DTC Club Rankings - Irons

[GolfSpy_APH]

Let's hear how you would rank the DTC brands for their irons and offerings. Let's keep wedges, putters and fairway/drivers out of it for now and just focus on irons. 

There are a crazy amount of DTC brands out there so how would you rank them? I am going to use the term DTC somewhat loosely because I do think there are some brands that aren't quite DTC, but the fit that mold in the eyes of the consumer. 

1. Sub 70
2. New Level
3. Takomo
4. Haywood
5. Vice
6. Caley
7. Edel
8. Arias
9. Stix
10. BGD

There are many more, so feel free to drop those in your rankings as well. 

[IndyBonzo]

Maltby is on fire.

I have not hit the others, but admire the new Edels and Hogans and MacGregors from afar and hear great things about Vice’s new offering. 

[Coulter]

I’ve only tried sub70 but with the price, customization, customer service, speed that they get products out, and the quality of those products I’m a huge fan!

[Wasper007]

Waiting is the hardest part

 

[IndyBonzo]

35 minutes ago, Wasper007 said:

Waiting is the hardest part

 

That is a beautiful iron!  Wow. 

[JAYER38]

While on vacation my test Maltbys showed up at the house! the wait is the rough part as it was 2-2.5 weeks for a custom order.

I really want to try the new DB series from New Level & Absolutly love the Edel iron customization just too pricey.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

If I ever get new irons it will be Haywood/hogan/sub70. Something with a little sole cut to get through the turf. Probably a would be sub70 because they could build them to my very picky specs. 

[Shrek74]

Here's my list:

Sub 70
Maltby
PXG
Edel
New Level
Takomo
Haywood
Vice (might be higher, but too early in their life to know)
MacGregor
Ben Hogan
Ram
Caley

I don't know much or anything about the others you listed, but we all pretty much know these guys. I included PXG, although they have stores and such they are still a DTC in the "direct" sense of the term.

[Rob Person]

Question.  If they are now in retail stores, golf shops, offer remote fitting locations, or have their own store setup, etc... are they truly DTC anymore? 

That would eliminate a few from the list I would imagine. 

 

[Erin B]

I’ve had PXG and have New Level. New Levels are FIRE . I want to try others but can’t afford to and therefore can’t rank them. I’m specifically interested in Sub70.

Edited July 13 by Erin B

[Wolfstrum]

I have direct experience with three DTCs that make irons. All three of them get high marks from me.

#1 Maltby: while I wish they had more LH offerings it is impossible to beat their price to value. And the clubs perform! I game the STi2 irons 4i-GW. Not template or clones or anything like that. They design great clubs offer custom configuration and assembly at better than wholesale prices.

#2 Sub 70: Bought their 699 ProV2 Driving Iron and love it. Lots of options to choose from for customization and a good price point. They also offer a lot of LH options which is a huge win for me. Good price to value and great performance.  

#3 Stix: my son is also LH and we were looking for a set of wedges for him. Stix had a sale for a set of three wedges with graphite shaft in plus 1 length (he is 6’5”). Price was excellent so we gave them a go. He is very happy with them.

DTC Brands I am curious to try:

Vice

Takomo

[Off Map Oscar]

I have the vice on order but one I'm not seeing on these lists is bombtech. 

I've had their Irons. They were pretty Decent.  It's a game improvement iron and a really cheap price. Build quality was solid. It's nothing fancy but they were 1000 times better than the strata set I had previously.  

I've got to disagree with PXG being on this list tho. If they are a DTC brand that really muddies the definition.  Vice is rapidly becoming a non DTC as well. Their balls are available at Walmart and target. Their Irons are available for fitting at club champion. 

[Rob Person]

My Stix clubs are DTC (via MyGolfSpy testing) amd when I had an issue, they stepped right up and corrected it within 2.days. communication was quite fast too!

I realize that alot of brands that market in countries outside the US are running independently,  and therefore play by their own set of guidelines. 

It's wonderful that @GolfSub70 from the US side is willing to step in!!! 

[Donn lost in San Diego]

FWIW: PXG just opened a store in San Diego, across the street from the Miramar Marine Corps Air base.  Near Torrey Pines. 

[Hook DeLoft]

PXG seems to be not quite DTC and not quite traditional OEM.  I have ordered from Hogan and Sub 70 and was pleased with both the products and the customer service.  The MacGregor MT 86 OS irons I reviewed last year are as good any OEM irons I have owned but their quality control of lofts and lies left something to be desired.

[Headhammer]

I haven't swung all of them, and some I haven't heard of, so for me it's more the reputation than the performance, all except New Level which Steven Alker has ridden to unbridled success on the Champions Tour.

1. New Level

2. Edel

3, Sub 70

4. Maltby

5. Takomo

 

 

[Amadeus]

does anyone know a way to try some of these out other than like ordering 3 sets e.g. at takomo and then useing only the 7 iron and send them back again? 

[GolfSpy_APH]

34 minutes ago, Amadeus said:

does anyone know a way to try some of these out other than like ordering 3 sets e.g. at takomo and then useing only the 7 iron and send them back again? 

Some offer demo programs, others do have stores you can go to and demo clubs. 

I think Sub 70 has a pretty active facebook group which would be worth checking out.

Takomo would be the most difficult I would imagine as theirs are drop shipments.

[Amadeus]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Some offer demo programs, others do have stores you can go to and demo clubs. 

I think Sub 70 has a pretty active facebook group which would be worth checking out.

Takomo would be the most difficult I would imagine as theirs are drop shipments.

as you can order, also at Caley a set and try the seven iron, the only thing i can image right now is to order for a few k€ and then try it out and send all the sets back (but that is not like a gentlemen kind of a thing to do). They should offer some tryout clubs for a small amount of money and then you send them back

[GolfSpy_APH]

33 minutes ago, Amadeus said:

as you can order, also at Caley a set and try the seven iron, the only thing i can image right now is to order for a few k€ and then try it out and send all the sets back (but that is not like a gentlemen kind of a thing to do). They should offer some tryout clubs for a small amount of money and then you send them back

Haven't seen much from Caley since their little scandal, but a staff member has them from a test last season and seems to like them. They seem to be very very simlar to Takomo. 

[Rob Person]

Just saw these.  Have not seen them mentioned very much. 

 

[Amadeus]

I couldn't sleep last night and became quite interested in this topic. I didn't know until yesterday that you can view US import information online.

It seems that Deson Golf Sport in China is producing equipment for almost every DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) company. This includes brands like Sports Brands Inc (RAM, MacGregor, Zebra, Ben Hogan), Bombtech, Takomo, GIGA Golf, and so on. My conclusion is that success largely depends on who has the best marketing team, and Takomo, for instance, is doing a pretty good job with YouTube golfers. They likely don't have their own R&D team (I assume) and may be using existing molds, which is fine since their clubs seem to perform well.

I also read an article about Vice Golf and HIO Fitting, which caught my attention because I'm from Germany and know them personally. Vice/HIO have the advantage of a fitting studio with accessible data (I've been there since they started about 10 years ago) and engineers who design their clubs. So, what's my point? I think all these clubs perform similarly, which is great, but I believe Vice Golf/HIO is a step ahead.

[Deepred]

For the most part now, Golf Division, Ram etc. Does their own designs but the foundry does most of the tech as far as materials and construction. With hollow irons I wonder how much the back of the shell effects performance. 

[PrayingForPar]

Another vote for Sub70!

There are some pretty convincing theories that multiple brands you listed use the same manufacturer just throw a different name on them....That would be a great MGS article...

[Deepred]

On 9/8/2024 at 9:50 PM, PrayingForPar said:

Another vote for Sub70!

There are some pretty convincing theories that multiple brands you listed use the same manufacturer just throw a different name on them....That would be a great MGS article...

It's not just the DTC brands. I don't believe any of the big four brands own their own foundries in China. 

[KurtActual]

13 minutes ago, Deepred said:

It's not just the DTC brands. I don't believe any of the big four brands own their own foundries in China. 

Good call. MGS should write a piece on this. Maybe they should pull an Adventures in Golf card and make a YouTube short out of it. Take trips to the foundries and everything.

As far as the original post, I only have experience with my Takomos. They perform 100% as well as the Ping G425s I compared them to, and they get lots of compliments on looks at the course. Hard to beat that for the price.

[cnosil]

On 9/8/2024 at 9:50 PM, PrayingForPar said:

Another vote for Sub70!

There are some pretty convincing theories that multiple brands you listed use the same manufacturer just throw a different name on them....That would be a great MGS article...

https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/behind-the-curtain-just-who-is-designing-your-golf-clubs/
 

[Amadeus]

opinions on "best DTC putter"?

[cnosil]

3 minutes ago, Amadeus said:

opinions on "best DTC putter"?

What’s your budget, design, and desired turnaround time?   There are some amazing boutique putter makers.  

Edited September 10 by cnosil

[Amadeus]

think my current one was about 500 € so i would spend that. i know e.g. in Germany there is Kramski which is kind of high end, Vice also offers them and also HIO in Germany (where i get my stuff from). Would be interested in "best bang for your buck" haha

Edited September 10 by Amadeus