Hirekogolf Mantara Iron

Hireko Golf’s Mantara irons feature an ultra-high moment of intertia to reduce twising on off center hit. By strategically removing mass and reapplying it to the low and rear corners of the club, Hireko has created massive perimeter weighting. Hireko says that the wide sole and twin rear wings provide hybrid-like accuracy, while still maintaining the preferred look of an iron. A radiused sole is designed to help prevent “fat” shots and make this the most playable club offered by Hireko.

I think it’s very sharp looking.

Callaway Big Bertha 2008 Women’s Iron Set

Callaway’s 2008 Women’s Irons are designed specifically for women’s swings and to be their most forgiving ever. This set breaks out of the mold by substituting the traditional 4- through 7- irons for I-Brids.  The I-brids are Callaway’s new hybrid-iron blend that feature extremely wide soles and a very low center of gravity to help women amateurs with their biggest problem: getting the ball in the air. The mid and short irons in the set are super-game improvement models with increased offset and a huge hitting area. The entire collection has been designed to offer a progression with consistent distance and optimal trajectories.

Women’s golf is an underserved market. It’s not enough to simply rebrand a men’s club and color it pink and blue. Women have specific swing issues and designers need to work on them from the ground up. It looks like Callaway has taken this approach.

New for 2008 are Callaway’s FT Irons. Like the older Fusion models, these are hollow, with a thermoplastic urethane filler called Sensert, which is designed to decrease vibration and produce a solid feel. They have a Tunite cradle designed to move the weight to the perimeter and a titanium face for faster ball speeds.

What makes them different is a thinner topline and more narrow sole. This is supposed to make them more appealing to the mid and lower handicappers. I didn’t think that the Fusions—and especially the second edition --- had the volkswagen-on-a-stick look of most of Callaway’s game improvement clubs, but these are supposed to have an even more traditional look.

I liked the feel of the Fusions and am looking forward to trying a set of these.

Interestingly, this set comes in 4-AW.

You can get them at ”Golf Galaxy.”

Acer XP 905 Pro Iron

Hireko Golf’s new Acer XP 905 Pro Irons are designeds for low to mid handicapper seeking reduced offset, low ball spin and high flight trajectory. The Pro features stainless construction and the same deep undercut cavity and heel/toe “notch” weighting as the original XP 905’s. The new XP Pro’s offer maximum perimeter-weighting and a high moment of inertia for ultimate shot shaping control. The low center of gravity creates a higher launch angle and more solid feel at impact.

You can get a set for as little as $180. And with Hireko Golf’s 60 Day Playability Guarantee, there’s no risk to try.

Nike Slingshot 4D Men’s Iron Set

Progressive iron sets are all the rage. They come from the obvious, but belated, realization that a nine iron is not just a shorter four iron.  Now in addition to varying loft and length, designers are repositioning weight, resizing soles and shifting offset to make each club as playable as possible.

When I started making clubs, the pro I worked with told me that in every set, there is one “favorite” club. That was the club where the length, loft, lie, swing weight, sole width and weight distribution came together perfectly. The goal of designers now is to make every club the “favorite” club.

The new Nike Slingback 3d Irons are a case in point. The slingback—which has been used in other successful Nike designs—is positioned differently in each club to create a specific ball flight. The long irons feature wider soles for a higher launch, while the soles on the short irons are thinner for greater control. Finally, progressive offset is designed to make each club as accurate as possible.