Irons make up most of the clubs in our bags and play a key role in performance. Choosing the right set can significantly improve your game and boost consistency across the course. This Golf Irons Buying Guide covers the main types and helps you find the perfect set for your needs.
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Types of Irons For Golf
Forged Irons
Forging a club is very similar to what the village blacksmith used to do. The metal is sunk into a rough shape, then hammered into the desired shape. The manufacturer then has a raw forged iron, which is a close approximation of the final club head. The carbon steel clubhead is then finished by milling, grinding and polishing.
The end result is a solid looking, one-piece iron that has a reduced sweet spot. Forged irons are designed for skilled players who value feel, shot shaping, and precise trajectory control.
Traditionally, a true forged players iron is made from a single piece of metal. However, recent engineering advancements have changed that for many manufacturers. To increase forgiveness, forged irons can now be built using multi-material construction without losing feel or performance.
We will explain this further in the iron categories.
Cast Irons
The alternative to forged irons is the cast iron. This type of iron is made by pouring liquid metal into a mold, enabling more complex and forgiving head designs. For that reason, cast irons are more suited to irons that are multi-material, perimeter weighted and intricate. The casting process is easier and cheaper than forged irons, which is the reason for the lower price tag.
Golf Irons Buying Guide
Designs of Irons
Irons were once limited to Muscle Backs or Cavity Backs, but modern tech has introduced four distinct iron categories.
Players Iron
Who they’re aimed at: Low handicappers, better ball-strikers, typically single-digit handicaps or professionals.
There are a couple of different types that fit into this category itself:
Muscle Back / Blades – a type of Players iron designed for the game’s best players, featuring a thin face, a thin top line and a compact hitting area. Blades generally distribute weight evenly throughout the entire head, producing a small ‘sweet spot’ in the centre of the head. Golfer’s typically go for a blades for a more desirable feel and their spin rates due to faster swing speeds.
Cavity Back Players Irons: Still compact, but with a slight cavity to offer just a touch more forgiveness while maintaining feel and control. This is seen as more of a “modern” players iron and much more appealing even to better golfers.
The Players irons in general are very appealing for better golfers because they offer more feel and the ability to shape a shot than other categories.
Players Distance
Who they’re aimed at: Low to mid handicappers who want a compact head but more distance and forgiveness than a pure players iron.
Players distance irons use hollow bodies, strong lofts, and tungsten weighting to boost ball speed and maximise carry distance.
This category can also cover a number of different types of irons. For example, TaylorMade’s P770 and P790 are Players Distance irons, each offering different levels of speed and feel.
These irons strike a balance between players and game improvement irons, offering moderate feel without being too harsh or too soft.
Game Improvement
Who they’re aimed at: Mid to high handicappers looking for forgiveness and distance without worrying much about shaping shots.
Game improvement irons typically feature a much larger head shape, thicker toplines, perimeter weighting, moderate lofts.
Adding weight to the clubhead’s perimeter increases MOI, making the iron more stable and forgiving on off-centre strikes.
Larger clubheads often have thin faces, helping off-center shots fly longer and straighter than blade irons.
This forgiveness reduces feel, making cavity back irons ideal for mid-to high-handicap golfers seeking a bigger sweet spot.
Super Game Improvement
Who they’re aimed at: Beginners or high handicappers who struggle with consistent contact and need maximum forgiveness.
Super Game Improvement irons are extremely forgiving designs, wide soles, high launch, often with hybrid-like shapes in the longer irons. The word ‘Super’ literally does what it says on the tin, this category is basically a more amped up version of Game Improvement irons for those who need the help.
Sets Of Irons
Irons are usually sold in sets of up to 9 irons. Within each set the irons are numbered to correspond to the loft of the club. The long irons in a set are usually numbers 2, 3 and 4, although these days it is rare to see a 2 or even a 3 iron.
Mid-irons are numbers 5, 6 and 7 and short irons are numbers 8, 9 and wedges such as a Pitching Wedge (PW), Gap or Attack wedge (GW or AW) and a Sand Wedge (SW).
Bear in mind that the lofts of each iron category will be totally different, and as you’d expect they won’t all carry the same distance. Typically you will see the thicker the cavity the further the golf ball will carry, due to its lower loft and extra tech!
Shafts
Steel Shafts
The most commonly chosen shaft for irons is steel. Steel is stronger and heavier than graphite, meaning it produces less flex and is more consistent and accurate.
The carbon steel or stainless steel used in shafts is thick and offers consistent torque and flexibility, allowing you to have the same flex and stiffness in your 4 iron as you have in your 9 iron. The reduced price and highly durable nature of the metal make it a popular choice for all golfers.
Graphite Shafts
Not as common as steel in the iron market but definitely becoming increasingly popular, graphite can still be a great advantage because it is lightweight and flexible. This enables you to increase swing speed and perhaps unlock more distance in your game.
The drawback of graphite is the feel from the shaft. A stiff graphite shaft will not feel like a stiff steel shaft and may mean the feel is not consistent through a graphite-shafted set of irons. Another drawback is price, as the process of making graphite shafts is more expensive than steel. However, if you are an older, junior or lady golfer who perhaps prefers a light feeling club, then the extra money you spend may benefit your game.
Multi-Material Shafts
A less common method of shaft construction is the multi-material shaft. This type of shaft combines both steel and graphite in one shaft. It tends to be made up mainly of steel, with a graphite tip. The steel section of the shaft offers a solid shaft that allows players to control the ball flight more. The graphite tip lets the club have a limited amount of ‘extra speed into the ball that can help produce more distance. The graphite tip also helps filter out any unwanted vibrations at contact to optimise the feel of each shot.
For more information on shafts, go to the Golf Shafts Buying Guide
How Many Clubs Do I Buy?
This may seem a fairly elementary question but actually there are many options when it comes to deciding exactly which individual clubs you buy.
The most common set of irons is from a 4 iron to pitching wedge (PW). Many better players may choose to buy 3 to 9 iron and leave room to add specialist wedges. A weaker player or older player may decide to choose 5 iron to SW leaving room for fairway woods and utility clubs in their bag in place of the longer irons, whilst using more forgiving wedges provided within the set.
A key influence in choosing the make-up of your set is distance gapping. This means paying attention to the distance you typically hit each club in your bag, and specifically the gaps between them. If you have any noticeable gaps, it may be worth adjusting your set configuration.
Try Before You Buy!
One of the great benefits of buying clubs today, is the option to try clubs and get custom fitted. We could not recommend this highly enough. Just finding the right clubs for you is fine, but unless you actually use them and see how they hit then you may never be sure you are getting the perfect set.
Custom Fitting
Custom fitting is a service offered by all the major manufacturers. The ability to adapt the specifications of irons to match your size and swing is a very useful method of buying clubs. The average set is designed for a player who is around 180 cm (5 foot 10 inches) tall. If you are not this height it is likely that you would benefit from custom fitting.
Fitting involves customising the length of shaft and lie angle as the taller you are the longer shaft you will require and you may perhaps need a more upright lie. Having the correct lie angle is crucial for anyone desiring a straighter ball flight, too upright or flat can cause the turf interaction to affect the face angle causing the ball to veer offline.
Shaft stiffness can also be adjusted to suit your swing speed so that the club does not arrive too open or shut at impact. Even the head design can be custom fitted to your swing and desired shots.
Custom fitting will take approximately 30 to 60 minutes at your local pro shop or golf shop. Some manufacturers also have fully equipped fitting centres with all the latest technology to fit you like a Tour Pro.
It can cost you a little more than buying a standard set of clubs, however many manufacturers will do this for free if you end up buying a set with them. Ultimately any small cost will probably save you money in the long run, as you will have a set perfectly fitted for you.
Demo Days
Demo days where manufacturers offer all golfers the chance to try out all their latest equipment and get advice on specifications and any other questions you might have. Some demo days even have custom fitting trucks with computer analysis equipment to analyse you swing and build you a club to order there and then.
