Players

performance

★★★★ ½

innovation

★★★★ ½

look • sound • feel

★★★★ ½

demand player comment “The ball seemed to jump off the face. Good control, even on mis-hits. Those shots hurt far less than others.”

performance

★★★★ ½

innovation

look • sound • feel

★★★★ ½

demand

★★★ ½

player comment “Might be the most forgiving iron in this category. Good turf interaction and easier to hit the long irons and get some air under the ball.”

cobra

KING TOUR RRP AED 5,595

▶ Manufacturing a soft, forgiving players iron in a cavity-back shape is a diffi cult engineering challenge. However, Cobra found a way through a metal-injection molding process to create each iron in the set—something the company previously used only for its wedges. The metal-injection molding process is benefi cial for two reasons. First, it eliminates the need to hand polish the heads, which can lead to slight inconsistencies. Second, the blend of 17-4 stainless steel (80 percent) and 304 stainless steel (20 percent) goes through a sintering heat-treatment process that is nearly 150 degrees hotter than conventional forging. Not only does this provide a soft feel, but it creates a tighter grain structure to deliver the type of consistency this category demands. Cobra has made another change that better players will likely welcome: The long irons have a slightly shorter blade length with a tungsten weight in the toe area to position the centre of gravity behind the sweet spot. Finally, the Lamkin Crossline grips come equipped with Cobra Connect powered by Arccos, giving users the ability to track and access a variety of shot data via the Arccos Caddie app.

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mizuno

JPX921 TOUR RRP AED 5,075

▶ Mizuno’s iron selection is so extensive that it sometimes can be diffi cult to fi gure out which model is best suited for your game. However, for the most skilled players, Mizuno’s choices are a little more clear, and this iron should be at the top of the list. The JPX921 Tour is a terrifi c follow-up to the JPX900 Tour and JPX919 Tour. It’s a compact, muscle-cavity blade that’s similar in shape to those previous models (the result of tour-player feedback). The irons are forged from soft 1025E carbon steel, then put through a proprietary heating process to concentrate the grain in the centre area of the face for maximum feel. There is less weight in the toe than previous Mizuno Tour irons, but that saved weight has been moved to the club’s perimeter for improved stability, as well as to reinforce the centre of the club for enhanced feel at impact. The sole width progresses throughout the set—wider soles in the long irons to boost height and narrower soles in the short irons for better workability for the shotmaker in all of us. Mizuno’s stock set for this iron starts with a 4-iron, which follows the trend seen on the PGA Tour, where 3-irons that match the set are becoming nearly extinct.

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performance

innovation

★★★★ ½

look • sound • feel

demand player comment “Love the weight, balance and turf interaction. Very easy to control distance. Long irons look and feel the same as short irons.”

performance

innovation

look • sound • feel

★★★★ ½

demand player comment “Good sound and feel for a club this big. Long irons and middle irons are some of the easiest to hit in this category, and you don’t give up the pleasant feel.”

mizuno

MP-20 MMC RRP AED 5,425

▶ The imaginative use of titanium and the way Mizuno achieves a syrupy feel are the technological highlights of this iron. A titanium bar—something first introduced in the company’s MP-58 iron—is forged into the back to improve feel and provide some mass behind the impact area, allowing weight to be moved to the edges of the club for maximum forgiveness. In the 4- through 7-irons, 12 grams of tungsten are positioned low in the toe, and 12 grams of titanium are fused into the back cavity. There is no tungsten in the 8-iron through gap wedge, only 10.5 grams of titanium that allows for a narrower sole to increase the ability to work shots. The secret to the club’s amazing feel is barely one-tenth the thickness of a human hair—a chromeplating technique that dates back to a legendary set of Mizuno blades developed for Tommy Nakajima, who won 56 times during five decades, mostly on the Japan Tour. Brought to market in Japan as the TN-87, those irons featured an underlayer of copper to enhance feel, and that technique is now used in the MP-20 MMC. Finally, the KBS Tour $-Taper stock shaft is a smart choice for the player who pays attention to such details.

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ping

i210 RRP AED 5,320

▶ Technology in today’s players irons has to skillfully navigate the need for precision and workability without sacrifi cing power. The i210 traverses this technological balance beam better than Simone Biles. With a compact shape that better players prefer, the i210 emphasises feel, shotmaking and precision. Feel, in particular, became a priority. Ping engineers developed a larger and softer elastomer insert that is wedged into the back cavity. This had two benefi ts: More of the face is supported by the softer material, and the larger cavity created additional perimeter weighting. Also, the 431 stainless-steel casting (a softer steel than traditional 17-4) has milled grooves that change through the set. A sharper edge radius and tighter groove spacing in the pitching wedge and U-wedge help prevent fl yers. These are essentially the same grooves found on Ping’s Glide 2.0 wedges. The stability and groove refi nements are intended to improve consistency and precision with an ease-of-use factor that’s near the top of this category. For those wondering if the irons are too game-improvement for them, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Stewart Cink each won in 2020 with a set of i210s in their bag.

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performance

★★★★ ½

innovation

★★★★ ½

look • sound • feel

★★★★ ½

demand player comment “You get a lot of positive feedback at impact. It helps you believe you can play the shot that is in your brain. Fairly easy to hit, too.”

performance

★★★★ ½

innovation

look • sound • feel

★★★★ ½

demand

★★ ½

player comment “The sole off ers a ton of help through the ball. It’s as solid a feeling as you’re going to get in any players iron. They look pretty cool, too.”

pxg

0311 T GEN3 RRP AED 12,950

▶ Luxury is a word synonymous with PXG, a company that caters to golfers for whom price isn’t really a consideration. However, such an audience still needs to be persuaded by performance. The key to achieving this is the addition of an interior design in which a soft polymer reduces unwanted vibrations and stores energy that is transferred to the ball for more distance. This is coupled with a fi rmer polymer behind the face that adds structural integrity. The HT1770 maraging-steel face, already thin at 1.5 millimeters (about the thickness of a dime), features a channel around the perimeter internally that is only 1.2 millimeters, producing even more rebound. The body is forged from soft 8620 carbon steel and goes through a fi ve-step forging process to accommodate the complex body geometry of the iron. The company’s hallmark lightweight titanium and heavier tungsten weights remain, optimising the centre of gravity and moment of inertia (the club’s stability). The specs are identical to its predecessor, and the head size and sole bounce are similar, too. The topline— as one might expect on a tour model—is slightly thinner, and a number of custom-shaft off erings are available.

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srixon

ZX7 RRP AED 5,195

▶ The simplicity of this iron’s compact appearance belies the fact there is considerable technological imagination beneath the surface. The tour-like cavity design allows for two things: additional weight on the perimeter for forgiveness and more mass behind the sweet spot for a powerful feel at impact. To minimise the loss of ball speed on off -centre strikes, Srixon uses a single-piece 1020 carbon-steel clubhead with tungsten weights in the toe area of the 3- through 7-irons. However, speed without control is a dealbreaker in a players iron. To ensure the proper amount of spin on each iron, Srixon’s designers created diff erent groove patterns for the long and short irons. On the 3- through 7-irons, the grooves are wider. In the 8-iron through pitching wedge, they are deeper and closer together to produce consistent spin throughout the set. An updated Tour VT sole features a higher bounce angle toward the leading edge that tapers and less bounce on the trailing edge for better turf interaction. A notch in the heel—a preference of the company’s tour staff —also helps with working the ball, and a thin topline with little off set provides an appealing look for better players.

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performance

innovation

look • sound • feel

★★★★ ½

demand player comment “They are sleek at address. Shots take off low, reach the apex and drop. You fl ush it and don’t even feel it. It really pops. It’s so pleasant to hit a club like this.”

performance

innovation

look • sound • feel

★★★★ ½

demand player comment “Great size and shape, which is maintained throughout the set. Defi nitely hot off the face. The club feels very well balanced in your hands.”

taylormade

P•7MC RRP AED 5,795

▶ Making players irons that look cool, sound great and feel like they should is a TaylorMade strength, and all of that is on display here. It would be easy to say the P•7MC irons are a solid follow up to the company’s P750s, but that would be underselling the signifi cance of the enhancements. Chief among them is a new forging process that applies two to three times the pressure normally used in making forged irons. Why is that noteworthy? The added force from the 2,000-ton press to the 1025 carbon steel decreases the grain size, improving the overall properties of the metal while reducing the need for hand polishing, thus creating a precise, repeatable shape. Mass has been shifted upward slightly to be more in line with the centre of the face, providing some extra oomph and a better feel. The thin topline and progressive off set throughout the set produce the kind of look at address skilled players want, and the narrow sole and tight leading edge are designed to induce the sort of turf interaction that leads to precisely cut divots that fi t back in their hole nearly seamlessly. It’s no wonder these irons are in the bag of PGA champion Collin Morikawa, one of the better iron players on tour.

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titleist

CNCPT CP-02 RRP: TBC

▶ The mission that Titleist’s R&D team received for its CNCPT irons was exciting and one not often heard in a business that is sensitive to price: How much better could an iron be if money were no object? Finding out would require researching new materials and processes and blending them into a fi nal form that wouldn’t turn off better players. The result is a club made from a material the company refers to only as “super metal.” The forged L-face is very thin (less than two millimeters) and “unsupported,” meaning there is no foam or thermoplastic urethane material or other backing structure filling the hollow iron to support the thin-face design. According to Titleist, the metal has never been used in golf-club design before. The other element behind the unique hollow construction is the placement of signifi cant amounts of high-density tungsten in the heel and toe of each iron to improve forgiveness and stability on off -centre hits. In fact, close to 50 percent of the head’s total weight is tungsten (with an average of more than 110 grams) in the longer irons to keep the centre of gravity low and toward the back for launching shots high with less distance-robbing spin.

Coming soon to eGolf Megastore, visit egolfmegastore.ae

performance

innovation

★★★★ ½

look • sound • feel

demand player comment “Most impressive about these irons is the ability to control ball fl ight and the ease of use with the long irons. Extremely consistent.”

performance

innovation

★★★ ½

look • sound • feel

★★★★ ½

demand

★½ player comment “Reminds me of an oldschool blade. A classic forged feel with good feedback. Not a destructive loss of distance on mis-hits, either, which was nice.”

titleist

T100 RRP AED 6,195

▶ There are three key elements to hitting great iron shots: having enough distance, a tight dispersion pattern and a proper angle of descent to stop shots close to the hole. The Titleist T100 irons are engineered to address each of those needs while providing the shape, feel and control of a traditional players iron. The forged dual-cavity clubhead might be geared toward the game’s elite players, but the face still off ers plenty of pop thanks to a design that is 1.8 millimeters thick in the 3- through 6-irons. A total of 66 grams of tungsten is co-forged into the heel and toe areas to foster a higher ball fl ight and provide assistance on mishits. The sole was also redesigned from the previous version, the AP2. More sole camber and a pre-worn leading edge prevent the club from digging into the turf. The T100 has become a favourite with the company’s tour staff . Players such as Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth say they are drawn to the reduced off set and thinner topline look compared to the AP2. True Temper’s AMT White is the stock shaft in steel, and Mitsubishi’s MCA Tensei White AM2 is the graphite option in an iron that would prompt even lifelong muscle-back-blade users to say: “I’ve got to try this.”

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miura

TC-201 RRP AED 9,450

▶ Miura irons have a cult-like following among better players who have fl ocked to its forged blades in recent years. The loyalty is not without good reason. Company founder Katsuhiro Miura earned the nickname “the hands of God” for his relentless pursuit of perfection in hand-crafted irons. Now, fi ve years in the making, these irons are an expansion from Miura’s one-piece forged models. The TC-201 is a carbon-steel forged cavity-back iron in a classic shape that can be played by a fairly wide swath of golfers because of its forgiveness elements. The TC-201 was designed and forged in the company’s Himeji, Japan, factory, and is inspired by the company’s best-selling iron in Japan. Features include a shallow cavity, sharp topline and minimal off set for a blade-like appearance at address. The long irons have a little extra weighting in the toe and heel for more forgiveness. A lower centre of gravity also promotes a higher ball fl ight. A slightly higher CG in the short irons fosters a lower, more controlled trajectory on the scoring shots. Weight is pushed to the heel and toe areas here, too, for help with mis-hits. The traditional lofts (46 degrees on the pitching wedge) are something better players can appreciate.

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performance

innovation

look • sound • feel

★★★★ ½

demand

★★ ½

player comment “What sets this club apart is its ability to hit every kind of shot. Just enough help in the long irons without sacrifi cing feel. Turf interaction is fi rst-rate.”

performance

innovation

look • sound • feel

demand

★½ player comment “The feedback to the hands is outstanding. I could really control my ball fl ight. A good club even for a middle-handicapper with hopes of being a single-digit.”

titleist

620 CB RRP AED 6,195

▶ Titleist has a history of producing irons that cleverly hide technological improvements in a pleasing shape. The 620 CB is the latest example. The name is a throwback to the 600 Series of the early 2000s. At fi rst glance, the iron appears to be uncomplicated in construction and shape: a carbon-steel forged head with a compact look. However, the use of high-density tungsten in the toe and heel areas of the long irons is a modern—and meaningful—touch that helps launch the ball high and minimise loss of ball speed on off -centre strikes. Titleist did not use tungsten in the toe on the 5- through 7-irons as it did in the previous CB. The reason? Better players prefer to fl ight middle and short irons lower. The pre-worn leading-edge sole helps the club slide through the turf effortlessly—even for those with a steep attack angle. The blade lengths are in line with the company’s MB irons for those who like a split set. As one would expect of a club designed for single-digit-handicappers, the stock shaft is the 120-gram True Temper Project X LZ. The iron selector tool on the company’s website isn’t a substitute for an in-person clubfi tting, but it does off er valuable guidance on whether this model is for you.

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wilson

STAFF MODEL CB

▶ Wilson Golf has consistently evolved its approach to players irons. For its latest off ering, it sought the input of its tour staff and ended up with an iron that checked all their necessary boxes, including a clean look, a pleasant sound and feel, easy-to-hit long irons and workable middle and short irons. Forged from 8620 carbon steel with a nickel-chrome fi nish, the Staff Model CB presents a new approach to the construction of the back cavity, where the company used what it refers to as “Tri-Brace Technology.” Marketing jargon aside, steel is positioned in the cavity to connect the thinner topline to the more rigid areas toward the sole of the cavity to reduce vibration and produce a quieter, less-piercing sound. In the long and middle irons, 20 grams of tungsten is placed low in the toe to increase the moment of inertia and mitigate the effect of mis-hits. Moving the centre of gravity lower and closer to the centre of the face provides a powerful feel at impact and less draw bias—an important consideration for better players who are loathe to over-draw an approach shot. The irons also borrow from the Staff Model blades with a milled face that features the Staff Model groove confi guration.

performance

innovation

look • sound • feel

demand player comment “Felt like they really had a motor in them. You get a lot of distance without sacrifi cing feel. It’s an ideal size head for shotmaking as well.”

performance

★★★★ ½

innovation

look • sound • feel

★★★★ ½

demand

★★ ½

player comment “The gorgeous bronze fi nish makes these irons as much artwork as golf club. Soft cushioned sound but a powerful, driving ball fl ight.”

callaway

APEX (2021) RRP AED 6,475

▶ The standard is the standard. That’s a phrase Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is fond of. It also could apply to the Callaway Apex irons, which have been the epitome of a playersdistance iron since debuting in 2014. An iron in this category must satisfy a pair of simple, but strict criteria: It must be a players iron in shape and playability as well as possess a distanceproducing element that results in yards a normal players iron can’t deliver. The most recent version of the Apex does both of these things incredibly well. The forged 1025 carbon-steel body (including a revised sole for smoother turf interaction) provides a strong appeal at address and in the bag. For distance, a cupface (in which the face wraps around part of the topline and sole) designed with the help of artifi cial intelligence gives each club up to the 9-iron a unique structure and more rebound. A tungsten core (ranging from 14 to 64 grams) wrapped in urethane with tiny air bubbles encased in glass features fi ve times the tungsten of the previous Apex iron. This increases ball speed not only on shots hit off centre but particularly on those struck low on the face, where the majority of iron impacts occur.

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cobra

KING FORGED TEC RRP AED 6,195

▶ When you have a proven club, you take what you have and make it better instead of starting from scratch. That’s the case with Cobra’s King Forged Tec irons. Cobra builds off the success of its previous Forged Tec model, retaining features like the groundbreaking Cobra Connect grip sensors that provide player analytics through the Arccos round-tracking system. However, improvements have been made to the clubhead. Cobra’s objective was to incorporate multiple materials to increase ball speed while maintaining its traditional shape and feel. The muscleback shape is deceiving because it hides the fact that the clubhead is a hollow construction and uses the company’s L-shape, variable-thickness “Pwrshell” metal face (something not used in previous Forged Tec models) to boost ball speed. Inside the clubhead, foam is used to help provide the proper sound and feel. For those channeling their inner Bryson DeChambeau, a One Length model, in which every iron is the length of a 7-iron, is available as well. In the One Length, a 15-gram tungsten weight plug in the toe of the 4-through 7-irons and lighter shafts help with launch. In the wedges, heavier shafts are used to improve control.

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