Connect with us

Equipment

Best irons in golf of 2019: Pure enjoyment

Published

on

What are the best irons in golf for 2019 and possibly 2020?

It’s an interesting question to ask anyone who works in golf equipment since it opens up a Pandora’s box of debate and discussion, which inevitably results in the conclusion that every player has to go out, work with a fitter, and find the best set for him/her. There is no one single best iron for every golfer in 2019, but there is a best iron of 2019 for you—and that’s where we come in to help you find your ideal set.

2019 has been a big year for irons, with OEMs taking bigger steps to push the science of structure, materials, and processing to move mass and further optimize MOI and COG to provide improvements across the board. In certain iron categories, clubheads are generating maximum potential speed over larger areas of the face, just like a driver, while in other parts of the market, some iron models have been shrunk to improve workability for the players looking for shot-shaping control.

So what do you look for? What do you need? With so many great irons released in 2019, the decision-making process can be overwhelming, and that’s why at GolfWRX, we are here to help you go through that process and help you ask the right questions to find the iron set for you.

Best irons of 2019: How we did it

Even before starting the process of building the survey, we reached out to our trusted fitters to discuss how they sort through the endless number of iron options available to golfers. The consensus was simple—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 whenever 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 handicap.

Since modern iron sets are designed into player categories that overlap the traditional “what’s your handicap” model, we at GolfWRX believe it was important to go beyond handicap and ask specific questions about the most crucial performance elements fitters are looking at to help golfers find the best set of irons for them. From overall performance, to shotmaking, to helping players achieve better trajectories and speed, we strived to ask the right questions.

We have developed separate categories that will help you the reader determine what rankings are most important for your swing and game.

Just like with our Best Drivers of 2019 survey, we consulted leading fitters in the industry and compiled our results anonymously. The methodology is simple: We want to give you the tools to go out and find what works best for you, with recommendations for your individual needs, with feedback from the people that work every single day to help golfers get peak performance out of there equipment.

Trackman

We at GolfWRX then worked internally to craft a survey that allowed the fitters to be honest…we want the truth just as much as you do, and to prevent anyone from feeling they couldn’t be, we allowed all of the results and quotes to remain anonymous unless otherwise stated. We can’t thank the fitters enough for their time!

Best irons of 2019: Meet the fitters

Ben Giunta: Owner, The Tour Van
Alex Panigas: Fitter, TXG
Chris Kendall: Fitter, TXG
Cam Kennedy: Fitter, TXG
John Sawatsky: Fitter, TXG
Ryan Johnson: Fitter, Carl’s Golfland
Brent Norton: VP Shop Operations, Miles of Golf
Craig Allan: Golf Performance Manager, Sea Island Performance Center
Timothy Briand: SVP Customer Experience, True Spec Golf
Shawn Zawodni: Fitter, Miles of Golf
Nick Sherburne: Founder, Club Champion
Dominic Choma: Fitter, Miles of Golf
Matthew Sim: Fitter/Director of Operations, Modern Golf

Best irons of 2019: Pure enjoyment

It’s no mistake that we are seeing overlap in the way the top irons are defined by fitters in this category. The most playable irons are most likely to be higher launching, and shots that fly higher make the game more enjoyable for everyone. This reiterates the point previously made that your iron selection should not be defined by your handicap but instead what gives you the best opportunity to play your best golf.

Here are the top 5

(Q: What iron do you believe offers the absolute most amount of enjoyment and playability for the average player?)       best irons Taylormade P790

TaylorMade P790: It’s no surprise to see the best-selling iron of 2019 find its way atop this category. The TaylorMade P790 offers so much versatility to so many types of golfers; it’s easy to see why fitters enjoy working with these clubs to help golfers play better.

From the fitters: “If you like to hit the ball high and far you’re going to have fun hitting these irons” … “The forgiveness and speed along with the great looks makes the P790 the best iron of the year and should be in everybody’s top 3. Easy, long, enjoyable.”

srixon best irons 2019

Srixon Z 585: Hitting if far is fun, plain and simple. Whether you’re a traditionalist or not, the majority of golfers truly struggle to hit the ball high enough and with enough spin to hold greens. This is where a fast forgiving iron like the Srixon Z585 can make the game more fun.

From the fitters: “Another amazing feeling iron that appeals to a lot of players because of its look from address. The forgiveness and speed offered by this head make this club endlessly versatile in fittings and the game more enjoyable for a lot of golfers ranging from low handicap players with speed to slower players needing launch.”

best iron callaway epic 2019

Callaway Epic Forged: If it’s been said once, it’s been said a hundred times: get over strong lofts and realize that the number on the sole is just a reference point for distance not loft. The Epic Forged irons have an extremely low center of gravity and high MOI keeping mis-hit shots online. With these irons, missing the middle of the face by a fraction doesn’t correlate to hitting your next shot from the greenside rough or bunker—you’ll probably still be putting!

From the fitters: “Easy to enjoy the game when you are crushing it (for the average golfer) and these irons certainly do that.”

best iron cobra 2019

Cobra King F9 SpeedBack: Multi-material construction with boundary-pushing geometry that goes beyond conventional iron shaping. The F9 SpeedBack offers a forged face, CNC milled grooves, and Cobra Connect powered by Arccos. First, the irons help your ball striking, then Arccos helps you tighten up your weaknesses—what’s more fun than playing better golf?

From the fitters: “Cobra F9 SpeedBack is top choice for golfers looking to get enjoyment out of their game. It feel fantastic and produces great ball speed but not with the sacrifice of extreme strong lofts”PING best iron 2019

Ping G410: “Play Your Best” is Ping’s motto, and the G410s help any golfer do just that. With endless fitting options, an attractive visual from address, and enough technology to help even struggling golfers get the ball in the air, the G410 easily makes golf more enjoyable.

From the fitters: “Ping’s softest CTP ever once again improves on feel, and they offer a look that most will find appealing. The forgiveness and ball speed makes the G410s a fun to use, easy to hit set.” … ” One of the easiest heads to achieve higher launch conditions – something that can be harder to find in the stronger lofted game improvement category.”

Read all the comments or make your own in the discussion thread in the forums here.

Your Reaction?
  • 154
  • LEGIT28
  • WOW5
  • LOL16
  • IDHT2
  • FLOP9
  • OB8
  • SHANK101

We share your golf passion. You can follow GolfWRX on Twitter @GolfWRX, Facebook and Instagram.

Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

Published

on

As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons? 

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that? 

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man. 

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

Your Reaction?
  • 12
  • LEGIT3
  • WOW1
  • LOL1
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/28/24): L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

Published

on

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick putter with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft.

From the seller: (@hibcam): “L.A.B. GOLF Mezz.1 Max Broomstick- LA Golf Paige Spiranac Shaft- 44″/79.5. Brand new, never used brown leather cover. The head was professionally anodized from Orange to Blue (Orange looked bad with the Pink shaft so I had it changed). Only a few rounds on this combo. Please see last pic- slight ding on back corner. 8.5-10 condition. THE SHAFT COST $475/ THE PUTTER $625. $799 shipped in the US. ONLY $699 SHIPPED.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Equipment

Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

Published

on

Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.

However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.

“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”

Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.

Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.

Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.

One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play with an additional degree of loft to help dial in his desired launch.

We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!

Your Reaction?
  • 19
  • LEGIT4
  • WOW4
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending