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120
Hours
Researched
9,481
Shots
Hit
16
Products
Considered
34.4m
Readers
OUR JOB IS YOUR GAME.
What characteristics determine a great players iron?
Is it distance? Accuracy? Control? A little added forgiveness? We’ve found that it’s a combination of all of the above. This year we leveraged our testing facility in Virginia to deliver the most comprehensive, unbiased Players Iron Test in the world.
For this year’s test, we have yet again refined our analytics and added another piece to the puzzle – statistical significance. Our 2018 Most Wanted Players Iron test has more iron models, more shots, and more reliable results than ever. If you’re in the market for new irons in 2018, this is for you.
DEFINING THE PLAYERS CATEGORY
17 of the top non-blade players irons were put to the test. The clubs tested, while not quite the butter-knife blades your grandfather played, maintain the workability better players demand and offer that bit of forgiveness we all need.
The target handicap for this iron category ranges from scratch(or better) to the high single-digits. The designs of these irons feature more compact head profiles, small cavities, and minimal offset.
DISCLAIMER: While we all want to game the same irons as the pros, the clubs in this category aren’t for everyone. These players irons are designed for golfers who hit the center of the club face more often than not. Miss and the punishment will be more severe than with game-improvement or super game-improvement irons.
ADVANCED GOLF ANALYTICS
Data matters. And when it comes to finding the right equipment, it’s critical. We help solve this by applying the largest connected set of head-to-head data to tackle one of golf’s biggest challenges.
All testing was conducted inside our fully independent test facility located in Virginia. All testers used Bridgestone Tour B-RX golf balls for consistency and to reduce test variables. All ball data was collected using the world’s most trusted launch monitor, Foresight Sports GCQuad. All head data was captured using the Foresight’s HMT.
- SHOTS HIT: 9,481
- DATA POINTS: 426,645
- TIME: 120 hours
- TESTERS: 20
- HANDICAP RANGE: +2 – 8
- AGE RANGE: 23 – 64
- DRIVER SWING SPEED RANGE: 90 mph – 120 mph
- IRONS TESTED: Three irons, a short, middle, and long iron from each set
Data. Aggregated. Normalized. Delivered.
RESULTS AND RANKINGS
Our rankings aren’t determined inside a conference room. We don’t have a panel, and there are no votes. The launch monitor is the one and only judge. For our 2018 Most Wanted Players Iron test, we collected a standard set of launch monitor metrics (ball speed, launch angle, spin rates, distance, etc.).
Our Most Wanted winner is the club that finished in the statistically significant top group (based on Strokes Gained) for the highest percentage of our testers. To simplify things a bit, we call the final order TRUERank; a metric that includes the order of finish (rank), along with the percentage of golfers for whom each club was shown to be in the top group.
For more information, view our How We Test page.
2018 Players Irons Rankings
2018 Most Wanted Players Iron Data
2018 PLAYERS IRON TEST
Club Name | Long Iron Rank | Mid Iron Rank | Short Iron Rank | TRUERank |
---|---|---|---|---|
New Level 902 Forged | 15th | 4th | 16th | 14th |
Titleist 718 AP2 | 3rd | 5th | 5th | 6th |
Bridgeston Tour B X-CB | 5th | 11th | 5th | 8th |
Edel Variable Length | 5th | 10th | 14th | 9th |
Fourteen FH-900 | 10th | 14th | 2nd | 9th |
Cobra Forged ONE | 13th | 16th | 8th | 15th |
Cobra Forged Tour | 15th | 15th | 8th | 16th |
PING i200 | 10th | 11th | 8th | 12th |
Mizuno MP-18 MMC | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | 2nd |
TaylorMade P770 | 3rd | 7th | 1st | 3rd |
Mizuno MP-18 SC | 5th | 1st | 2nd | 1st |
Titleist 718 TMB | 5th | 11th | 8th | 9th |
Wilson Staff Tour V6 | 5th | 3rd | 14th | 7th |
VEGA VDC-01 | 14th | 7th | 8th | 12th |
Callaway X Forged | 1st | 7th | 5th | 5th |
Srixon Z765 | 10th | 2nd | 8th | 3rd |
Below you’ll find the data from our 2018 Most Wanted Players Test. Note that you can use the Iron Model filter to limit the display to specific models. Also note that, by default, we show the comparative metrics for long irons. To see middle and short irons, use the Iron Type drop down located on the top right of the charts.
Clay
5 years ago
I know this is an older article, but how can a club with the largest shot area be the 2nd most wanted?