Best irons of 2022 for every budget and handicap

Callaway Rogue ST iron family (Callaway)

Gear: Callaway Rogue ST Max, Rogue ST Max OS, Rogue ST Pro irons
Price: Rogue ST Max – from $785.99 (at PGA Tour Superstore) with True Temper Elevate MPH or Project X steel shafts and Callaway Universal grips; $1,099.99 with Project X Cypher Black, Mitsubishi AV Series Blue or AV Series White graphite shafts. Rogue ST Max OS – $1,099.99 steel; $1,199.99 graphite (at PGA Tour Superstore). Rogue ST Pro – from $1,028.99 steel (at PGA Tour Superstore); from $1,114.99 graphite (at PGA Tour Superstore).
Specs: Cast 450 stainless steel with internal tungsten weight and urethane microspheres

“Callaway has used 17-4 stainless steel to create iron faces for several years, but the Rogue ST’s cup-face design is created using a high-strength 450 stainless steel. Callaway said it is a harder material, so the faces could be made thinner. The face of each iron also was created using artificial intelligence, with a supercomputer running thousands of simulations on different designs to learn which one produces the most ball speed for each iron. In other words, the cup face of the 5-iron is slightly different than the 8-iron, with each face designed to optimize the performance of each club. Callaway said the combination of 450 stainless steel and the AI-designed cup face should create more ball speed, even on mis-hits.” More …

Callaway Epic Star irons. (Callaway)

Price: $349 per iron with UST Mamiya ATTAS Speed RT1100 shaft and Winn Dri-Tac Lite grips. (From $2,449.99 at GlobalGolf)
Specs: Forged 1025 mild-carbon steel body with internal tungsten weight and cup face

“To give the Epic Max Star irons more pop and help slower-swinging golfers generate distance, Callaway designed the face of each club in the set differently using artificial intelligence. For example, the Flash Face Cup design of the 5-iron is different than the 8-iron, but each has been optimized to deliver more ball speed and spin.

The chassis of each club is hollow, then filled with a soft urethane material that is packed with microscopic spheres. At impact the face flexes and the urethane microspheres absorb excessive vibrations to enhance sound and feel without stopping the face from bending.” More …

Cleveland Launcher XL irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Cleveland Launcher XL irons
Price: $799.99 (at GlobalGolf) with True Temper Elevate 95 steel shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips. $899.99 with Project X Catalyst graphite shafts
Specs: Hollow-body designed long irons blended with cavity-back short irons. Counterbalanced shafts. 

“The new Launcher XL irons blend two types of clubs into one set to deliver easy-to-hit long irons and precision-focused scoring clubs.

All of the clubs are 15 percent larger from heel to toe than the previous generation of Launcher irons, and they have a wide V-shaped sole that is designed to work in and out of the turf efficiently to help golfers get better performance on fat shots. Each of the irons has also been given Cleveland’s MainFrame face, a hitting surface created after computers simulated thousands of shots with different face designs to create the fastest and most forgiving hitting area possible.” More …

Cleveland Launcher XL Halo irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Cleveland Launcher XL Halo irons
Price: $799.99 (at GlobalGolf) with True Temper Elevate 95 steel shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips. $899.99 with Project X Catalyst graphite shafts
Specs: Hollow-body designed long irons blended with cavity-back short irons. Counterbalanced shafts. 

“For people who are new to golf or who struggle to make solid contact, hybrids and fairway woods are often easier to hit than irons because they have a bigger face, lower center of gravity and wider sole that tends to slide over and through the grass easily. The Launcher XL Halo irons, which are essentially a set of iron-lofted hybrids, bring all that to the party.” More …

Cobra LTDx irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Cobra LTDx irons  
Price: $899 (at GlobalGolf) with KBS Tour 90 steel shafts or PGI graphite shafts and Lamkin Crossline grips  
Specs: 421 stainless steel body with internal steel weight and vibration-dampening polymer.  

“Game-improvement irons are the category where many golf equipment manufacturers show off their latest technologies. In recent years Cobra has been as innovative as any brand. Carbon fiber in the topline of an iron, check. Back pieces that are 3D printed, check. For 2022, Cobra has a new weighting system at the heart of the LTDx irons, which along with other features is meant to bring more distance and forgiveness to a large segment of the market.   

PWR-COR is a feature that has been added to Cobra’s woods for 2022, but it means something different in the LTDx irons. Here, it’s a multi-material weighting system. Inside each head, Cobra added a steel bar that extends through the hosel, down into the bottom of the club and to the toe area. It is suspended in a polymer injected into the head.” More …

Cobra King Tour irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Cobra King Tour irons
Price: $1,299 (at GlobalGolf) with KBS $-Taper 120 steel shafts
Specs: Metal-injection-molded 304 stainless steel with tungsten weight and thermoplastic polyurethane insert

“The King Tour irons are made using a metal-injection-molding process, as with the King MIM wedges. It involves super-heating 304 stainless steel powder to 1,340 degrees Celcius and then injecting it into molds. Cobra said that as the metal powder cools, the grains of steel pack more tightly together than they would during a typical forging process.

Cobra also said the powder takes the shape of the mold more thoroughly, so golfers should not only get an enhanced feel at impact, the clubs require less hand polishing and finishing work. That means each club is manufactured to a tighter tolerance.” More …

Mizuno Pro 221 irons (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Mizuno Pro 221 irons
Price: $187.50 each (at GlobalGolf) with Project X LS steel shafts and Golf Pride Z-Grip Full Cord grips
Specs: Forged 1025E mild carbon steel with a copper underlayer. Available in 3-iron through pitching wedge. Right-hand only

“For 2022, Mizuno is bringing the Mizuno Pro moniker to the North American market, and for golfers with powerful, repeatable swings who want more feel and control, the company is offering the Mizuno Pro 221.

Each Mizuno Pro 221 is forged from a single bar of 1025E mild carbon steel using the company’s unique grain-flow, high-density forging process in Hiroshima, Japan. The steel bars are super-heated, stretched and pressed under high pressure (forged) into the head’s shape. After a second forging, the heads are ground by hand, sandblasted and polished. According to Mizuno, the advantage of this process is that the metal grains inside each head flow, uninterrupted, from heel to toe for better feel.” More …

Mizuno Pro 223 irons (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Mizuno Pro 223 irons
Price: $187.50 (at GlobalGolf) each with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 steel shafts and Golf Pride New Decade MultiCompound grips
Specs: Forged chromoly and 1025E mild carbon steel with copper underlayer. Available in 4-iron through gap wedge

“As with the other Mizuno Pro irons for 2022, these clubs are forged, but in reality, this is a blended set. The 4-iron through 7-iron are forged chromoly, an exceptionally hard and strong material. Chromoly allowed designers to build thinner faces that flex more efficiently at impact to help generate more ball speed. Mizuno also designed a slot in the sole of each of the longer irons to help the lower portion of the face flex more on shots struck toward the bottom of the club. The slot is covered and chrome plated to keep grass and debris out, and it becomes progressively thinner as the lofts increase. ” More …

Mizuno Pro 225 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Mizuno Pro 225 irons
Price: $187.50 each (at GlobalGolf) with Project X IO steel shafts and Lamkin ST Hybrid grips
Specs: Hollow-bodied, forged chromoly with a copper underlayer and tungsten weights (2-7 irons). Available in 2-iron through gap wedge. Right-hand only

“With the Mizuno Pro 225, they knew they wanted a complete set from the start, so visually the clubs look more compact and cleaner. The Mizuno Pro 225 has a thinner topline, thinner sole and less offset than the HMB. 

To generate more speed, Mizuno designed the Mizuno Pro 225 as a blended set, with the 2-iron through 7-iron having a forged 4135 chromoly face and neck that is attached to a stainless steel back piece. The club is hollow, so the thin face can flex more efficiently at impact to help generate more ball speed even though the club is smaller than its processor. To lower the center of gravity and increase stability, Mizuno gave the Mizuno Pro 225 a pair of internal tungsten weights in the heel and toe areas. In total, there are about 28 grams of tungsten in each head that encourage a higher launch and steeper angle of descent to help golfers stop the ball more quickly on the greens.” More …

Ping i59 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Ping i59 irons
Price:  $275 per club (at GlobalGolf) with Project X LS steel shaft and Golf Pride New Decade MCC Arccos-enabled grip. $290 per club with UST Recoil 760 ES graphite shafts.
Specs: Forged 1025 carbon-steel body with a 17-4 stainless steel face, aluminum insert, tungsten toe and hosel weights.

“The i59 has a more complex design than the minimalist outside might have you believe.

The body is forged from 1025 carbon-steel for a soft feel, and Ping added a laser-cut 17-4 stainless steel face. However, instead of leaving the head hollow, Ping added a new technology to the i59 called AlumiCore. It is an insert made from aluminum, and Ping makes a unique one for each i59 iron.

The aluminum is approximately one-third the weight of the stainless steel it replaces. So the AlumiCore insert creates about 30 grams of discretionary weight in each head that Ping designers can redistribute to improve performance.” More …

Ping G425 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Ping G425 irons
Price: $137.50 each (at GlobalGolf) with Ping AWT 2.0 steel shafts or $150 each with Alta CB Slate graphite shafts
Specs: Cast 17-4 stainless steel head with undercut cavity, multimaterial badge and hydrophobic finish

“To create more distance, Ping gave the G425 irons a variable-thickness face made from heat-treated 17-4 stainless steel. It is strong and thin, and combined with the sizeable undercut-cavity design, it allows for more flex at impact. That should help golfers boost ball speed.

Simultaneously, the G425 irons were designed to be more forgiving than last season’s G410 irons, even though they have a slightly smaller blade length. Typically, larger clubs are more forgiving, but Ping added extra weight in the heel area and a weight screw low in the toe to create extreme perimeter weighting. The extra mass does not inhibit the unsupported face from flexing but does boost the moment of inertia to make the clubs more resistant to twisting on off-center hits. Ping said the smaller G425 irons have a 3 percent higher inertia than the G410.” More …

PXG 0311 GEN4 ST irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: PXG 0311 GEN4 ST irons
Price: $349 per iron (at pxg.com)
Specs: Forged 8620 carbon steel with milled areas and adjustable swing weights. 3-iron through gap wedge available.

“The previous ST was 100-percent milled, which means a computer-controlled, high-speed tool went back and forth over a block of metal and shaved away tiny ribbons of material until the club was formed. The GEN4 ST is forged instead, which means a superheated metal bar is pressed under extreme pressure to form the club’s shape. In fact, the clubs are forged three times to create the precise shape PXG engineers want, then the leading edge, sole and back are milled to make those spots as consistent as possible.

“The GEN4 0311 ST 3-iron through 5-iron have a small amount of material removed from the top-back section, effectively creating a cavity. This helps distribute more weight to the bottom of the club, lowering the center of gravity and encouraging a higher ball flight. The ST does not create as much lift as the P or the XP, but that is not what player’s of this type are looking for. However, the ST’s higher-flighted long irons should create a steeper angle of descent for more stopping power on the greens.” More …

PXG GEN4 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: PXG 0311 GEN4 T, 0311 GEN4 P, 0311 GEN4 XP irons
Price: $349 each (at pxg.com)
Specs: Forged 8620 carbon-steel, hollow chassis with HT1770 stainless steel face and injected thermoplastic

Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) debuted in 2014 with a set of irons, the original 0311 model, that featured unique weight screws surrounding the heads and a hollow-bodied design. They were intended to look like a muscleback blade in the address position but play like a distance-enhancing, game-improvement club. The secret sauce was the addition of a soft thermoplastic elastomer inside each head that supported an ultra-thin face without inhibiting it from flexing. The material also softened feel and enhanced sound.

Over the past seven years, those irons have been refined and now the company has released the fourth generation of the 0311 irons.  More … 

PXG 0211 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: PXG 0211 irons
Price: $119 each (at pxg.com)
Specs: 431 stainless steel body with HT1770 stainless steel face and a polymer insert 

“Aesthetically, the new 0211 irons look like muscleback blades, but they have a slightly wider sole than most irons designed for elite players. From a size perspective, they match with PXG’s game-improvement 0311 XP irons. They also have a progressive–offset design, with the long irons having moderate offset that decreases as the set flows into the short irons.  

There is also a progressive amount of bounce designed into the set. Most golfers sweep their long irons, so those clubs have moderate bounce, while more bounce was built into the short irons’ soles to help golfers avoid digging on approach shots. Simultaneously, the topline appears thinner on the short irons while in the address position because the back edge is beveled downward.” More …

Srixon ZX4 irons. (Srixon)

Gear: Srixon ZX4 irons
Price: $1,137.50 (at GlobalGolf) with Nippon N.S. Pro 950 GH Neo Steel shafts
Specs: Hollow-bodied irons with 431 stainless chassis, internal tungsten weights and forged HT 1770 stainless steel face.

“Srixon designed the ZX4 irons with a body cast from 431 stainless steel but attached a forged HT 1770 stainless steel face. On the outside, the hitting surface looks like a typical face, but there are a series of grooves, ridges, and valleys on the inner side. Srixon refers to it as MainFrame technology, and those features are created during a milling process while a high-speed bit passes back and forth and shaves off tiny ribbons of material in specific areas. The design team used sophisticated computer systems to simulate different internal face patterns before discovering the one that most effectively spreads the sweet spot across the widest area.

Each of the ZX4 irons is also hollow, so the MainFrame face can flex more efficiently and produce more ball speed at the moment of impact.

Internal tungsten weights in the long and mid-irons help lower the center of gravity location and encourage higher-flying shots that come down more vertically, so they stop faster on the greens.” More …

Srixon ZX5 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Srixon ZX5
Price: $1,137.99 (at GlobalGolf) with Nippon N.S. PRO Modus3 Tour shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips; $1,399.99 with UST Mamiya Recoil 95 graphite shafts (ZX5)
Specs: Forged 1025 carbon-steel bodies with tungsten weights

“With a reasonably narrow topline and only a moderate level of offset, the Srixon ZX5 irons look like a better-player’s club in the address position. Still, the company has added several distance-enhancing technologies that should make it appealing to mid-handicap players.

The chassis is forged from 1025 mild-carbon steel for a better feel, but the face is the real story with this iron. It is made using SUP10 stainless steel, a very hard material, and it looks like other faces on the outside.

The inner-facing side, however, is covered with grooves, valleys and channels. Srixon refers to the design as MainFrame, and those elements were added after engineers set parameters and programmed supercomputers to simulate thousands of different face designs and test how they performed using artificial intelligence. The result is a face that maximizes deflection and enhances ball speed across a larger area of the hitting surface, so mishits carry nearly as far as well-struck shots.” More …

Srixon ZX7 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Srixon ZX7 irons
Price: $1,137.99 (at GlobalGolf) with Nippon N.S. PRO Modus3 Tour shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips
Specs: Forged 1025 carbon-steel bodies with tungsten weights

“The Srixon ZX7 irons were designed to provide the feel and look that accomplished golfers demand and let them flight the ball in different directions while also providing more forgiveness than golfers obtain from muscleback blades.

The ZX7 is forged from 1025 mild-carbon steel and has a shorter blade length, thinner topline and a more narrow sole than the ZX5. While it has perimeter weighting, extra mass has been concentrated behind the sweet spot to enhance the feel of impact.” More …

TaylorMade Stealth irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: TaylorMade Stealth irons
Price: $999 (at GlobalGolf) with KBS Max MT steel shafts and Lamkin Crossline 360 grips. $1,099 (at GlobalGolf) with Fujikura Ventus Red or Aldila Ascent Ultralight graphite shafts 
Specs: 450 stainless steel face with hollow-body design and polymer vibration-dampening piece.

“Golfers who shoot in the high 80s and 90s typically want to hit the ball farther and get it into the air more easily, so TaylorMade designed the Stealth irons to be hollow, which allows the 450 stainless steel face to flex efficiently at impact for increased ball speed. However, instead of making the back of the club using stainless steel, TaylorMade designed a cap that covers the back of the head using a polymer.  

This saves a significant amount of weight and still provides the support the club needs. TaylorMade has used this Cap Back system before, in the SIM and SIM2 irons, but for the Stealth designers removed about 10 grams of mass from the high-toe area, wrapped the Cap Back around the toe and redistributed the saved weight low in the head. This updated 3D Cap Back Design does a better job driving down the center of gravity to encourage higher-flying shots.” More …

TaylorMade P790 irons for 2021 (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: TaylorMade P790
Price: $185 each (at GlobalGolf) with True Temper Dynamic Gold VSS steel shafts or Mitsubishi MMT graphite shafts and Golf Pride Z-Grips
Specs: 8620 carbon-steel body with forged 4140 stainless steel face, internal tungsten weights and foam-filled inner chamber. 3-iron through attack wedge (50 degrees) are available

“The first two versions of the P790 were hollow-bodied irons filled with SpeedFoam, a soft material that absorbed vibrations created at impact to improve sound and feel without inhibiting the face from flexing or reducing ball speed.

At the heart of the new P790 is a less-dense version of SpeedFoam called SpeedFoam Air. The new material is 69 percent lighter but still soaks up vibrations like the original material. The benefit of using SpeedFoam Air is it saves up to 3.5 grams of weight and pushes more of the head’s overall weight to the perimeter of the club.” More …

TaylorMade P-770 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: TaylorMade P-770 irons
Price: $1,399 (at GlobalGolf) with KBS Tour steel shafts and Golf Pride Z-Grip grips
Specs: Foam-filled, hollow-bodied construction with a forged 4140 stainless steel face and 8620 carbon steel body and tungsten weight.

“TaylorMade filled the hollow area between the thin, forged 4140 stainless steel face and 8620 carbon steel body with Speed Foam. It is a light material that absorbs vibrations to enhance sound and feel. The foam does not inhibit the face from flexing at impact, so golfers still get the ball-speed benefits of a hollow-bodied club for increased distance.

To improve performance on low-struck shots, TaylorMade gave the P-770 a Speed Pocket slot in the sole. A polymer covers it, so grass and debris stay out, but the slot allows the bottom of the face to flex more efficiently, pulling the sweet spot down.

A large internal tungsten weight is positioned low and toward the toe, which should encourage a higher ball flight and pull the ideal hitting area into the center of the face. That weight also adds stability without making the irons larger.” More …

Titleist T100 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Titleist T100
Price: $186 each (at GlobalGolf) with True Temper AMT White Tour Issue shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips.
Specs: Forged 1025 carbon-steel with internal tungsten weights and forged SUP-10 stainless steel face. 3-iron through gap wedge available.

“The T100 3-7 irons have a forged 1025 carbon-steel body and forged SUP-10 stainless steel faceplate. Behind the hitting area in the lower back portion of the heads, Titleist designed a dual-cavity area that houses tungsten weights in the heel and toe areas. The exact amount of tungsten varies by club but averages 80 grams. By positioning the tungsten low and at the perimeter of heads, the center of gravity is lowered and the clubs resist twisting more on off-center hits. This should increase forgiveness and help golfers hit shots higher without making the clubs bigger.”  More …

Titleist T100•S irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Titleist T100•S irons
Price: $186 each (at GlobalGolf) with Project X LZ shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips.
Specs: Forged 1025 carbon-steel with internal tungsten weights and forged SUP-10 stainless steel face. 3-iron through gap wedge available.

“The updated T100•S irons were made to look and feel like the T100, but the lofts throughout the set are 2 degrees stronger, so players should get more distance. For example, The T100 5-iron has 27 degrees of loft, while the T100•S 5-iron has 25 degrees.

Titleist made the T100•S instead of encouraging club builders to bend T100 irons for distance-hungry players to ensure the sole geometry and turf interaction are not compromised. De-lofting irons reduces bounce and can encourage digging, which reduces speed and efficiency.” More …

Titleist T200 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Titleist T200 irons (2021)
Price: $186 each (at GlobalGolf) with True Temper AMT Black Tour Issue shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips.
Specs: Forged 1025 carbon-steel with internal tungsten weights, internal polymer insert and forged SUP-10 stainless steel face. 2-iron through gap wedge available.

“At the heart of the updated T200 is a new version of the Max Impact system that golfers could see on the back of the original T200. In the 3-7 irons, it’s internal now, but it still consists of a soft polymer core positioned behind the forged, L-shaped, SUP-10 stainless steel face. When a shot is struck, the face flexes back, presses against the polymer and then snaps back into position faster as the polymer and steel work together. The result is more ball speed for increased distance.

To save weight and make the T100 more visually appealing for better players, Titleist not only covered the Max Impact system but also used a firm polymer to create the backplate that covers it. Some of that saved weight has been redistributed and added to internal tungsten weights in the heel and toe. The precise amount of weight varies from iron to iron, but the average is 100 grams, which should make the T200 irons more forgiving on mis-hits and less susceptible to twisting on off-center strikes.” More …

Titleist T300 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Titleist T300 irons (2021)
Price: $143 each (at GlobalGolf) with True Temper AMT Red Tour Issue steel shafts or Mitsubishi Tensei Red AM2 graphite shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips.
Specs: Cast 17-4 stainless steel with internal tungsten weights, internal polymer insert and forged SUP-10 stainless steel face. 4-iron through 53-degree wedge available.

“Cast in 17-4 stainless steel and chrome plated for a more premium look, the T300 has the longest blade length and most offset of any Titleist iron, which should inherently make it more forgiving and powerful. The clubs also have a thicker topline and wider sole than other Titleist irons.

Titleist engineers also gave the T300 an updated version of the Max Impact system that debuted in the original T300. Behind the variable-thickness face, inside the head, Titleist added a highly resilient polymer piece. It attaches to the back of the face and is supported using a small cantilever that connects to the sole. When the ball is struck, the face flexes back and compresses against the polymer. Then both the polymer and the steel snap back into shape. The rebound is amplified by the polymer and steel working together, so more ball speed is created and shots fly farther.” More …

Tour Edge Exotics C 721 irons (Tour Edge)

Price: $129.99 per iron (at GlobalGolf) with True Temper Elevate 95 steel shafts; $142.99 with KBS TGI Tour or Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX graphite shafts

“Designed to look like a better player’s muscleback blade in the address position, the Exotics C721 irons feature a moderately thin topline and modest offset. Still, they pack plenty of hidden technology to enhance distance and feel.

The C721 irons are hollow to maximize the distance potential of the high-strength, 17-4 stainless steel cup face, which features Diamond Face 2.0. It wraps under the leading edge to improve performance on low-struck shots. But instead of having grooves only on the outer hitting surface and being smooth on the inner-facing side of the face, Tour Edge designed 92 diamond-shaped areas on the inner-facing portion of steel. Tour Edge said they act like miniature trampolines, flexing and bending when the ball makes impact with the club to broaden the sweet spot and protect ball speed on off-center hits.” More …

Tour Edge Exotics E 721 irons. (Tour Edge)

Gear: $99.99 each (at GlobalGolf) with True Temper Elevate 95 steel shafts; $142.99 with KBS TGI Tour or Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX graphite shafts

“The new E721 is an unabashed max-game-improvement iron designed to send the ball high and far, but it utilizes many of the technologies found in the C721 irons.

Featuring a thicker topline, wider sole and plenty of offset, the E721 has a 360-degree undercut channel on the back of the head to push the weight to the perimeter and boost forgiveness. This design also gave engineers room to add mass low and back in the heads to shift the center of gravity away from the face.” More …

Tour Edge Hot Launch C521 irons. (Tour Edge)

Price: $89 per club (at GlobalGolf) with KBS Max 80 steel or Mitsubishi Fubuki HD graphite shafts and Lamkin Z5 grip
Lofts: 3-iron through pitching wedge, with attack, gap, sand and lob wedges also available

“Matching the woods and hybrids, the Tour Edge Hot Launch E521 ironwoods were designed to deliver more distance and to be extremely easy to hit. Each club features a hollow-body design that allows the 17-4 stainless steel face to flex more efficiently at impact for increased ball speed and added distance. Tour Edge also pushed the center of gravity 10 percent lower and 15 percent further back to encourage higher-flying shots.

Like the fairway woods and hybrids, the E521 ironwoods have a low profile, offset and a Houdini sole that features a lifted heel and toe area to reduce turf interaction and help golfers maintain speed through the strike.” More …

Wilson Staff D9 irons. (Wilson)

Gear: Wilson Staff D9 irons
Price: $649.99 (at GlobalGolf) with KBS Max Ultralite steel shafts and Lamkin Crossline Genesis grips; $749.99 with Mitsubishi Tensei graphite shafts
Specs: Cast stainless steel with urethane

“For several seasons, Wilson designers have added symmetrically positioned holes around the heads’ perimeter to create areas where the faces can flex more efficiently at impact. Wilson refers to them as Power Holes, and the idea is that the more the face flexes, the larger the sweet spot can be, so golfers can get better performance when they hit the ball in the middle of the face and when they mis-hit.

In the Staff D9 irons, extensive computer modeling (Wilson calls it Intelligent Design) helped determine the Power Holes’ shape and position. It simulated hundreds of iron designs to determine the ideal location and size of each hole.

Referred to as Power Holes 2.0, the holes now vary in size and are no longer symmetrical. Looking at the Staff D9 irons’ sole, golfers will see that the holes, which are covered with urethane to keep grass and dirt out of the heads, tend to be larger in the heel area and smaller in the toe section. Why? Golfers tend to miss more often in the heel area than the toe, so making that portion more flexible will help a larger number of golfers.” More …

Wilson Staff Model CB iron. (Wilson)

Gear: Wilson Staff Model CB irons
Price: $1,099.99 (at GlobalGolf), with True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips
Specs: Forged 8620 carbon-steel face with tungsten weight

“In the address position, golfers will see that the Staff Model CB has a thin topline, a narrow sole with pre-wear on the leading edge and moderate offset. What they will not see is the Tri-Brace Stabilizer on the back of each head. The three-piece structure connects the toe, heel and topline. It reinforces the impact area, so when contact is made with the ball, sound and feel are enhanced.

Wilson designers gave the Staff Model CB a forged 8620 carbon-steel face and added a 20-gram piece of tungsten to the toe section of the long and mid-irons to lower the center of gravity and encourage a higher launch. The added mass also helps offset the hosel’s weight and pulls the ideal hitting area into the center of the face.” More …

Xxio 12 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: XXIO 12 irons
Price: $1099.99 (at PGA Tour Superstore)
Specs: Stainless steel bodies with titanium faces and internal tungsten-nickel weights; 5-iron through sand wedge available 

“The XXIO 12 irons have a massive undercut-cavity design and tungsten-nickel weights in the heel and toe areas, along with a shortened hosel, to help drive the center of gravity down and back, away from the hitting area. The extreme perimeter weighting also helps increase the moment of inertia and make the irons more stable on mis-hits.

The center of gravity varies with each iron’s loft. The longer irons (the 5- and 6-iron) have the lowest center of gravity to help golfers get shots up more quickly. The center of gravity elevates in the short irons and wedges to boost stability on shots hit low or high on the face, the company said.” More …

XXIO X irons (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Price: $199.99 each/$1,199.99 per set in steel (at PGA Tour Superstore); $224.99/$1,349.99 per set in graphite (at PGA Tour Superstore)

Sold as individual irons or in a six-club set (5-PW, with 49-degree attack wedge also available), the XXIO X irons have a more compact head size than the also-new XXIO 12 irons. However, they are still game-improvement clubs with wide toplines, thick soles and significant offset to help golfers square the face more easily.   

Each club has a large undercut cavity-back design that pulls the center of gravity down and back, away from the face, to encourage a higher launch. The 5-, 6- and 7-irons also have an internal tungsten weight added to the toe area to pull the ideal hitting location into the center of the face and increase stability.