HOT LIST TESTED
Seeking Forgiveness Why better players are converting to game-improvement irons BY MIKE STACHURA
S OME OF THE BEST TOUR players have started switching to game-improvement irons, and at retail in the United States they outsell players irons 5-to- 1, based on Golf Datatech numbers. It’s probably even greater when you go down the range at any golf club and look in people’s bags. Game-improve- ment irons just make the game easier. What do our Hot List testing num- bers say? Using a Rapsodo MLM2 Pro launch monitor, which tracked every shot during testing for the 2024 Hot List, we compared 7-iron shots made by low-handicaps with middle-handicaps who hit both players irons and game- improvement irons. Results show that game-improvement-iron shots carried 5.5 metres further, with some players seeing a 15-metre edge.
to a more compact player iron head, the larger heads of some game-improve- ment irons might be harder to square at impact, leading to offline misses. The opinions of our testers were more one-sided. Game-improvement irons were more forgiving based on the vector ratings for Playability, which measures where a particular iron rates on a scale from “more workable” to “more forgiving.” The larger size and wider soles of game-improvement irons foster confidence. In fact, the word “forgiving” appears 121 times in our players comments for game-improve- ment irons, about twice as often as it appeared in the comments for players irons. By contrast, the word “workable” appears half as often in game-improve- ment irons as it does in players irons. The difference may have more to do
Game-improvement irons for the win, right? Not so fast. The average loft of a game-improvement 7-iron was 28 degrees or 5 degrees stronger than the typical 7-iron loft of a players iron. Also, game-improvement irons are de- signed with wider soles to mitigate fat shots and to provide a higher launch, but we saw limited difference in how high these typical 7-irons flew in both categories. The average apex of a game- improvement 7-iron was a metre lower, even though the lofts were much stron- ger. That’s a testament to the technol- ogy in game-improvement irons that pushes the centre of gravity lower. Game-improvement irons don’t re- ally reduce dispersion, either. Just as many of our testers had tighter disper- sion with the players irons. Why would this be true? If better players are used
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CALLAWAY PARADYM AI SMOKE HL (GAME-IMPROVEMENT) The face design, tungsten weighting and slightly weaker lofts (than the standard Ai Smoke) foster higher launch for players who carry their 7-irons less than 130 metres. 7-IRON LOFT: 30 DEGREES
CALLAWAY APEX CB (PLAYERS)
PING BLUEPRINT S (PLAYERS) Weight saved from an elastomer insert in the
PING G730 (GAME-IMPROVEMENT) A heat-treating process strengthens the 17-4 stain- less-steel face, allowing it to be thinned. This means more face bend for greater distance and extra height. 7-IRON LOFT: 28 DEGREES
This single-piece forging emphasises feel but adds tungsten weights to move the centre of gravity closer to the centre of the face for optimised ball speed. 7-IRON LOFT: 34 DEGREES
long irons is redistributed to help launch and forgiveness. The short irons are forged to emphasise control. 7-IRON LOFT: 33 DEGREES
96 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024
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