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