Ping

What it does: Ever since the introduction of the i20 more than a decade ago, Ping’s i-Series irons have offered meaningful forgiveness on off-centre strikes in a players shape. The i230 continues this tradition and provides a distance shot in the arm. A new elastomer insert inside the 431-stainless-steel clubhead saves 21 grams of weight, which is repositioned to lower the centre of gravity and increase the moment of inertia (MOI) to improve forgiveness. The elastomer also reinforces the face, which improves feel and provides a more consistent energy transfer across the entire face.

Why we like it: More than four years after the introduction of the i210 irons, its successor is likely to reward such patience. The looks have been cleaned up a little with more compact long irons, but the real technological achievement is the multimaterial badge that combines a thin 304-stainless-steel cap with an injection-moulded thermoplastic that is then secured to the cavity with high-strength adhesive. What does that do? It makes the sound frequency of each iron similar – not an easy thing to do considering the force of a 4-iron shot is far different from a pitching wedge.

7-iron loft 33 degrees; PW Loft 45 degrees