Recently, I was in Vegas for some golf with friends (promise, it was golf only). During my round, I, unfortunately, broke a shaft on a root and had to get it re-shafted. Luckily, my buddies at Club Champion were there to help, and while the club was being prepped and set, they showed me a prototype head from a company in Canada by the name of haywoodgolf. The club had a sleek look, and because I was unfamiliar with the brand, and intrigued, I reached out to the company to learn more.

This story is about my experience with Joshua Haywood and his company.

The haywoodgolf story

Joshua, a long-time golfer, started haywoodgolf out of frustration after visiting his local Golf Town, Canada’s version of Golf Galaxy, to buy a new set of wedges. After exploring all the options and testing the few clubs he found visually appealing, he priced out a set that cost around $600 CAD.

After a little deliberation, and walking out of the store empty-handed, Joshua came to the realization that there must be a way to reduce the cost of clubs while maintaining the integrity and quality golfers have come to expect. After months of research, and dozens of prototypes of forged wedges tested in different conditions, Joshua officially launched haywoodgolf.com in June of 2018. With a select product release of non-conforming wedges, which offered the average golfer more spin and control, buyers were responding very positively to their quality, modern and minimalistic designs, which cost only half the price of the major OEMs.

As the team listened to feedback from existing users and from folks that decided against purchasing, they started working on the new design of their signature series forged wedges as well as their two-piece stainless steel game improvement signature irons, which have been tested and approved as conforming to the rules of golf by the R&A. The clubs are offered in both right and left-handed and have black and silver finish options.

With the wedges starting at $99 USD and iron sets at $650, I needed to find out if they measure up to what I had in my bag.

Testing of Signature irons

Josh kindly sent me a haywoodgolf signature series 7-iron, which I fitted with an Accra 70i R-flex shaft, measuring 37” inches long and 30 degrees of loft. This data was collected at Golf Galaxy in Wesley Chapel using Foresight and was compared to my personal 7-iron; a Cobra Forged Tec 37” iron with Accra 70R with a 29.5 degrees loft. Here are the numbers

Beyond the testing at Golf Galaxy, I actually used the club for almost two weeks, hitting range balls plus many shots on the course.

Bottom line, what did I think?

To be honest, I was shocked in the most positive way at the performance. I saw from my testing that they matched up to the major OEMs, while being almost half the cost. I’m very fond of its clean look, and even including the little-bit thicker top line it has (similar to the G700 or TaylorMade 790) along with a touch more offset than I’m used to. The club is hollow-body design, not foam-filled, and I noticed no difference in feel or distance versus a club like the P790, which are, and I have hit multiple times. I really enjoyed hitting the haywood iron, which feels very solid and has a crisp sound to it.

I consider these clubs to be one of the best bang for your buck sets of irons on the market. Haywood Golf has created an excellent product, and I think players looking for a new set would be wise to consider their products.