“It’s like a driver in the face of an iron.” Every player is different. The higher launch and extra spin made the SGI version a better fit for Singer. Bottom line: When you’re evaluating your next set of irons, boosting all-out carry distance always should be a goal, but maybe put your feelings of what you think an iron should look like on the shelf. Focus instead on what your shots look like. There’s nothing prettier than a whole lot of balls that end up a lot closer to the hole.
counterpart. He averaged seven more metres with the JPX925 HL and had a much tighter miss pattern and a better landing angle. Said Singer of the SGI model, “It produced straight shots with maybe the slightest bit of a draw.” Shane Popham is a 15-handicap who swings probably 20 miles an hour fast- er than Singer. He hit the JPX925 Hot Metal (GI) just as straight but much further than the higher-lofted, spinnier SGI version. “Good shots were electric, booming off the face,” Popham said.
hitting GI irons. Those are substantial consistency gains, but, as noted at the top, the trade- off can be the look of SGI irons. They generally feature a larger overall shape, including a deeper sole, a thicker topline and more perimeter weighting. The good news is, those enhancements usu- ally yield a centre of gravity that is lower to help shots launch higher. A good rule for identifying SGI irons is to use the width of your thumb to measure the depth of the sole. SGI irons feature soles that are thicker than thumb-width, and the soles on GI irons tend to be narrower. In addition, SGI irons usually are designed with greater stability on off- centre hits as well as more offset from head to shaft to aid both higher launch and ease of squaring the face at impact. GI irons try to incorporate some of those properties but in a more compact, thinner head shape and a straighter connection to the shaft. Forgiveness on mis-hits is strong med- icine, but visual appeal can be seductive when it comes to choosing clubs. When we looked at what that same tester group said in our Hot List criterion of Look/ Sound/Feel, the sleeker GI irons fared much better than the bulkier SGI en- tries. Based on our five-point scale, the average rating in L/S/F was almost half a point higher for a GI iron than for an SGI iron. While it’s clear that our players prefer the sen- sory experience of GI irons over SGI irons, our data on ball flight shows that SGI irons would lead to an increased likelihood of hitting greens in regula- tion, and on greens hit, the resulting putts could be 10 to 15 feet closer. Does this mean all higher handi- caps should play SGI irons? No. In fact, none of our testers play SGI irons as their gamers. Picking the right irons is largely based on the individual, and any qualified clubfitter will tell you that whether an iron is categorised as SGI or GI shouldn’t mean nearly as much as how each model performs in your hands. We offer two quick case studies. Matt Singer, an 11-handicap with moderate swing speed, hit the Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal HL (SGI) irons much better than the JPX925 Hot Metal (GI)
HOT LIST TESTED Super-game-improvement irons We had our higher handicaps test the SGI category. Their picks range from the oversized but traditional-looking to sets designed like hybrids from top to bottom. Here’s a sampling:
GARY ABBOTT, 37 13-handicap
SCOTT DICKINSON, 36 14-handicap
RYAN KROLL, 49 10-handicap
ALEX REINHART, 40 11-handicap
Cleveland Halo XL Full-Face
Yonex EZone GT
Cobra T-Rail
Callaway Elyte X
“This club is a rollicking good time to swing. I love the height and the climb on shots. It’s an oversized head, but it’s not distracting. It’s not so much that it gets in the way. Any reservations I had about the size quickly eroded with the distance I had with it.”
“ Stooopid long. Absolute cheat code of a club. Feels like a slingshot, shotgun, sniper rifle and crossbow all in one. Softer but ultra- energetic impact experience.”
“Blasts through the turf well to assist on fat shots. Flight was consistent and forgiving. My mis-hits went straighter than I expected them to based on how the shots felt on contact.”
“The progressive look is an improvement on all-hybrid sets. I liked the longer clubs in terms of how consistent and forgiving they were. Hammer-like feel at impact. Consistent
distance, medium trajectory.”
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 111
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025
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