Hot List
Best Super Game Improvement Irons: Look / Sound / Feel
The best clubs in each category of the Hot List reflect excellence across an array of criteria. In Super Game Improvement irons, the clubs with the best combination of Look/Sound/Feel achieve this in one of two ways. The all-hybrid sets provide needed confidence at address, and the iron-like sets offer a pleasing aesthetic and generally better sound. Here is how 12 players evaluated clubs in this category based on the criterion of Look/Sound/Feel, with each achieving a minimum of 4.5 stars.

Mizuno
JPX925 Hot Metal HL
$150 per iron
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Golf Galaxy
GD SCORE
GD HOT LIST SCORE
Hot List Gold
$150 per iron
High-strength chromoly 4140M steel is used for the face. The hitting area is thinned around the perimeter, increasing rebound for maximum ball speed.
The wide sole teams with tungsten weighting low in the head of the 4- through 7-iron to help golfers get the ball up in the air.
Internal ribs are used to provide a softer feel yet explosive sound at impact.
Mizuno used data gathered from its shaft optimizer to determine that golfers with slower swings had difficulty achieving sufficient height on iron shots. Consequently, the lofts on these irons are up to 3 degrees weaker than the standard and Pro models.
Balanced weighting of the iron’s frame improves control while maintaining forgiveness.
Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps.
7-iron: 31 degrees; PW: 45 degrees

Callaway
Elyte X
$143 per iron
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Golf Galaxy
GD SCORE
GD HOT LIST SCORE
Hot List Gold
$143 per iron
Callaway used AI analysis of average-golfer impact points to selectively thin areas on the face to maximize ball speed. The face also wraps around the topline, sole and toe to further widen the springlike effect.
A metal-injection-molding process fashions the internal tungsten weighting to better position the center of gravity.
That weight is encased in urethane microspheres that helps deliver a soft feel.
The lofts are super strong, but the oversize construction and wide sole allow them to launch broadly equivalent to irons with more conventional lofts.
Also assisting launch is a shorter hosel, which saves six grams that is relocated low in the club to make getting the ball in the air easier.
The pre-worn leading edge of the sole helps prevent digging at impact.
Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps.
7-iron: 28 degrees; PW: 41 degrees

TaylorMade
Qi HL
$143 per iron
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Golf Galaxy
GD SCORE
GD HOT LIST SCORE
Hot List Gold
$143 per iron
The multi-material cap back is lighter than the steel it replaces and wraps around the high-toe area. The reduced weight in that area makes it easier to square the club at impact, reducing the chance of hitting a slice.
The center of gravity is lower in the long irons to boost trajectory and progressively rises, allowing for controllable short-iron shots that don’t balloon.
The irons feature extreme heel-toe weighting to provide stability across a wide swath of the clubface.
Slots on the sole allow the face to bend, particularly on shots hit low on the face.
A “hybrar” compression damper helps get rid of those nasty, unwanted vibrations that typically come with shots struck off-center.
Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps.
7-iron: 30 degrees; PW: 44.5 degrees