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Best irons in golf of 2024: Slower swing speed (Easiest to launch)

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2 years ago

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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.

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Modern iron sets are designed into player categories that overlap the outdated “what’s your handicap?”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: Easy to launch/Slower swing speed

These are the irons for golfers who need height. With today’s modern golf ball, creating proper flight widows and spin can be difficult for some players — especially those at lower speeds — and this is where technology can really help. All of these irons do everything they can to create shot-stopping trajectories and a steeper angle of descent.

Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal HL

Their story: With the JPX923 Hot Metal, Mizuno introduced “4355 nickel chromoly,” which is 35 percent stronger than the original Hot Metal material and allows for an eight-percent thinner clubface. Cup face construction works in tandem with a deep center of gravity for high launch with stopping power. Mizuno developed Hot Metal Pro, Hot Metal and Hot Metal HL (High Launch) from 175,000 real golf swings recorded via Mizuno’s Swing DNA system. JPX923 Hot Metal HL is a high launch speed cavity delivering a higher launching option for players with moderate swing speeds or aggressive shaft lean, it’s suitable for mid to high-handicap golfers.

Fitter comments:

  • “We’re talking about… people who need forgiveness, but they don’t spin it enough. They don’t get it in the air. The HL is a little little weaker-lofted, but they have the size and the forgiveness they need. It’s one of the go-tos for us.”
  • “We’ve been getting a lot of guys where it’s like, you know, the way you deliver it, you really need the loft of a, of a blade, but you’re not good enough to hit a blade. So, you know, we need to get some height. Like the slower swing speed player, aging golfer, like they don’t have 130 MPH ball speed with a seven that they can launch it at 15 degrees and still get it in the air. They gotta get that thing off the ground and up to get some distance out of it. And this thing is just, it’s so easy to get up in the air…even if we do bend other things weaker, we can’t get it as high lofted as that thing, and it just goes straight up in the air.”
  • “It’s super forgiving and it feels pretty good that. We sell more HL’s than we do standard Hot Metals. It’s such a popular golf club.”
  • “It’s a spectacular club and really is probably the best club in that high-launch category. If you take the high launch QI, you take the [Callaway Paradym] Ai Smoke HL, [Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal] HL, that’s the best one.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke HL

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:

  • “Compared to the standard Ai Smoke, it’s definitely launching a little bit higher. I would say blade length is a little bit longer. So, you know, it’s a little bit more forgiving a little bit easier to hit than that traditional AI Smoke. It’s gonna launch higher than Ai Smoke and spin a little bit more for that player that needs that help.”
  • “Amazing when it comes to getting the ball airborne and retaining spin. Very easy to hit and very stable through impact. Second place to Mizuno, for me.”
  • “The HL version allows for a player to play a strong lofted iron in a lightweight package that helps achieve great distance. This iron is long! The ball speeds are crazy high. This iron is great for a player who flips at it.”
  • “Even though not as light as the others, the HL gets the ball in air faster and slower speed needs that for distance”
  • “Powerful but still helps get the ball to launch at a playable angle. Generates height well with lots of speed across the face.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

TaylorMade Qi HL

Their story: With a blend of minimalistic aesthetics and advanced multi-material technology, TaylorMade’s new Qi irons aim to deliver the optimal combination of distance, accuracy and solid feel in an inviting game-improvement package. At the heart of the Qi iron is individual head optimization, organic face designs, and FLTD CG, all working in unison to help golfers minimize the right miss. With their latest irons, TaylorMade has designed the all-new Qi irons to have significantly less right bias for straighter and more accurate shots.

Fitter comments: 

  • “That’s a big ass iron. But you also have a much better look than the [Stealth] HD last year. That [iron] was really shallow in the face that got the ball up great. But it just didn’t look the way some people wanted, right? They didn’t want a small face. So it’s a really good option for people.”
  • “You’re seeing some of these companies…I think they’re seeing that sometimes…a little bit of loft can be, be good, you know, but they’re combing it with heads now that are super tight off the face. You get some of those guys catching it all on the face, the thing still getting up in the air, still producing ball speed.”
  • “I would say the Qi HL, it’s like kind of top charts when it comes to…if someone’s hitting it, that thing wants to go. And I think they definitely did a good job…with the redesign of it compared to Stealth HD.”
  • “The previous generation was a little bit off-putting, you know, some, most people don’t wanna play kind of, you know, a hybrid-iron. It’s a little bit easier to hit a little bit better package…compared to the HD, the packaging is 1,000,000 bucks.”
  • “I mean…[Stealth] HD worked really good but it was very hard to…get someone to accept that they had to use it. Now at the [Qi10] HL you put that in someone’s hands, it looks good. It feels good. And they feel like, ‘I’m using a, a golfer golf club,’ you know. It’s a real battle sometimes with people…our job is performance, but they also want something that’s gonna look good in their bag.”
  • “The fact that it looks like a regular golf club is helpful. I think in that modern-day iron, it’s just lofts are getting so strong, and the ball is spinning so little off of these things that if you don’t naturally hit it super high, irons like that are just perfect for guys, they’re able to hold greens, stop it quicker. For a lot of guys, that height means more distance. So they’re actually hitting it farther with more loft and, and be able to hold a green better. And guys that maybe had a five hybrid are now getting a five iron back in their bag and it’s great.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

Ping G430 HL

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 2 more mph of ball speed, per the company. At the heart of the new addition is the PurFlex cavity badge, an innovation which 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 the solid feel and pleasing impact sound. The stronger lofts across the set resulted in the addition of a 41 degree PW to ensure proper gapping options and allowed for standard lofts in the traditional scoring wedges (45.5, 50, 54 and 58 degrees).

From the fitters:

  • “With that Alta Quick shaft, I mean, it’s just, it’s super easy to kick that thing up in the air. And what I really like about it is they don’t put flex on the shaft. We’ve had, you know, I mean, you explain to the customer like, hey, you know, you might, you know, you’re gonna need that 35-gram Alta Quick. It’s not gonna say, you know, ladies flex or whatever and no one knows.”
  • “It’s super easy to hit, super easy to launch, especially for someone who needs…that help and forgiveness.”
  • “What I like about what Ping does, they don’t just like, shove a lighter-weight shaft in the same club head. They put a lighter grip on it, they put a lighter shaft in it. So like they kind of do it the right way. It’s just an overall lighter package version of the best game improvement iron out there. So it’s you get all the forgiveness and everything else that you get with G430, but now in a total balanced package for a slower swing speed player, it’s, it’s great.”
  • “What I like about it too is with the Alta Quick 35 [shaft]. It’s essentially like a ladies golf club that doesn’t say ladies on it. So like you get that guy that swings super slow or you get like that junior boy or something like that that just, you know, I’m not, you know, especially like the kids like, I mean, he’s not playing a club that says ladies on it or it’s purple or something you can get than this and it looks just like his dad’s G430s, but it just gets up in the air and goes and it’s awesome.”
  • “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. The HL version allows players who need a lighter package and need help with higher launch are able to achieve that with this iron.”

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.

Best irons of 2024: Meet the fitters

RELATED: Best driver 2024

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Equipment

Odyssey extends Damascus Milled lineup with 3 new putters

Published

5 hours ago

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Jun 2, 2026

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Odyssey Golf announced Tuesday that the already popular Damascus Milled putter lineup is getting more options.

Initially launched back in April, only in a Damascus Milled #7 head (in plumbers or double bend configurations), the family grows to four with a One Wide, Two and Rossie S shape, all available in the second limited-edition drop at retail on June 6th.

“Damascus Steel is a beautiful material, and the patterns tell the story, because every one is different” said Odyssey General Manager, Jacob Davidson. “But what stands out is that  as beautiful as these putters are, the feedback from Tour has been the exceptional feel of these putters. We wanted to deliver the most premium performance-driven putter we’ve ever done at Odyssey. When you look at this product, we have so much confidence because there is not one thing we’d do different. On this one we really took our time over  the last couple years to try to perfect the design.”

Created from a layered construction of multiple steel alloys, this Damascus Steel insert is forged, folded and pressed to create a unique, striking pattern in every piece. Think of it like a fingerprint. Each Damascus construction comes with its own 1-of-1 style pattern. No offerings will ever look the same.

The layered structure, combined with a specialized heat treatment, delivers a finely tuned, highly responsive feel different from other insert materials. The Damascus steel is audibly different compared to other inserts, potentially with slightly more feedback. Odyssey also uses AI-designed back contours to maintain consistent ball speed across the face, blending traditional craftsmanship with modern tech.

Each head in the line is precision-milled from stainless steel and features a blasted silver finish to complement the Damascus insert and sole plates.

With Tour feedback, Odyssey has also developed, in collaboration with Golf Pride, a grip featuring meticulously crafted edges, pistol shaping and a classic modern tour feel.

Odyssey Damascus Milled One Wide
Odyssey Damascus Milled Two
Odyssey Damascus Milled Rossie S
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Equipment

L.A.B. Golf launches new VZN.1i putter

Published

7 hours ago

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Jun 2, 2026

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L.A.B. Golf has been the pioneer when it comes to Lie Angle Balanced putters for years now. When you talk to another golfer and zero torque putters comes up, as it will since it is the hottest thing in golf, the first brand out of their mouthes is L.A.B. Golf. Currently their putter line up has something for every golfer, wether your like blades or mallets. But the company has a new creation for golfers that we saw out on tour just a few weeks ago and is now available to us, the VZN.1i putter.

One of the big stories with the new VZN.1i putter is alignment in the form of the shape. L.A.B. has always given us plenty of alignment options in their putters with different line formations and shapes that can be laser etched onto the top of the putter. With this new design they used the shape of the head and the open cavity in the middle to help enhance the alignment for players. These shapes help players lock into their intended line to improve accuracy and concistency.

“VZN.1i was approached formulaically by combining everything we’ve learned from the success of previous L.A.B. Golf models into a familiar mallet shape that’s easy on the eyes and even easier to putt with,” said Cameron Day, Senior Vice President of Product at L.A.B. Golf. “Every L.A.B. putter is engineered to roll the ball on its intended line through Lie Angle Balance technology. With VZN.1i, we took things a step further by simplifying another critical aspect of putting: alignment.”

Like most of the other L.A.B. mallet putters the VZN.1i is machined from a solid block of aluminum and features a 303 stainless steel face insert. Steel face inserts on all L.A.B. putters not only enhance the sound and feel but they improve ball speed for better distance control. The new shaping also offers two ways of picking up your ball, using the sole or the rear flange can scoop up the ball. The company is offering the VZN.1i with a 1.5 degree forward shaft lean or a vertical shaft option in order to fit more golfers. Each VZN.1i is hand balanced and 10 other stages before it is complete and ready to ship. L.A.B. has its custom program where the golfer can select their length and lie but also head color, shaft upgrades, and grips to make their VZN.1i fit them perfectly.

The VZN.1i is available now starting at $499 for stock models and $599 for custom.

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Equipment

2026 Edition: Most comfortable walking shoe? – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

10 hours ago

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Jun 2, 2026

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In our forums, one user has asked a question sure to interest all sorts of golfers. What’s the most comfortable walking shoe of 2026?

@RobDMB posed the following question:

“Looking for suggestions/recommendations on the currently available most comfortable walking shoes – preferably waterproof. Essentially looking for something comfortable like a running shoe, but with some stability and waterproof for golf. Decent room in toe box as well. Any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks!”

Our members in the forum have been sharing their own recommendations on the best walking shoes that can also survive a number of golf rounds. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

  • SheriffBooth: “To check all your boxes I’d vote for whichever of the current Nike lineup fits your feet the best. Obviously the Victory Pro 4 and Victory Tour 4 are good enough for the two best players in the world, but the new Pegasus, Next% Tour 3, and Tempo all look really good too.”
  • i*windows: “when I had issues with my feet I played in Asics running shoes they were a little bit like the hoka’s above, very comfortable, now I’m back to Ecco shoes which are great.”
  • mshills: “Everyone’s feet are different so this will be a long list of lots of different shoes. For me, anything from Ecco’s Biom lineup. Nothing else comes close.”

Entire Thread: “2026 Edition: Most Comfortable Walking Shoe?”

If you aren’t a member, join us in the GolfWRX forums today!

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