The Genesis Invitational

Torrey Pines Golf Course (South Course)



    Golf Digest Logo Hot List

    Best Game Improvement Irons: Performance

    January 21, 2025

    The best clubs in each category of the Hot List reflect excellence across an array of criteria. In Game Improvement irons, the best performing clubs inspire confidence at address and ooze forgiveness. Here is how 32 player-testers evaluated clubs in this category based on the criterion of Performance, with each achieving a minimum of 4.5 stars.

    Callaway Apex Ai300
    $200 per iron | Golf Galaxy
    5.0
    GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE
    Hot List Gold
    $200 per iron
    The Apex Ai300 replaces the Apex DCB and targets golfers who are early in their journey or are looking to step up from the super-game-improvement category. The forged 455-steel face was designed with the help of AI analysis of everyday player impact data in which the topology behind the face is different for each iron—thinner and thicker in areas where it needs to be to create maximum consistency. The tungsten core has urethane with “microspheres”—tiny air bubbles encased in glass—that lowers the center of gravity to help with launch despite slightly strong lofts. Compared to the Apex DCB, the topline is thicker, the sole width wider and the blade length longer. Top 5 in Performance, all handicaps. SPECS: 7-iron: 29 degrees, PW: 42 degrees
    Cobra King Tec-X
    $186 per iron | Golf Galaxy
    5.0
    GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE
    Hot List Gold
    $186 per iron
    The 4- through 7-irons feature a hollow body with soft foam inside to enhance feel and help the face bend. A 70-gram tungsten weight is used to lower the center of gravity to maximize launch. The wide sole also helps with launch and with minimizing fat shots. Consumer feedback led Cobra to design a rounder, slimmer topline and to more neatly hide the offset to provide an appealing look at address. Although Bryson DeChambeau is no longer sponsored by Cobra, the company has continued down the path of one-length irons with the King Tec-X One Length in which every iron is the length and weight of a 7-iron. Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps. SPECS: 7-iron: 27 degrees; PW: 42 degrees
    Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal
    $150 per iron | Golf Galaxy
    5.0
    GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE
    Hot List Gold
    $150 per iron
    The new face on the 4- through 8-irons is 30 percent thinner at its thinnest point or a slim 1.2 millimeters on the low heel and high toe for faster ball speeds. The cupface—in which part of the face wraps around the topline and sole—enhances ball speed throughout the hitting area. Tungsten weighting is positioned low in the 4- through 7-irons to mitigate the loss of ball speed on off-center strikes and to help golfers launch the ball higher. A variable-thickness sole promotes face flex, especially on shots struck low where most iron impacts occur. Lofts on the 7-iron through pitching wedge have been adjusted to provide more consistent gapping and upright lie angles to foster slightly more draw bias. As more consumers are drawn to set wedges for their gap and, sometimes, sand wedges, the JPX925 Hot Metal offers those options. Top 5 in Performance, all handicaps. SPECS: 7-iron: 28 degrees; PW: 42 degrees
    TaylorMade Qi
    $143 per iron | Golf Galaxy
    5.0
    GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE
    Hot List Gold
    $143 per iron
    TaylorMade prioritized reducing the chances of a slice with the Qi. A multi-material cap-back that is lighter than the steel it replaces reduces weight in the high toe, making the club easier to square at impact. The center of gravity is lower in the long irons for easier launch and higher in the short irons for optimal control, launch and spin. It has been a staple of TaylorMade irons for over a decade, but to ignore the heat brought by the “Speed Pocket” slot up to the 7-iron would be journalistic malpractice. Dampers inserted into the 4- through 9-iron have been designed for each iron, with ribbed structures aligning with the contact area to get the impact feel just right. The shape features a longer blade length to improve forgiveness, and the redefined leading edge is designed to help deliver a consistent strike for a higher launch. Top 5 in Sound/Feel, middle-handicaps. SPECS: 7-iron: 28 degrees; PW: 43 degrees
    Titleist T350
    $200 per iron | Golf Galaxy
    5.0
    GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE
    Hot List Gold
    $200 per iron
    The T350 is the company’s most aggressive approach to forgiveness and ball speed with its larger size and wider sole. The high-strength, variable-thickness steel face features the same alloy as the T200 as well as the L-shape that overlaps into the sole for extra rebound at impact. Healthy chunks of super-dense tungsten in the heel and toe foster sumo-wrestler stability on off-center hits. The hollow design houses the polymer-core structure (previously on the back of the T300), moving it closer to the face for better performance and feel. When designing a sole, who better to lean on than Bob Vokey and his wedge team at Titleist. Their work inspired the variable-bounce sole used on these irons. Top 5 in Performance, all handicaps. SPECS: 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 43 degrees
    Callaway Elyte
    $150 per iron | Golf Galaxy
    4.5
    GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE
    Hot List Gold
    $150 per iron
    The hollow-body construction features a variable-thickness cupface designed with the help of AI analysis of thousands of golfer swings. The special high-strength stainless steel is thinner than traditional stainless steels, resulting in a fast-flexing face. Select areas of the clubhead have been stiffened, primarily the topline, to allow the cupface to transfer energy to the ball more efficiently. Tungsten weight encased in urethane microspheres helps drive the center of gravity low to assist launch, and the urethane helps damp unwanted vibrations. Each iron is individually designed, which makes sense given that a long iron is struck very differently than a short iron. The leading edge is, in essence, a pre-worn sole, with each unique to the Elyte iron model based on the anticipated swing type. Top 5 Best Looking, all handicaps. SPECS: 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 42 degrees
    Callaway Elyte HL
    $143 per iron | Golf Galaxy
    4.5
    GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE
    Hot List Gold
    $143 per iron
    Designed for players with moderate to average swing speeds seeking a higher launch with more carry. As with the standard Elyte model, a high-strength stainless-steel cupface—in which the sole wraps around part of the sole and topline—provides Formula-1 speed off the face. The irons feature the RCH S2H2 short hosel that Callaway’s late R&D chief Dick Helmstetter was famous for designing. The shorter hosel saves six grams that were used to lower the center of gravity to achieve higher launch. The sole design—inspired by tour-player input—is efficient to the point that it can add one mile per hour ball speed, according to Callaway. The design of the club’s frame enables more use of microspheres to produce the sound of a one-piece iron in a two-piece club. Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps. SPECS: 7-iron: 30 degrees, PW: 43 degrees
    Cobra DS-Adapt
    $143 per iron | Golf Galaxy
    4.5
    GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE
    Hot List Gold
    $143 per iron
    The L-face insert (in which part of the face wraps around the sole) is used on the 4- through 7-irons to boost ball speed. The face has a new leading-edge channel that extends around the face from the sole into the toe area to help with impacts there. For the first time in a Cobra iron, the interior leading-edge channel has been added to the 8-iron through sand wedge. Cobra engineers used simulated golf-ball impacts to adjust the face pattern and interior leading edge and toe area thicknesses to deliver faster ball speeds. Steel weighting is concentrated low and back to lower the center of gravity and to maximize the face’s ability to flex. The medallion insert and a foam filler improve the feel by damping vibrations. By using a softer 431 stainless steel for the hosel, custom orders can be bent by plus or minus 4 degrees of loft and plus or minus 1 degree of lie angle. Top 5 in Performance, middle-handicaps. SPECS: 7-iron: 27 degrees; PW: 42 degrees
    Ping G440
    $157 per iron | Golf Galaxy
    4.5
    GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE
    Hot List Gold
    $157 per iron
    The face is shallower and thinner compared to the G430 for increased ball speed and a more player-preferred look at address. The size reduction saves four grams per iron that is placed lower and farther back in the head to drop the center of gravity and assist launch. The shaft length of the 4-, 5-, and 6-irons were extended three-quarters of an inch to help golfers launch those irons higher. The four-piece molded ABS badge is more flexible than previous G-series iron badges. It expands and contracts to support the thinner face and enhance feel. The set wedge features the iconic Eye2 shape. The bounce profile, sole design and hosel contours help those less skilled around the greens. Plus it’s just a pretty cool club. Top 5 in Performance, middle-handicaps. SPECS: 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 42 degrees
    PXG 0311 XP GEN7
    $230 per iron | Golf Galaxy
    4.5
    GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE
    Hot List Gold
    $230 per iron
    Compared to the P model, the XP targets middle- to high-handicaps who don’t mind looking at a little heftier clubhead with more aggressive offset and stronger lofts in exchange for extra distance and forgiveness. At its thinnest, the maraging-steel face is just .05 of an inch thick, helping the face to flex. An internal channel in the back delivers even more spring and potential distance. An internal polymer supports the face and delivers a pleasing sound and feel. A lightweight titanium insert in the back saves five grams that is moved to the perimeter for help on off-center hits. A 20-gram tungsten toe weight is used to better align the center of gravity with the center of the face. The weight also adds stability on shots hit on the toe. Each iron is five times forged from 8620 carbon steel and has a milled back. SPECS: 7-iron: 27 degrees; PW: 41 degrees
    Srixon ZXi4
    $186 per iron | Golf Galaxy
    4.5
    GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE
    Hot List Gold
    $186 per iron
    The hollow body was designed with the help of AI, a process that produces way more potential clubhead iterations than humans are capable of in a given timeframe. Unlike the company’s ZXi5 and ZXi7 irons, the body of the ZXi4 is not forged. Instead the cast multi-piece iron uses a forged high-strength steel face insert (HT1770) supported by a cast 17-4 stainless-steel body and hosel that is heat treated to allow for bending. The backside of each iron face is milled in a variable-thickness pattern comprising indentations to provide ball speed while saving mass. The wider sole of the ZXi4 provides a low center of gravity for a higher launch. The extra width also has the effect of playing with more bounce to minimize fat shots. The grooves are wider in the 4- through 7-irons and deeper and closer together in the 8-iron through pitching wedge. This promotes consistent spin from club to club. Top 5 in Performance, low-handicaps. SPECS: 7-iron: 28.5; PW: 43 degrees