Best Player Irons 2020 Showcase
We take a look at some of the best player irons on the market in 2020.
With golf courses back open for business it might be time for a new set of sticks. There's been a lot of fantastic new golf equipment that has launched in 2020, including new irons designed for the better player, packed full of technology.
In this article we've narrowed it down to what we think are the best player irons currently on the market.
TaylorMade P790
KEY FEATURES
The new P790 model provides a forged iron with a medium-compact head design, with a refined topline, more compact blade length and reduced offset preferred by discerning players.
SPECIFICATIONS
P·790 irons are offered in 3-PW, AW equipped with True Temper's Dynamic Gold 105 VSS steel shafts or UST Mamiya’s Recoil 760/780 ES SmacWrap graphite shafts with Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips. Numerous other custom shaft options are also available. P·790 RRP – £1,299 steel, £1,399 graphite.
GOLFMAGIC VERDICT
As someone who has the previous P790 irons in the bag, I didn't think there was much room for improvement, especially without changing the unique feel and design of the club, but the new P790's provide you with everything you want from the club, in a cleaner, more compact and better-performing model.
The latest P790 model reach a vast range of handicaps, as there will be single-figure golfers who will love the clean design and compact shape of the new P790, but there will also be players who need distance and forgiveness, which they will find in abundance within the new model.
Cobra Forged Tec
KEY FEATURES
A sleek, muscle-back shape and sophisticated design of the Forged TEC Irons encloses an unassuming hollow body that delivers low CG and helps maximize distance, forgiveness and playability.
A hollow cavity is infused with energizing foam microspheres that fine-tune acoustics and create the softer feel that better players desire while supporting a thin PWRSHELL Face for increased ball speeds.
An updated forged face insert creates a larger Sweet Zone and return area for higher launch and faster ball speeds in a players iron.
A tungsten toe weight centers the CG behind the hitting zone to maximize distance and increase precision for attacking pins, even on off-center hits.
SPECIFICATIONS
The Forged Tec variable length irons (RRP £899 steel; £999 graphite) are available through stock in a 7-piece (4-PW) Right hand only, and available left handed through custom. The steel KBS $-Taper Lite shaft is offered in both regular (R110) and stiff (S115) flexes. Graphite offerings in Project X Catalyst 80 in regular, stiff and x-stiff flexes are available through custom only. Each set comes stock with Lamkin Crossline COBRA CONNECT grips in black.
GOLFMAGIC VERDICT
If you're looking for a beautiful looking iron in a compact and modern shape, that offers you that extra bit of distance you desire, then look no further than the Cobra Forged Tec irons.
This is the first hollow body players' iron that Cobra has designed and the brand has done an amazing job. These irons are affordable, clean, aesthetically perfect and perform brilliantly.
PXG 0311 Gen3
Featuring Impact Reactor Technology, powered by a DualCOR system, which supports significant face deflection during impact to increase face loading and delivers more energy to the golf ball. This helps create explosive ball speeds and distance, while maintaining a soft, yet solid feel.
Forged from a strong 8620 soft carbon steel which prolongs the life of the clubhead, as well as enhances the overall appearance of the club over time.
The face of the club is made from high strength HT1770 maraging steel and measuring just 0.058", the thinnest face on the market.
The PXG 0311 Gen3 irons are available in three different models: Tour - for maximum workability and distance control; Players - an ideal balance of playability and forgiveness; Xtreme Performance - optimised for distance and forgiveness.
SPECIFICATIONS
£445 per iron | shafts will vary due to the brand's high-quality custom fitting process.
GOLFMAGIC VERDICT
There's no doubt that PXG isn't everyone's cup of tea, due to the hefty price tag, but there's a reason these irons cost so much.
The PXG 0311 Gen3 irons are crafted to perfection and the DualCOR system ensures that they produce phenomenal statistics on the launch monitor, in terms of both distance and spin.
From a design persepctive they're one of the best-looking irons on the market and with three different model options available, PXG has ensured that there's an iron for everyone.
PING i500
KEY FEATURES
The muscle-back geometry helps to hinge the precision-milled, forged, C300 maraging steel face, which flexes, adding dynamic loft while increasing ball speed, trajectory and distance.
The clean, blade-style shape with minimal offset produces so much speed and distance that you'll be able to hit one less club into greens.
SPECIFICATIONS
GOLFMAGIC VERDICT
Easily one of the best looking irons money can buy that offers fantastic speed and distance, but also the forgiveness element that better players desire.
The PING i500 irons are perfect for players looking for a small and compact design but with a little more firepower.
Callaway Apex Pro
KEY FEATURES
Incredibly soft feel from a forged 1025 mild carbon steel body, and features the brand's proprietary urethane microspheres into a forged iron.
The 1025 carbon steel body promotes amazing Apex sound and feel, and the urethane microspheres consist of over one million tiny air pockets that absorb unwanted vibration without slowing the face.
For the first time ever, Callaway has engineered its renowned 360 Face Cup into a Tour performance iron. Face Cup employs a shallow, flexible rim around the perimeter of the face that flexes and releases at impact to promote fast ball speed for consistent distance on centre hits and off-centre hits. In the short irons, the spin control VFT Face is designed for pinpoint shot-making in your scoring clubs.
The multi-material construction allows Callaway to infuse on average 50 grams of Tungsten into each iron, so they can locate the CG in each iron with extraordinary precision while maintaining the flexibility of the Face Cup. This tungsten promotes optimal shot-making, ball flight, and control for scoring performance through the set.
SPECIFICATIONS
The RRP is £1,299 (steel) or £1,399 (graphite).
GOLFMAGIC VERDICT
Mizuno JPX 919 Forged
A new reverse-milled clubface, CNC-milled from the sole up to create a larger area of minimum face thickness, makes the streamlined JPX919 Forged Mizuno’s fastest ever forged iron in terms of measured ball speed.
The resulting weight removed from the face also allows a lower, deeper centre of gravity making it easier to flight the long and mid-irons. Mizuno’s trademark workability and elevated Grain Flow Forged HD feedback ensure that the JPX919 Forged is also Mizuno’s most versatile iron.
Like the JPX919 Tour and JPX919 Hot Metal the JPX919 Forged features a durable Pearl Brush finish and a stability frame, open at the heel portion to enhance stability, launch and loft-appropriate flight apex for soft-landing approaches.
The Forged model is Grain Flow Forged HD (High Density) from a single billet of 1025B mild carbon steel in Hiroshima Japan for unmistakable Mizuno feel, with just a trace of Boron infused into the billet to make it 30% stronger and allow greater design possibilities in a forged head.
SPECIFICATIONS
£120 per iron
GOLFMAGIC VERDICT
If you're looking to buy new irons then Mizuno is a brand that you should always be considering.
The Japanese brand produces some of the highest quality irons on the market and the JPX 919 Forged are perfect for confident ball strikers and solid iron players.
They look clean and compact, provide excellent workability, fast ball speeds for longer distance and are topped off with a great level of forgiveness.
