Check out Golfweek’s list of the best irons available to purchase in 2024.
As Golfweek explained in our 2024 Driver wrap-up, the undeniable trend in the world of drivers is toward higher-stability offerings that not only perform well when you hit the ball in the middle of the face, but also help you hit straighter shots and help you maintain distance when you mis-hit toward the heel or the toe.
When it comes to irons, the trend continues to be the broadening array of offers to meet the needs of different types of players. Not that long ago, equipment makers sold blades to the best players, cavity-backs to golfers who needed some forgiveness and oversized clubs to high-handicappers and beginners. Those clubs still exist, but they are complemented by better-player distance irons, sets that blend hybrids and irons for forgiveness, and sets that blend hollow-bodied long irons with precision-minded scoring clubs.
Take Ping as an example. The Phoenix-based brand now has the Blueprint T and Blueprint S for elite players, the tour-proven i230 for good players who want more forgiveness, the i525 for golfers who want a better-player’s distance iron, the game-improvement G430 and it still offers the G710 as a max game-improvement club. Brands like Callaway, Cobra, Mizuno, TaylorMade and Titleist have similarly deep stables.
That’s a double-edged sword for consumers because while a larger variety of irons means there is a better chance that brands are now making sets that match your needs (and your budget), finding those clubs can be a daunting task. Therefore, it has never been more important to seek out a good custom fitter, try several different shafts and heads and see what the data reveals.
Pro Tip: Indoor club fittings have come a long way and are convenient, but as spring approaches, if you have a chance to do a fitting outside, hitting off real grass and seeing real ball flights is always best.
Below are many of the irons that you will see in pro shops and specialty stores. Use this list as a starting point to discover clubs that might be ideal for you game.
The newest Tour Edge woods and irons blend materials such as carbon fiber, tungsten and titanium to deliver more distance and forgiveness.
When Tour Edge releases new equipment in its Exotics family, the brand typically does it in pairs, partnering game-improvement woods and irons with related offerings designed for more accomplished golfers. With the new Exotics 723 Series, the Chicago-based company again has dropped two sets of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons simultaneously, with the new Exotics E723 clubs (Extreme Spec) made for golfers who want more distance plus forgiveness and the Exotics C723 clubs (Competition Spec) for golfers who need lower-spinning gear that allows them to shape shots.
Below are the details on both the new E723 and the C723 woods and irons.
Tour Edge has made a clear distinction when it comes to their new Exotics irons.
Gear: Tour Edge Exotics C722, Exotics E722 irons Price: $699.99 with steel shafts/$799.99 graphite Specs: Cast stainless steel heads
Last year, Tour Edge was surprised by the success of the Exotics C721 and E721 irons. The company believed in the designs and the technologies in the clubs, but it was not anticipating that sets of the better player’s C721 would wind up in bags of golfers on the PGA Tour Champions, but they did.
For 2022, Tour Edge is not rocking the boat with the release of the Exotics C722 and Exotics E722 irons. Instead, the Batavia, Illinois-based company is increasing the gap between them, creating a more-clear distinction about who each club is made for.
Tour Edge Exotics C722 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Exotics C722
The C stands for competition, and these are hollow-bodied clubs designed to be a better-player’s distance iron.
The Exotics C722 has a cast 17-4 stainless steel body and a forged, maraging steel face. On the inner-facing side, the face has 103 diamond-shaped areas with different thicknesses. Tour Edge refers to this as Diamond Face VFT technology, and it is designed to broaden the sweet spot and allow the hitting area to flex more efficiently to create more ball speed.
Thermoplastic polyurethane is injected inside the heads to absorb excessive vibrations to enhance sound and feel.
The most significant difference in the Exotics C722 over last season’s version is the heads are 15 percent smaller, with a thinner topline, so in the address position, they should be even more appealing to golfers who like a traditional blade.
Tour Edge Exotics E722 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Exotics E722
The E stands for extreme, and this is the larger, more forgiving of the new 722 irons.
Like the Exotics C722, the E722 is a hollow-bodied club that has been made with Diamond Face VFT for increased ball speed and the vibration-dampening VIBRCOR polymer injection to soften the feel.
However, the Exotics E722 is larger and has a 360-degree undercut design that allowed designers to lower the center of gravity and pull it back, away from the face. This should encourage higher initial launch angles and help mid- and higher-handicap players get the ball in the air more easily.
Adding extra weight to the toe area also helps broaden the sweet spot and protect ball speed on mis-hits.
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.
Relying on feedback from tour pros, Tour Edge has adjustable woods, cavity-back and muscleback blade irons for better-players.
Tour Edge in January launched new woods and irons – the Exotics EXS 220 family – that blend unique materials and innovative designs. Now as golfers return to the links and summer begins, the Chicago-based company has announced it is releasing a complementary line of clubs for accomplished players June 1, the Exotics EXS Pro series.
David Glod, Tour Edge’s founder and president, said his company started tinkering with prototypes for tour players as it developed the EXS 220 line.
“With our previous Exotics launch, the EXS 220, we designed our most forgiving and stable clubs we’ve ever produced,” he said in a release. “The EXS Pro line is designed to bring the level up with the more traditional player with a faster swing speed who is looking for anti-left clubs with extremely low spin and penetrating ball flights.”
Tour Edge Exotics EXS Pro driver (Tour Edge)
Exotics EXS Pro driver ($399.99)
This driver is a slightly smaller edition of the EXS 220 driver and offers golfers the ability to shift the center of gravity to encourage different shot shapes.
The 441-cubic-centimeter head has carbon fiber in the crown and toe section of the sole to save weight. Some of that saved weight was repurposed into a 6-gram weight that can slide in a rail system in the back of the head. Tour Edge calls it a Flight Track, and when the weight is in the heel area it creates a draw bias. Sliding the weight to the toe encourages a fade. A kit (sold separately) is available with 3-gram, 9-gram and 15-gram weights.
Tour Edge designed 33 diamond-shaped areas on the inner side of the titanium face, and the company said they act like miniature trampolines when the club strikes the ball, creating more deflection and ball speed.
The EXS Pro driver will be available in 9.5-degree and 10.5-degree editions with an adjustable hosel that allows golfers and fitters to increase or decrease the stated loft by as many as 2 degrees.
Tour Edge Exotics EXS Pro fairway wood (Tour Edge)
Exotics EXS Pro fairway woods ($299.99)
The standard Exotics EXS 220 fairway woods released in January were made for the masses and feature a cup-face design for enhanced ball speed and forgiveness. They also have a weight in the sole to shift the center of gravity back and away from the face to encourage a higher-launching shot.
The Exotics EXS Pro fairway woods are slightly smaller but have the same SlipStream sole design on the bottom of the club for enhanced turf interaction. The biggest difference is the Pro edition comes with 5-gram and 10-gram weights that can be positioned in the heel and toe to create a draw or fade bias. With the weights closer to the Beta titanium face cup than with the EXS 220, the EXS Pro fairway woods have a center of gravity that is more forward to create more ball speed and less spin, which accomplished players should like.
The Exotics EXS Pro fairway woods will be available with 13.5, 15, 16.5 and 18 degrees of loft.
Tour Edge Exotics EXS Pro hybrid (Tour Edge)
Exotics EXS Pro hybrids ($249.99)
Many accomplished players tend to distrust hybrids because they believe utility woods have a draw bias. To overcome that, Tour Edge designed the EXS Pro hybrids with the same duel-weight system found in the fairway woods.
Each club comes with a 20-gram and a 5-gram weight that can be positioned in the toe or the heel. When the heavier weight is in the toe, the EXS Pro has an extreme fade bias.
To help the clubs produce more ball speed and distance, Tour Edge gave them a Beta titanium cup-face design like the hitting areas designed into the drivers and fairway woods. To maintain speed through the hitting area and improve turf interaction, the stainless steel EXS Pro hybrids also have Tour Edge’s SlipStream sole design.
The EXS Pro hybrids do not have an adjustable hosel, but to ensure ideal gapping, they are offered in 16-, 17-, 18-, 19-, 20- and 22-degree versions.
Tour Edge Exotics EXS Pro Forged Cavity-Back and Blade irons (Tour Edge)
EXS Pro Forged Cavity-Back and Blade irons ($149 per club)
Irons for elite golfers have to look good at address, enhance feel at impact and deliver consistency shot after shot. With the EXS Pro Forged Cavity-Back and EXS Pro Blade, Tour Edge believes it checks those boxes.
EXS Pro Forged Cavity-Back is forged from S25 carbon steel for a soft feel and has a classic angled-toe shape. The topline is thin, there is little offset and the sole is narrow, and to enhance playability the 3-iron through 6-iron have an internal tungsten weight in the toe that pulls the center of gravity down and into the center of the hitting area. Tour Edge also milled the face to ensure it is perfectly flat and made the center part a little thinner. This distributes more weight to the heel and toe and creates more perimeter weighting for enhanced stability.
The EXS Pro Blade is a traditional muscleback iron that also is forged from S25C carbon steel. Like the Pro Forged Cavity-Back, it has a thin topline, just a touch of offset and a narrow sole that is rounded slightly to help the clubs get through the turf more easily.
Both clubs have a highly polished satin chrome finish for a premium look.
Tour Edge Exotics EXS Pro Milled Forged wedges (Tour Edge)
EXS Pro Milled Forged wedges ($149.99 per club)
To complement the better-player irons, Tour Edge is offering the EXS Pro Milled Forged wedges. Each club is forged from S25C carbon steel before its face is CNC-milled flat.
Tour Edge milled out the center section in the back of each wedge to elevate the center of gravity and help golfers flight wedge shots lower for better control. The sole was designed for versatility with plenty of heel and toe relief.
The grooves are milled into the hitting area, allowing Tour Edge to make them to tighter manufacturing tolerances, and the grooves vary in each club based on the loft. The grooves in the 50- and 52-degree wedges are deeper and narrower, as are the grooves typically found in irons, because those clubs are usually hit with a full swing on approach shots. The grooves in the 54- to 60-degree clubs are wider and shallower to help remove water, sand and debris from the hitting surface on chips, pitches and bunker shots.
The EXS Pro Milled Forged wedges are available in even lofts from 50 degrees to 60 degrees.
