Game-Improvement Irons – Syndication Server

Callaway Apex Ai200, Ai300 irons

Callaway enhanced the feel and updated the look of its game-improvement Apex irons.

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Gear: Callaway Apex Ai200, Ai300 irons
Price: $200 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid steel shafts or UST Mamiya HDC Recoil Dart graphite shafts and Golf Pride Z grips
Specs: Forged 1020 stainless steel body with forged 455 stainless steel face, internal urethane microspheres, and adjustable back weight
Available: NOW

Who it’s for: Mid- and higher-handicap golfers who want more distance, feel, and consistency from shot to shot.

What you should know: Callaway enhanced the feel and updated the look of its game-improvement Apex irons, then used artificial intelligence to create iron faces that deliver more distance, along with spin and trajectory consistency.

The deep dive: When Callaway sold Ben Hogan Golf in 2012, it retained the naming rights to Apex, an iron family that had been synonymous with high performance, feel, and classic looks for well over a decade. The first Callaway Apex irons arrived in 2014 and were popular from the start. The standard Apex irons retained the classic looks while hiding game-improvement features, while Apex Pro and TCB irons blended feel, control, and consistency into clubs that could help amateur golfers win club championships and professionals like Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele win majors.

Yes, Callaway released an updated Apex Pro last year, along with the Apex CB and MB, but the standard Apex’s most recent update was in 2021. Now, however, Callaway has announced the release of the Apex Ai200 and Ai300, two new Apex irons that blend popular Callaway technologies and features with Apex heritage.

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Callaway Apex Ai200 irons — Callaway has reorganized the names of the new Apex irons to make it easier to understand how they relate to each other. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

First things first: the new names. To make understanding the Apex line easier, Callaway has switched to a number system. The larger the number, the bigger and more forgiving the irons will be. Smaller numbered clubs will focus more on feel, precision, and control. Callaway hopes that even before they hit the new Apex irons, golfers will be able to easily understand how each club relates to the others in the Apex family.

The Apex Ai200 (which replaces the Apex ’21) and Ai300 (which replaces the Apex DCB) now cosmetically match the most recent Apex Pro, CB, and MB irons, even though both are hollow-bodied irons designed for mid- and higher-handicap players.

Callaway Apex Ai300 iron. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The Ai200 and Ai300 feature a forged 1020 carbon steel chassis that is attached to a thin, forged 455 Carpenter stainless steel cup face. Callaway injects urethane microspheres inside each Ai200 and Ai300 head to soak up excessive vibrations, enhance feel, and improve the sound created at impact.

While some of that may seem familiar, what is new is that the 455 Carpenter stainless steel cup face has been created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) in the same way Callaway used it to create the faces in the Ai Smoke drivers. Knowing they wanted to create more ball speed but maintain the spin rates and launch angle characteristics in the Apex irons, Callaway engineers programmed supercomputers to run thousands of simulations of impacts using different face patterns and designs. The result is a hitting area that should give golfers more distance, but also more consistency because the hitting area does not have hot spots or excessively rigid areas.

BUY: Callaway Apex Ai irons

Callaway has added an adjustable weight plate to the back of the Apex Ai200 and Ai300. It is not meant for golfers to change, but it allows fitters to adjust the swing weight of the heads during fittings for extra customization.

The Ai200 has been designed for slightly more skilled golfers who tend to hit down on their iron shots and compress the ball. It has a thinner topline than the Ai300, along with slightly less offset and a narrower sole. The Ai200 should produce a lower initial launch angle and a touch more spin than the Ai300, but because it is larger, the Ai300 will offer more stability on mishits to go along with its higher ball flight.

Both the Ai200 and Ai300 have strong, modern lofts. The Ai200’s 5-iron has a loft of 23 degrees and a pitching wedge at 43 degrees. The Ai300’s 5-iron has 22 degrees of loft, and its pitching wedge is 42 degrees. Working with a custom fitter, golfers should easily be able to create blended sets of Ai300 long irons and Ai200 scoring clubs.

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Below are several close-up images of the Callaway Apex Ai200 and Apex Ai300 irons.

Cleveland ZipCore XL irons

Cleveland ZipCore XL irons are designed to create more ball speed and more spin consistency.

Gear: Cleveland ZipCore XL irons.
Price: $899.88 (7 clubs) with KBS Tour Lite steel shafts and Lamkin Crossline 360 grips; $999.99 with UST Mamiya Helium Nanocore 60 graphite shafts.
Specs: Cavity-back designed stainless steel heads with stainless steel faces. Available 4-iron through sand wedge.
Available: January 19, but available via pre-order NOW

Who It’s For: Golfers with a handicap ranging from eight to 18 who want a traditional cavity-back iron designed to deliver more distance and consistency.

The Skinny: A unique face design combined with a surface-roughening treatment that changes throughout the set helps the Cleveland ZipCore XL irons produce more ball speed and more spin consistency through the bag.

The Deep Dive: One of Cleveland Golf’s sister brands under the Dunlop Sports umbrella, Srixon, makes several different cavity-back irons, including last season’s ZX4 Mk II, ZX5 MkII and the ZX7 Mk II, but if you perused Cleveland’s website recently you would not find clubs like those. Instead, the brand focused on hollow-bodied game-improvement irons like the Launcher XL and the Launcher Halo XL that dropped two years ago.

Cleveland used to make several irons for mid-handicap and even low-handicap golfers (Vijay Singh and David Toms won majors using Cleveland irons) and for 2024 Cleveland is re-entering the game-improvement category with the ZipCore XL.

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In the address position, the ZipCore XL showcases a moderately-thin topline. However, the extra length in the blade and the offset hint that this club is made to help golfers overcome shortcomings in their swing and reduce the penalty for mis-hits.

To help golfers generate more ball speed and distance, engineers gave the ZipCore XL irons a MainFrame face. It is a series of channels that are milled into the inner-facing side of the face of the 4-iron through 7-iron. They allow the hitting area to flex more efficiently, while weight pads help to lower the center of gravity location and encourage higher-flying shots.

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The ZipCore XL irons also feature the same ZipCore design found in many of Cleveland’s popular wedges. Instead of steel, designers fill the lower portion of the hosel area with a lighter material. This is the first time Cleveland is bringing the technology to an iron, and it helps to make the heel area lighter, so the ideal hitting area shifts in the center of the face.

To help players get consistent spin, Cleveland has added a face-blast treatment called HydraZip that changes throughout the set. In the long irons (4-7), the HydraZip face-roughening treatment is rougher to reduce spin and encourage more carry. In the short irons and wedges (8-SW), the HydraZip treatment is less aggressive to help golfers get more spin and stopping power on the greens.

The V-shaped sole should help golfers who have a steep angle of attack work the ZipCore XL irons through the turf more efficiently. Golfers will also benefit from an 8-gram weight Cleveland adds under the top of the grip. Referred to as Action Mass CB, the weight counterbalances the head of the club and makes it feel lighter when you swing.

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Cobra Darkspeed, Darkspeed One-Length irons

The Cobra Darkspeed irons are made to help mid- and high-handicap golfers hit shots farther, higher and straighter.

Gear: Cobra Darkspeed, Darkspeed One-Length irons
Price: $999 (4-PW or 5-GW) with KBS Tour Lite steel shafts and Lamkin Crossline grips.
Specs: Hollow-bodied long and mid-irons with 17-4 stainless steel faces, 431 stainless steel chassis, CNC-milled grooves and internal weights.
Available: Jan. 11 presale, Jan. 19 in stores

Who They’re For: Mid- and higher-handicap golfers who struggle with inconsistent contact, need more distance and want more height on their shots.

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The Skinny: The hollow-body design, low center of gravity and vibration-dampening foam combine to give the Darkspeed irons more ball speed, greater height and a softer feel at impact.

The Deep Dive: Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose broke through and won again on the PGA Tour in 2023, and both players used Cobra irons. In Fowler’s case, it was Cobra King Forged Tour irons, while Rose used a blended set of a Cobra King Tour (4), King CB (5-6) and King MB (7-PW). As might be expected, all those clubs are designed for accomplished ballstrikers with powerful, repeatable swings.

Conversely, most amateur players likely would benefit from a game-improvement iron that delivers more distance and more forgiveness on mis-hit shots. That is the type of iron Cobra set out to make with the new Darkspeed and Darkspeed One-Length.

The Darkspeed irons have a reassuringly thick topline and some offset to help mid-handicap golfers square the face more effectively on the downswing.

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Cobra Darkspeed Iron — The PWR Shell face wraps into the sole, while the PWR Bridge lowers the center of gravity. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Inside the heads of the 4-iron through pitching wedge, the Darkspeed irons are hollow to allow the thin 17-4 stainless steel faces to flex more efficiently at impact. The sand wedge and gap wedge are half-hollow, with an open chamber behind the hitting area.

Cobra gave the 4-iron through 7-iron a PWRShell face, which is 21 percent thinner than the face of last season’s AeroJet iron and wraps under the leading edge of the club and into the sole to broaden the sweet spot.

These irons also were designed with a single post in the head that supports a weight that designers call a PWR-Bridge. It extends from the heel to the toe, lowers the center of gravity and helps golfers hit higher-flying, faster-stopping shots.

The hitting area and grooves have been CNC-milled to ensure the face is perfectly flat and the grooves are precisely in place.

Inside the hollow chamber of the 4-iron through pitching wedge, Cobra added 924D foam microspheres, a material that soaks up excessive vibrations to improve sound and feel. However, the material is elastic, so it allows the face to flex and snap back quickly without inhibiting ball speed. Cobra studies showed that adding the foam helped reduce spin, which led to more distance and straighter shots.

The standard Darkspeed has a darker finish over the 431 stainless steel body, which helps reduce glare. The set’s lofts are strong, with a 5-iron being 21 degrees and the pitching wedge at 42 degrees. Those lofts help golfers achieve more distance, while the low center of gravity helps shots fly as high as players expect.

Cobra also offers the Darkspeed iron in a One-Length edition, with each club being 37.25 inches long (the same as a typical 7-iron). Some golfers find that using irons that are all the same length makes it easier to achieve solid contact and consistency.

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Below are several images of the Darkspeed and Darkspeed One-Length irons:

TaylorMade Qi, Qi HL irons

TaylorMade Qi and Qi HL irons aim to enhance consistency and forgiveness.

Gear: TaylorMade Qi, Qi HL irons
Price: $1,099 with KBS Max 85 steel shafts and Lamkin Crossline 360 grips; $1,199 with Fujikura Ventus Blue TR graphite shafts
Specs: Hollow-body heads with multi-material back badge
Available: Feb. 2 (Qi), March 15 (Qi HL), but available for pre-order NOW

Who They’re For: Golfers with a handicap between 10 and 20 who want more consistency from shot to shot and enhanced ball-speed protection on mis-hits.

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The Skinny: By modifying the thickness of each iron face and managing how the hitting area flexes, TaylorMade aims to improve accuracy and consistency for mid- and higher-handicap golfers.

The Deep Dive: For golfers who typically shoot in the 80s and 90s, the most-common miss off the tee with a driver is to right because they slice. With game-improvement irons, many of the same players also struggle with a right miss, especially with their long irons, but for a different reason. With the release of the new Qi and Qi HL irons, TaylorMade set out to help golfers improve their accuracy from the fairway, especially with their long irons, while also providing more distance and enhanced feel.

TaylorMade said the typical construction of a game-improvement long iron can significantly contribute to the right miss. As the blade length grows longer, the toe side of the hitting area bends back more at impact than the heel side, even on shots hit in the center of the face, creating a fade bias. As blade lengths grow shorter in the scoring clubs – such as the 7-iron, 8-iron and 9-iron – the effect decreases, which is why many golfers don’t see the impact in fittings because the 7-iron is commonly used in iron fittings.

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TaylorMade Qi irons — The faces of the Qi irons have been made thicker in some areas and thinner in others to enhance consistency. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

With the Qi and Qi HL irons, TaylorMade has brought a design philosophy that debuted in its recently released P·790 irons – individual head optimization – to game-improvement clubs. In the P·790, that meant shifting the center of gravity in each iron to a different location to make it easier to hit the type of shots players often hit with that specific club. In the Qi and Qi HL, it involves integrating the face thickness, the Speed Pocket slot, topline ribs and the toe wrap.

In the long irons, TaylorMade made the low-toe portion of the face thicker so it flexes less, and the area close to the heel is thinned so it bends more easily at impact. In addition to making the hitting area flex more uniformly, which should help golfers hit straighter shots, by adding mass low in the hitting area and stiffening the metal around the Speed Pocket slot in the sole, the Qi and Qi HL long irons can help golfers get long-iron shots up more quickly.

Most golfers don’t struggle to get a 7-iron high in the air because it has more loft, so TaylorMade designers modified the construction and made the high-toe area stiffer while the area around the Speed Pocket is thinner and more flexible. To enlarge the sweet spot, the area around the edge of the face is very thin.

The Speed Pocket has not been designed into the 8-iron, 9-iron and wedges, and the thickest regions of the hitting area are once again high in the toe. This design should help golfers control spin and trajectory more easily.

While each Qi and Qi HL iron is designed slightly differently, they share several common technologies that make the set cohesive.

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All the Qi and Qi HL irons have an internal Echo Dampening Bridge that runs from heel to toe behind the face and soaks up excessive vibrations to improve sound and feel. They also feature a 360-degree undercut cavity design covered by a multi-material back badge. TaylorMade refers to this as Capback, a feature that debuted in 2021’s SIM2 irons. The composite back section reduces weight from the back of the head while still allowing the face to flex efficiently.

These irons have a thicker topline and ample offset, which is common among game-improvement irons. The sole is also fairly broad, but the leading edge is lower. Accomplished golfers tend to shy away from features like these, but they can be visually reassuring to many recreational golfers because the clubs look easy to hit.

While the standard Qi makes it easier for mid- and higher-handicap golfers to hit the ball straight and long, the HL model takes it further. The HL stands for higher and lighter, and with the club’s lighter shaft and grip, moderate-swinging players should be able to generate more speed with it. The lofts in the HL version are also 2 degrees weaker (higher lofts), so shots should also fly higher.

Cosmetically, the Qi and Qi HL irons look similar to the Stealth irons they replace, but TaylorMade is now complementing the visible carbon fiber on the badge with chrome-plated metal to create a more premium, aspirational look.

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Below are several close-up images of the TaylorMade Qi and Qi HL irons:

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke, Ai Smoke HL, Ai Smoke Max Fast irons

Moderate and slower-swinging golfers will benefit from the Paradym Ai Smoke’s fast faces and low centers of gravity.

Gear: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke, Ai Smoke HL, Ai Smoke Max Fast irons
Price: $999.99 (seven clubs) with True Temper Elevate steel shafts and Lamkin Crossline grips; $1,099.99 with Project X Cypher 2.0, Mitsubishi Tensei Blue White or Eldio graphite shafts
Specs: Hollow-bodied stainless steel iron
Available: Feb. 2, but available via pre-order NOW

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Who They’re For: Golfers who want a distance-oriented, game-improvement iron that launches the ball high.

The Skinny: Callaway designers used artificial intelligence to design iron faces for the Paradym Ai Smoke and Ai Smoke HL irons to deliver enhanced ball speed for moderate-swinging players and more distance and height for slower-swinging players.

The Deep Dive: Jon Rahm has no trouble generating distance with his Callaway irons because the 2023 Masters champion has a powerful, repeatable swing. Time and again, he hits the center of the face. However, recreational golfers who shoot in the mid-80s and 90s tend to swing more slowly. They often hit the ground first instead of the ball and make contact all over the face. On some shots they hit it in the center, but they are just as likely to strike the ball near the toe or in the heel.

Callaway’s new Paradym Ai Smoke irons are not for Jon Rahm. They’re game-improvement irons designed to help golfers overcome shortcomings and inconsistencies.

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To make that happen, Callaway designers used supercomputers to study hundreds of thousands of swings of actual golfers to see how they hit shots. Using that data, the supercomputers employ artificial intelligence to create thousands of iron faces and simulate how they would perform in the real world. All those faces look the same on the outside, but the inner-facing sides are covered with thick and thin areas that act like miniature sweet spots.

That work resulted in the faces designed into the Paradym Ai Smoke irons. Attached to the hollow-body chassis of each iron, the faces flex more efficiently at impact to generate more ball speed on every shot and tighten the dispersion pattern.

There are three different Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons: the standard model, HL and Max Fast.

Callaway believes most golfers who need a game-improvement iron and who have a driver swing speed between 85 and 100 mph will find the standard Ai Smoke iron fits them well. While the standard Paradym irons will remain available in 2024, the Paradym Ai Smoke will replace the Rouge ST Max irons.

Callaway offers the Paradym Ai Smoke HL, which stands for high launch, for golfers who need more height and lift on their shots. The face design and low center of gravity combine with weaker lofts in this iron to make getting the ball high in the air easier, especially with the long irons. While the Paradym Ai Smoke’s 5-iron has 22 degrees of loft, the 5-iron in the HL version has 24 degrees of loft. Callaway believes this club should be ideal for golfers with a driver swing between 70 and 90 mph.

Finally, Callaway is offering the Paradym Ai Smoke Max Fast, which has been optimized for golfers who have a driver swing that is slower than 75 mph. These irons have the same weakened lofts as the HL irons, but the Max Fast irons come standard with lighter shafts and grips, which should make it easier to create more clubhead speed and carry distance.

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See the new 2023 Titleist T200 irons

Titleist T200 irons deliver distance, stability with enhanced sound and feel.

Gear: Titleist T200 irons
Price: $200 per club with True Temper AMT Black shafts and Titleist Universal 360 grips; $216 with Mitsubishi Tensei Blue AM2 graphite shafts
Specs: Forged, L-shaped stainless steel face and forged body with internal tungsten weights.
Available: August 28

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Who They’re For: Golfers who need game-improvement clubs that deliver more distance and stability, but who also want softer feel.

The Skinny: Titleist adjusted the internal Max Impact system and the polymer back plate to enhance the sound and feel of the T200, while maintaining ball speed and forgiveness.

The Deep Dive: While the Titleist T100 and T150 are aimed at accomplished golfers looking for control and consistency, the T200 is a true game-improvement club made for golfers who want more distance, forgiveness and stability. With the release of the 2023 version, Titleist tasked its designers to make the clubs sound and feel better at impact, without losing ball speed. While the T200 looks a little different on the outside, to achieve that goal, engineers made bigger changes on the inside.

The T200 has a forged, SUP-10 stainless steel body and face, with the face plate being shaped like an L. The hitting area wraps under the leading edge, which allows the lower portion to flex more easily on thin shots. Titleist also designed the entire hitting area to gradually become thinner toward the perimeter to broaden the sweet spot and protect ball speed more effectively on mis-hits.

The first Titleist T200 irons debuted a distance-enhancing system called the Max Impact Generator on the back. In the 2021 version, it returned but was hidden inside the heads. The Max Impact system is back in the 2023 T200 irons and continues to be a polymer piece designed into a metal bar that connects the topline and sole. When a ball is hit, the face flexes and presses into the polymer, which helps the hitting area snap back faster, increasing ball speed and distance.

In the updated T200 irons, the Max Impact polymer piece is thinner, and the support bar has been shifted more toward the heel, so it is now near the center of the face. Titleist also made the shelf that the back plate rests upon much wider in the toe area. The polymer plate that covers the back of the club and encases the hollow chamber has also been given a series of ribs and panels. All these things work together to stiffen the T200 at impact and change the harmonics, so it sounds better and feels better without a loss of speed or distance.

To help the T200 resist twisting on off-center hits, Titleist added tungsten to the heel and toe areas. The precise amount of tungsten varies by club but averages about 80 grams, and it helps increase the moment of inertia.

Finally, Titleist gave the T200 the same sole design as the T100 and T150 (although it’s wider). The trailing edge has extra upward curvature, which should help the club work through the turf more effectively, especially on fat shots or for players who have an especially steep angle of attack.

Below are several close-up images of the 2023 Titleist T200 irons.

TaylorMade releases the Stealth Black game-improvement irons

In April, TaylorMade dropped the P•790 Black irons and the clubs were a hit on social media. Now come the Stealth Black irons.

The vast majority of irons for both accomplished players and intermediate golfers come in a silvery-chrome finish. However, starting about a decade ago, manufacturers began to release some irons in darker tones, often applying a PVD finish (physical vapor deposition) on top of the steel to give it a black or nearly-black look. Apparel companies have known for years that black is slimming, and golf equipment companies realized that many players prefer the look of black irons because they are not only unique, but black finishes make clubs look smaller in the address position.

In April, TaylorMade dropped the P•790 Black irons and the clubs were a hit on social media.

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Now TaylorMade is releasing the Stealth Black irons, a dark-finished version of the game-improvement clubs the company released last season.

Like the P•790 Black irons, the Stealth Black irons have been given a PVD finish that the company claims is strong and durable, but with play steady usage and play, it can wear down and fade over time in the hitting area and on the sole.

TaylorMade-Stealth-Black — The Stealth Black has a polymer black piece on the back that saves weight. (TaylorMade)

From a performance standpoint, the Stealth Black irons are identical to the standard Stealth irons. TaylorMade designed the hollow-bodied head to have 450 stainless steel faces to flex efficiently at impact for increased ball speed. But instead of making the back of the head using steel, TaylorMade gave the Stealth Black irons a polymer cap that covers the back section. It’s strong and supportive, but lighter, so more of the head’s overall weight is lower in the club. That helps to drop the center of gravity location and encourage higher-flying shots.

The 4-iron though 8-iron have a Speed Pocket slot to allow the lower portion of the face to flex more easily on thin shots, and an internal polymer piece that TaylorMade calls an Echo Dampening system reduces excessive vibrations to improve sound and feel.

The TaylorMade Stealth Black irons come standard with black KBS Max MT shafts and black Lamkin Crossline 360 grips. They are available in 4-iron through Attack Wedge (49 degrees) and a set of seven clubs will cost $1,199.99 in stores and on taylormadegolf.com.

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Adams Golf relaunches with new woods, hybrids, irons, wedges and putters

Adams Golf is back with new woods, irons, wedges and putters that golfers can buy online and that come with a 60-day guarantee.

Fifteen years before the current golf boom started, Adams Golf was on a roll. The Plano, Texas-based company made highly regarded hybrids played by numerous PGA Tour stars off contract, disguising them by covering the clubs with headcovers from brands they were paid to use. Adams also made innovative woods, irons, wedges and putters before it was purchased by TaylorMade-Adidas Golf in 2012 for $70 million.

In the following years, some Adams Golf technologies and ideas made their way into TaylorMade clubs, but the brand faded with time. Until now.

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Adams Golf – which is still owned by TaylorMade – has announced a rebranding of the company, including a new logo, a new line of clubs and a new direct-to-consumer sales approach. Adams’ target market is the large number of new players who have taken up the game over the last three years, younger golfers (27 percent of new golfers are aged 18-34 in 2020) and golfers who have rediscovered the sport. Adams is not making boxed sets for these players or focusing on max-game-improvement clubs. Instead, the goal is to offer well-made equipment that has technologies, features and benefits found in higher-priced clubs but sell those clubs at a lower cost.

People’s buying habits have changed since Adams was a prominent brand in the ’90s and 2000s, so the company is trying to make itself available to younger players and other golfers who are used to buying things online. You won’t find Adams’ new drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges or putters in golf shops. Instead, individual clubs and full sets can be purchased at adamsgolf.com, which all come with a 60-day, money-back guarantee.

Here’s the new Adams Idea lineup for 2023, all of which will be available for right- or left-handed golfers:

TaylorMade P·790 Black Irons

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.

PXG 0311 P GEN6, 0311 XP GEN6 irons

PXG made the faces of the GEN6 irons thinner to increase ball speed and provide more distance.

Gear: PXG 0311 P GEN6, 0311 XP GEN6 irons
Price: $219 each
Specs: Hollow-body construction with a forged 8620 carbon steel body and a milled back area, forged HT1770 stainless steel face, tungsten weights and internal polymer.

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Who They’re For: The updated 0311 P and XP are for golfers who want a soft feel at impact with more ball speed and stability in a club that looks like a better-player’s iron.

The Skinny: PXG made the faces of the GEN6 irons thinner to increase ball speed and provide more distance. The 0311 P is a better-player’s distance iron, while the 0311 XP is a true game-improvement offering.

The Deep Dive: PXG has made irons that play bigger than they look for a decade. The brand’s designers aspire to create clubs that look like they belong in a single-digit-handicap golfer’s bag but deliver more power and forgiveness than a muscleback blade.

The 0311 P GEN6 and 0311 XP GEN6 irons continue that tradition by utilizing multi-material construction and a unique perimeter weight system.

Both clubs use a five-strike forging process that transforms a rod of 8620 carbon steel into the chassis. To ensure the engineers’ designs are replicated precisely every time, the back of each head is milled using a fast-spinning, computer-controlled bit that passes back and forth over the club and shaves off tiny pieces of metal.

PXG 0311 GEN6 irons have a thin HT1770 stainless steel face. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The HT1770 stainless steel faces in the 0311 P GEN6 and 0311 XP GEN6 irons are 15 percent thinner and 5 grams lighter than the faces in the GEN5 irons. On the inner-facing side of the face, PXG added a horseshoe-shaped area that PXG refers to as a Power Channel, allowing the face to bend more efficiently around the perimeter.

PXG said that by working as a system, the lighter, more-flexible faces of GEN6 irons helps generate more ball speed and distance, especially on shots hit outside the center of the hitting area.

Inside each head, PXG adds a proprietary polymer it calls XCOR2. It fills the entire inner chamber of each head, absorbing excessive vibrations to enhance sound and feel. The material also supports the face, which PXG said would bend or break after only a few hits without the added reinforcement. While the XCOR2 supports the face, it does not inhibit the hitting area from flexing, so ball speed is not sacrificed.

To add stability, PXG added two tungsten weights screws to both the heel and toe areas of the 0311 GEN6 irons. In addition to adding perimeter weighting, the tungsten screws lower the center of gravity to encourage higher-flying shots that come down more steeply, enhancing distance control and stopping power on the greens.

There is also a larger screw in the middle of the back of the clubs that fitters can adjust to change the swing weight of each iron.

The 0311 P GEN6 irons are a better-player’s distance iron, and they have a shorter blade length with slightly less offset and can help golfers produce a draw or a fade more easily than the 0311 XP GEN6 irons.

The 0311 XP GEN6, in addition to being larger, is more stable and forgiving, and it should produce a higher ball flight than the 0311 P GEN6 irons.

Both clubs are available in a chrome finish accented in black or a Black Label Elite version with Xtreme Dark finish and black Steel Fiber Private Reserve shafts.