Benross VX-2i irons

Benross VX-2I irons - playable

Price: £299 (graphite), £249 (steel) - both sets 3-SW

How many golfers would pluck a new and sparkling set of irons out of the box, complete with cellophane head-covering and bubble-wrap, then put them in play in competition, without so much as a warm-up swing on the range?

Not too many, I’ll wager. But I did and lived to tell the tale complete with good and bad news.

To some, mine would be the ultimate sacrifice to my art. To others it would seem madness.
But if you’re going to give something a tried and tested badge, first impressions are important.

So I stepped on the first tee in the midweek medal with the latest ‘new and improved’ Benross VX-2i irons, in virgin condition, dazzling me from my golf bag. We were in this together.

With upgraded Pro 70 Lite graphite shafts and grips, from those that earned Benross VX-2s the accolade of ‘Cavity Back iron of the year under £350’ from Golf Monthly magazine, and a re-modelled head with a thinner top line, the clubs looked a felt far more expensive than their £299 price tag.

I like a heavier, sculpted clubhead with not too much offset and a top line that’s not as thick as a Callaway Big Bertha but thicker than a blade. And these fitted the bill.

With my hands ahead and a punchy swing, I like my shots to pierce the wind, but fly high when the conditions dictate. And almost immediately I felt in a comfort zone.
I never thought I could hit 3- and 4-iron with so much flight and confidence, while 6 and 5-iron covered the 145 to 165 yardages comfortably and accurately.

If I had to pick a favourite it would be the 7-iron, chunky yet sleek and, like the rest of this VX-2i family, bearing white vertical alignment grooves to frame the ball at address.

At my local course’s 155-yard downwind par-3 14th with water lurking front and right, I gauged the pitchmark as less than 12 inches from the hole (but left the 10ft putt on the lip!).

Didn’t have use for the 8-iron or the sand wedge (!) during my two rounds with the clubs, but 9-iron and pitching wedge performed well from their ideal distances and pitching around the green, though without a great deal of feel in the latter. However the shorter irons did tend to chew the cover of a couple of my precious Pro VI balls.

It said much about the irons’ playability that I was able to shoot my handicap (10) first time out with them in a testing breeze while I can’t blame them for a narrow pairs defeat the following day when we came up again a couple of opponents on a hot streak.

As the word gets out about these VX-2I irons, Benross will have their hands full keeping potential customers at bay. They’re smart, they’re solid and they do exactly what it says on the box.