with what better golfers want to see at address and with their ball flight. Elite professionals are adding game- improvement irons to the long end of their bags. Brooks Koepka uses an old Nike Vapor Fly Pro 3-iron and Will Za- latoris plays the Titleist T350 3-iron, prompting him to say, “I have a game- improvement iron in my bag. So what? I love that thing. It’s my favourite club.” Chris Baingo, a clubfitting analyst at the Titleist Performance Institute, says he’s seen the change in dramatic terms. “Eighty percent of our players on the PGA Tour are using a blended set of irons,” he says. “Their long irons are bigger than their short irons, and al- though amateurs might think they do that because they need more forgive- ness, they do it because they want ev- ery iron in their bag to be separated by eight kilometres per hour in ball speed. That helps them keep the right apex and the right landing angle to hold the green.” We suggest all golfers keep an open mind about their set makeup. The right answer for your bag might not be the one you expect.
GI IRONS: MORE CARRY, SIMILAR DISPERSION This chart shows the results of our Hot List player testing for two players irons, a players-distance iron and a game-improvement iron, all from one manufacturer. Tom Mase, retired professor of mechanical engineering at Cal Poly and a member of the Golf Digest Hot List technical panel, used a Rap- sodo MLM2 Pro launch monitor to collect data from our 32 player testers. The game-improvement iron produced more carry for all our testers but its dispersion wasn’t necessarily tighter.
MEAN OFFLINE RANGE LEFT TO RIGHT (YARDS)
MEAN RANGE SHORT TO LONG (YARDS)
20.0
17.5
15.0
12.5
10.0
7.5
5.0
2.0
0.0
PLAYERS- DISTANCE IRON
PLAYERS IRONS (TWO USED IN TEST)
GAME- IMPROVEMENT IRON
VS.
VS.
TAYLORMADE P7MC (PLAYERS) This compact cavity-back design features a machine- milled face and grooves for more consistency. A thin topline, minimal offset and a narrow sole allow golfers to
TAYLORMADE QI (GAME-IMPROVEMENT)
TITLEIST T100 (PLAYERS) The cavity uses dense tungsten (about 1.5 times heavier than lead) to place the centre of gravity on each iron without sacrificing the forged feel. The CNC face- milling improves consistency. 7-IRON LOFT: 34 DEGREES
TITLEIST T350 (GAME-IMPROVEMENT)
The iron uses a composite badge on the back to help reinforce a thin, flexing face. This saves weight that is redistributed to dial in the centre of gravity. 7-IRON LOFT: 28 DEGREES
The hollow design contains a polymer-core structure that improves ball speed and feel. Tungsten weights in the heel and toe aid both stability and ball speed. 7-IRON LOFT: 29 DEGREES
shape their shots. 7-IRON: 34 DEGREES
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 97
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024
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