Irons

irons

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

whether you’re a low-handicapper or beginner, our four iron categories have options to fit your game. we considered 78 models; 52 made the list.

For club fi tting visit

www.egolfmegastore.ae/accufi t

▶ “Who are you? Who, who, who, who?” That song lyric by the rock band The Who is a fi tting start to your iron search. As clubmakers continue to splinter the market into several categories—for the Hot List, we group by Players, Players Distance, Game Improvement and Super Game Improvement—it’s important consumers are honest with themselves about what they need from their irons. Is it a hint of forgiveness with the workability, thinner topline and sole width that appeals to better players? Are you seeking to regain that lost half-club to Father Time without using something that resembles a shovel? Perhaps it’s a slightly bulkier iron that offers enough forgiveness to let you reach the front of the green on a slight mis-hit. Or maybe you’re relatively new to the game or don’t possess the skills others have. Iron sets with wide soles and thick toplines—or even all-hybrid construction—can provide you with the confi dence you need. So, who are you? That’s a question only you can answer. Once you fi gure it out, the following pages have an iron set just for you. ▶

performance

innovation

look • sound • feel

★★★★ ½

demand

★★★★ ½

player comment “The lightweight feel gives it some pop at impact. The ball fl ight has the piercing trajectory I love.”

performance

★★★★ ½

innovation

★★★★ ½

look • sound • feel

demand player comment “These line up perfectly at address like a blade should. The feel is pure. Even when you don’t put a perfect swing on it, you feel like you can control the shot.”

callaway

APEX PRO (2021) RRP AED 6,475

▶ Callaway hasn’t always tried to conceal the technology in its clubs, but it has done a good job of seamlessly melding technological improvements within a clubhead that looks like a gift package from Tiff any. The latest example is the new Apex Pro, which features a hollow-body construction for the fi rst time. Callaway relied on artifi cial intelligence—which thinks of things a designer might not and does it a lot faster—to help its engineers give each iron face in the set a unique variable-thickness geometry. In essence, each clubface is customised. The back of the face looks more like a wave than a typical smooth progression, but the result is consistent distance across a larger area of the face. The tech story doesn’t end there: A tungsten energy core, with up to 90 grams of tungsten surrounded by microsphere-fi lled urethane (microspheres are tiny air bubbles encased in glass), allows the Callaway design team to more precisely control the centre of gravity. This means better players get the trajectory window they seek plus forgiveness. All this new tech in a players-cavity shape makes the Apex Pro an ideal choice for the aspiring club champion who doesn’t have a ton of time to practice.

Demo this club at eGolf Megastore, or buy online at egolfmegastore.ae

callaway

X FORGED CB Available in U.S. only

▶ The X Forged CB is perhaps the most ambitious iron design Callaway has attempted in recent years—a multimaterial forged construction in a players shape. The key to the design was eliminating tip-plug weighting in the hosel (in which weight is inserted into the tip end of the shaft to achieve a specifi c swingweight). Better players need the swingweight to be precise, but there are more effi cient means to do so. In the back cavity, a large weight slug (not adjustable by consumers) is screwed into place to get the swingweight correct. This also has the benefi t of placing additional mass behind the hitting area. More heft translates into additional ball speed. The weight is available in 12, 17 or 21 grams to provide consumers with the option of a light, standard or heavy clubhead. These are the subtle distinctions players drawn to irons in this category appreciate. Even the iron’s stock shaft (Project X IO) gets the details right: The IO stands for “individually optimised” for each iron in the set. For players who play graphite shafts, Mitsubishi’s MMT features metal mesh in the tip for increased stability. Finally, Golf Pride’s Z Grip completes the stock off ering for this iron.