Which players distance irons are the best you ever hit?

[Javs]

To all the low and mid handicappers. I have a question: which players distance irons are the best you have ever hit and why? You can list your top three. 

[Golfspy_CG2]

If you don’t mind stretching the definition of Mid Handicap to 17, i’ll chip in. 
 

I have hit several of these models over the last 5 or 6 years where they have become “a thing”.  My current top 3 

1) Wilson DynaPower Forged- a great feeling iron that sounds great and gives you the pop of most GI irons. 
 

2) Titleist T200 (2023 version) See above in all ways and a great looking iron.  
 

3) PING I530- i need some more time with these and trying a couple different shafts to see what i will order.  But they have the potential in my early time with them to jump to 2 and possibly 1.  

[chisag]

... Quite a few years ago when I went to the PGA Show and awarded what I thought was the best of every category, one or two clubs always stood out. But in the last 5 years or so, every OEM makes great clubs and I think it pretty much comes down to personal preference. 

3) P790's were my first distance iron and I loved them in the soft Midwest conditions. But moving to Phoenix with hard fast winter greens where it can be difficult to find your ball mark (because there isn't one) I needed more spin to hold the greens. I switched to P760's. 

2) King Forged Tec was a great improvement over the previous model with less offset and a thinner top line. Still produced just a hair less spin than I needed so I went with the King Tours. My playing partner is a high spin iron player as he flips through impact and produces a ton of spin, especially with his short irons. I put in some Dynamic Gold shafts in the KFT's  and the combo is working very well for him. 

1) For me, the '23 Titleist T200's check every box. Love the look at address with just the right size head, very little offset and the thinest top line of any players distance I have seen. The combination of distance, trajectory and spin suit my iron game perfectly. They also feel better than any hollow headed iron I have hit and if I didn't know they were hollow, I would have guessed they were a solid forged CB.  

[Siamese Moose]

I'm a 9. I just got fit last week, and ended up ordering Ping i530, so that's my favorite. The Pings were noticeably better than anything else for my low toe miss. If I didn't have that miss I might have gone with the TM P790, so that's my second choice. These two were a step better than everything else I tried, but I probably could have been happy with any of them. That was probably due to the shaft choices we were looking at that all worked better than my current shafts, which are now too light for my newly rebuilt swing. My third choice would probably be the Srixon ZX5. I also hit the Cobra Forged Tec, Mizuno 923 Forged, and Titleist T200. The only one that I didn't care for was the Titleist. They weren't bad by any stretch,  but something about them at address didn't vibe with me (maybe because it was the most compact head).

[BreakfastBall15]

Currently game the PXG 0311 Gen 5 P. Hit the 6 but not with the upgrade IMO. When I was getting new irons I hit the TM P790, the Mizuno 923 HM Pros, and Callaway Apex. Have hit the Wilson Dynapower Forged and Mizuno Pro 245 this year. By far the Mizuno Pro 245. If I were buying new irons this year those would be my go to

[Javs]

26 minutes ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

If you don’t mind stretching the definition of Mid Handicap to 17, i’ll chip in. 
 

I have hit several of these models over the last 5 or 6 years where they have become “a thing”.  My current top 3 

1) Wilson DynaPower Forged- a great feeling iron that sounds great and gives you the pop of most GI irons. 
 

2) Titleist T200 (2023 version) See above in all ways and a great looking iron.  
 

3) PING I530- i need some more time with these and trying a couple different shafts to see what i will order.  But they have the potential in my early time with them to jump to 2 and possibly 1.  

Thank you for jumping in and all are invited to comment!

[Javs]

11 minutes ago, chisag said:

... Quite a few years ago when I went to the PGA Show and awarded what I thought was the best of every category, one or two clubs always stood out. But in the last 5 years or so, every OEM makes great clubs and I think it pretty much comes down to personal preference. 

3) P790's were my first distance iron and I loved them in the soft Midwest conditions. But moving to Phoenix with hard fast winter greens where it can be difficult to find your ball mark (because there isn't one) I needed more spin to hold the greens. I switched to P760's. 

2) King Forged Tec was a great improvement over the previous model with less offset and a thinner top line. Still produced just a hair less spin than I needed so I went with the King Tours. My playing partner is a high spin iron player as he flips through impact and produces a ton of spin, especially with his short irons. I put in some Dynamic Gold shafts in the KFT's  and the combo is working very well for him. 

1) For me, the '23 Titleist T200's check every box. Love the look at address with just the right size head, very little offset and the thinest top line of any players distance I have seen. The combination of distance, trajectory and spin suit my iron game perfectly. They also feel better than any hollow headed iron I have hit and if I didn't know they were hollow, I would have guessed they were a solid forged CB.  

Thank you for the detailed response. Looks like the Titleist 2023 200’s are getting great reviews! I highly agree with your putting DG shafts in your buddy’s irons. I love the DG 120 Tour Issues.

Edited April 28 by Javs

[Javs]

4 minutes ago, BreakfastBall15 said:

Currently game the PXG 0311 Gen 5 P. Hit the 6 but not with the upgrade IMO. When I was getting new irons I hit the TM P790, the Mizuno 923 HM Pros, and Callaway Apex. Have hit the Wilson Dynapower Forged and Mizuno Pro 245 this year. By far the Mizuno Pro 245. If I were buying new irons this year those would be my go to

I have always liked PXG 0311 P’s. I am holding off till the Gen 7’s come out.

[Javs]

12 minutes ago, Siamese Moose said:

I'm a 9. I just got fit last week, and ended up ordering Ping i530, so that's my favorite. The Pings were noticeably better than anything else for my low toe miss. If I didn't have that miss I might have gone with the TM P790, so that's my second choice. These two were a step better than everything else I tried, but I probably could have been happy with any of them. That was probably due to the shaft choices we were looking at that all worked better than my current shafts, which are now too light for my newly rebuilt swing. My third choice would probably be the Srixon ZX5. I also hit the Cobra Forged Tec, Mizuno 923 Forged, and Titleist T200. The only one that I didn't care for was the Titleist. They weren't bad by any stretch,  but something about them at address didn't vibe with me (maybe because it was the most compact head).

Funny how courses and equipment have different looks to each golfer. Many like the 200’s and obviously they don’t fit your eye. I have never hit the Srixon or Cobra irons. I was never a fan of Mizuno. 

[brogies]

I'm a big fan of my Mizuno JPX921 Forged irons that i got fitted for a couple years ago. I tried a number of irons when I got fit, but I loved the soft feel and the dispersion I had in testing. And they've played well for me. I actually had them bent a degree weak for a steeper decent angle.

[Josh Parker]

I love my Srixon combo of the zx7's and zx5's.

Titleist does well at the distance irons and mixing the bag.  

 

[KC Golf]

I think the combo Titleist T-200 is hard to beat with the T-150 in the shorter irons.  If money is not an issue, I would buy these with the Fujikura Axiom 105s.  Since that's not the case, I am actually really happy with my stock Takomo 101Ts with KBS Tour Lites.

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

I’ve played the 790s and now the forced tecs. Forced tecs for me are a much better fit strictly based on feel. 

[GolfSpy_BEN]

I have 2 sets currently in my possession, that mostly fit the bill. Titleist T200/T150 combo set. I love the feel of the T150’s but the T200’s feel muted to me. They are great irons, but the search for “feel” led me to a combo set of ZX5/ZX7 MKII. It’s probably recency bias, but I am absolutely smitten with these irons and they will be my gamer set for this season. I’ve had a few sets of Srixon now, and these are the best irons Srixon has produced, bar none.

[phnx32]

Mizuno JPX are buttery smooth. 

[RoverRick]

I currently have Ping i525 Power Spec and Taylormade P790 Black second addition. Both have KBS TGI shafts. 90g in the Pings and 80g in the P790’s. 

Both are fine irons. I got the Pings second hand and was not terribly pleased with them initially. They just seemed to be lower and longer than I really wanted. When I looked closely at the shafts one day, I noticed they had a little sticker that said “Power Spec” which sort of explained it, and I began to like them more. They are great in the wind, but tend to run out on the green. Less loft and less spin equals more run out. However, this is perhaps more related to the power specs than the irons itself. They are very forgiving and I like them a lot. 

The P790’s are an older model, I bought them new after a New Year’s Eve drink or two. The P790’s are the first irons I have ever had that the distance didn’t tend to jam up together. They transition smoothly from the G wedge to the 4 iron. 

Both P790 and i525 are very neutral left to right. The P790’s are better front to back distance, but of course they have a touch more loft (1.5°) and thus spin and launch. i525’s are about a half of club longer (7 yards) but that’s to be expected. 

Overall, both are fine irons, and if I had to recommend one over the other it would be the Pings. Why? Pings are simply more durable. You can pound balls, drop them, put them in a blender, and they are still Pings.

I don’t love the Power Specs but that may soon change. I’m not used to the distance because I’ve mostly played the P790’s. 

[THE GOLF GUY]

I’m still playing the Taylormade P7 MC 5-PW with (R) flex Aerotech I95 steel fiber 

Edited April 28 by THE GOLF GUY

[cnosil]

Funny,  when people list their choices they add combos or players irons as their selection.   I know some irons cross boundaries but my Players Distance clubs would be:

Honma TR20P

Srixon ZX5 but these have been great since the 565s.   

 

[THE GOLF GUY]

15 minutes ago, THE GOLF GUY said:

I’m still playing the Taylormade P7 MC 5-PW with (R) flex Aerotech I95 steel fiber 

I like mid cavity blades and not a real big fan of “player distance “ irons . I believe that you should play what makes you play your best golf though .

Edited April 28 by THE GOLF GUY

[Josh Parker]

49 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Funny,  when people list their choices they add combos or players irons as their selection.   I know some irons cross boundaries but my Players Distance clubs would be:

Honma TR20P

Srixon ZX5 but these have been great since the 565s.   

 

Haha. I thought about that prior to writing my selections, but I also figured with who was asking and made some assumptions.  

And yes.... I know what assuming does. 

[chisag]

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

Funny,  when people list their choices they add combos or players irons as their selection.

 

... Kinda how forums and social media seems to work. Ask what you favorite sports car is and someone chimes in with their pick up truck. 

[bens197]

28 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... Kinda how forums and social media seems to work. Ask what you favorite sports car is and someone chimes in with their pick up truck. 

Hey everyone, share your favorite kind of pancakes?

Pancakes?  Why pancakes?  You hate waffles?

 

Anyways…I’ve only hit one and it was this one. Absolutely phenomenal irons and wholly underrated. The Maltby TS1. 
 

 

[Javs]

38 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... Kinda how forums and social media seems to work. Ask what you favorite sports car is and someone chimes in with their pick up truck. 

Is it a sporty truck? Ha ha ha

[Javs]

7 minutes ago, bens197 said:

Hey everyone, share your favorite kind of pancakes?

Pancakes?  Why pancakes?  You hate waffles?

 

Anyways…I’ve only hit one and it was this one. Absolutely phenomenal irons and wholly underrated. The Maltby TS1. 
 

 

Very nice looking club and never heard of it.

[Javs]

5 hours ago, Josh Parker said:

I love my Srixon combo of the zx7's and zx5's.

Titleist does well at the distance irons and mixing the bag.  

 

How are your Srixon combos set? Which of each and did you make the lofts stronger in the 7’s?

[funkyjudge]

11 hours ago, Javs said:

Very nice looking club and never heard of it.

Maltby is making some excellent golf clubs, and not just irons. I played a mixed set of their TS1 and TS2 irons, and I currently have a (partial) set of their TS1 IM irons —

https://www.golfworks.com/maltby-ts1-im-iron/p/ma0344/

Edited April 29 by funkyjudge

[Javs]

1 minute ago, funkyjudge said:

Maltby is making some excellent golf clubs, and not just irons. I played a mixed set of their TS1 and TS2 irons, and I currently have a (partial) set of their TS1 IM irons —

https://www.golfworks.com/maltby-ts1-im-iron/p/ma0344/

Thank you for the information! Are they comparable to other players distance clubs?

[bens197]

6 minutes ago, Javs said:

Thank you for the information! Are they comparable to other players distance clubs?

Very. Super forgiving and the price is hard to beat. 

[Javs]

4 minutes ago, bens197 said:

Very. Super forgiving and the price is hard to beat. 

Thanks! Do you play them also?

Edited April 29 by Javs

[Josh Parker]

20 minutes ago, Javs said:

How are your Srixon combos set? Which of each and did you make the lofts stronger in the 7’s?

The zx5s I carry 4,5 and 6.

Zx7s 7-pw. 

Pw is 46* and then I carry 50,54,58 sm9s

The gapping between the 7 and 6 irons is about 5 extra yards but I fix that by choking down on the 6 if it's in-between. 

I have been impressed with the feel off the face and turf interaction with the soles.