The Wilson Staff C300 Forged irons are a new model that aims to bring the Power Holes of the C300 irons into the forged head of a better players' iron.
The head is forged from 8620 Carbon Steel to give it a soft feel and it features the same double row of Power Holes filled with TE031 Urethane on the sole that the standard Wilson Staff C300 irons have.
However the configuration of the five Power Holes is slightly different in the Forged version with three equally sized slots across the front.
Having the slots over a normal face increases the deflection by 27%, which Wilson say should increase distance by 7 yards so they do work.
There are a further two slots on the toe, which is one less than the C300, and then they stop to give a cleaner topline at address in a head that is a little shorter than the standard C300.
Indeed if you were just looking from above then you would not know what is going on in the sole as the C300 Forged has a nice mid-sized top line and decent offset that better players who want a small cavity back iron will appreciate.
The slots also only go down to the 8 iron and then the 9-iron and wedges have a simple forged cavity back design that feels nice and solid.
The shorter irons did sound a little different to the longer irons as they don't have the Power Holes and the feel was nice and solid and comparable with other semi-cavity back forged irons.
The components are top drawer with a Lamkin Crossline grip on a KBS Tour 105 shaft as standard, which is light and stable enough for mid to high swing speeds.
Whilst it has a mid-sized head aimed at single figure players, it does have quite a generous sole with a curved trailing edge that offers forgiveness that is subtly hidden at address.
The sound and feel from the C300 Forged is good, if a little on the hollow side in the longer irons with the Power Holes and they offer a higher degree of versatility than the standard C300.
Comparing them on GC2 with Pro V1x balls and you can see that the C300 Forged produce a lot more spin, but bear in mind that they are forged and not cast like the C300 and the lofts are also 2° weaker.
This puts them more in line with more traditional blade lofts and if you look at them from that point of view, then they are jostling for position in the pack.
At £100 more than the C300, this puts the C300 Forged right up against similar forged irons, not least of which is the Wilson Staff V6 that offers a forged cavity back head for similar money and better players may prefer something without the tech.
Those who want a players iron with more distance could go for the standard C300, so the market for the C300 Forged could be limited to single figure players who want something faster and more forgiving than a blade, but does not look like a game improvement iron at address. If that is you then the Wilson Staff C300 Forged irons are worth checking out.