In our effort to assemble the 2024 best irons, we have again compiled an expert panel of fitters to help you find out which of the 2024 irons is best for your game.

Ultimately the best way to find your personal best iron set is to work with a professional fitter using a launch monitor. The difficult part is a lot of people don’t have easy access to fitters, launch monitors, and club builders — so at GolfWRX, we have done a lot of the work for you.

We are in the era of not just maximizing distance but also minimizing the penalty of common misses for each player — this applies to irons just as much as it does with any other club in the bag. And of course, proper set makeup and gapping is essential. This is why, now more than ever, custom fitting is essential to help you see results on every swing you make.

We want to give you the tools and information to go out and find what works best for you by offering recommendations for your individual iron set wants and needs with insight and feedback from the people who work every single day to help golfers get peak performance out of their equipment.

• Join the discussion about best irons 2024 in the forums!

Best irons of 2024: The process

The best fitters in the world see all the options available in the marketplace, analyze their performance traits, and pull from that internal database of knowledge and experience like a supercomputer when they are working with a golfer.

It’s essentially a huge decision tree derived from experience and boiled down to a starting point of options—and it has nothing to do with a handicap!

Modern iron sets are designed into player categories that overlap the outdated “what’s your handicap?” model, and at GolfWRX we believe it was important to go beyond handicap and ask specific questions about the most crucial performance elements fitters are looking at.

These are the best iron categories we have developed to help you determine which category is most important for your swing and game.

Best irons of 2024: The categories

• Overall performance
• Easiest to launch/Slower swing speed
• Pure enjoyment
• Shotmakers
• Most technology-packed
• Best blade

2024 Best irons: Most technology packed

This is the “give me everything you got” list. These irons are the cream of the crop for offering technology to improve feel, distance, and ball speed. The great thing about the technology category is it’s not reserved for higher handicap golfers — it’s for anyone looking to get everything they can out of their game in an iron that also suits their eye.

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke

Their story: At the core of Callaway’s new Ai Paradym Smoke irons is the Ai Smart Face. With the Ai Smart Face, these irons are designed to promote exceptional distance, tight dispersion into the green, and optimal launch in a modern construction. The new shape consists of longer blade lengths, thinner toplines, and optimized sole widths in a bid to create a forgiving, yet streamlined look at address. In addition, an all-new Dynamic Sole Design features a pre-worn leading edge with variable bounce that cuts through the turf with efficiency.

Fitter comments:

• “That thing is an absolute rocket launcher. For the guy who flips at it, it’s perfect. It definitely launches lower spins less. it just goes forever compared to, you know, compared to a lot of them that we, that we tested.”
• “I mean, it’s actually probably one of the cleaner-looking kind of game improvement irons. You know, some of them, they can get kind of beefy, but the look of that one that’s very appealing to the eye. The AI technology that Callaway has been using for a couple of years now, it’s generating a ton of ball speed for guys, but also at a point where they’re still getting a lot of peak heights on it. So it’s not like you feel like you’re just hitting bullets out there.”
• “If a guy is looking to just hit it far, that’s probably the best thing out there. Callaway’s always had like crazy hot iron faces in that mid-size game improvement-type club. And this is just the next version of it. This thing is crazy fast. Shockingly, for how strong the lofts are, the ball still gets up in the air pretty good.”
• “When it comes to pure technology the Paradym Ai Smoke iron has it all. Super computers helping engineers design the back of the face based on over 250,000 shots make it an amazing tech iron alone.”
• “Classic Callaway story with face variability that is AI-driven along with material and design. Tons of tech. With Ai Smart Face and a hollow body design, they make it to the top as far as technology goes.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

TaylorMade P790

Their story: Engineers utilized the variables of tungsten weighting, SpeedFoam Air, and internal mass — with an assist from AI — to precisely give golfers what they need in each iron. For example, launch and forgiveness in the long irons. More specifically, TaylorMade is using what the company calls FLTD CG (flighted CG) to strategically position CG throughout the set (lower in the long irons, higher in the short irons). CG is positioned almost a millimeter lower in the long irons compared to previous generations. In the shorter irons, the higher CG positions allowed engineers to dial in spin and promote accuracy.

Fitter comments:

• “Best combination of everything. The amalgamation of all irons on the market blended into one mathematically perfect design.”
• “I think people recognize the name. It’s a very popular club. It stands up to every model in a category.”
• “That’s the staple in the players distance category. It’s year-in, year-out. It’s tough to beat TaylorMade — they don’t go wrong with that iron, for sure. They make little refinements, but it’s almost like, yeah, just keep making little refinements. Don’t kind of mess that up just because the, I mean, it, it fits such a wide range of players and it’s just such a good iron that fits a wide, wide range of handicaps.”
• “I think where TaylorMade kind of struggled over the past is getting that spin on the golf club, and I think each generation it just keeps getting better. I think they did an awesome job.”
• “If it’s not our best-selling iron in the fitting center, it’s always like number two. It’s such a great, great performer across the board. And yeah, it just keeps getting better every year. It’s really awesome; crazy distance on that thing too.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

Titleist T350

Their story: The new T350 irons are still built for maximum distance and forgiveness, but they were redesigned with a hollow-body construction that’s inspired by the T200. Like the T200, the T350 also uses Max Impact Technology behind the face to maximize speed and forgiveness, and dual-tungsten weights in the back cavity. The T350 irons are noticeably larger, and with thicker toplines, than the T200 irons for golfers who need the additional surface area and stability.

Fitter comments: 

• “The T350 is super good. They definitely cleaned it up, cleaned up that topline a little bit and made it…a little bit more compact, a little bit smaller for sure.”
• “You know, I think is one of those irons that maybe sometimes can get overlooked. I don’t know…some guys, they think ‘Titleist,’ they can’t hit it. If someone’s in this category, it’s always a club you’re gonna have.”
• “So like this is the first one in that model that’s had like a forged face and, and, and, and I think that just improved the feel of it. Topline to me looks a little bit cleaner and, they do a nice job of hiding the offset doesn’t look quite obnoxious when you look down at it. I don’t know if it’s like the chrome that they put or whatever, but it looks a lot cleaner at address. The iron’s always been super easy to get up in here.”
• “That type of customer, I know they all want to do is just hit it nice and far. But we’re seeing so many guys come in that just need help getting it airborne in that moderate kind of clubhead speed category. And this thing is probably, if not the easiest, one of the easiest irons in this category to launch. And I think that’s what makes it so great.”
• “High launch is a key component to this iron. Clean look, with reduced offset and a better look for a players game improvement iron. Players are surprised that this is a game improvement iron based on the looks and package size.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

Srixon ZX5 Mk II

Their story: MainFrame v2 was developed with an Automated Intelligence process, flex-maximizing variable thickness pattern of grooves, channels, and cavities carefully milled into the backside of ZX5 iron faces for high ball speeds. Not only does MainFrame boost COR, but it also repositions mass away from the face and into the toe and sole for a lower CG for easier launch, more consistency, and forgiveness.

Fitter comments: 

• “I’m a big believer in the V-Sole. For high-speed guys who want a little forgiveness and are steep, it just doesn’t stick in the ground. Super soft and high launching. Not a ton of offset. It’s also been a good fit for moderate-to-high handicappers.”
• “So I would say it, it kind of stands out in its category because it does launch higher than its competitors. It also sits in between some of the models, like, it doesn’t directly compete with a hollow cavity and it doesn’t compete with, like the Cobra King Tour. Like, it’s a degree stronger. For a forged iron, it performs great for us. The only problem is that it is a little bit light in a swing weight, so we have to be careful of who we fit.”
• “It’s definitely one of our more popular irons for sure. You know, you get a guy who wants to play something small but still wants something more forgiving, and they don’t want kind of that full hollow body iron. I mean, that’s definitely one of our best sellers for sure. We’re seeing that a lot of combos — that’s a one iron that you can definitely combo with the ZX7 for sure.”
• “I think a lot of guys like the concept of the V-Sole with them…If you’re talking an overall package, you know, for the guy that is looking for something clean. That’s a spectacular golf club. Good looks and good feel and great, you know, great performance, and it fits a lot of categories.”
• “I think the one struggle a lot of companies have with that category is getting something to spin, so to try and give like guys so they don’t get those knuckleball shots or that fly out of the rough that goes 20 yards longer. I kind of think that that’s what I think makes that item so good is you get some spin on it, and I think it, it looks and feels good enough that like it, a guy that’s a mid-single digit can play it and be like, yeah, that’s good enough for me. But it’s also forgiving enough that a guy that’s in that kind of 12-to-15 kind of category if he wants to reach a little bit and play something that might look a little bit better. It just fits such a huge, huge range of players. I think it’s just awesome.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

Ping G430

Their story: Billed as Ping’s “longest iron ever,” the G430 irons combine a lower CG with stronger, custom- engineered lofts and a thinner face that delivers up to two more mph of ball speed, per the company. At the heart of the new addition is the PurFlex cavity badge, an innovation that features seven flex zones that allow more free bending in design to increase ball speed across the face. In combination with a lower CG, the badge aims to contribute to a solid feel and pleasing impact sound.

Fitter comments:

• “The best G.I. iron on the market. Easy to hit and launch while making great ball speed for distance.”
• “The best iron in the game improvement category. High launch and packed with forgiveness on those off-center hits. It’s one of the easiest irons to hit. So easy to hit and look at for the average golfer.”
• “Yeah, I mean, that’s definitely a go-to and in the matrix for sure. I mean, it’s just super easy to hit, super forgiving. They don’t mess that iron up.”
• “Ping does a great job of building golf clubs. Their design is fantastic and it’s not for everybody, you know, it’s not the lowest-spinning club…but it sure is one of the most forgiving golf clubs and most consistent golf clubs. Ping G430 in that category of club, you can have something that a good player who needs a little help maybe can use because it’s consistent across the face, and you can’t do that with some of the other clubs because they’re not as consistent across the face for the ball speeds. It is a monster for us.”
• “The best iron in the game improvement category. It’s one of the easiest irons to hit.”

• Join the discussion about best irons 2024 in the forums!

Best irons of 2024: Meet the fitters

• Adam Rathe: Club Champion
• Adam Scotto: Club Champion
• Adam Seitz: Club Champion
• Aidan Mena: Club Champion
• Alex Dice: Carl’s Golfland
• Alex Praeger: Club Champion
• Ben Giunta: The Tour Van
• Blake Smith, PGA: True Spec
• Bo Gorman: True Spec
• Brad Coffield: Carl’s Golfland
• Brett Ott: Club Champion
• Brian Riley: Club Champion
• Cameron Scudder: Club Champion
• Carmen Corvino: True Spec
• Christian Sandler: Club Champion
• Clare Cornelius: Cool Clubs
• Dan Palmisano: Club Champion
• Dane Byers: Club Champion
• Darren Joubert: Club Champion
• Dennis Huggins: Club Champion
• Drew Koch: Club Champion
• Eric Touchet: Touchet Performance Golf
• Erik Gonzales: Club Champion
• Evan Morrison: Club Champion
• Gus Alzate: True Spec
• Jake Medlen: Stripe Show Club Fitters
• Jake Woolston: Club Champion
• Jake Wynd: Club Champion
• Jay Marino: Club Champion
• Jeremy Olsen: Club Champion
• Jim Yenser: Club Champion
• Joe Stefan: Club Champion
• Joey Simon, PGA: Club Champion
• Jonathan Kaye: Club Champion
• Jordan Patrick: True Spec
• Jordan Rollins: Club Champion
• Kevin Arabejo: Club Champion
• Kevin Downey: Club Champion
• Kirk Oguri: Pete’s Golf
• Kyle Lane: Club Champion
• Kyle Murao: Club Champion
• Marc Roybal: True Spec
• Mark Hymerling: Club Champion
• Mark Knapp: Carl’s Golfland
• Matt Miller: Club Champion
• Matt Rish: Club Champion
• Matthew Gandolfi: Club Champion
• Mike Martysiewicz: Club Champion
• Mike Weis: Club Champion
• Mitch Schneider: Club Champion
• Nicholas Barone: Club Champion
• Nick Sherburne: Club Champion
• Nick Waterworth: Haggin Oaks
• Preston Vanderfinch: Club Champion
• Rick Lane: Club Champion
• Rob Anderson, PGA: Club Champion
• Russell Hubby: Club Champion
• Ryan Fisher: Grips Golf
• Ryan Grimes: Club Champion
• Ryan Johnson: Carl’s Golfland Bloomfield Hills
• Sam Kim: True Spec
• Scott Sikorski: Club Champion
• Scott Felix: Felix Club Works
• Scott Trent: Club Champion
• Sean Pfeil: Club Champion
• Shaun Fagan: True Spec
• Steve Harrow: Club Champion
• Tad Artrip: Club Champion
• Thomas Mattaini: Pull the Pin
• Tony Rhode: True Clubs
• William Buse: Club Champion
• William Cho: NovoGolf
• William Fields: Club Champion

RELATED: Best driver 2024

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt of a piece we originally filed this piece for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. You can read the full piece there. 

Now, for the 2024 Masters specifically, Finau is planning to put another Ping G430 LST driver into play, in order to help him on the right-to-left holes at Augusta. The second driver, which is set to replace his 3-wood, will measure about the length of his 3-wood, and it has 10.5 degrees of loft, according to Ping Tour rep Kenton Oates.

“Tony Finau, most likely, will be playing two G430 LST drivers this week; his gamer, and a new shorter 10.5 headed option,” Oates told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday. “In the ramp-up towards The Masters, Tony and his team discussed options to optimize his performance off the tee. In discussing the tee shots around Augusta and second shots, Tony realized he would never hit 3-wood off the ground, minus maybe 8 if it was soft and into the wind.

“With that in mind, we felt it would be worth exploring a driver built to more 3-wood specs – shorter, more loft, etc. We build the driver in Houston and Tony carried it to Augusta to test. Right away it was giving him the performance he was looking for, allowing him to hit a straighter shot off the tee, or even draw it easier than his gamer driver, along with the added forgiveness benefits of using a driver instead of a 3-wood. Tony potentially could use the little driver on 2-7-10-14-17-18, pending course and wind conditions.”

Since Finau’s stock driver swing is grooved for a cut shot, maybe it’s unrealistic that Finau will hit big sweeping draws with the new, second driver option. But, according to Finau, it’s still a useful option, especially since he won’t need the 3-wood much this week.

“The [second] driver really goes straight, so there’s just no fade on it,” Finau told GolfWRX.com. “The draw holes out here, you don’t really have to turn it over, you just can’t hit a fade. But yeah, I’m going with two drivers.”

Read the full piece on PGATour.com.

Toulon Golf has today officially announced its latest Small Batch putter — the Carbonetti Meadow Club.

The Backstory

A little more than 100 years ago, famed golf course architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie stepped on the Bon Tempe Meadow just north of San Francisco to create his first golf course in America — a tucked away gem known as Meadow Club. Dr. MacKenzie would famously go on to design other masterpieces including Augusta National and Cypress Point.

Over 100 years ago a special type of tree — a madrone — had sprouted on the southwest slopes of a hill just adjacent to what would become Meadow Club’s fourth tee. The madrone is a unique tree. It grows only along the coastal areas of Northern California and Oregon. Its wood is extremely hard, with a beautiful reddish grain. It is almost impossible to transplant.

This special tree was deemed an environmental hazard in late 2022. Through a special friendship between Tony and his close friend, master luthier and musician Jimmy Carbonetti, work began with the Club to acquire the fallen madrone. If successful, the plan would be to ship the wood to New York and Jimmy would begin to work his craft — fashioning the madrone not only into handmade works of art that would become the putter’s sole plate, but also into a guitar from the same tree.

With that as the goal, Jimmy and Tony set off to Meadow Club to meet with the club. A few days later, with the help of the club and the membership, the tree was on its way to the mill.

The Putter

The putter head was designed by Sean and Tony Toulon — inspired by some of the mallet shaped putters that Dr. MacKenzie used; he famously believed that if a hole was designed properly it could be played with only a putter.

This ear shaped mallet design features a sweeping front to back shoulder design that creates a generous cavity — in design to make the Meadow Club putter exceedingly playable. The gentle and elegant flowing neck literally melts into the slightly rounded top line.

The topline features a unique alignment aid — the famous stylized logo from the club itself.

The head is slow milled and then individually hand polished using 904L Stainless Steel. Once complete, Toulon Golf applied a deep Black PVD to create the Piano Black finish.

The face pattern is a Super Fine Double Fly with Big Tuna mill pattern — designed to create a satisfying click at impact – and yielding a feel that is incredibly pure.  To complete the face milling process Toulon added an artistic touch with a very fine overmill to create the special face pattern.

In addition, the sole plate on the putter is hand made by Jimmy Carbonetti.

Specs:

• Material – 904L Stainless Steel/Madrone Sole Plate/Tungsten Weights/Face
• Mill – Super Fine Double Fly with Big Tuna
• Finish – Piano Black PVD
• Grip – Toulon Collection Deep Green Pistol
• Shaft – Black Chrome
• Headcover – Small Batch Leather
• Head Weight – 348 g
• Loft – 3°
• Lie – 70°

Pricing and Availability

The Small Batch Carbonetti Meadow Club is available for purchase on a first come, first served basis on April 11th via the company’s website – ToulonGolf.com. A limited number of these exceedingly rare examples are being offered worldwide at $2,000.