is muted in the perfect way. It’s not a cannon explosion, but there’s feedback.”
Titleist
t300
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★★½
VERDICT
Having a beautiful face design is, well, great. But it does little good if typical players can’t get results. The T300 iron zeroed in on that dilemma. That meant producing a high moment of inertia iron (which mitigates the loss of ball speed on mis-hits) with a face structure built for speed. To accomplish this, a larger cavity-back design was used with a silicone-polymer core backing the centre of the face. That returns more energy to the ball on off-centre shots.
COMMENT
“Super easy to hit the long irons. Turf interaction is never grabby. It’s as if the sole has Teflon.”
SILVER
Cleveland
launcher uhx
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★½
Demand ★★★
VERDICT
Everyday players have a hard time getting on speaking terms with Mr Green in Regulation. These irons narrow that gap by providing an easy-to-use structure. The set uses two constructions:
a hollow, utility-iron design in the long irons (4 through 7-iron) and a more traditional cavity-back design in the 8-iron through gap wedge. The hollow irons not only are uber-forgiving but also use a variable-thickness cupface to provide additional metres.
COMMENT
“I have a hard time creating enough spin with my long irons. These irons gave me a lot of help with that.”
Honma
xp-1
Performance ★★★★½
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★
Demand ★★
VERDICT
A brand well known in Asia, Honma is making an effort to break into other markets. Seeking the appropriate combo of power and precision, the XP-1 uses traditional looks with meaningful game-improvement tech. The combination set includes hollow irons in the 4 through 7-irons with tungsten weighting low towards the sole for higher flight. The rest of the set, up to a 48-degree 11-iron (yes, an 11-iron), are traditional cavity-back designs.
COMMENT
“A satisfying feel. Familiar, but powerful. Long irons easy to hit. The ball gets up in a hurry.”
Tommy Armour
845
Performance ★★★★½
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★
Demand ★★
VERDICT
The Tommy Armour 845 name still has cachet, making this a welcome revival. Cast from 431 stainless steel with a thin L-shape face insert (to assist shots struck low), steel weighting with tungsten powder is placed low to make it easier to get shots in
the air. The sole’s pre-worn leading edge assists turf interaction. The standard set makeup is 5-iron through to gap wedge, a smart idea because most players don’t want or can’t hit a 4-iron.
COMMENT
“Tasteful design. I felt in charge of this club. There’s an ability to shape it while staying in control.”
Tour Edge
exs 220
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★½
Demand ★★
VERDICT
When distance is your priority, there’s no reason to disguise it. The EXS 220 irons don’t even try. A hollow-cavity construction is used in the 4 through 7-irons. Those irons also use a forged cupface with a web-shape, variable-thickness design that enhances the sweet spot in every direction from the centre of the face. The EXS 220 borrows the ramped sole design of its EXS predecessor in which a raised middle section helps the club move through the turf.
COMMENT
“The middle irons had a mid ball flight, and shorter irons were an appropriate high trajectory.”
