On the whole golf can be an expensive sport, but it doesn’t have to be. Choosing the right iron set can be the difference between an average round and your personal best, but quality doesn’t have to come at a premium. We recognise that not every golfer is looking to break the bank for performance. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to the best budget irons for 2025, to help you find reliable, forgiving, and affordable options.
- RELATED: Best Irons for Beginners 2025
- RELATED: Best Irons for Mid Handicappers 2025
- RELATED: Best Irons for High Handicappers 2025: Easy launch and distance
For those looking to get started in golf or those on a budget, there are plenty of options for affordable golf irons that still offer quality performance. We have tested all the latest budget-friendly offerings from the top golf brands performance and feel, as well as price.
Read on to discover our top picks for budget irons in 2025, and find out which set could be your best for you this season…
Best Budget Golf Irons 2025
Callaway Rogue ST Max irons
Reviewed by Jack Backhouse
There’s no getting away from how big these irons are. At address the Rogue ST Max irons almost make the ball look small, which is good as these clubs are designed for a player who wants maximum forgiveness and distance. They sit with the classic Callaway iron style and have the strongest lofts in the Rogue ST family.
The results do not disappoint, these irons are crazy long. From what I would consider being fairly average club head speed averages, I was able to hit a 9 iron that carried 149, a 7 iron that carried 180 and my longest 5 iron went 204 CARRY. This was easily the longest Rogue ST iron model.
The Rogue ST Max are not only long but also incredibly forgiving. Strikes from places other than the centre also flew extremely far and felt really solid. I even had mishits with the Rogue ST Max irons that fly further than a good strike on my current irons. Not a good look for the old blades.
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The only downside I see with the Rogue ST Max irons would be that the spin on the shots is very low. This is great if you want more distance but not good if you’re trying to control it, and would give me problems when hitting into greens. I would also probably have to add at least two more wedges into my bag to fill some gaps created by the irons going so far.
Pros:
- Long
- Consistent ball speeds across the face
- Strikes feel powerful
Cons:
- Chunky heads won’t suit the eye of all players
- RELATED: Read our full Callaway Rogue ST Max irons review here.
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PROS
- Long
- Very forgiving irons on off-centre hits
- Strikes feel powerful
- Arguably the best golf irons on a budget
CONS
- A lot of offset won’t suit the eye of all players
- Crazy ball speeds make distance control hard with short irons
- RELATED: Read our full Ram Golf FX77 Irons review here.
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These irons are forged from 620C steel, which provides a really soft contact feel. When you use a blade, your primary concern is control, so you don’t want a strike that feels at all fiery from the face.
I found controlling the flight in terms of trajectory and shot shape really easy with the Takomo 301 MB irons. I love hitting it higher and lower and attempting to work shots into different flag positions on the green. This isn’t always the most sensible approach to golf, but it makes it loads of fun, and the Takomo’s amplify this.
These irons are excellent for any golfer in any condition, and they have travelled to some exciting venues with me. I took them to Sawgrass to play both the Stadium and Dye’s Valley course. I drove them over to Hillside for a game on the links and even had the game of my life at my home club Sand Moor and shot 62!
PROS
- Out the centre, the contact feels amazingly soft
- Really easy to manipulate flight
- Stunning behind the ball
CONS
- Not forgiving for inconsistent ball strikers
- RELATED: Read our full Takomo 301 MB Irons review here.
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PROS
- Exceptionally long
- Relatively compact shaping
- Forgiving on off centre strikes
CONS
- Not as workable as other models
- RELATED: Read our full Cobra Aerojet irons review here.
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Check out our other buyers guides for 2025 to get fully equipped this season:
- RELATED: Best Fairway Woods for Mid Handicappers 2025
- RELATED: Best Driving Irons 2025: Distance and Control Off The Tee
How do we test irons?
At National Club Golfer we are passionate about producing accurate and thorough reviews and make sure our testing process is rigorous so we get a good understanding of how each club performs.
Each iron is hit with Pro V1 golf balls to allow us to collect launch monitor data with our in-house TrackMan and Flightscope. After this it is time to head out onto the golf course and test the clubs in practice and competition play. We do this across a variety of golf clubs in our base of Yorkshire.
What is important when buying a new iron?
When buying a new set of irons it is important to know what you want from that club to help you improve.
Most people are looking for more distance, each iron model is optimised for different things. Depending on your swing and your impact conditions, you may not actually hit the model that is advertised as the longest, the furthest. So if you want more distance it is always worth giving different models a hit before you make a decision.
For most golfers, especially high handicappers, something that is more forgiving is going to yield the best performance. Most forgiving golf irons have a slightly bigger club head with perimeter weighting for high MOI. They also have a center of gravity that is further back to help players get more height on their shots.
Do you want something that is draw bias? There are so many models out there to help with slice correction, it would be silly not to take a look if you see your ball disappearing into the right trees too often. A closed face and draw bias weighting can get you hitting straighter shots in no time at all.
Don’t forget about the shaft either. Getting the correct shaft can help dial in your spin, launch angle and can also give you some extra distance. Having a custom fitting or trying different options with your local pro can really improve the performance of your new driver.
Best Budget Golf Irons 2025: FAQ’s
What irons are best suited for high handicappers?
High handicappers will often be best suited to game improvement irons as they are designed to help players hit the ball straighter, higher and further.
