DO SOME SOLE-SEARCHING Width Matters
Those of us who work on the Golf Digest Hot List know the differences among players, game-improvement and super game-improvement irons. But golfers might be a little confused.
It’s best to think of the categories like this: Players irons have thin soles and toplines and compact clubheads for a look preferred by elite players. Game-improvement irons are slightly larger and combine perimeter-weighted forgiveness with a pleasing shape at address. Super game-improvement irons often feature loads of technology – most of it designed to help you get the ball in the air and avoid a slice.
Perhaps the simplest way to think about it is to turn the clubs upside down and look at the soles. The wider the sole, the more forgiving the club is likely to be. That’s because a wide sole lowers the centre of gravity, which helps get the ball in the air and increases forgiveness on shots hit fat. A wide sole also makes it more difficult to work the ball, which is why better players prefer the shotmaking attributes of a narrow sole.
We suggest you try clubs from each category and inspect your divots. If they’re deep, consider an iron with a wider sole. –—EMJ
CRITERIA
Our judges evaluated Hot List candidates in four areas.
- Performance ( 45%)
The utility of a product, or what happens to the ball when it’s struck by the club. - Innovation ( 30%)
How a club’s technology, including custom-fitting, 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.
All judging is based on a 100-point scale.
97-100 ★★★★★
88-96 ★★★★
70-87 ★★★
51-69 ★★
≤50 ★
(L) Low-Handicapper | (M) Mid-Handicapper | (H) High-Handicapper
CALLAWAY
APEX CF 16
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look / sound / feel ★★★★★
Demand ★★★ ½
VERDICT Driver design has been trickling down into irons for a few years now, and the updated Apex is a good example. The iron borrows face technology from the company’s metalwoods in which a stainless-steel face wraps around the crown and sole to enhance flex at impact on the long and middle irons. The result is more distance and a higher launch angle. The forged carbon-steel frame provides the soft feel one would expect from a game-improvement iron that even better players can appreciate.
COMMENTS (L) Produces a strong flight without the ballooning. If you need some help elevating your shots, this would be one to look at. (M) Great proportion between the long, middle and short irons.
A clean, sleek look.
CALLAWAY
XR
Performance ★★★★ ½
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look / sound / feel ★★★★ ½
Demand ★★★★★
VERDICT Many consider the Apex an iron for low- or middle-handicappers, but the XR is definitely for those in need of forgiveness and distance. The larger clubhead and generous offset are obvious signs of clemency, and the guts of the club produce plenty of yardage thanks to a face that wraps around the top and bottom of the club to help increase flex.
COMMENTS (L) A consistent club. Gets the ball in the air and helps it go straight and far. (H) A bit chunky in size, but the technology is masked well. There is a power to these that makes you want to keep hitting balls.
COBRA
KING F
Performance ★★★★ ½
Innovation ★★★★★
Look / sound / feel ★★★★
Demand ★★★
VERDICT This set started with a single question: How should each club be used? That led Cobra’s designers to produce an iron set with four constructions. In the long irons, a hollow design with a high-strength steel face insert produces height and distance. The 6 and 7-irons are a half-hollow design and use different grooves – a V-shape groove on the 6 and a more aggressive U-shape groove on the 7-iron for more stopping power. The 8-iron through pitching wedge feature a cavity-back design for more control. The gap and sand wedges are muscle-backs for optimum versatility.
COMMENTS (L) This feels like the ideal weighting. Not just in the clubhead, but in the feedback you get on shots. (H) The long irons are a little bulky, but there’s no denying they’re easy to hit. The white line on the bottom of the club helps with alignment.
MIZUNO
JPX 850
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look / sound / feel ★★★★
Demand ★★★
VERDICT It would likely surprise many to know that Mizuno’s best-selling iron in the United States is this flexible-face cast model. Among the enticements to the game-improvement crowd is a low centre of gravity that helps shots hit low on the face, as well as thinner areas inside the topline and sole for better performance on off-centre strikes. In keeping with its commitment to fitting, the company offers any custom-steel shaft and grip at no extra cost.
COMMENTS (L) Whatever they’ve done to the sole, it’s working. I’m taking crisp, clean divots virtually every time. (M) Excellent distance control. You don’t have to worry about getting a jumper with these.
MIZUNO
JPX 850 FORGED
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look / sound / feel ★★★★ ½
Demand ★★★
VERDICT The JPX 850 Forged is among the best in class for looks in this category. A combination of a unique material and design allowed Mizuno to make a forgiving, powerful iron in a compact package. Helping achieve this was the use of boron-infused steel that allowed for significant weight savings. A thinner face provides more ball speed and saves five grams. An additional 21 grams were removed from the pocket cavity. That weight was moved to the perimeter to enhance distance and forgiveness. The triple-cut sole adds the workability shotmakers crave.
COMMENTS (M) The ultimate “tweener” club. You have to have a decent golf swing to get the full benefit, but you can work shots with these. You can’t say that for most of the others. (M) The face feels incredibly active. I thought I would have to work to produce distance, but I didn’t.
PING
G
Performance ★★★★ ½
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look / sound / feel ★★★★
Demand ★★★★★
VERDICT Ping’s latest game-improvement iron might appear to be a snazzier-looking version of its previous G-series irons, but it’s actually a transformation. The stainless-steel body undergoes a six-hour heat-treating process that results in a significantly stronger material. This allows for a really thin face that produces four times the flex of its predecessor, the G30. A new version of Ping’s AWT shaft (ascending weight technology) provides lighter shafts in the long irons to improve clubhead speed and to launch the ball higher. Heavier shafts in the short irons offer more control.
COMMENTS (L) The turf interaction was incredible. It felt like the soil was melting at impact. No resistance at all. (H) Awesome ball flight, even with the long irons. The forgiveness was off the charts.
TAYLORMADE
M2
Performance ★★★★ ½
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look / sound / feel ★★★★
Demand ★★★★★
VERDICT The futuristic look could be something right out of the latest “Star Wars” movie, but you’d expect nothing less from a club designed to launch rockets. Much like it did with its Burner irons, the company focused on ball speed with the M2. It achieved it by removing mass where possible, notably in the hosel and under the topline, and repositioning it where it could enhance launch and speed. A modification to the sole slot – a staple of TaylorMade irons for three years – also helps launch the ball high.
COMMENTS (L) These irons need a steroid test because they’re most definitely juiced. Perhaps the longest I’ve hit. (H) I thought the feel might be harsh, but it was actually silky smooth, like wrapping yourself in a warm towel.
TITLEIST
716 AP1
Performance ★★★★ ½
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look / sound / feel ★★★★ ½
Demand ★★★★
VERDICT Long known as a better-players brand, Titleist has reached out to a wider audience in recent years, and this iron is an example. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a middle-handicapper seeking to get in single digits or the better player for whom the mid-70s is now a once-a-year occurrence. The use of tungsten in the lower toe increases forgiveness, and a deep-cut cavity helps launch the ball high, especially on the stronger-lofted irons. Also, the lightweight True Temper XP90 steel shafts are ideal for this player segment.
COMMENTS (L) The long irons are among the easiest to hit, and the ball leaps off the face. The only thing left to do is the club twirl. (M) The face cradles the ball at address. That’s not only comforting, but it gave a sense for how soft the feel was going to be.
BEN HOGAN
PTX
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★★
Look / sound / feel ★★★★
Demand ★
VERDICT A little more than a year ago there was plenty of buzz among gearheads about the relaunch of the Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Co. Now those same Hoganites have products to drool over. Among them is this game-improvement option, a set that has hollow irons in lofts of 20 to 31 degrees and more traditional cavity-back irons from 32 to 47 degrees. (The company produces lofts in single-degree increments from 20 to 47 degrees instead of traditional iron numbers.) The hollow irons have a 17-gram tungsten toe weight to help launch the ball higher. The cavity-back irons use titanium forged with the carbon-steel body, which allows mass to be distributed higher for a more penetrating ball flight.
COMMENTS (L) The squared-off, compact head is a great look at address. (M) Feel was top-shelf. The first strike was, Wow, haven’t felt something like that in a long time.
COBRA
KING FORGED TEC
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look / sound / feel ★★★★
Demand ★★ ½
VERDICT Some everyday golfers like to dress like Rickie Fowler, but few should be playing the same irons he does. For them, Cobra produced the King Forged TEC. A thin, high-strength-steel forged face insert provides plenty of pop, and the forged carbon-steel frame enhances feel (as does the urethane cavity insert inlaid with aluminium). The clubs also have three tungsten weights in the bottom of the head – two near the toe and one towards the heel – to improve the club’s forgiveness on off-centre strikes. Having the weight on the bottom of the club allows for the top to have a slimmer look. For those who prefer graphite shafts, the UST Mamiya Recoil is a sound stock offering.
COMMENTS (L) These are body-builder powerful. Loads of distance. Still, the short irons had amazing consistency in distance control. (H) The weighting made it easier to get the clubhead back to square. That was a confidence booster.
MIZUNO
JPX EZ FORGED
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look / sound / feel ★★★ ½
Demand ★★ ½
VERDICT Although it’s not always easy to achieve a high ball speed or a towering launch in an iron, designers know how to get that done. Producing the right sound and feel, however, isn’t as straightforward. Using modal analysis led Mizuno designers to reinforce the topline to achieve the desired sound. The use of a boron steel provided the strength needed to thin the face and increase the rebound area, and the rear frame pushes weight to the extreme four corners of the cavity for maximum stability.
COMMENTS (L) The dark finish offers the right amount of contrast to the strike area on the face. (M) Anyone from a 5 to 15-handicapper could use these. The feel and forgiveness are there, but so is the workability for better players.
NIKE
VAPOR FLY
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look / sound / feel ★★★ ½
Demand ★★★
VERDICT Nike hasn’t been bashful about creating iron sets with a twist, and the Vapor Fly is another example. A hollow-cavity design is used for the 4 through 7-iron. A lightweight carbon-fibre-reinforced resin allows mass in those irons to be placed low and deep to create the right launch conditions. It also saved 14 grams that are repositioned to enhance forgiveness. Resin is also used throughout the set to tune sound and feel.
COMMENTS (L) This is one of the best-sounding clubs I’ve hit. It has that sizzle off the face, and every shot felt like I killed it. (M) They got the weighting absolutely perfect. I felt in complete control of the club during the entire swing every time.
TOUR EDGE
EXOTICS CB PRO TUNGSTEN
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look / sound / feel ★★★★
Demand ★ ½
VERDICT Some players have skills, and others need their equipment to play a larger role in achieving height and distance on shots. The latter is the target audience for this all-hollow-body set of irons. Loads of tungsten (from 90 to 95 grams) placed in the sole lowers the centre of gravity to help shots get airborne. The sole is slimmer than its predecessor, the CB PROh, and has a bevelled leading edge to plow through the turf. As a bonus, the company lets you create a combo set with any of its hybrids.
COMMENTS (L) When you set it down, it just looks like it can help you, and it does. Mis-hits were not punished all that much. (H) A super soft feel for such a bulky iron.
WILSON
C200
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look / sound / feel ★★★★
Demand ★★
VERDICT OK, the urethane-filled slots on the topline might be tough to look at, but this club hides a multitude of sins in your swing and will have you thinking you really can buy a game. The slots allow for a large, thin face (less than one-tenth of an inch in the long irons), with minimal contact points between the face and body. The openings extend completely through the topline, toe and sole and into the cavity to create room for the face to flex. The shafts are a touch longer than most irons to add a little extra boost to your swing speed.
COMMENTS (L) When you hit it flush the ball just hangs in the sky like a hot-air balloon. It has distance most of the others don’t have. (H) The sole is pretty big, but chunky hits receive a decent result.
WILSON
FG TOUR F5
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★
Look / sound / feel ★★★★
Demand ★★
VERDICT The rounded, old-school look on the toe gives this iron a throwback look, but the technology is decidedly modern, particularly on the bottom part of the club. On clubs down to the 7-iron, a thin face-to-sole transition along the leading edge increases ball speed on shots struck on the middle to low part of the face. Although previously used in the company’s D200 irons, this is the first time this method has been used in a forged Wilson club. A 35-gram stabilising bar in the cavity adds support for the thin face.
COMMENTS (L) You can generate some spin, even on the middle irons. They would hit the green and stick. (H) The feel was sublime. A sweet, syrupy sensation at impact. The look gives the illusion of a players iron, but there is plenty of help here.
