[Photo: Raj Mehta]
Question: I’m looking to buy new irons as mine are eight years old. How do I know where to start? Brand name? Looks? Reviews?
Answer: Well, obviously we’re going to point you to the Golf Digest Hot List, an equipment review based on testing by golfers like you released each year, as a useful starting point. But before you start sifting through the options, it’s important to take stock of your game.
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Are you a good player simply in need of a new set (and after eight years some new irons will definitely help) or are you a high-handicapper who has a specific playing issue (a low ball flight in need of more height? More forgiveness?) that needs to be addressed? Some broad direction can help you narrow down your search to the kinds of clubs that would work best for you.
In the Hot List, we break down irons into four categories: players, players-distance, game-improvement and super-game-improvement. However, just because you’re a middle or high handicapper, for example, that does not automatically mean you’re going to the game-improvement or super-game-improvement category.
Exhibit A: yours truly. I’m 64, have lost a ton of speed and have seen my handicap go from mid-single-digits to 15 in the past several years. Indeed, Father Time remains undefeated unless you’re Bernhard Langer. However, during a recent iron fitting, I ended up in a very player-ish players-distance iron with the lofts bent 2 degrees weak. On the surface, that made absolutely no sense. Weak lofts for a mid-handicapper struggling with distance? However, the extra trajectory resulted in more carry distance, albeit with less total distance. Unlike with drivers, where total distance rules, carry distance is key in irons because you’re trying to land and stop the ball on the green. For me, the added height resulted in more stopping power.
Given that, as always, we suggest you get some professional advice from a qualified club-fitter or a golf professional familiar with your game. Failing that, take a look at some of the clubs in the Hot List iron categories and figure out which sound like they match your game best. Then dig a little deeper into each club type and find three or four models that interest you or fit your budget for new clubs and then do some demo testing.
As for name or looks, big brands are big brands for a reason – they usually make really good stuff and spend more on R&D, materials and manufacturing. Looks? Absolutely. A club might perform slightly better than others, but if you recoil in horror when you put it down at address, it’s probably not going to serve you well. Be sure you like the sound and feel, the trajectory and the turf interaction. Also be aware that not all 7-irons are the same loft so any distance gain might be from loft differences from brand to brand. The irons on this year’s Hot List range (coming from Australian Golf Digest‘s July issue) in loft from 27 to 34 degrees – that’s a wide gap. A good club-fitter can help you navigate not only distance but also spin and landing angle, which will help you hit and hold more greens, as my recent experience did.
Yes, it’s great to have choices, but the huge number of iron options can be intimidating. Without question, a good first step is narrowing the field. And make sure you do so armed with some basic information about your game and what you’re trying to accomplish with new irons.
