CALLAWAY Tour Authentic X-Prototype 3-PW Iron Set

Callaway says you can’t any closer to the Tour Pro experience than with these irons that have been specifically designed for Tour pros (but they don’t say which). Designed by Roger Cleveland, these forged muscle backs are supposed to offer precision shot-making with unparalleled playability. The’ve got a thin topline, narrow sole and shorter blade.

In other words, I can’t play them. But maybe you can.

They’re beautiful clubs, and also the most expensive set I’ve seen in a while at nearly $1,500 dollars. They’re also apparently a limited edition.

ADAMS A3 OS Set 3-5 Hybrid with Graphite Shafts, 6-PW with Graphite Shafts

Why are we all playing with traditional iron sets, when the new hybrid sets hold so much promise in making the game easier?

The Adams A3 OS set is a case in point. Designed from the first to be an integrated hybrid set, it includes 3, 4 and 5 Boxer hybrids, 6 and 7 irons with a hollow back design and cavity backs in the 8 through pitching wedge.

All are designed for ultra high moment of intertia, meaning that even off center shots (the ones that most of us hit) are longer and straighter.

I’m seriously thinking about ditching my TaylorMade XDs for a set like this, or Mizuno’s 950s.

TRX Ion Control

There’s a fine line between a game improvement iron and one that will satisfy the shotmakers. Add in too many improvement functions, and the ball goes straight and naught else. Enhance the shot making capabilities and you have an iron the average amateur can’t hit.

Gigagolf believes that it’s hit just the right notes with its TRX iron. It’s got a host of game improvement functions packed into a traditional shape that’s supposed to allow players to work it. The cavity has been designed to allow for significant perimeter weighting.

Plus, this has that sinister black look I like so much in irons.

Cobra S9 2008 Men’s Iron Set

The 2008 version of Cobra’s S9 irons feature an expanded 3 piece polymer topline and a urethane sole insert. This is designed to create a lower Center of Gravity and a higher Moment of Intertia than the original model. The result is higher launch, more distance and greater accuracy. That’s a good result for a club that already was a 2007 Golf Digest Editor’s Choice.

I find these multi-materials clubs fascinating. It surely takes an incredible amount of metals and plastics engineering to get it all to hold together.

Mizuno MX-950 Men’s Iron Set

I used to think that Mizuno clubs were just for “players,” probably because the guys who played them seemed to regularly kick my butt. Even so, when I went to try a Mizuno driver at a local demo day, I also spent some time with their irons.

As it turns out, there IS a Mizuno Iron for the rest of us. It’s the MX-950, a hybrid design set that features Mizuno’s grain flow forgings. The three and four irons are pure hybrids with tungsten weighting. The five, six and seven are hybrid irons, with hollow core forged steel. Meanwhile, the eight through LW are forged steel cavity backs, with wide soles. The entire set is designed to transition seamlessly from club to club.

I hit these and was really excited about the results. They were easily the most consistent set I’ve played, in terms of hitting good shot after good shot after good shot.  I’d be really interested in seeing how these play out for me over the course of a round.

If I ever had the money to get a new set of irons, these would be a top choice.