Whether you are in the market for game-improvement irons, muscleback blades or something in between, check out the newest irons for 2021.
The holidays are a distant memory but ’tis the season for new golf equipment to be arriving at your local pro shop and golf specialty store. We showed you the abundance of new drivers, and now it is time to focus on irons.
The trend in irons is to utilize unique materials and construction to not only allow golfers to hit the ball farther and higher but to get better performance on mis-hit shots. However, this season there are not just game-improvement and max game-improvement irons for mid- and higher-handicap golfers. We are also seeing a bumper crop of irons designed for experienced golfers who have repeatable, powerful swings and demand feel and control.
The best way to figure out which new iron is ideal for your game is to work with a good custom fitter, use a launch monitor and test several models and shafts.
The newest irons from Tour Edge feature a new vibration-dampening system and a unique face technology to maximize distance.
In October, Tour Edge released the latest budget-friendly, distance-oriented Hot Launch woods and irons, the E521 family. All those clubs were designed to hit the ball high, straight and far.
Tour Edge’s other family of clubs is the Exotics line, and with the two newest Exotics irons, the C721 and E721, the Batavia, Ill.-based company is setting its eyes on the player’s-distance market and the game-improvement category using several high-tech features and cutting-edge design elements.
The two irons share a pair of crucial features that are new for Tour Edge. First is Dual VibRCOR, a vibration-dampening material used to enhance feel. Second is Diamond Face 2.0, a face-design element engineered to help the hitting area flex more efficiently for increased distance.
Wilson’s newest wedges are designed for accomplished players who demand feel, control and spin from tight lies and firm conditions.
Gear: Wilson Staff Model Tour Grind wedge Price: $129.99 each with True Temper Dynamic Golf X100 120 shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet grip Specs: Forged 8620 carbon steel with milled face. Available in 56-, 58- and 60-degree versions.
Wilson has made it easy for golfers to get a feel for which clubs are designed for various types of players, with C Series gear being control-oriented and D Series products made with distance in mind. Over the past few seasons, new Staff Model irons and wedges also appeared, and they are constructed with accomplished golfers in mind. The irons tend to have thin toplines, narrow soles and less offset than other Wilson clubs, so they have found their way into the bags of players such as 2019 U.S. Open winner Gary Woodland, Brendan Steele and recent signee Kevin Chappell.
In keeping with that tradition, Wilson’s new Staff Model Tour Grind wedges were designed for golfers who want versatility around the greens, tend to sweep the ball and find themselves needing to play shots from tight lies.
The Staff Model Tour Grind wedges have moderate bounce. (Wilson)
Forged from 8620 carbon steel for a soft feel at impact, the Staff Model Tour Grind wedges are available only in sand wedge and lob wedge lofts (56-60 degrees) and have moderate bounce (10-12 degrees). A significant amount of material has been ground out of the heel and toe areas, which should make it easier to open the face, get the leading edge under the ball and still receive the benefit of the bounce.
Relief in the heel and toe makes the Staff Model Tour Grind wedge more versatile. (Wilson)
To enhance spin, Wilson mills the face of each Staff Model Tour Grind wedge before machining the grooves into the hitting area. This helps ensure the face is perfectly flat for consistency.
Titleist’s TSi1 drivers, fairways and hybrids are designed for moderate-speed golfers, while the TSi4 is an ultra-low-spin driver.
Several Titleist staff players quickly changed into the company’s new TSi2 and TSi3 drivers when they became available last fall. Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith and J.T. Poston all switched because they liked the blend of distance and forgiveness the clubs delivered.
While Titleist believes custom fitters can help most golfers achieve their goals using those two clubs, there are outliers. Some are moderate-speed players who need a club designed to boost spin, carry distance and forgiveness. Others are hard-swinging golfers who need an ultra-low spinning driver to keep the ball from ballooning to maximize distance.
For those players, Titleist is offering the TSi1 woods and the TSi4 driver to complement the TSi2 and TSi3.
The drivers created by Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) always have had a distinctive look on the bottom, featuring small tungsten and titanium weight screws that could be mixed and matched to shift the center of gravity and create draw or fade biases. The company started using large weight screws a few seasons ago, but the crowns have retained a matte-black finish through several iterations.
For 2021, however, that’s changing. PXG has added aluminum vapor to the large carbon-fiber piece in the crown, giving the center section a silver tone in the three new models. As Brad Schweigert, PXG’s chief product officer, explains in this video, the addition of aluminum vapor is not just for show. It makes the lightweight material perform better.
Odyssey combined the popular and forgiving shape of the Ten with the iconic 2-Ball alignment system in its latest putters.
Gear: Odyssey Ten putters Price: $299.99 each Specs: High-MOI mallet putters with microhinged face insert Available: March 11
Over the years, Odyssey, the putter division of Callaway Golf, has shown that it is more than willing to borrow successful elements from previously-released models to offer both pros and recreational players enhanced versions of popular designs. For 2021, the company has done it again, utilizing one of its most forgiving shapes alongside popular alignment features and a roll-enhancing face insert in the new Ten putter family.
Like the original Odyssey Ten putter that debuted in 2019, the new mallets feature a squared shape that pushes more weight to the back in the heel and toe areas to dramatically increase the moment of inertia (MOI) and make the heads more stable on off-center hits. So, golfers can expect putts that are mis-hit to roll out nearly as far as well-struck putts, which should help golfers improve their distance control.
However, when you look down at several versions of the new Ten putters, you will clearly see two iconic white disks that appeared on many Odyssey putters starting about two decades ago. The 2-Ball versions of the new Ten putter should be easy for many golfers to align, but for golfers who do not like the 2-Ball alignment system, there are also versions of the new Ten putter with a single line, as well as Odyssey’s blue-and-red Triple Track alignment lines.
The Odyssey 2-Ball Ten putters come with white disks, lined disks and disks with Triple Track lines. (Odyssey)
Regardless of the alignment system golfer’s prefer, Odyssey claims the new 2-Ball Ten putters have an MOI that is 32 percent higher than the original 2-Ball.
To help get the ball rolling instead of skidding as it comes off the face, Odyssey has given the new Ten putters a micro hinge face insert. This version, referred to as the Microhinge Star, was originally made for tour pros who wanted a firmer feel than previous Microhinge face inserts and first appeared in retail putters in 2019. According to Odyssey, it not only feels firmer, the microhinges in the face help to pull the back of the ball upward at impact, which encourages it to start rolling along the ground more quickly.
Odyssey gave the Ten putters the Microhinge Star insert. (Odyssey)
Finally, to help golfers improve the rhythm and tempo of their putting stroke, Odyssey gave the new Ten putters an updated Stroke Lab shaft. The lower portion is made of steel, but the middle and upper parts of the shaft are made from graphite, which weighs less than steel. This allowed designers to add extra weight in the head and under the top of the grip. According to Odyssey’s research, this helps golfers make a smoother, more-repeatable stroke.
Parsons Xtreme Golf updated its flagship iron family for more distance, better feel and enhanced customization, with three model options.
Gear: PXG 0311 GEN4 T, 0311 GEN4 P, 0311 GEN4 XP irons Price: $349 each Specs: Forged 8620 carbon-steel, hollow chassis with HT1770 stainless steel face and injected thermoplastic Available: March 9 (pre-order)
Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) debuted in 2014 with a set of irons, the original 0311 model, that featured unique weight screws surrounding the heads and a hollow-bodied design. They were intended to look like a muscleback blade in the address position but play like a distance-enhancing, game-improvement club. The secret sauce was the addition of a soft thermoplastic elastomer inside each head that supported an ultra-thin face without inhibiting it from flexing. The material also softened feel and enhanced sound.
Over the past seven years, those irons have been refined and now the company has released the fourth generation of the 0311 irons, with the T model designed for accomplished golfers, the P being ideally suited for mid-handicap players who want more distance and feel, and the XP meant for players who want the maximum in forgiveness and power.
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This exclusive video with Brad Schweigert, PXG’s chief product officer, explains all the details about the new GEN4 0311 iron family.
