In the market for a new set of distance irons? Then this is the video you need to watch before making your selection as we've tested and compared the leading game improvement irons to help you pick the right model for your game! Irons expert Joe "The Pro" Ferguson has hit all of the most forgiving irons on the launch monitor and on the golf course to put them through their paces, understand the subtle differences between each one and present the findings to you in a format that should be simple to digest.
Filmed at the beautiful Santo Da Serra golf club in Madeira.
Filmed at the beautiful Santo Da Serra golf club in Madeira.
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00:00Best Game Improvement Irons of 2024.
00:03If you're a mid to high handicapper,
00:05then you've stumbled across the right video here.
00:07Now I've come to the beautiful
00:08Santa De Sera Golf Club here in Madeira,
00:11and I've picked out some of my favorites
00:13from months of testing, dozens and dozens of these clubs,
00:16and I'm going to pick out my favorites in categories
00:18such as feel, looks, performance,
00:20and I'm going to crown my overall winner
00:22at the end of the video.
00:24Okay, so looks.
00:25Now this is a really important part
00:26of selecting some new irons
00:28because we all want to like
00:29what we're looking down on, right?
00:30And I think across the board
00:32in the game improvement category this year,
00:34the manufacturers have done a really, really good job.
00:37Gone are the days where you've got
00:38these overly flashy graphics
00:40that sometimes just don't look as good as you'd like them to be.
00:43But if you're a mid to high handicapper,
00:45then you've got a lot of options here.
00:47You've got a lot of options to choose from.
00:49You've got a lot of options to choose from.
00:50You've got a lot of options to choose from.
00:52But if you're looking for these flashy graphics
00:53that somewhat patronize mid to high handicappers,
00:56we've got across the board a more sophisticated look.
00:59And the first one of those I want to talk about
01:01is the Cobra Dark Speed iron.
01:03Now this is a little different.
01:04It's got a much darker finish
01:06than all of the other irons in the selection.
01:08It's got a kind of, it's not black, it's not gray,
01:10it's kind of a charcoal coating.
01:12And I think it looks great.
01:13And particularly down by the ball,
01:16it actually slims the profile
01:17of what is quite a substantial head.
01:19Because it's darker,
01:21it just optically looks that little bit more compact
01:24and I really like it.
01:25And again, down behind the ball,
01:27there's not too much excessive offset.
01:29There's a nice blade length and a decent thick top line
01:32that lets you know you're getting a little bit of assistance.
01:34So I think this is a fantastic looking iron.
01:38Now, next up for me, the Callaway AI Smoke.
01:42A really classic looking head.
01:43It does well to disguise the technology that's within it.
01:46So it is a hollow bodied head,
01:48but you get the impression
01:49that it's a more playery style iron.
01:52Decent width of sole and down behind the ball,
01:54this could fit into most categories.
01:56This could be in the compact distance section
01:58or even the low handicap section.
02:00It really is a very refined
02:02and sort of better player looking head.
02:04So I've picked that out on that basis.
02:06But for me, the overall winner of this category
02:10is the Titleist T350.
02:13I love everything about this
02:14and I think you can split looks sometimes
02:16into two categories.
02:18You get the shelf appeal from the back,
02:19how it looks in the bag or on the shelf,
02:21or you get the profile down behind the ball.
02:24And this is a beautiful combination of both.
02:26I think from the back,
02:28you've got a really classy aesthetic.
02:29We've only got two colors.
02:30We've got black and white, which is always a winner.
02:33We've got a lovely chrome finish.
02:36And I just think they've done
02:37a really, really good job aesthetically.
02:38Again, for me, this would go in any level of player's bag.
02:41No one's going to turn their nose up
02:43at the look of this golf club.
02:44And down behind the ball,
02:45you get a really pleasingly long blade length.
02:48So you know you've got plenty of surface area to hit with,
02:51comfortable bit of offset,
02:53but a really classic looking profile.
02:56So for me, in the game improvement iron section,
02:59this year, the winner is the Titleist T350.
03:05Technology has probably evolved in this category
03:07as much as with any of the other iron categories
03:09with manufacturers using multiple different materials,
03:13both on the exterior and in the interior of these irons
03:16to improve and optimize those acoustics,
03:19which really feed into the feel.
03:21Now I'm here on the beautiful fourth hole
03:23on the Red Course at Santa De Sera Golf Club
03:25here in Madeira.
03:27And I've picked out three of my favorites
03:29within this feel and sound category.
03:30We're going to hit a couple of shots off this tee here
03:32and really get into the details of them.
03:35So first up in feel,
03:36I want to talk to you about the Callaway AI Smoke.
03:39And what I really like about these Callaway AI Smoke irons
03:42is the face, the new AI face that Callaway have created
03:45using thousands of swings from real golfers
03:49to create what they call their swing code.
03:50And their tagline across this range
03:52is sweeter from every spot.
03:54And you really notice that in the AI Smoke irons.
03:57Honestly, in the rest of the bunch,
03:59I feel there's a couple that maybe just feel
04:01a little bit better on the centered strikes,
04:03but across the face, these are really exceptional.
04:06Okay, so I'm on a par three tee here
04:09at Santa De Sera Golf Club.
04:10And we've got about 170 yards into and off the right.
04:13And I'm just going to hit one away
04:14because I want to get you,
04:15see if we can get a sense of the sound and the feel.
04:18Hope the camera picks it up from this.
04:26That was a nice hit, slightly out the heel.
04:29But quite honestly, like I said,
04:31the face that they've created
04:32sort of gobbles up those miss hits.
04:34And I guess from a feedback point of view,
04:36that might be a slight negative
04:37because I'm not quite sure exactly where that came from,
04:40but from a performance point of view,
04:42it's still done the job.
04:43So not sure I care that much.
04:46And my next standout in the feel and sound category
04:48is the Ping G430 iron.
04:51Now the Ping G430 is a really strong performer
04:53in this category.
04:54From a tech point of view,
04:55it's got a super thin face
04:57and this Pureflex badge at the back.
04:59And that really does help the acoustics and the feel.
05:02So it's one of the softer feeling
05:04within the bunch of irons that I've selected.
05:06So let's see if we can pick that up on the audio
05:07when I hit one away here.
05:11Okay, so that was a really nice solid strike
05:16right out the middle.
05:17And it was noticeably softer, deeper,
05:19and I know smooth is probably a good word for that.
05:22So it's a lot more subdued and a lot more subtle
05:25than some of the others in the range.
05:26I really, really liked the feel of the Ping G430.
05:31But the winner for me in the best feeling iron
05:33in the game improvement category
05:34is the Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal.
05:41And that is why I've named it my favorite feeling iron
05:46in the game improvement category.
05:47That was just beautiful.
05:49So what Mizuno have done here
05:51is much like a lot of the other irons within this category.
05:53They've thinned out the face 8% thinner
05:56than its previous iteration.
05:58And what that can do is create a harsh,
06:00high-pitched kind of acoustic.
06:02Mizuno have addressed that
06:04with what they call their V chassis.
06:06And that mitigates that sound.
06:08And anyone who's used Mizuno irons before
06:11will know feel is probably the standout feature.
06:13They feel fantastic.
06:15What Mizuno has done here,
06:17they've packed a lot of tech in
06:18to create what they normally create with craftsmanship,
06:20but they've achieved the same result.
06:22A great feeling iron.
06:23And this is my best feeling game improvement iron of 2024.
06:30But before we have a look at those irons,
06:31I'd just like to ask you,
06:32if you enjoy this video and you find it informative,
06:35please hit the like button,
06:36comment down below on what your favorite
06:38game improvement iron of 2024 is.
06:41And if you haven't already, subscribe to the channel.
06:43Okay, so that's how they sound and feel,
06:45but very importantly, how do they perform?
06:48So I've tested all of these irons,
06:50and I'm going to pop some raw data up
06:51on the screen for you now,
06:52so you can have a little look
06:54and see what those numbers are.
06:55If you need to pause the video,
06:57there's a lot of data to take in there.
06:59Feel free to pause it, take it in,
07:01and get back to me once it's all registered.
07:03But for now, I wanted to talk to you
07:04about the performance of my sort of three favorites here.
07:07So the first one I'm going to mention
07:09is the TaylorMade QI iron.
07:12Now, it was one of the lowest spinning irons,
07:14but it had some really high launch to go with that spin,
07:17which is a great combination for distance.
07:20It's really stable on off-center hits,
07:22which I really, really liked.
07:24But what I also liked,
07:25and probably the standout feature of this for me,
07:26is I felt it was probably the most draw biased
07:28of the irons that I tested.
07:30It's got what TaylorMade are referring to
07:32as their straight distance technology,
07:34which is essentially a draw bias.
07:36So for anyone who fades the ball
07:38or over-slices it at times,
07:40this could be a really, really good option
07:42because it really does mitigate
07:43that kind of left-to-right ball flight
07:45for a right-handed golfer.
07:46So that's a really strong performer.
07:49The next one I'd like to mention,
07:50and one of the most underrated,
07:52probably brands in the iron category for me, is Wilson.
07:55This is the DynaPower iron.
07:58Now again, this was quite a low spinner
08:00and quite a penetrating flight,
08:01but I would expect that because it's got 27 degrees of loft,
08:04which is one of the more strong lofts within this category.
08:08But I also really like the feel,
08:10and I had a really nice tight dispersion
08:12for something that wasn't spinning too much.
08:14I found dispersion,
08:15and probably that's the performance on the off-center hits.
08:18I found that really, really good with the DynaPower.
08:20A good value option as well,
08:22but as I said, it's just something that's very underrated
08:24in all of the iron categories for me.
08:27But my overall favorite in the performance category
08:31was the Cobra Darkspeed.
08:32Now this, for me, it just had the perfect combination.
08:36It wasn't necessarily standing out in individual areas,
08:39but the perfect combination of launch, spin, distance,
08:43and it was a real rocket ship in terms of that distance.
08:46I thought this was a really, really good combination,
08:48and I really like the lively feel off the face.
08:51What Cobra have done here,
08:52from a tech point of view to achieve that,
08:55is they've added three grams of foam
08:57rather than seven grams of polymer
08:58that was in the Aerojet iron.
09:00That's allowed them to move the center of gravity around
09:02to really be able to optimize
09:04those launch and spin conditions,
09:06and they've done a really, really good job.
09:07And for that reason, the Cobra Darkspeed irons
09:10are my best performing irons
09:12in the game improvement category for 2024.
09:17Right, so we've come to the moment
09:18where I'm actually going to name
09:20my favorite game improvement iron of 2024.
09:22Now there's a lot to consider.
09:24I really liked a lot of the clubs I tested,
09:26and I think this has been a really strong category
09:28for irons this year.
09:31But I've got to pick a winner.
09:31And my overall winner this year
09:33for the best game improvement iron is,
09:37it's the Cobra Darkspeed.
09:39I love so much about this iron.
09:40I've spoken about the looks a little bit.
09:42I love, I'm a bit of a sucker for something
09:44that's not afraid to be different, really.
09:46And this is a much different finish
09:48to all of the other irons,
09:49and I really, really like it.
09:51I also said I like how this darker finish
09:53is slimmed down the profile.
09:55So behind the ball, whilst it's substantial,
09:58whilst there is quite a long blade length,
10:00it doesn't look overly cumbersome.
10:02And that's something I don't like
10:04in this game improvement section,
10:05when they look clunky and cumbersome and difficult.
10:08So from a looks point of view,
10:10I really, really enjoy these irons,
10:11both from a shelf appeal point of view
10:13and in behind the ball.
10:15They've got a lovely profile at address.
10:17Secondly, the tech that's involved,
10:20I do like the change.
10:21The foam that's gone in instead of the polymer
10:23has really changed the feel,
10:24which I alluded to earlier.
10:25It's a nice lively feel.
10:27You can feel the power through the strike.
10:29And it's also changed that CG,
10:31so you get some really nice launch conditions,
10:33which has produced kind of pretty optimal numbers for me
10:36and a very, very powerful hit.
10:38From a price point of view as well,
10:41they come in really good, $143 per iron.
10:44That's cheaper than a lot of the more established brands
10:47or established brands within this category.
10:49So I think they represent really good value.
10:51The only thing you might need to give some consideration to
10:55is they are hot.
10:56The seven iron is at 27 degrees.
10:58And as you go down the shorter irons and into the wedges,
11:01I did see quite a lot of distance boost.
11:03So if you are getting into the dark speed,
11:04you might need to think about gapping
11:06down the lower end of the bag
11:07and change your wedge setup possibly to accommodate,
11:10but you won't be sorry that you do.
11:12Cobra have done a fantastic job here,
11:13and this is my best game improvement iron for 2024.