Golf Irons Buying Guide

Whether you are Tiger Woods or Mrs Woods, there's a set of irons that's just right for you. There is no doubting that the most essential and basic part of any golfers game is their iron play. The iron is truly the staple of your bag. The ability to control and shape your iron shots is what will define your game. Its great to be a good driver of the ball, but unless you find the greens from your positions, it will all be in vain.

Irons make up about 8-9 of the clubs in our bags, so finding the right set for you can have an considerable improvement on your game. There are a lot of various types of irons and different specifications you are offered and this page will help you in your quest to find golf's Holy Grail, the perfect set of irons!

Forged Irons

Forging a club is very similar to what the village blacksmith used to do. The metal is sunk into a rough shape and then hammered until the desired design is complete. The manufacturer is then presented with a raw forging iron, which is a close approximation of the club head desired. The carbon steel or chrome club head is then by finished by milling, grinding and drilling. The end result is a solid looking, soft metal iron that has a reduced sweet spot. The completed forged irons are aimed towards good players who place importance on the feel to be able work shots and control trajectory.

Cast Irons

The alternative to forged irons is the cast iron. This type of iron involves pouring the liquid metal into a mould. Producing the metal through a mould means that the manufacturers can make more complex head designs. Therefore, cast irons are more suited to the design of today's irons that are perimeter weighted and intricate. It is easier and cheaper than forged irons, which is the reason for the lower price tag.

Steel Shafts

The most commonly chosen shaft for irons, steel has many benefits that suit a set of irons. The carbon steel or stainless steel material is thick and offers consistent torque and flexibility. The advantage of this as concerns irons is the ability to have the same flex and stiffness in your 3 iron as you have in your 9 iron. The reduced price and highly durable features of the metal make it a popular choice for all golfers.

Graphite Shafts

Not as common as steel in the iron market, graphite can still be a great advantage because it is lightweight. This offers a golfer the chance to increase swing speed and perhaps unlock more distance in his/her game. The drawback of graphite is the feel of the shaft. A stiff graphite shaft will not feel like a stiff steel shaft and may mean the feel is not consistent through a graphite-shafted set of irons. The other drawback is obviously price, the process of making graphite shafts is more expensive than steel and this is represented in the price of graphite irons. However, if you are an older, junior or lady golfer who perhaps prefers a light feeling club, then the extra money you spend may benefit your game.

Multi-Material Shafts

A recent addition to the shaft market is the multi-material shaft. This type of shaft combines both steel and graphite in one shaft. Typically it is mainly a steel shaft that utilizes a graphite tip. The steel section of the shaft offers a solid shaft that allows players to control the ball flight more. The graphite tip lets the club have a limited amount of 'zip' into the ball that can help produce more distance. The graphite tip also helps filter out any unwanted vibrations at contact to optimize the feel of each shot.

For more information on shafts, go to the Golf Shafts Buying Guide

How Many Clubs Do I Buy?

This may seem a fairly elementary question but actually there are many options when it comes to deciding exactly which individual clubs you buy. The most common set of irons is from a 3 iron to a pitching wedge (PW). Many better players may choose to buy 2 to 9 iron and leave room to add specialist wedges. The 2 iron will offer them an extra bit of length on their longest iron and another club to use on the tee. A slightly weaker player or older player may decide to choose 5 iron to SW, the reason being that they will leave room for fairway woods and utility clubs in their bag in place of the longer irons, whilst using wedges provided by the set.

Try Before You Buy!

One of the great benefits of buying clubs today, is the option to try clubs and visit demo days. We could not recommend this enough. Just finding the right clubs for you is fine, but unless you actually use them and see how they hit then you may never be sure you are getting the perfect set.

Custom Fitting

Custom fitting is a service offered by all the big manufacturers that has revolutionised many golfer's games. The ability to adapt the specifications of irons to match your size and swing is a very useful method of buying clubs. The average set is designed for a player that is roughly 5 foot 10 inches tall. If you are not exactly this height it is likely that you would benefit from custom fitting.

It involves customising the length of shaft and lie (i.e. the taller you are the longer shaft you will require and you may perhaps need a more upright lie). The shaft stiffness can also be adjusted to suit your swing speed so that the club does not arrive too open or shut at impact. Even the head design can be custom fitted to your swing and desired shots.

Custom fitting will take approximately 30 minutes to do at your local pro shop or golf shop. Some maunfacturers also have fully equipped fitting centres with all the latest technology to fit you like a Tour Pro.  It may cost you a little more than buying a standard set of clubs, but will probably save you money as you wont need to change set as you will have a set perfectly suited to you (so no excuses!)

Demo Days

Demo days where manufacturers offer all golfers the chance to try out all their latest equipment and get advice on specifications and any other questions you might have. Some demo days even have custom fitting trucks with computer analysis equipment to analyse you swing and build you a club to order there and then.