Our Best Irons of 2017 test has been ongoing for a number of months now.
Our equipment editor James Savage (handicap 17) has been tinkering around with his bag for the last few months and in that time he has tried and tested a number of new irons to the market.
Editor Dan Murphy (handicap 3) is a Ping loyalist and has had the i200s in his bag this year.
In December 2016 we were invited over to Florida to have a first look at the new TaylorMade M1 and M2 irons.
Since each launch we have conducted a number of individual reviews and comparison tests and have been using each set of irons out on the course as often as we can.
Best irons 2017 – The methodology
When it came to putting a conclusion together, James and Dan spent a day at Moor Allerton in Leeds hitting each iron without using Trackman.
We felt we had gathered enough launch monitor data on these products so wanted to think about more about how much confidence they gave us at address, what they sounded and felt like and how much fun we had hitting them.
We set up 150 yards away from the pin and hit each iron a number of times to get a sense of the feel and performance.
Each iron we hit had been custom-fitted for Dan or James with exception to the TaylorMade P770’s.
Here are the findings from James and Dan, presented in alphabetical order…
Callaway Steelhead XR/Epic Pro irons
James:
Very long, very forgiving,and very easy to use. Does everything you’d want it to but perhaps just lacking a little bit from a style point of view.
Dan:
There’s obviously a phenomenal amount of tech in the club to justify its super-premium price point but you can’t see any of it at address. It’s a very clean and simple look. The feel off the face is pure.
