Equipment

GolfWRX Members Choice presented by 2nd Swing: Best irons of 2023

Published

8 months ago

Aug 11, 2023

We’re proud to partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2023! 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.

What are the best irons in 2023? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. Needless to say, that extends to their views on the best irons of 2023.

The bedrock of GolfWRX.com is the community of passionate and knowledgable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.

You can see the full results for the best irons of 2023, as well as additional comments, in the forums.

Best irons of 2023: The top 5

1. Srixon ZX7 Mk II (12.72%)

What Srixon says: “A players Iron with tour-preferred looks and the pure feel of a premium blade, offering total control—ZX7 Mk II delivers it all. Featuring a compact shape, narrow topline, single-piece forging, and narrow sole.”

You can read what other golfers are saying about the irons in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop Srixon ZX7 Mk II here.

2. Ping i230 (11.47%)

What Ping says: “Hit your yardages precisely with this Tour-proven, players-style iron that delivers consistent, predictable distance control and tight dispersion. An activated elastomer insert creates discretionary weight to lower the CG for more distance while enhancing feel and sound in conjunction with a multi-material badge. A more rounded lead edge ensures smooth turf interaction for clean strikes.”

You can read what other golfers are saying about the irons in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop Ping i230 here.

3. Srixon ZX5 Mk II (6.86%)

What Srixon says: “ZX5 Mk II Irons offer low- to mid-handicap golfers the perfect union of razor-sharp looks, power, and playability. These cavity back, players distance Irons combine premium forged feel with advanced distance technology. Featuring a narrow topline with moderate sole width, blade length and offset.”

You can read what other golfers are saying about the irons in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop Srixon ZX5 Mk II here.

4. Mizuno Pro 223 (6.23%)

What Mizuno says: “Everything tour players need to compete on extended, more demanding layouts – but never thought to ask for. The Mizuno Pro 223 conceals a ball speed-enhancing construction within the frame of a compact players cavity. A completely new technology platform from 4-7 iron combining Mizuno’s tested Chromoly Forging and Flow Micro-Slot Grain Flow Forged in Hiroshima Japan with a soft copper underlay and uniquely satisfying Mizuno sensation at impact.”

You can read what other golfers are saying about the irons in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop Mizuno Pro 223 here.

5. Titleist T100 (5.86%)

What Titleist says: “The refinements found in the new T100 irons are the product of thousands of hours in the hands of Titleist Tour Pros. The #1 irons model on Tour for a reason – now with even more reasons to stay on top.”

You can read what other golfers are saying about the irons in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop Titleist T100 here.

You can see the full results for the best irons of 2023, as well as additional comments, in the forums.

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Equipment

Rory McIlroy spotted testing a new TaylorMade “PROTO” 4-iron at the 2024 Valero Texas Open

Published

5 hours ago

Apr 3, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Update, 5:30 p.m.: Regarding his prototype iron, McIlroy offered this in his pre-tournament press conference:

“Yeah, I went out, spent a couple of days with the TaylorMade guys at the Kingdom. Yeah, they just produced these couple of proto, I guess like are they the MC replacements maybe…

“They performed really well. It’s just as fast as the 760 that I was using. Launch is a little higher actually, which was surprising, and it’s just sometimes I felt like when I hit my 5-iron in the blade and then the 4-iron in the 760 it was such a different feel. To go from a 5-iron now to that 4-iron, it feels a little closer to what I feel in the 5-iron. So just a little bit more responsive, but didn’t lose any performance from it, which is great. Yeah, it will be in the bag this week.”
————————————————————————-
Now just what do we have here?

On Wednesday at the 2024 Valero Texas Open, GolfWRX.com spotted Rory McIlroy testing a new, mysterious TaylorMade “PROTO” 4-iron.

Clearly, the 4-iron is a prototype, but since it doesn’t say “Rors Proto” or “RM” on it, then maybe it’s a prototype for an upcoming iron release from TaylorMade. Or, maybe it’s an upgrade for a previous or existing iron model from the company.

For reference, the photo below shows what McIlroy’s previous P760 4-iron looks like…

If the new prototype was an upgrade on the former P760 design, that would certainly be a large design departure, aesthetically speaking. It’s not impossible, but the new proto definitely looks significantly different.

McIlroy’s new proto – aesthetically, at least – looks more similar to TaylorMade’s P7MC irons, a model that Collin Morikawa uses for his 5 and 6-irons, as pictured below.

The new proto is also reminiscent of TaylorMade’s old P750 and P770 irons:

So what could McIlroy’s new TaylorMade “Proto” be? Is it a one-off prototype for McIlroy? Is it a re-design of an older model? Is it a harbinger of a bigger release in the future?

What is it?!

Unfortunately, TaylorMade hasn’t yet commented publicly on the prototype iron, so for now, we wait. And enjoy the photos of McIlroy testing it on Wednesday in San Antonio.

Here’s what it looks like from address…

And here’s what McIlroy’s numbers looked like while testing it on the range…

Uhh, yeah. Those are pretty good 4-iron numbers.

Will McIlroy make the switch into the new prototype 4-iron this week? That remains to be seen, but it should be noted that it was the only 4-iron in his bag on Wednesday.

*We’ll update this post as further information becomes available

See what GolfWRX members are saying about the TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron here, plus more photos!

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