Over the last two years, golf has experienced a surge in popularity that has drawn an
influx of new players, many of whom borrow clubs from friends or rent sets from the
course.
Maybe they reached into the demo bucket at the local golf range and discovered that golf is challenging and rewarding, especially when you hit a great shot. Our partner site golfironadvisor.com has featured the top 10 irons in 2022.
As for irons, there are more options than ever before, ranging from muscle back blades for elite players seeking to maximize their ability to shape shots, to distance-enhancing irons and those that resemble miniature hybrids.
Working with a good custom fitter, and testing as many different combinations of heads and shafts as possible, is the best way to find the right set of irons for you. Here are some irons that can serve as a great starting point for finding your perfect set.
Rogue ST Max, Rogue ST Max OS, Rogue ST Pro irons
Gear: Callaway Rogue ST Max, Rogue ST Max OS, Rogue ST Pro irons
The Rogue ST Max is $99.99 (at Carls Golfland and Dicks) when equipped
with True Temper Elevate MPH or Project X steel shafts and Callaway
Universal grips; $1,099.99 when equipped with Project X Cypher Black,
Mitsubishi AV Series Blue or AV Series White graphite shafts.
Rogue ST Max OS – $999.99 steel; $1,099.99 graphite (available at Carl's
Golfland and Dick's). Steel version of the Rogue ST Pro costs $1,199.99 at
Carl's Golfland and Dick's; graphite version costs $1,299.99.
Cast 450 stainless steel with internal tungsten weights urethane microspheres
Available: Feb. 18
Callaway’s Rogue ST iron family for 2022 features new materials and
improvements to established technologies to improve distance and
forgiveness for a wide range of golfers.
Computer-designed faces
For several years, Callaway has used 17-4 stainless steel to create iron faces,
but the Rogue STs cup-face is made out of high-strength 450 stainless steel.
Callaway said its a harder material, which would allow thinner faces.
In addition, the face of each iron was also created using artificial intelligence,
with a supercomputer running thousands of simulations on different designs to
determine which one produces the fastest ball speed.
Thus, the cup face of the 5-iron is slightly different from the 8-iron, with each
clubs face being designed to optimize its performance.
Callaway said the combination of 450 stainless steel and the AI-designed cup
face should give the ball more speed, even on mishit.
Each Callaway head has an internal tungsten weight behind the hitting area.
Each club has a weight positioned low and in the toe area that ranges from 48
grams to 62 grams.
As a consequence, it counteracts the weight of the hosel, pulls the optimal
hitting area into the centre of the face, and drives the centre of gravity down
and back.
The steeper angle of descent should encourage a higher launch and a greater
stopping power on the green.
Enhanced feel and sound
Callaway added urethane microspheres to each club head to improve sound
and feel. Callaway has used microspheres in irons before, but the Rogue ST
irons have more. Microspheres are tiny glass bubbles suspended in a soft
material.
To reduce excessive vibrations created by thin or miss-hit shots, the urethane
microspheres extend up to the sixth groove, instead of just going up to the
third groove. Since the microspheres in the urethane do not restrict the face
from flexing, the sound and feel are improved without sacrificing ball speed.
The Rogue ST irons are being offered in four models:
Rogue ST Max
Callaway said this model will be the longest of the Rogue ST irons, so it will
suit a wide variety of golfers. The company claims the irons produce 2.5 mph
more ball speed than Mavrik irons.
For players looking to improve their distance and forgiveness, this game-
improvement club has moderate offset and looks confident in the address
position.
With the strongest lofts and the most tungsten, golfers should be able to
achieve more ball speed while seeing shots fly on expected trajectories.
Rogue ST Max OS and Max OS Lite
These clubs have a similar shape to the Rogue ST Max, but as you might
guess, OS stands for oversized, so these clubs are larger and more forgiving.
Since the lofts of the Max OS Lite irons are 3 degrees weaker than those of
the Rogue ST Max irons, each club in the set has more loft. They should
make it easier for slower-swinging golfers to get the ball up in the air when
combined with lighter shafts.
Rogue ST Pro
This model is designed for more accomplished golfers. It has a hollow-body
construction to increase ball speed and distance. The topline is thinnest, the
sole is narrowest, and offset is smallest. This iron is designed as a better-
player's distance the iron and to be highly workable.
Callaway Epic Star
The price is $349 per iron with a UST Mamiya ATTAS Speed RT1100 shaft and
Winn Dri-Tac Lite grip. Global Golf has them for $2,449.99.
Steel body with an internal weight and cup face forged from 1025 mild carbon
steel
To make the Epic Max Star irons more powerful and help golfers with slower
swings generate distance, Callaway used artificial intelligence to design the
face of each club differently.
A 5-iron designed with a Flash Face Cup has a unique design, for instance
than the 8-iron, but each has been optimized to deliver more ball speed and
spin.
A hollow urethane material is filled with microscopic spheres into the chassis
of each club.
At impact, the face flexes and the urethane microspheres absorb excessive
vibrations to enhance sound and feel without impeding the face from bending."
Cleveland Launcher XL
Gear: Cleveland Launcher XL irons
It costs $799.99 (at Global Golf) with True Temper Elevate 95 steel shafts and
Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips. With Project X Catalyst graphite shafts,
$899.98
Long irons with hollow-body design and short irons with cavity backs. The
shafts are counterbalanced.
“The Launcher XL irons combine two types of clubs into a single set for easy-
to-hit long irons and precise scoring clubs.
These clubs are 15 percent larger from heel to toe than the previous
generation of Launcher irons, and they have a wide V-shaped sole that is
designed to assist golfers with fat shots.
Moreover, each iron has Cleveland’s Main Frame face, which was developed
after computers simulated thousands of shots with different face designs to
create the fastest and most forgiving hitting area possible.
Cleveland Launcher XL Halo
Gear: Cleveland Launcher XL Halo irons
It costs $799.99 (at Global Golf) with True Temper Elevate 95 steel shafts and
Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips. With Project X Catalyst graphite shafts,
$899.98
Long irons with hollow-body design combined with short irons with cavity
backs. The shafts are counterbalanced.
"For beginners or those who struggle to make solid contact, hybrids and
fairway woods can often be easier to hit than irons since they have a bigger
face, lower centre of gravity, and a wider sole that tends to slide over and
through the grass.
Launcher XL Halo irons, which are essentially lofted irons, bring all that to the
table.
Cobra LTDx
Gear: Cobra LTDx irons
Pricing: $899 (at GlobalGolf) with KBS Tour 90 steel shafts or PGI graphite
shafts and Lamkin Crossline grips
Specs: 421 stainless steel body with internal steel weight and vibration-
dampening polymer.
“Game-improvement irons are the category where many golf equipment
manufacturers display their newest technologies.
Cobra has been as innovative as any brand in recent years.
Check for carbon fibre in the topline of an iron. Make sure the back pieces are
3D printed. In addition to other features, Cobra’s LTDx irons for 2022 feature a
new weighting system, which is meant to bring more distance and forgiveness
to a large segment of the market.
PWR-COR is a feature added to Cobra’s woods for 2022, but it has a different
meaning in the LTDx irons. The system here utilizes multiple materials to
balance the irons.
Cobra added a steel bar to each head that extends down through the hosel
into the bottom of the club and to the toe area. The bar is suspended in a
polymer injected into the head.
Cobra King Tour
Gear: Cobra King Tour irons
It costs $1,299 (at GlobalGolf) with KBS $-Taper 120 steel shafts
Injection-moulded 304 stainless steel with thermoplastic polyurethane insert
and tungsten weight
“The King Tour irons are made using the same metal-injection-moulding
process as the King MIM wedges. The process involves heating 304 stainless
steel powder to 1,340 degrees Celsius and injecting it into moulds.
According to Cobra, as the metal powder cools, the grains of steel pack more
tightly together than they would during a typical forging process.
Cobra also said the powder takes the shape of the mould more thoroughly, so
golfers should not only get an enhanced feel at impact, the clubs require less
hand polishing and finishing work. That means each club is manufactured to a
tighter tolerance.
Mizuno Pro 221
Gear: Mizuno Pro 221 irons
Prices: $187.50 (at GlobalGolf) with Project X LS steel shafts and Golf Pride
Z-Grip Full Cord grips
With a copper underlayer, this forged 1025E mild carbon steel has a mild
carbon steel surface. Available in 3-iron to pitching wedge. Right-handed only.
« In 2022, Mizuno will introduce the Mizuno Pro moniker to the North
American market, and for golfers with powerful, repeatable swings who want
more feel and control, the company will offer the Mizuno Pro 221.
The Mizuno Pro 221 is forged from a single bar of 1025E mild carbon steel in
Hiroshima, Japan using the company’s unique grain-flow, high-density forging
process.
Steel bars are heated, stretched, and pressed under high pressure (forged)
into the heads shape.
Following a second forging, the heads are ground by hand, sandblasted, and
polished. Mizuno states that this process allows the metal grains inside each
head to flow uninterrupted from heel to toe for better feel."
Mizuno Pro 223
Gear: Mizuno Pro 223 irons
(at GlobalGolf): $187.50 each with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 steel shafts and
Golf Pride New Decade MultiCompound grips
Forged chromoly and 1025E carbon steel with copper underlayer. Available as
4-iron through gap wedges.
Unlike the other Mizuno Pro irons for 2022, these are forged, but in reality this
is a blended set.
The 4-iron through 7-iron are forged from chromoly, a material that is
exceptionally durable and hard. Using chrome allow designers to build thinner
faces that flex more efficiently at impact, thus generating more ball speed.
To help the lower portion of the face flex more on shots struck toward the
bottom of the club, Mizuno also incorporated a slot in the sole of each of the
longer irons.
Slots are covered and chrome plated to keep grass and debris out, and they
become thinner as lofts increase.”
Mizuno Pro 225
Gear: Mizuno Pro 225 irons
Each costs $187.50 (at GlobalGolf) with Project X IO steel shafts and Lamkin
ST hybrid grips
Specs: Hollow-bodied, forged chromoly with a copper underlayer and tungsten
weights (2-7 irons). Available in 2-iron through gap wedge. Right-hand only
With the Mizuno Pro 225, they knew they wanted to build a complete set, so
the clubs look more compact and cleaner. In comparison to the HMB, the
Mizuno Pro 225 has a thinner topline, a thinner sole, and a lower offset.
Pro 223 from Mizunore speed, Mizuno designed the Mizuno Pro 225 as a
blended set, with the 2-iron through 7-iron having a forged 4135 chromoly face
and neck that is attached to a stainless steel back piece.
Since the club is hollow, the thin face can flex more efficiently at impact,
resulting in a faster ball speed even though the club is smaller than its
processor.
Mizuno gave the Mizuno Pro 225 tungsten weights in the heel and toe areas
to lower the center of gravity and increase stability.
There are about 28 grams of tungsten in each head, which allows the ball to
launch higher and descend at a steeper angle to help golfers stop the ball
faster on the greens.
Ping i525 irons
$205 each with Project X IO shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips; $220
each with UST Mamiya Recoil graphite shafts (at Carls Golfland and PGA
Tour Superstores)
Specs: Forged 17-4 stainless steel body with maraging stainless steel face
and polymer interior.
Designed for accomplished golfers who prefer the look of a better-player iron
while seeking distance enhancement, the Ping i525 irons replace the i500
irons released in 2018 Clubs that improve players games.
To accomplish that, Pings designers had to be clever and integrate some new
technologies without creating visual distractions.
The mission has been accomplished. Pings i525 is one of the cleanest clubs
in its lineup.
From the address position, golfers will see a thin topline, minimal offset, and a
short blade length. The club looks compact, like the recently released i59 iron.
The i525 has a forged 17-4 stainless steel body, with a maraging stainless
steel faceplate that is robotically welded into place.
A variable-thickness face is thinner around the edges and slightly thicker in
the centre, which broadens the sweet spot.
As well, the i525 is hollow, allowing the hitting area to flex more efficiently at
impact to increase ball speed and distance.
Ping i59
Gear: Ping i59 irons
Pricing: $275 per club (at Global Golf) with Project X LS steel shaft and Golf
Pride New Decade MCC Arccos-enabled grip. UST Recoil 760 ES graphite
shafts cost 290 dollars per club.
Forged 1025 carbon-steel body with a stainless steel face, aluminium insert,
and tungsten toe and hosel weights.
"The i59 has a more complex design than its minimalist exterior might
suggest.
The body is forged from 1025 carbon-steel for a soft feel, and Ping added a
laser-cut 17-4 stainless steel face.
As opposed to leaving the head hollow, Ping added a new technology to the
i59 called AlumiCor. Ping makes a unique insert for each i59 iron, which is
made from aluminium.
Aluminium weighs about one-third as much as stainless steel. Thus, the
AlumiCore insert creates about 30 grams of discretionary weight in each head,
which Ping designers can redistribute to improve performance.
Ping G425
Gear: Ping G425 irons
Prices are $137.50 for each (at GlobalGolf) with Ping AWT 2.0 steel shafts
and $150 each with Alta CB Slate graphite shafts
Cast 17-4 stainless steel head with an undercut cavity, multi material badge,
and hydrophobic finish
Ping made the G425 irons with a variable-thickness face made from heat-
treated 17-4 stainless steel in order to create more distance.
It is thin and strong, and combined with the large undercut cavity it allows for
greater flex at impact. This should help golfers boost ball speed.
The G425 irons were designed to be more forgiving than last season's G410
irons, despite their slightly shorter blade length.
Typically, larger clubs are more forgiving, but Ping added extra weight in the
heel area and a weight screw low in the toe to create extreme perimeter
weighting.
The extra mass does not stop the unsupported face from flexing, but
increases the moment of inertia, making the club more resistant to twisting on
off-centre hits. The smaller G425 irons have a higher inertia than the G410,
according to Ping.