Are Players-Distance Irons the Best Choice for Your Golf Game?


Photo courtesy of Cobra
You're a low-to-mid handicap golfer looking for a new set of irons. You've improved over the last year and are ready to move on from the game-improvement irons in your bag. You've been seeing an instructor, and as a result, your confidence is high. You’ve already determined if blades or cavity back irons are right for you, but you’re still looking for some extra distance, consistency, a smaller sole, some forgiveness, and you're okay with a smaller sweet spot.
Welcome to the players-distance irons category. Let's take a look at the different iron categories and see if players-distance irons are right for you.
Types of Iron Categories
There are basically four categories of golf irons—it's nothing official but well-accepted across the golf community. 1. Players Iron: Designed for tour-level or advanced-level play. 2. Players-Distance Irons: Designed for better players that want some extra distance. 3. Game Improvement Irons: Designed for mid-handicap players. 4. Super Game Improvement Irons: Designed mostly for beginners and those with slower swing speeds.
How to Determine Which Is Right for You?
First, you need to determine which type of iron player you are. You could fall into one category or be a combination of two categories. It just depends on your game. You might like some features of one category and other features of a different category. Do you like hollow construction? How's your turf interaction? Do you need a higher launch? Do you like forged irons? There are a lot of variables you could begin to consider.
Other things to consider are your ball speed, club loft, ball flight, swing speed, and if you prefer clubs that are offset or cavity back.
As a teaching golf professional, it is interesting to see what clubs my students use and how they decide to purchase a set. A few of my students fall within the players-distance irons category, and as better players, they can hit the ball as needed and rely on a good short game.
One of my students is a 9-handicap and falls right in the middle of the player-distance irons range. He had some older clubs that were very forgiving and he hit them well, but they were more of a game-improvement iron. One day he asked me how to “work” the ball more, specifically how to “fade” the ball on demand.
As I looked at his swing, he hit the ball pretty straight, but it didn’t draw or fade as easily, on demand. He had nice clubs, but as mentioned, they had a lot of forgiveness built into them. He told me that he hadn’t tried out other clubs in a few years. Why would he? He was a 9-handicap and was happy with his game for the most part.
So I asked him to hit some with my 7 iron which is in the players-distance iron category (I’ll let you know which ones I use in the recommendations below). He started out with some chip shots just to get the feel of the small sweet spot, and eventually, he progressed to full swing. Once he figured out his tempo with my club, you could see that he felt more confident in how he hit my club.
Now we were ready for the test. I asked him to hit some fades. He smiled. He was hitting some very good fades. He said it just felt easier to work the ball compared to his clubs. That is because my clubs aren’t designed to be as forgiving as his clubs and had less offset. He eventually bought a set of players irons clubs and dropped to a 5-handicap. He said that he just felt more confident with the new irons and could reach his targets a bit easier.
So what exactly do you get with players-distance irons?
Features of Players-Distance Irons
- Players-distance irons are perceived to be better overall for all players.
- Generous use of tungsten weighting minimizes mis-hits on shots.
- Technology and artificial intelligence are used to create more speed and distance.
- Increases distance with the look of a blade iron from short irons to long irons.
- Toplines are thinner than game-improvement clubs.
- Large selection of options for this category to choose from.
- Good spin control.
- Off-center hits on the heel or toe are stabilized.
- The clubs offer good forgiveness on mis-hits.
Do some of these features fit with your game? Then you might be ready for the players-distance irons.
These clubs just ooze “player, player.” If you have consistent mis-hits, then you might want to look at more forgiving clubs, but for those who want to increase their distance while minimally relying on club forgiveness, there is a wide selection from nearly every brand, including: Cobra King Forged Tec, TaylorMade P790, Titleist T200, Ping i525, Callaway Rogue ST Pro, and Callaway Apex irons. More would include TaylorMade P770, Titleist T100s, Mizuno JPX921, Wilson D9 Forged, and Mizuno Pro irons.
These are my top three recommendations for players-distance irons:
1. Callaway Apex Irons
The Callaway Apex Irons are very nice clubs. They are forged and pleasing to the eye. The top line is not too thick or too thin, and the artificial intelligence technology shines through with the result of faster ball speeds, better spin performance, and more distance.
They are offered from 3 iron to approach wedge (AW), which is a wide selection of clubs to choose from for your golf bag.
Designed for the low-to-mid handicapper, these clubs offer a lot of features:
- Artificial Intelligence Flash Face Cup technology to improve ball speeds and distance.
- Tungsten Energy Core is a weighting technology used to help with off-center hits, meaning you don’t have to hit the ball perfectly every time and it can still go in the right direction.
- 100% forged feel from 1025 mild carbon steel with urethane microspheres to give some cushion and smooth feedback.
- The standard amount of offset is just for that extra bit of help of forgiveness and more of a draw.
2. Cobra Forged Tec Irons
The Cobra Forged Tec Irons are impressive. There is a lot of technology packed into the Cobra’s version of the players-distance irons. They are fun to look at and swing with confidence. There are a few reasons why Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau, and Lexi Thompson have Cobras in their bag. They offer a lot of value and instill confidence with all their features.
- Made with 1025 carbon steel, these forged clubs have a soft feel that provides good feedback upon hitting the ball.
- The popular hollow body design technology with 65 grams of specifically placed tungsten provides distance and help on off-center shots.
- A foamed-filled cavity works well with the thinner PWRSHELL face technology to help with launch, distance, and forgiveness.
3. TaylorMade P790 Irons
The TaylorMade P790 Irons are the ones I have in my bag. These forged irons are nice at address and offer me a load of confidence. When I was getting fitted, I thought I would get another set of Callaways since I had played them for so long. But something just felt right about these TaylorMade irons and they ended up on the course with me.
Technology, feel, looks, and value is what these clubs represent.
- Hollow body construction with SpeedFoam Air construction provides a flexible face, fast ball speeds, and just the right amount of feel and sound.
- Forgiveness comes in the form of tungsten weighting that allows for a bigger sweet spot and mis-hits that we all have experienced from time to time.
- Inverted cone technology has been used for years now and offers better distance and optimal forgiveness.
Final Hole
If you have the swing for the players-distance irons category, then you have a lot of options at the golf store.
Take an open mind to the store when you try out new clubs and find out what is important to you.
Me or another Curated Golf Expert can find your new set to take to the course. When you finish the round with your best score, smile and say, “thank you,” to the golf gods. Enjoy the round!