WHAT IT DOES: How do you make an iron behave like a driver? You begin by using the same face material. XXIO’s Prime features an incredibly strong and lightweight alloy the company calls Super-TIX Plus titanium. Behind the springy face is a structure with two interior slots to provide extra speed, particularly on impacts below the center of the face. Because reducing weight is a primary design goal for XXIO, a new proprietary graphite shaft using a nanoalloy resin is just 44.5 grams. This encourages faster clubhead speed while a soft tip section makes it easier to rotate the clubhead for solid contact.

WHY WE LIKE IT: XXIO doesn’t pretend these irons are for everyone. They are, in fact, designed for golfers with slow to moderate swing speeds. That’s OK, though, because the lightweight technology and fast titanium face go a long way to helping those golfers feel like they have muscles they didn’t know they had. These luxurious-looking sticks are not inexpensive, but making the price more palatable is that XXIO isn’t trying to sell you clubs you don’t need. Knowing that a well-struck 3- or 4-iron is a long shot for this player type, the set intelligently starts at the 5-iron. Read more >>