Equipment
Best Irons 2013
Every year brings an opportunity for golf companies to release products that make us want to kick out our current gamers for something new. But golfers are a fickle bunch. Some of us play the same equipment until the grooves wear down, while others will swap out drivers and irons every year searching for a spark that will improve their games. If you are a hardcore GolfWRX member, you might switch more than that.
As we did with this year’s drivers, fairway woods, wedges and shafts, we have summarized the best irons on the shelves for 2013. Check out our list of the best irons of 2013 below.
Click here to read the specifics on the voting committee and how we picked the best.
Categories
Bladelike
Players Iron
Game Enhancement
1. Best Bladelike Irons
These are the most workable designs for the lower handicap golfers. Looking for a thinner sole for more shotmaking ability, or the feel that only a compact forging can provide? These are our favorites that we will be updating throughout the year.
Mizuno MP-64: These are best feeling “player’s cavity” design that Mizuno has engineered. The Diamond Muscle design of the forged irons delivers more forgiveness in the long irons and better control in the scoring irons.
Callaway X-Forged: A tour-inspired forged cavity back designed by Roger Cleveland that offers cleaner looks and better performance than its predecessor, the Callaway Razr X-Forged. The new X-Forged have a slightly wider, more cambered sole that mimics last year’s Razr X Muscleback irons and improves turf interaction.
Miura CB-501: Miura. Is there anything else that can be said? It’s a name that has taken an almost mythological form in the golf world because of the heritage and purity of its forgings. These are the ones that you’ll compare everything else to.
Cobra AMP Cell Pro: The AMP Cell Pro forged irons are actually smaller than their predecessor. Their shorter blade lengths that allowed engineers to place more mass behind the sweet spot of the irons, which contributes to an even softer feel from the 1020 forged carbon steel heads.
2. Best Players Irons
Looking for a little extra distance and forgiveness, but want more feel and workability than a distance iron can provide? This category provides the best of both worlds. Here you will see a blend of feel, forgiveness and distance with clean enough looks to be used by some of the best golfers in the world.
Titleist AP2: Tour players and top club fitters say the AP2 chassis is the perfect size and shape for a players iron, and they’re packed with technology, too. The multi-material construction allows Titleist engineers to move weight to the perimeter, which adds forgiveness.
Ping i20: At first glance, the i20 irons are an obvious departure from the i-lines of the past. The most obvious of these changes are the use of the vertical custom tuning port (CTP) and stabilization bars in the cavity; carryovers from PING’s S56s.
Mizuno JPX-825 Pro: The 4-7 irons offer a deep CNC-milled pocket cavity that is used for extreme toe-heel weighting providing forgiveness. The 8-GW features greater thickness behind the impact for a more penetrating and workable ball flight.
Cobra AMP Forged: Tungsten weights are placed in the soles of the long and mid irons, which when combined with the milled pockets and urethane insert in the cavities create a combination of distance, forgiveness and feel that has golfers raving.
3. Best Game Enhancement Irons
Looking to make a tough game easier? Wider soles and perimeter weighting a must for some golfers and a choice by even PGA Tour players. Distance gains with thinner faces and tweaked CG (center of gravity) to maximize the trajectory along with maximum MOI make this category the most popular of all three. Here are our favorites you can buy now.
TaylorMade RocketBladez: These irons incorporate a slot on the sole of the 3 through 7 irons, which gives the golfer greater distance, forgiveness and a higher launch. In summation, shots with RBZ irons are longer, straighter and stop faster on the greens.
Callaway X Hot: Callaway reinforced the undercut that sits behind the top line of most cavity back irons. This lowered the sweet spot, which improved the overall flex of the face and helps eliminate the “high hot spot” found on previous Callaway distance irons.
Ping G25: All the benefits of a game-improvement iron without the usual bulky soles that are inherent in the GI class. The redesigned soles have a trailing grind relief that will allow these to play more like a players club.
Nike VR_S Covert: Like the VR_S, they are a cast iron aimed at double-digit handicapers. But thanks to a design initiative called “Covert,” the company was able to add distance and playability to the irons without the bulkier chassis of last year’s model.
Cleveland 588 MT: They feature a constant blade length throughout the set with blade heights that progressively increase in the higher lofted clubs. Full hollow construction adds forgiveness and lower, deeper center of gravity for optimal launch and effortless distance.
Mizuno JPX-825: Extreme heel-toe weighting and extremely high-COR faces in the long and mid irons, making them the longest and most forgiving irons in Mizuno history. But the 8, 9 and PW have less hot faces to give golfers more control and workability.
Click here to see the “Best of” winners for other club categories.
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Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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We enter week 4 of Thursday night men’s league feeling a little more confident in the game. BK is hoping to go a little lower and reduce the mistakes out there with these clubs in the bag. Watch the video for the full breakdown of why these clubs are getting the starting nod this week!
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, neutral setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 63 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Lin-Q M40X TSPX Blue 7F5
7-wood: Ping G430 Max (-1 degree, flat Ssetting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 S
Iron: Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi 4
Shaft: Aerotech Steelfiber hls880 S
Irons: PXG 0317 Tour (5-PW)
Shaft: LA Golf A-Series 105 Low (4)
Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM10 (50-08F)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Dart V 105 F4 Wedge
Wedge: Ping S159 (56-10H)
Shaft: Ping Z-Z115
Wedge: Ping S159 (60-08B)
Shaft: Ping Z-Z115
Putter: PXG Battle Ready II Brandon
Shaft: BGT Stability Tour Spec One
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X
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Then-No. 1 player in the world Rory McIlroy began the week at the Wells Fargo Championship at 3-1 odds, if that gives you any indication of how well the Ulsterman was playing at the time. All he did at Quail Hollow was set the course record during his third round (61) and win the tournament by seven strokes.
Check out the gear Rory had in play nine years ago below.
Driver: Nike Vapor Pro (8.5 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana S+ 70 X
3-wood: Nike Vapor Speed (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Rombax Pro 95 X
5-wood: Nike Vapor Speed (19 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Rombax Pro 95 X
Irons: Nike VR Pro Blades (4-9) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 7.0
Wedges: Nike VR Forged (46, 52, 56) Buy here, Nike Engage (58 degrees @59) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Putter: Nike Method 006 Buy here.
Ball: Nike RZN Black
WITB Time Machine is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
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learn a good golf swing
Feb 25, 2015 at 5:33 pm
It is not my first time to visit this website,
i am browsing this site dailly and get good facts from here every
day.
DavidO
Nov 20, 2013 at 12:15 pm
How did the Cobra Amp Cell GIs stand up?
Dolph Lundgrenade
Nov 4, 2013 at 4:32 pm
A blade doesn’t denote that it is not a cavity or that it IS a muscleback.
There are two kinds of blades (thin top-line, very little offset):
Cavity back blades
Muscleback blades
What?
Sep 29, 2013 at 2:02 am
Titleist 712mb’s win for blades.
daniel
May 24, 2013 at 7:25 pm
I but a new set amp cell pro but they ave error on it the 4 colors on it are wrong is that a good thing or choud I change them pls com back to me
Jeff
May 22, 2013 at 8:04 pm
this is missing the rocketbladez tour. easily the best set i’ve ever had (which includes at least four mizuno forged sets).
TD
Jul 4, 2013 at 4:32 pm
+1… I am very very surprised to see Cobra AMP Forged on here over Rocketbladez Tours
Chuck3000
May 15, 2013 at 7:56 am
No TMs in the first two categories?
Dan
May 9, 2013 at 9:28 am
How did the Titleist AP1s stack up?
GolfWRX
May 9, 2013 at 2:32 pm
They didn’t do that well. I cant remember seeing them as a possibility during the tally.
FYI… There is a real world objective process. The 6 clubfitters that fit over 500 players a month each have weighed in and formed an opinion that lead to the “Best of”. You can see how and who voted… http://www.golfwrx.com/reviews/best-of-awards-and-the-inside-scoop/
matrick
May 8, 2013 at 2:03 pm
did you include the MIURA PP-9003? wondering how they stacked up
GolfWRX
May 9, 2013 at 2:33 pm
They didn’t do that well.
FYI… There is a real world objective process. The 6 clubfitters that fit over 500 players a month each have weighed in and formed an opinion that lead to the “Best of”. You can see how and who voted… http://www.golfwrx.com/reviews/best-of-awards-and-the-inside-scoop/
Dien Nguyen
May 8, 2013 at 11:50 am
So there is no best Game Enhancement. Is it ever possible to maybe pick two?
ashley
Aug 25, 2013 at 2:11 pm
I played with the ping g20 irons from the time they came out until the Rocketbladz release since I switched 8 have gained 4-6 strokes per round off of my iron play and gained another 2 strokes off my R1 with a custom shaft thus taking me from an average of +17 to +11 and shot my fist 2 on a par 5 and my first score of even par in my life, the 4, 5, 6 and 7 are so much easier to control a touch more distance if needed. I could keep going on, but won’t. So if you ask me there are no more comparisons needed.
Fred
Oct 4, 2013 at 4:19 pm
You shot a two on a par five? Are you sure you didn’t mean a par four? Even the pros have a hard time doing that. Did you hole the second shot?
Martin
May 7, 2013 at 7:24 pm
Mizuno JPX 825 pro is a much better club than Cobra Amp forged. Cant believe you forgot about the Mizuno. It has everything a players club should have: feel, forgiveness and good distance.
GolfWRX
May 9, 2013 at 2:30 pm
Mizuno is the only one that won in all 3 categories.
Also… There is a real world objective process. The 6 clubfitters that fit over 500 players a month each have weighed in and formed an opinion that lead to the “Best of”. You can see how and who voted… http://www.golfwrx.com/reviews/best-of-awards-and-the-inside-scoop/
Also as new models come into the picture or a revelation/shift in votes occurs we always acknowledge. We ask the fitters to cast their votes for all categories once a quarter.
TWShoot67
Jul 5, 2013 at 1:31 am
did this guy read this list? Also whats better then another is all subjective to each different player.
TWShoot67
Jul 5, 2013 at 1:34 am
What I still don’t get is putting CB’s in Blade division. Everyone should know what a blade is….. now we have bladelike??? What’s bladelike? it’s either got a cavity or it doesn’t. Simple.