The best irons for low-handicap golfers who want extra distance.
A decade ago, better-player distance irons didn’t exist, but today it is one of the hottest and most innovation-filled categories in golf.
So we are clear, better-player distance irons are designed to look like the clubs single-digit handicap golfers want to play. They have compact blade lengths, narrow toplines and soles and typically come with only a touch of offset. However, manufacturers pack them with distance-enhancing features and technologies so they appeal to players who might lose a few yards, and they tend to be more forgiving than cavity-back and muscleback irons made for aspiring club champions.
While some of the clubs on this list were released earlier in 2023, several have been dropped within the past few weeks, giving golfers who shoot in the 70s and low 80s more choices to consider.
As always, the best way to find the ideal set of irons to match your game is to work with a good custom fitter who has a launch monitor and try several options. Below are several models you might want to consider.
Irons used by stars like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and more.
ATLANTA — Only the top 30 golfers on the FedEx Cup points list have earned spots in the field at this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club, and one of the surest ways to have the consistency needed to finish that high in the standings is hit high-quality iron shots. A lot of them.
Distance off the tee can be a huge advantage, but when golfers’ approach shots stay out of trouble and finish near the hole, they avoid making big numbers and set up birdie chances. That translates to low scores and fat bank accounts.
The stat on the PGA Tour that reveals the best iron players is Strokes Gained: Approach the Green. It shows how much of an advantage a player has, measured in strokes, over other golfers based exclusively on the quality of his approach shots and tee shots on par 3s.
The PGA Tour’s regular season has now concluded, and the list below reveals the players who finished in the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green, along with the irons they use.
TaylorMade P·790 have a new internal weighting system that boosts performance.
Gear: TaylorMade P·790 irons (2023) Price:$1,399 (seven clubs) with True Temper Dynamic Gold steel shafts and Golf Pride Z grips. $1,499 with Mitsubishi MMT graphite shafts Specs: Hollow-body construction with a forged 4140 stainless steel face, internal tungsten weights (3-7 irons), vibration-dampening foam and polymer-covered sole slot. Available:NOW (pre-orders), September 1 (in stores)
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Who It’s For: Golfers who want an iron that looks like a better-player’s club, but packs the distance and forgiveness of a game-improvement iron.
The Skinny: TaylorMade redesigned the inner chamber and the weight system in the P·790 to make the long irons easier to hit and provide more feel and consistency in the short irons without sacrificing the ball speed and distance.
The Deep Dive: In 2017, the original TaylorMade P·790 was among the first golf clubs that could rightfully be called a better-player’s distance iron. It looked like a muscleback blade, although slightly larger, but it delivered more ball speed, forgiveness and stability than irons made for golfers who might contend for a club championship.
Those clubs were updated in 2019 and again in 2021, and now TaylorMade is releasing the fourth generation of the P·790 irons. Once again, on the outside the club blends easily with the rest of TaylorMade’s P Series irons, but the 2023 P·790 has been radically changed on the inside to give golfers more consistency and a better feel without sacrificing ball speed or distance.
From a design standpoint, the P·790 is still a hollow-bodied iron that has a relatively thin topline, moderately narrow sole and some offset. The hollow-body design allows the forged 4140 stainless steel face to flex more at the moment of impact for increased ball speed. The 2023 version also has the same Speed Foam Air found in the 2021 P·790. It is 69 percent lighter than the original vibration-dampening foam TaylorMade used in the first P·790 irons, so it not only makes the irons feel and sound better at impact, it pushes more weight out of the center and toward the perimeter of the head for added stability. The Thru-Slot Speed Pocket has been designed into the long and mid-irons again to help improve performance on low-struck shots.
Among the features found in the new P·790 is the addition of a Thick-Thin back wall. Instead of being smooth, the inner-facing side of the back of the club is covered with thin areas that give it a snakeskin-style appearance. Before the adoption of carbon fiber crowns, TaylorMade used this technology to take the weight out of titanium crowns in drivers. It does the same job in the P·790, reducing weight in an area that does not enhance performance and allowing designers to repurpose it somewhere else.
TaylorMade P·790 4-iron (top left) has a low CG thanks to a flat tungsten weight in the toe, while the 6-iron (lower left) has a weight that is higher and the 8-iron (right) has no tungsten. The sound stabilization bars in the 4-iron and 6-iron are different too. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
After running thousands of simulations using artificial intelligence (A.I.), TaylorMade designers used some of the weight saved in the back of the heads and designed unique bars and weight areas in the bottom of each head. Some have curves and others are straight, but each is designed to help a specific club perform better. So, for example, there is a curved area in the 6-iron that has extra mass in the heel and toe, along with a tungsten bar that rises vertically in the toe area for extra stability. The 4-iron, however, has a bar that is significantly lower in the head and its tungsten piece lies flat in the toe area, to drive the center of gravity (CG) down even further and encourage a higher launch angle.
The precise location of the CG was a point of emphasis for TaylorMade in this version of the P·790, and by manipulating the weight of each head, the company is touting a “flighted CG” progression through the set. With a better weighting system, the 3-iron and 4-iron in 2023 P·790 now have the lowest CGs, and the CG height gradually elevates as you progress through the mid-irons and into the scoring clubs, which should result in more consistent ball flights. Long irons should be easier to hit high and golfers should be able to flight short irons lower for better distance control.
Finally, TaylorMade has added a Sound Stabilizing bar inside each P·790 iron, to stiffen the topline and help tune the frequencies created when the club hits the ball. Each club’s bar is uniquely designed and in a different location because the mass is distributed in different parts of each club.
Many golfers will opt for a traditional set of the new P·790 irons, but cosmetically they blend very well with the P·770 irons that were released last year. The P·770 is smaller but shares the same hollow-body design, so working with a good fitter should make designing a personalized combo set of P·790 long irons and P·770 short irons easy.
Below are several close-up images of the new TaylorMade P·790.
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Titleist T150 irons are for accomplished golfers who want extra distance.
Gear: Titleist T150 irons Price: $200 per club with True Temper AMT Tour White steel shafts and Titleist Universal 360 grips; $216 per club with Mitsubishi Tensei White AM2 graphite shafts Specs: Dual-cavity design with SUP-10 stainless steel body, 17-4 stainless steel cradle and internal tungsten weights. Available: August 28
Who They’re For: Low-handicap golfers seeking more distance, but who still want the look and feel of a compact iron.
The Skinny: Designed like the T100 irons, the T150 delivers extra distance thanks to a polymer-filled muscle channel bar and lofts that are 2 degrees stronger than on the T100, but Titleist focused on making them sound and feel better than the T100•S irons they replace.
The Deep Dive: For a decade, before Titleist developed the T Series irons, many golfers enjoyed playing the brand’s AP irons, especially the AP2, which was the iron of choice for Jordan Spieth. Many of those golfers have transitioned into the compact T100 irons, and some found they liked the T100•S, a stronger-lofted version of the T100. But for AP2 loyalists, the company’s T200 was simply too big.
With the release of the new T150 irons, which replaces the T100•S, Titleist has tried to thread the needle and develop a club that fits between the T100 and the T200, offering accomplished golfers the feel, control and looks that they love, but with some distance-enhancing help.
The T150 and the T100 are built in the same way, but the T150 has a blade length that is a few millimeters longer and a topline that is a few millimeters thicker. You need to hold the clubs side-by-side and study them carefully to see the difference.
Both clubs utilize a forged SUP-10 stainless steel face and body with a 17-4 stainless steel capsule on the back. Inside the capsule, Titelist has added a pair of tungsten weights, one in the heel and the other in the toe, to increase stability and help the T150 resist twisting on off-center hits.
While the T150 line has lofts that are 2 degrees stronger through the set than the T100, the biggest difference between the two irons is the addition of a muscle channel in the T150 that is in a bar connecting the toe to the heel. It is filled with a silicone-like polymer that absorbs some of the vibrations created at impact and encourages a slightly higher launch. It also helps the hitting area flex more effectively. The last version of T100•S had this feature too, but in the T150 irons it has been pushed slightly closer to the hitting area, which lets it work more effectively.
At the same time, Titleist made the lower portion of the face slightly thicker. Brands often tout thin faces to help golfers generate more ball speed on mis-hits, but thicker faces can create more-pleasing sounds and sensations at impact. It’s a paradox that designers have to deal with in every club. In this case, Titleist wanted to change the vibrations and the frequencies created at impact, and thickening the lower part of the hitting area does that.
The combination of the polymer bar being moved forward and the lower part of the hitting area being made thicker, Titleist said, allows the T150 to have the sound and feel of the T100, which Titleist knew golfers wanted, while maintaining the ball speed of the T100•S.
Finally, Titleist designed the T150 with a curved trailing edge that bends upward more than the back edge of the T100•S. This should help the clubs get in and out of the turf more efficiently, so golfers can maintain speed through the strike.
The price of the T150 and the T100 are the same, $200 per club with steel shafts, and they look similar. Titleist made them that way so players can work with a custom fitter and easily create blended sets.
Below are several close-up photos of the new Titleist T150 irons.
The updated T100 irons are for players who want more consistency along with maximum feel and control.
Gear: Titleist T100 irons (2023) Price: $200 per club with True Temper AMT Tour White steel shafts and Titleist Universal 360 grips; $216 per club with Mitsubishi Tensei White AM2 graphite shafts Specs: Dual-cavity design with SUP-10 stainless steel body, 17-4 stainless steel cradle and internal tungsten weights. Available: August 28
Who They’re For: Low-handicap golfers who want increased consistency from an iron that delivers maximum feel and control.
The Skinny: While keeping the size and shape of the T100 irons unchanged, Titleist worked to enhance their consistency by improving how the faces are made and continuing to boost the blend of workability and stability.
The Deep Dive: The designers and engineers at Titleist who worked on the new T100 irons were given a task that has been assigned for years to their peers who work on the Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls: Don’t change anything, but make it better.
The Titleist T100 irons are popular among PGA Tour players and elite golfers because they blend a compact shape and the control that better players want with a touch of forgiveness. Players such as Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith, Will Zalatoris, Sungjae Im and Tom Kim have won championships with them.
To make the clubs more consistent shot after shot, Titleist improved the way the faces and hitting areas are manufactured. Previously, every iron’s face was made perfectly flat by having a wide, high-speed milling bit pass over it. The bit left circular milling marks on the face, so after the grooves were added, it was necessary to polish away the milling marks before the chrome plating was applied. Now, after adjusting the way the bit passes over the face, Titleist says the polishing step is no longer necessary, which means the grooves will be slightly sharper and the clubs should perform more consistently.
As with the previous T100 irons, the 2023 version is designed with a dual-cavity construction that combines a forged, SUP-10 stainless steel face and body with a 17-7 stainless steel cap piece in the back of the club. Inside the cap, designers added pieces of tungsten in the heel and toe areas. There is an average of 80 grams of tungsten added to each club, with the piece in the toe larger to help offset the weight of the hosel and to pull the ideal hitting area into the center of the face.
The tungsten also creates extra perimeter weighting, so while the T100 has a compact blade length and overall size, it has extra stability and resists twisting on off-center hits more effectively.
Titleist has lowered the center of gravity in the 3-, 4- and 5-irons to encourage a higher launch and a steeper angle of descent for added stopping power on the greens.
To improve turf interaction and help golfers maintain speed through the turf, designers gave the trailing edge an upward curve instead of the more angular trailing-edge relief found in previous T100 irons.
From a cosmetic standpoint, the updated T100 and T150 irons appear very similar, but the T150 irons have lofts that are 2 degrees stronger throughout the set for extra distance. By working with a custom fitter, golfers should be able to create a blended set easily.
The updated Callaway Apex Pro offers more consistency, better feel and controlable spin.
Gear: Callaway Apex Pro Irons (2023) Price: $215 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid steel shafts and Golf Pride Z grips. Specs: Hollow-body construction with a forged 1025 carbon steel body, forged 455 cup face (3-5) and internal urethane microspheres. Available in 3-iron (19 degrees) through attack wedge (50 degrees) Available: August 18 (pre-sale) / Sept. 8 (in stores)
Who They’re For: Low and mid-handicap golfers who want a better-player’s distance iron that also delivers shot-shaping and forgiveness.
The Skinny: Using a softer metal and urethane microspheres enhances the feel of this iron, while the hollow-body construction helps increase ball speed. The updated sole improves turf interaction.
The Deep Dive: Callaway purchased the Ben Hogan brand in 2003 and sold the company in 2012, but it retained the right to use several iconic Hogan names, with Apex the most coveted. The first Callaway Apex irons arrived in 2014 along with a version for better players called the Apex Pro. At that time, before the better-player’s distance category took off, “pro” versions of irons were often simply smaller versions of the standard clubs with less offset, thinner toplines and narrower soles.
But with each passing generation, the Apex Pro has evolved more and more into its own club. With the release of the 2023 Apex Pro, Callaway is now positioning this better-player’s distance club alongside other designs for accomplished players.
Cosmetically, the new Apex Pro resembles the Apex TCB used by Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele, but this club has a slightly longer blade and more game-improving features designed into it.
The Apex Pro long irons (3-5) have a hollow-body design and a thin 455 stainless steel cup face designed to flex more efficiently at impact to enhance ball speed. This is the same material and construction found in Callaway’s game-improving Paradym irons but in a more compact package. The 6-iron through attack wedge have faces made from forged 1025 carbon steel, the same soft material used in the Apex Pro irons’ chassis. Opting for 1025 carbon steel in mid- and short irons should soften the impact feel and enhance spin and distance consistency on approach shots.
Inside the hollow chamber of each head, Callaway added urethane microspheres, a material the brand has used for several years to reduce excessive vibrations while improving sound and feel. The key trait of the material, however, is that it does not inhibit the face from flexing, so golfers get those benefits without sacrificing speed or distance.
Callaway designed the Apex Pro irons to have a progressive center of gravity. The CG is lower in the 3-5 irons to encourage a higher ball flight, then transitions upward slightly in the mid-irons (6-8) and then even higher in the short irons (9-AW) to help golfers flight approach shots down for better distance control.
The screwed-in plate on the back of each head is adjustable for fitters and allows them to change the swing weight of the clubs based on their length and a player’s preference. To help golfers maintain speed through the turf and hitting area, Callaway designed the soles of the new Apex Pro to be slightly wider, more curved and to have a pre-worn leading edge. The trailing edge also has been rounded slightly. The sole is still narrower than the bottom of Callaway’s game-improvement irons such as the Paradym, Rogue ST or Big Bertha.
The Apex Pro will be available from 3-iron through attack wedge, and they have some technologies and look similar to Callaway’s updated Apex CB, Apex MB and Apex UT, so golfers can easily create combo sets. Callaway plans to offer pre-created combo sets such as The Player (Apex Pro 3-7, CB 8-AW) and Triple Play (Apex Pro 3-6, CB 7-9, MB PW-AW).
Callaway’s Apex CB and MB maximize feel and control.
Gear: Callaway Apex CB, Apex MB irons (2023) Price: $215 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid steel shafts and Golf Pride Z grips. Specs: Forged 1025 carbon steel. Available in 3-iron (20.5 degrees) through attack wedge (50 degrees) Available: August 18 (pre-sale) / September 8 (in stores)
While most golfers desperately want irons that can help them hit the ball farther and higher, elite ballstrikers — players with a powerful, repeatable swing — are constantly looking for something else from their clubs. If you can generate all the power and distance you require, what you need is more control. You need irons that allow you to curve the ball and control its flight, which requires a heightened sense of feel at the moment of impact.
Using feedback from tour pros, Callaway has updated its Apex CB and Apex MB irons to deliver more control and feel, while also making them easy to combine to create a blended set.
The updated Apex Pro irons, which are also an option for low-handicap golfers, have been designed with a hollow chamber in the 3-5 irons that is filled with vibration-absorbing urethane microspheres, but the Apex MB and Apex CB irons are all solid-body designs forged from 1025 carbon steel. Nothing gets in the way of the sensations created at impact from reaching a player’s hands, which is exactly the way pros, college players and elite amateurs like it.
Callaway designed the Apex CB and Apex MB with a progressive center of gravity (CG) location. There is extra mass positioned low in the heads of the long irons, to help golfers create a higher-launching shot, but the CG shifts up in the head through the mid- and short-irons to encourage a lower, more-piercing ball flight for better distance control.
Both clubs also have a leading edge that has a more-rounded, pre-worn design. The trailing edge also has more chamfer, or upward curvature, to help the Apex CB and Apex MB get in and out of the turf more efficiently.
The Apex CB was inspired by Callaway’s Apex TBC (tour cavity-back), which is the iron of choice for Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele. Callaway made the blade length a few millimeters longer than the Apex TCB, but the brand thinks this will be its most-played iron on the PGA Tour next season while also being an option to a few more amateur golfers.
To offset the weight of the hosel and pull the ideal hitting area into the center of the face, Callaway designers removed some mass from the heel area and added tungsten to the toe section. You can see it because the tungsten is under the chrome plating. This should help to a neutral weight bias and allow players to hit draws or fades more easily.
While the Apex CB has a small amount of perimeter weighting thanks to its cavity-back design, the Apex MB is a pure muscleback blade. It has a very compact blade length, virtually no offset and a very thin topline. It has a progressive CG throughout the set and Callaway studied and modified the sole design and bounce to make it quick through the grass, so golfers can maintain speed through the strike.
Like the CB, it has a plate on the back of the head that can be switched by fitters to allow them to change the swing weight of the clubs based on their length or a player’s preference.
Cosmetically, the Apex CB and Apex MB look very similar, and they have identical lofts, with the 5-irons being 26 degrees and the pitching wedges being 46 degrees. Working with a custom fitter, golfers should be able to easily create a blended set, as many PGA Tour pros do. Callaway plans to offer the “The Elite” combo set, which will include the Apex CB 3-iron through 7-iron and the Apex MB in the 8-iron through attack wedge.
Below are close-up images of the Apex CB and Apex MB for 2023.
Take a close-up look at Titleist’s replacement for the popular T100, T100•S and T200 irons.
CROMWELL, Conn. — The timing of Titleist’s releases may not be as predictable as a Swiss watch, but for over a decade, the brand has released new woods and irons either in the days leading up to the U.S. Open or the week afterward. Last year, Titleist brought the TSR drivers, fairway woods and hybrids to the PGA Tour for the first at the 2022 Travelers Championship. Since the company operates on two-year product cycles, we knew that 2023 would be an iron year, and like clockwork, Titleist recently brought updated versions of its T Series irons to the PGA Tour.
Technically, there are four new irons in the yet-to-be-released family–the T100, T150, T200 and T350 — but Titleist has not provided details about any of them so far.
The new T100 and T200 logically replace the currently available T100 and T200. Pro shops are also currently selling the T100•S, a stronger-lofted version of the T100, for golfers who want a compact club that delivers extra distance, but there is not a T100•S in the new family, but the T150 could do that job.
The Titleist PGA Tour van does not have any T350 irons onboard, so that club will likely replace the current T300, which is a max game-improvement iron.
Below are in-hand images of Titleist’s new T100, T150 and T200 irons.
PXG’s new cavity-back delivers excellent feel and control with a touch of forgiveness.
Gear: PXG 0317 CB irons Price: $169.99 each Specs: Forged 8620 carbon steel with milled back and adjustable swing weight. Available in chrome and dark finishes
Who It’s For: Accomplished golfers who want to shape shots but need more forgiveness than a muscleback blade offers.
The Skinny: Forged for a soft feel and featuring classic looks, PXG’s newest better-player offering is a cavity-back designed to deliver excellent feel and control with a touch of forgiveness.
The Deep Dive: In March, PXG released the 0311 GEN6 P and XP irons, which can be classified as a better-player’s distance iron and a game-improvement club, but last September, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company released the 0317 ST, a blended-iron set that combined cavity-back 3- and 4-irons with muscleback blades in the 5-iron through pitching wedge. The idea was that the game’s best players want the ultimate in precision and feel with their mid- and short-irons, but they will gladly accept a little forgiveness on long-iron shots.
The 0317 CB has a thin topline, narrow sole and very little offset. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Now PXG is breaking that set apart and releasing the new 0317 CB as a stand-alone set of cavity-back irons for low-handicap golfers and players with a powerful, repeatable swing who are looking for control and feel around the course.
Like the previously released clubs, the 0317 CBs are triple forged using 8620 carbon steel, and the back of each head is milled to precisely create the shapes the designers intended. PXG engineers have also added a weight in the back of each head that can be changed during the fitting process to allow golfers to try different swing weights. It is a unique way for golfers to feel the difference between heavier and lighter versions of the same iron and discover which performs better. Once PXG installs the weight during the clubs’ assembly, it is not designed to be removed or swapped.
The 0317 CB has perimeter weighting to add a touch of forgiveness. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
While the 0311 GEN6 irons are hollow and then filled with a polymer to soften the feel and enhance the sound, the 0317 CB irons are solid metal. They have a shorter blade length, thinner topline and narrower sole than the 0311 GEN6 P irons.
The 0317 CB irons can be purchased as a set or bought individually, making it easier for control-oriented golfers to work with fitters and create a personalized blended set of 0317 CB and 0317 ST muscleback blades.
The 0317 CB irons are available in chrome and Xtreme Dark finish.
TaylorMade is offering the P·790 in a new finish, black, for golfers who love the look of dark-toned clubs and who want reduced glare.
It has been nearly two years since TaylorMade released the current P·790 irons, and the clubs are among the most popular offerings in the brand’s stable. Why? Accomplished golfers who crave distance appreciate the clean looks in the address position and the enhanced feel boosted by Speed Foam Air inside each head, while mid-handicap golfers who need forgiveness benefit from internal tungsten weights that add stability. That makes the P·790 a contender for a broad range of players.
Now TaylorMade is offering the P·790 in a new black finish for golfers who love the look of dark-toned clubs and who want reduced glare.
From a performance standpoint, the P·790 Black irons are identical to the standard P·790, with 8620 carbon-steel bodies and thin, forged 4140 stainless steel faces. The clubs have a hollow-body construction to allow the face to flex more efficiently at impact for increased ball speed and distance. The inner chamber is filled with Speed Foam Air, a lighter version of the original material that was in the 2017 and 2019 versions. The lighter foam reduces weight in the center of club, which elevates the perimeter weighting and stability while still absorbing excessive vibrations. Finally, an internal tungsten bar drives down the center of gravity and encourages a higher launch and steeper descent of the ball for better stopping power on the greens.
The TaylorMade P·790 Black irons will be available for $1,299.99, the same price as the standard chrome set, and come standard with black KBS Tour shafts and black Golf Pride Z grips. Get a close-up look at the P·790 Black irons below.
