The best thing about clubs these days is that you can build a combo set for what gives you the most confidence when playing. I prefer compact club heads so I thought the heads were a little too long. Then Ping came along. They are a bit heavier, with weight spread across the back of the face. They have excellent carry numbers and should hold any green a mid handicapper plays. More skilled mid-handicappers will appreciate this combination. And dont sleep on distance, either. I play soft carbon-steellow handicap ironsand I thought the 425s would feel harsh and wooden. The topline is a bit thicker than most other iron sets on this list but nothing too bulky. For the lower handicap player, the best golf irons sets are those that have something that gives them the most feel and workability. Mizuno MP20 MMC irons (best for mid handicap hitting the sweet spot often) Mizuno JPX 850 Forged irons (best budget Mizuno iron) . TaylorMade has designed the STEALTH iron set with forgiveness in mind. Its slimmer now but longer than on earlier versions of these irons and highly effective. I always figured Titleist were only for better players. Theyve managed to introduce more playability and great sound and feel without sacrificing forgiveness in a forged iron. Never fear. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you. Visit TaylorMade Golf HERE Yet, still want the benefits of a super game improvement iron. Recommendation: Youre going to want to at least test these. It was also very forgiving, losing just 2.6mph and 3 yards on mis-hits compared to pure strikes. Steel shafts have come a long way and the shafts are designed to be lighter than before and that means if you're working on your game, you can really tweak it to perfection. We are still talking about a slightly oversized head with a thicker top line and sole. What Is The Best Club For Chipping Around The Green? And they wont be blades. Ben Hogan (not a major manufacturer, but a known brand), being the lone stand out with a max price of just over $770 for a full set. Low center of gravity and lowered sweet spot for easier crisp contact, Very sweet hits do travel further and overshoot the mark, Consistently long but not at the cost of control, V sole technology makes it easy to hit the ball from all lies, Good shaft options for the mid handicap golfer, Can spin more than other irons in this bracket, Apex which was a players iron brand is now accessible to the mid handicap golfer, Consistent launch and spin with a forgiving cavity back, Crisp sound at contact - more hollow sound toward longer irons, You'll be hitting one club shorter to every green - stronger lofts but high flight, There is no SW in this set and it goes down to an AW, Very upper end of the market price wise for a game improvement iron, High-launching and glides through the turf. Will my wife give me that look? While the flight is high in relation to the lofts, be careful if you're a low ball hitter as you may find some shallow landing angles when approaching greens. I'm going to level with you. See more abouthow TG tests golf clubs and other equipment. These irons produce impressive distance and do so consistently. In this review of thebest irons for mid handicappers, I detail my experience with the clubs, unique features and benefits, my recommendations, and any deals Ive been able to work out. The best irons for mid-handicappers are the Srixon ZX5 MK2 irons. This will allow you to manipulate the ball flight more as you improve. When Will I Need To Replace Them? It is very rare to see a mid handicapper with a 3 iron. If you are on more of a budget, I would highly recommend a set of. Super lightweight mid handicap irons for slow swing speeds. This club is just as effective off hardpan as it is from squishy post-rain fairways. Cobra is also a big believer in single-length iron sets, and while you dont have to get them, they are an available option with these clubheads. According to club designer Tom Wishon, Offset is a design in clubs in which the neck or hosel of the head is positioned in front of the face of the club head, so that the clubface appears to be set back a little from the neck of the club., The more offset, the farther the head's center of gravity is back from the shaft. Accurate, solid, & consistent for better scoring, Can hit good shots all day long without needing perfect contact, Awesome feel and sound for a mid handicap iron, You can play any shot you want if youve got the game. The 4140M Chromoly steel makes all the difference and combines well with the 360 Cup Face. Thinner face on longer irons to maintain distance, Rounded toe to improve turf interaction from thicker lies, Lofts are 2 stronger than previous models, Lightweight design helps slow swing speed players, Patented V-sole improves turf interaction from many different lies, Thinner clubface on short irons improves feel and control, Deeper grooves in short irons also increases spin. Thanks for checking our review of thebest irons for mid-handicappers and average golfersin 2023. Many mid-handicappers find that an offset hosel improves their game. Feel / Sound:Great feel with a nice click on contact. With lofts 2-3 weaker than many in the category, the cast, hollow body Takomo 101 was never going to compete on speed or distance alone (it was 14 yards back from our longest), but when it came to accuracy, its 30sq/yds average was a seriously impressive winner. Shorter irons have deeper grooves that are closer together. Let me say this about that: There are MANY elite players on all the pro tours that do not play blades. Buy on Amazon. To date, his best ever round of golf is a 5-under 67 back in 2011. This iron set may have flown under your radar because they are not as advertised as most but dont let that sway your decision. I like TaylorMade irons. For newer golfers, it's better to have a really really fat sole but we are looking for a moderately fat sole. Every design feature aims to increase power, so you dont have to change anything about your swing. Grooves are progressively spaced out from the 7-iron on up. The mid-handicapper can start seriously thinking about getting a custom fitting. it's difficult to go from a cavity back iron to a blade style wedge. Like many other irons in this category, they have added tungsten in the toe to help increase MOI. Here our Rundown! To put it mildly. If you miss the sweet spot on a muscleback, the pain that shoots up the club into your fingers is stunning! The insert is visible on the end of the toe. I'm an avid golfer of 30 years, an 8ish handicap on my way to a 2 (been a 5.6), and frequent tester of golf clubs and equipment since 2015. Ping say theyve switched to 2-year product life cycles, so you can buy the G430 safe in the knowledge that the model wont be old hat next year. Our #1 Recommendation for 2023 Mizuno JPX 923 Hot Metal Irons. With a large head and more offset, the Wilson Dynapower will suit mid-handicappers who want reassurance and forgiveness more than something that looks like a players iron or blade. Srixon say the topline thickness across the family are closely linked, which actively encourages golfers to create their own personal combo set of two or more models to create the best Srixon irons for their game. SIM2 Max irons fit the bill beautifully. Callaway Apex 21. Unlike many other urethane technologies, the microspheres do not reduce flex and Coefficient of Restitution (COR). Srixon ZX5 irons are our favorite irons for better mid-handicappers (and a strong contender for best-looking irons) and need to be considered for a few reasons: The ZX5s are supposed to be player distance irons, but the clubheads are generous, packed with forgiveness, and help a ton with ball launch and distance. The Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal are among the best Mizuno irons, The Ping G430 are among the best Ping irons, The PXG 0211 XCOR2 are among the best mid-handicap irons, The PXG 0311 XP GEN5 are among the best mid-handicap golf irons, The Srixon ZX4 MKII are among the best Srixon irons, The Takomo 101 are among the best mid-handicap irons, The TaylorMade Stealth are among the best TaylorMade irons, The Wilson Dynapower is among the best Wilson irons, how TG tests golf clubs and other equipment. We test 2022's mid-handicap irons to find the best. Youll thank me. Another offering from the other side of the world, Srixon is gaining steam stateside and introducing new outlooks on what great irons should look like. I got surprising distance and accuracy out of my mishits. We tested 83 different 7-irons, during which our test pro missed a target green at 170 to 200 yards no more than a dozen times. SIM2 Max irons are the upgrade to one of our prior favorites, the M6s, also fromTaylormade. You can flight them down. You want to feel ready to hit at any stage because your clubs all match. Their main priority with irons is to deliver optimal launch and increased distance, two things most mid-handicappers could use some help with. 1 Ping G430 Irons Check Price 2 Srixon ZX4 Mk II Iron Check Price 3 Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal Iron View 4 Cobra King Forged Tec X Iron Check Price 5 Tour Edge Exotics E722 Iron View 6 Mizuno Pro 225 Iron View 7 TaylorMade 2021 P790 Irons Check Price 8 Yonex Ezone GS I-Tech Iron View 9 Callaway Paradym Iron Check Price 10 Ping i525 Iron View 11 Mizuno If youre not a fan of strong lofts, Pings Retro lofts are 2 weaker (31 in the G430 7-iron), which will help many flight, land and stop shots correctly. What are best irons for mid handicap and averge golfers? You can use a shaft weight of 100-115 grams depending on their swing speed. There is a choice of graphite or steel shafts to suit your style and swing speed. The theory is to create spin on the short irons since they will be used the most when you approach greens. Think about where you would use those clubs versus where you could use a hybrid or fairway wood. If you like irons, play a blended set with some game improvement irons in them. I didnt want to stop hitting the G410s. Recommendation: May be hard to find new, but worth a look if you can get your hands on them. They feel unbelievably good, are loaded with forgiveness, look awesome, and are as long as any game improvement iron on the market. So, whilst we accept not all of the equipment included within our tests was designed for our test pro, what our data shows is a great comparison of how clubs in each particular category differ, which is hugely valuable in helping you narrow your choice as a consumer. A muscle back iron the pros use has the majority of its weight mainly behind the TINY sweet spot. Heres my definition: Anyone that breaks 90 on a regular basis and anyone that averages sub-90 rounds and can occasionally break 80 (very occasionally). Recommendation: Still a solid choice, especially if you want to save a little money. These mid-sized, "one-piece forged" irons are a significant advancement over the previous JPX 921 iron line. At a glance: Our Top 5 Picks for Best Irons For Mid Handicapper, Quick Overview: Our Top Picks for Best Irons For Mid Handicapper. designed Flash Face Cup technology. Any of the golf irons that I've recommended in this article will do the job for you, but as always, there are a few things to consider. If you like hybrids, play a combo set. For irons, the extra weight offered by steel gives golfers a better feel than graphite. The Cleveland Launcher XL irons have a much larger cavity back in the long irons for more forgiveness and a larger sweet spot and as you progress to the shorter irons, the cavity back reduces for a more control-based feel to knock it close. I love seeing a mid handicapper jam a great game of golf with the right set of clubs. By having the weight around the perimeter is forces the face to be more bouncy. Recommendation: The SIM2 Max irons are worth a try if you want help with distance and added forgiveness. No sir. All irons were blade irons. Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. Conclusion: The G425s are one of the best irons for the average golfer Ive tested this year. All the good stuff you just read about the JPX 923 Hot Metal irons applies to the JPX 923 Hot Metal Pros. Heres theUSGAs stats on handicap indexso you can see where you fall. Do you just want to get on the golf course have fun and drink a few beers during a round? In my experience, the Titleist T300s are some great irons to help a mid handicapper break 80. 1. The standard stock shaft, True Tempers Elevate ETS 85 shaft is lightweight to increase your swing speed without creating an unstable clubhead and club face situation. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. One, they will be able to hold greens from further away. Conclusion:Play and feel EXactly like the G425s Just different cosmetics. In the hands of an older player who can still rip it, they would be a serious set of weapons for the course. To help your long iron game, the face is thinner in the heel since more mid-handicappers tend to be inconsistent with their longer irons. Perimeter weighted cavity back design improves forgiveness, Great for beginners and part-time golfers, Micro-milled face for added spin with all irons, Slightly less distance than earlier Mizuno options, Another great set of irons that are game improvers to help mid-handicappers lower their score is. The lofts are stronger in the G430s and theyve added more tech for distance. Is the club head too big, too small, too thick, too thin, too short, too long? I can tell you my misses miss less since my fitting and I can set up to the golf ball more comfortably instead of having to manipulate things to try and hit a shot. Regular Flex: the bulk of beginners and high handicappers will do fine with this flex. Like with most of the new irons in this category, they've made the club face thinner to promote more ball speed off the flexible face to hit it longer. A mid-handicapper is a golfer whose handicap is roughly between 10 and 18. As a bonus of the RIBCOR technology, these irons have a pleasing and powerful sound on impact that gives great feedback to know exactly where you made contact. As a 10 handicap, you are the absolute edge of being a single digit handicapper. The newly introduced SR (stiff regular) shaft is an excellent option for most healthy adult male golfers. The low handicappers playing blades or muscle backs have such skill to square the club face at impact, they don't need the offset. Added weight in the toe via a tungsten screw helps keep your ball straight when you contact the toe. The G425s are too good. I never play them in the player's irons because I prefer Srixon. It also helps when they keep making incredible golf equipment like these irons. Callaway Golf Apex Iron Set. 9. Firstly, Variable Face Thickness (VFT) has been used. Copyright text 2022 by Golf Sidekick. Prepare for some serious popYou do not have to catch these to get tons of performance. The mid handicap golfer should carry the following clubs, This set makeup isnt gospel, but you cant go wrong with this as a starting point. High launch and maximum forgiveness are the main requirements for high handicappers when buying irons. Their combination of RIBCOR technology and speed slot system helps to increase distance while keeping your ball on the straight and narrow. What are best irons for average or intermediate golfers? Definitely ones to try if you're on that 70 to 80 boundary. Pleasing overall. Be extra careful when buying clubs to buy the correct grip thickness. Read our full PXG 0211 XCOR 2 irons review. It would be easy to use just one test golf ball brand every year, but that inevitably leads to criticism for being too closely aligned to one manufacturer, especially if that brands equipment performs particularly well. Adding spin means side-to-side as well, so you can shape the ball into greens or around corners much easier with these long irons. Only a small amount of tungsten has been added to the toe to keep this look. Callaway has struck a balance between all-important accuracy and distance with great playability. Center contact is heavenly, but off-center contact still gets you on or around the green. The average golfer should use cavity-back game improvement irons. When you hit more greens, you're going to love going to the course. Srixon have made these clubs look easy to hit when you look down at them, but they're not oversized at all. 1. Callaway,Taylormade, Mizuno, and Ben Hogan, are just a few examples of companies making a forged cavity back iron. This reduces wayward shots as there is less twist when you make off-center contact. Feels like a super-premium iron, but at a normal price point. ORA golfer with a 10ish handicap to a 17ish handicap. The G430s are incredibly forgiving irons but are NOT ugly mid handicap irons. See more of our ranking criteria for irons. We usually dont list Titleist as having great options for mid-handicappers, but recently they have been turning over a new leaf. These clubs are made with the same attention to detail as other brand-name clubs except for a much lower price. The most common mishit is off the toe, but youll barely notice a difference with these irons. They're extremely accurate golf irons and with the offset hosel, cavity back design, they tick all our boxes. PXG have always made great-looking irons and we reckon many club golfers would struggle to feel a difference between the 0211 XCOR 2 and the brands premium forged and fully adjustable models. Do you have questions about the best irons for mid-handicap golfers? The White Fox on my channel still loves his Titleist AP irons. TaylorMade Golf M6 Iron - Best For Distance 10. The PXG 0211 XCOR2 irons arent forged, and they dont have the brands famous weight technology (so the MOI is typically 10% lower than PXG premium irons), but apart from that youre buying into PXGs impressive knowledge for 99 a club when buying five or more. Weve spent hours researching and testing many irons, narrowing it to the top 10 best irons for mid-handicappers for 2023. I almost guarantee it. The number of the club has become irrelevant and Cleveland are one of the few to stamp the loft on the club. If you want something which looks a little more confidence inspiring behind the ball, then the PING G430 irons will make you feel like you can rip every shot. If you want the latest and greatest tech, then the TaylorMade STEALTH irons will give you that in heaps. This broadens the sweet spot and corrects almost all off-center hits. It depends on you. By: GOLF Editors February 23, 2021. Gold. The Srixon ZX4 MKII irons produced some hugely impressive numbers in our 2023 irons test. Cobra built the Aerojet irons for 10-20 handicappers specifically and they want these players to be able to hit a 7 iron 155 yards + on the fly with these bad boys. This is an iron set with good speed and distance with little compromise on forgiveness and control. When it comes to Titleist, either you're a fan or ambivalent to them, but after you try their newer ranges of irons, you'll find irons that you not only like to hit because they're forgiving, but you'll realize you won't need to replace them as you move your scores into the low 80's and even high 70s. It was our pros third-fastest, third-longest and third-best mid-handicap iron for protecting carry distance. You'll be a single figure soon. Getting a new set of irons is expensive though and there are so many options in the mid level golfer bracket, it can get confusing. Availability 3-10 (PW) Stock shaft Nippon Modus3 / Nippon NS950GH Neo / Honma Vizard. Callaway Apex 21. TaylorMade's STEALTH set has been specially designed to increase the height of your shots. "Callaway has used 17-4 stainless steel to create iron faces for several years, but the Rogue ST's cup-face design is created . 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