Best Irons For Low Handicaps In 2023 Review
Irons expert and 3-handicap index golfer Joel Tadman has a wealth of experience testing irons and in this video, he has compiled a test of the latest models aimed at single-figure golfers. This comparison covers everything a good ball striker considers when choosing irons, be it the visuals, feel, ball flight and distance consistency. Be sure to watch to the end where Joel picks his favourite models and the overall winner, which may well surprise you.
Transcript
00:00 Now low handicappers looking to upgrade their irons in 2023
00:03 really are a sport for choice when it comes to new options
00:06 and it can be difficult to know which one is right for you.
00:08 But that's what I'm gonna attempt to convey to you
00:10 in this video by testing all of the latest models
00:13 on the market for the low handicap golfers.
00:15 So you can understand the subtle differences between them
00:17 and which one might be right for you.
00:19 And as a low handicapper myself,
00:21 I feel like I'm in a really good position
00:22 to offer some really insightful feedback
00:25 to help you pick the best model.
00:26 We're at Black Bear Golf Club here in Florida.
00:28 The weather is beautiful, the sun is out
00:30 and the range is perfect for testing all 10 of these irons.
00:34 So let's dive into the different categories
00:35 now starting with the looks.
00:38 (upbeat music)
00:40 Starting with the looks,
00:43 and obviously all 10 of these low handicap irons
00:45 are relatively compact down behind the ball
00:47 designed to appeal to the eye of the better player.
00:50 But there is some variation
00:51 between the models within this test.
00:53 Starting with some of the larger heads,
00:54 if you want something a little bit bulky
00:56 down behind the ball.
00:57 You've got models like the Ping Eye 230
00:59 and the Cobra King Tour.
01:01 This is offering something a little bit more generous
01:02 behind the ball if you don't want to look down
01:04 on something too intimidating.
01:06 That said, if you want a really small looking head
01:07 or a blade style looking head,
01:10 there are some other options like the Titleist T100,
01:13 the Mizuno Jpx 923 Tour
01:15 that have really thin top lines and really narrow soles.
01:17 So if you're a competent ball striker,
01:19 those are the irons you're probably gonna gravitate towards.
01:21 For me personally, I like something in the middle
01:23 that's gonna give me a little bit more top line,
01:25 something with a slightly wider sole,
01:27 but isn't too large or offset.
01:29 And there's a couple that really stand out for looks
01:30 and I've got them here.
01:31 They are the Tenmade P770,
01:33 which I think has lots of shelf appeal.
01:35 They've really slimmed down this iron
01:37 versus the prior generation.
01:38 And just ticks a lot of boxes from the looks point of view,
01:40 apart from that toe screw,
01:41 which I think is a little bit detracting from the look.
01:44 But in terms of the profile at address
01:46 and the finish on it,
01:47 I think it really uses a lot of class.
01:48 And then the Strixon ZX7,
01:50 I think this is a fantastic looking iron,
01:52 really clean and down at address,
01:54 it's just perfect really.
01:55 The top line is thin, but it's not too thin.
01:57 There's not much offset on there.
01:59 The finish is quite light
02:00 and I think it looks great from the back as well.
02:02 So these would be my two for looks,
02:04 Tenmade P770 and the Strixon ZX7 Mark II.
02:08 So now we move on to the feel category.
02:09 And this is a bit tricky 'cause it is subjective.
02:11 Player to player, people wanna feel different things,
02:14 whether it's something that's quite lively
02:15 or something that feels as soft as possible.
02:17 For me, I think I'm somewhere in the middle.
02:19 I like there to be a bit of energy to the face,
02:21 but also I like quite a soft feel
02:22 and quite a short thud sound to it.
02:24 And there are a few that really stood out
02:25 in terms of the feel out of the middle.
02:26 These are the ones that really had that wow factor
02:28 out of the middle.
02:29 I think that's something that you want from an iron.
02:31 When you hit it out of the middle,
02:32 it gives you that wow factor,
02:33 makes you wanna hit shot after shot.
02:34 The first one for me would be the PXG 0317ST.
02:39 This is a blade, but it's got this weight pull
02:41 behind the sweet spot here.
02:42 And when you strike way out the middle,
02:44 you're really rewarded with a soft, springy sensation.
02:47 There's no vibrations that come up into the hands.
02:49 The sound is fantastic.
02:51 Yes, it does drop off a little bit more
02:53 than the others off center,
02:54 but if you're a competent ball striker,
02:56 you're really gonna enjoy the rewards
02:57 when you hit the shots out of the middle with this club.
02:59 The other one would be the Cobra King Tourine.
03:03 So this is one of the larger heads on test,
03:04 but it has a milled cavity behind the bottom of the sole
03:08 and it's filled with an insert.
03:09 So you're getting a soft feel
03:11 from those dampened vibrations
03:13 and you're also getting stability
03:14 from the slightly larger head as well.
03:15 So that combination really works for me.
03:18 And the other one is the Vega VMB.
03:20 So this is, as the MB suggests, it's a blade,
03:22 it's a one-piece forged club.
03:24 And there's a lot of meat here behind the sweet spot.
03:26 So you can see how much metal there is there
03:28 behind the hitting area.
03:29 As a result, you get a really soft,
03:31 dense feel from this club.
03:33 Yes, it's probably one of the least forgiving irons on test,
03:35 but I really enjoy the feeling
03:36 when you hit one out in the middle.
03:38 Has a really nice sound and feel to it.
03:39 So those are the three that really stood out.
03:41 You know, if you prioritize a soft feel
03:43 with a little bit of energy and liveliness off the face,
03:45 I really enjoyed those three clubs.
03:47 So now we move on to the forgiveness
03:48 of these low handicap irons.
03:49 And what we're seeing actually,
03:50 despite these irons being nice and compact
03:52 down behind the ball,
03:53 manufacturers are able to build
03:55 quite a lot of forgiveness and stability
03:57 into a lot of these heads.
03:58 And we're seeing some low handicap irons
04:00 that are kind of one-piece forging
04:01 becoming a little bit less prevalent
04:03 and more irons with tech built in
04:04 a bit more prevalent within the market.
04:06 And there are a few that stood out for
04:08 forgiveness and stability.
04:09 The first one would be this Callaway Apex Pro 21.
04:12 This iron's been around for a while, it's a few years old,
04:14 but with that tungsten weighting in the head,
04:16 it really does help stabilize the face.
04:18 And I noticed that even though it's quite a compact head,
04:21 it's surprisingly forgiving.
04:22 I don't really like the feel of it.
04:23 It didn't feel as soft as I wanted it to feel,
04:25 but I think in terms of stability,
04:27 it's very a high performer in that regard.
04:30 The next one would be the Ping i230.
04:32 This does a lot of forgiveness through size.
04:34 It's one of the more generous profiles at address,
04:36 but it was very consistent.
04:38 And it also flew a touch higher than
04:39 a lot of the irons in this test.
04:41 I think that's going to give you a bit more
04:43 stopping power and playability as well.
04:44 So in terms of forgiveness,
04:45 the Ping i230 was right out there.
04:48 The other one I really enjoyed was the TaylorMade P770.
04:51 So this is a hollow headed iron.
04:53 It's got tungsten waiting in there.
04:54 It's got a head filled with foam.
04:56 So it feels nice.
04:58 And it's also feels probably one of the livelier irons
05:00 on test.
05:01 And as a result,
05:02 it was quite consistently longer than the other clubs
05:04 and just gives you a slightly different sensation impact,
05:07 I would say, versus the other.
05:08 This is the only hollow head on test.
05:10 So it just gives slightly different vibes versus the others.
05:13 And the last one with the Titleist C100.
05:15 So this is one of the smaller clubs
05:16 in terms of how it looks down behind the ball.
05:17 It's got a really thin top line.
05:19 If you look down at address, it looks like a blade,
05:22 but similar to the Callaway,
05:23 there's a surprising amount of forgiveness
05:24 built into this club,
05:25 giving you a little bit more help
05:26 on those slight off-center hits,
05:28 especially here on so,
05:29 I think the ball was certainly curving
05:32 a lot less than I was expecting,
05:33 which is a big plus for an iron like this Titleist T100.
05:36 So if you're looking for something that's compact,
05:38 gonna give you a little bit more help,
05:40 those are the four to go for.
05:41 So now we move on to the all important performance
05:43 of these low handicap irons.
05:44 And I'll flash up some data on the screen now
05:46 of my indoor testing that I did
05:48 on the Foresight Sports GC quad launch
05:49 once I'm using Titleist Pro 1X.
05:51 Golf balls, what you notice,
05:53 and the distances, the average carry distances I experienced
05:57 were mostly correlated down to the loft of these clubs.
05:59 So you see they range from 31 degrees in the Vega VNB
06:03 up to 34 degrees in a few of the different models.
06:06 And that definitely correlated
06:07 in terms of the amount of carry distance as well,
06:08 but also a little bit
06:09 in terms of the construction of the head.
06:11 For example, the Taylormade P770
06:13 was one of the longer irons on test,
06:14 but it's relatively traditional
06:16 and it's loft at 33 degrees.
06:19 So that gave me a bit more distance than I was expecting.
06:21 And there's some clubs like the Sphrixon ZX7 Mark II
06:25 and the Cobra King Tour at 32 degrees
06:28 did give me a few more yards than the others.
06:29 So if you want a bit more distance,
06:31 those are the ones to gravitate towards.
06:34 For me, I think I want something
06:35 that's somewhere in the middle.
06:37 Like I said, the P770, the Ping i210
06:39 was giving me ample distance
06:42 while also giving me good control as well.
06:44 I think when we're looking at irons,
06:45 we're looking at how was I able to control the direction
06:48 and that front to back dispersion.
06:49 And the irons that really stood out in that regard
06:51 were definitely the Taylormade P770.
06:54 Even though it's a hollow head, it was really consistent.
06:56 The Ping i230, again, very forgiving,
06:59 which helped with that consistency of distance
07:01 and being able to control where the ball was going.
07:03 And as one of the smaller heads on test,
07:05 I was surprised at how consistent
07:06 the Mizuno JPX 923 Tour was.
07:09 It was a bit intimidating for me,
07:10 but actually when you got in the groove with it,
07:12 I was really enjoying and surprised
07:14 at how straight the ball flight was.
07:15 And with that traditional Mizuno forging,
07:17 you got really consistent distances as well.
07:19 So in terms of performance,
07:21 it really kind of depends what you're looking for.
07:22 Generally, the larger heads do give you
07:24 a little bit more speed,
07:25 and the smaller heads do give you a slightly lower ball flight
07:28 and not quite as much carry distance.
07:30 But in terms of performance,
07:31 those three irons were the ones
07:32 that really stood out for performance.
07:34 Okay, so we've gone through all the categories,
07:35 and now it's time for me to pick my favorite
07:37 low-handicap iron of 2023.
07:40 It's worth pointing out at this stage
07:41 that all 10 of these irons are excellent.
07:43 I think regardless of what you're looking for,
07:45 any of them would do a really good job in your bag.
07:47 And different low-handicap golfers
07:48 prioritize different things.
07:49 And with all these irons,
07:51 picking the ball at relatively similar distances
07:53 with relatively similar spin profiles
07:55 really just comes down to looks for me.
07:57 And there's a three that really stood out,
07:58 and it's why I think they're my favorite.
08:00 Whether you prioritize feel or forgiveness,
08:02 you might go in a different direction.
08:04 For me personally, these are my top three.
08:06 And in third place, it would be the TaylorMade P770.
08:09 What I like about this club is it,
08:11 because it's a hollow head,
08:12 there's quite a lot of technology built into this,
08:14 it just gives me a bit more margin for error
08:16 when I'm not swinging well,
08:17 or in those longer irons,
08:19 when they're difficult to hit properly,
08:20 I just feel like I can get away with it
08:21 a bit more with the P770.
08:23 And despite it being a hollow head,
08:24 I think it feels really nice as well.
08:26 Springy, but relatively soft,
08:28 and really consistent from a hollow head.
08:29 You often find with hollow-headed irons,
08:32 they can be quite hot out of the middle,
08:33 but that was not the case with P770.
08:35 It was really consistent
08:36 in terms of the carry distances it was delivering.
08:39 In second place, it would be the Ping i230.
08:42 Just pips the P770 for being a little bit more forgiving
08:45 and a bit more consistent than the P770.
08:48 A lot of that comes down to size,
08:49 it is a little bit larger,
08:51 and I quite like that,
08:52 and I like the fact that it's got a lot of grooves
08:54 and a white bottom groove in the face.
08:55 It really helps me align the face,
08:57 address if I'm struggling with control of direction,
09:00 I'm able to align it to my target a bit more easily.
09:02 And I think it feels really nice as well,
09:04 even though it's one of the larger heads,
09:05 it's probably one of the softer feeling heads,
09:07 and just feels really stable.
09:09 I like the impact experience of this Ping i230,
09:13 so that's why it's the runner-up for me.
09:14 But my overall favorite,
09:16 it might surprise you,
09:17 it's a bit of a left-field choice,
09:19 but it is the Cobra King Tall.
09:21 I think this is one of the best looking irons
09:22 in terms of shelf appeal,
09:24 I think it looks fantastic at the back.
09:25 And it has that nice combination of being forgiving,
09:28 but also feeling really soft.
09:30 This insert, CPU insert at the back,
09:32 really does a good job of dampening those vibrations.
09:34 So you get the feel,
09:35 almost of a blade or a one-piece forging,
09:37 but in an iron that's a little bit more lively
09:39 and a bit more consistent and very, very stable.
09:42 Yes, it gives you a little more distance
09:43 because it is stronger in loft,
09:45 you might want to tweak those slightly
09:46 if you go for a custom fitting.
09:47 But obviously I think the fact
09:48 it's got quite a lot of technology built into it
09:50 and slightly stronger loft,
09:52 without sacrificing ball flight,
09:53 you know, a lot of low handicappers
09:54 still want a little bit more help
09:55 on those off-center hits,
09:56 this iron is delivering that.
09:57 So for all-round performance
09:59 and kind of appeal for the low-handicap golfer,
10:01 my number one choice is the new Cobra King Tall.
10:04 That's all for me,
10:05 I hope you enjoyed this video
10:06 and found it useful when it comes down
10:07 to narrowing down your search
10:08 for your next set of irons
10:10 if you're a single-digit golfer.
10:12 Do let me know in the comments
10:13 if you found it useful
10:14 if there is an iron that we maybe missed off
10:16 and you want to know more about.
10:17 Obviously let me know,
10:19 there's plenty of reviews on the Golf Country website
10:20 if you want to check out those,
10:21 but that's it for me from Black Bear Golf Club
10:24 here in Orlando, Florida.
10:26 We'll see you next time.
10:27 (upbeat music)
10:29 (upbeat music)
10:32 (upbeat music)