What is Forum Member Testing?
MyGolfSpy offers all its community members a unique opportunity to test, review and keep a variety of different golf equipment, apps, apparel and more. Successful candidates are selected by forum staff.
Members who are selected interact, engage and write a review on the specific product while enjoying the fun of trying new gear!
Member testing is vital because it gets gear in the hands of you, the golfer. Our members give honest feedback on how any product or service works for a variety of handicaps and abilities to ensure our readers are even more informed when making purchasing decisions.
To learn more about how testers are selected, head here: Want to be a forum tester?
The Testing Opportunity
The Edel SMS and SMS Pro Irons were one of the premier testing opportunities to kick off the busy 2023 member testing schedule. MyGolfSpy was looking for four forum members to put the Edel iron lineup to the test against their current gamers.
The SMS and SMS Pro irons are offered as stand-alone iron sets or can be used to create combo sets by mixing up the SMS and SMS Pro irons. Lofts are the same throughout the set helping to maximize golfers’ ability to mix the set where they get the most performance.
Both sets of irons boast Edel’s “Swing Match System” which allows golfers to fine-tune the weight and CG of their irons in an attempt to maximize performance. The standard SMS irons are built using a hollow-body design while the SMS Pro irons come as a solid “Precision Grain Forging.”
Selected members were provided with a full set of irons for testing as well as extra weight kits to ensure they got the best fit possible and to allow for some extra testing of the “Swing Match System.”
Once the irons were in hand, our testers were very excited to get out on the course and test Edel’s claims against their own gamers.
Edel SMS and SMS Pro Irons Review
Equipment changes are a big deal for golfers. The look, feel and even presentation of a new set of irons can go a long way to building confidence from the start so that is why we wanted to get immediate feedback on the first impressions of the Edel SMS and SMS Pro as soon as they got their hands on them. Here is what they had to say.
Tester Feedback
getoffmylawn stated “Put simply, these clubs are drop dead gorgeous. As a blended set, Edel has done a masterful job in blending these clubs to appear as a natural progression.”
That wasn’t the only comment which had our testers impressed at first glance.
And GolfSpy BOS added “The Edel SMS Pro Irons are absolutely stunning in the metal. While not classic or traditional due to the weight ports these irons look purposefully powerful.”
Triple_Putt added “Having the ability to move weights around on a golf club is not a new concept, at least for the top end of all of our bags. But it is a relatively new concept when it comes to your irons, the precision side of your bag. Edel set out to create a beautiful set of irons to complement their wedges… They certainly nailed the beautiful part, with the brushed finish and red, black and silver ferrules to match the logo and lettering on the head.”
The remaining testers all had similar things to say, enjoying the red, silver and black color scheme. The Edel Irons scored 49 out of a possible 50 points for aesthetics with our testers. But, as we all know, looks can be deceiving. Do the Edel SMS and SMS Pro Irons live up to the hype and hopes of testers’ initial impressions?
The Numbers and On-Course Results
The testers set out to determine a few things. How well does the SMS weighting work? Did their ball flight change as a result of moving the weights around? Edel was kind enough to send testers extra weights as well so each tester had the opportunity to fine-tune the weighting in their set. Then, of course, the testers wanted to find out if the SMS and SMS Pro irons helped them play better golf.
Tester Results
Getoffmylawn started off after a launch monitor session: “Let me get straight to the point: Swing Match Weighting works. The system absolutely impacts ball flight, and allows a level of customization and optimization that I’m not sure other clubs can offer. Anecdotally, I would offer two more observations.
One, for a “player’s iron” the set, particularly the Pro, is shockingly forgiving. I can only chalk this up to the Swing Match Weighting system and the ability to truly customize the irons to the golfer. For me, moving a little mass to the heel not only improved my ball flight but also improved the quality of strike and my ability to access the sweet spot of the club. Once again, Swing Match Weighting works.”
ejgaudette added: “Throughout the set I found the clubs to have a solid peak height, and trajectory overall. In the last couple rounds I have been working to flight the ball down a bit more and this worked great on both models. The added speed and height from the 4 and 5 iron was welcomed to help with forgiveness and playability of the set.
In launch monitor testing I found the weight system really worked. With a bad set up I was losing 5 to 6 yards and loads of consistency versus when I found the correct weights distribution. Overall, I don’t think I have lost anything at all and in fact the short irons have given me a level of consistency that I lacked with my previous clubs.”
ChitownM2 found his previous gamers were a bit longer but “more importantly for me, the dispersion on the SMS is substantially better. On the course is where I have been most pleased with these clubs. I have seen a higher ball flight and a better ability to drop and stop balls on greens. This probably has the biggest opportunity to help my game if it continues to hold true.”
Triple_Putt commented about how much more forgiving the Edel SMS irons were than his current set “which is the biggest thing I need in a new set of irons. My accuracy is much improved… these Edels just fly straight as straight as my skill level allows almost every time.” He then added, “so how about Edels claim about 5.6 more yards and 15% more accuracy? Well, they actually exceeded that for me in both categories! Picking up 8 yards in carry, and a 43% increase in accuracy.”
Lastly, GolfSpy BOS commented that “loft for loft they’re every bit as long as I think they should be which I think is awesome given the compact shape. I cannot stress enough how awesome the Tri-Milled Sole is working for me. Generally my miss is steep, and when it gets wet out I’ve been known to take some rather long and deep pelts out of the ground. I have had zero of those shots. As it turns out, the milling is more than just a pretty face!”
Overall Thoughts
As each tester wrapped up their six-week review of the Edel SMS and SMS Pro irons, they shared some parting thoughts. To say these testers were impressed with Edel’s irons would be an understatement. Here is what they had to say on their way to giving the Edel irons a great average score of 93/100:
Final Tester Takeaways
ejgaudette summarized his findings: “If you are looking for a highly customizable quality set of clubs, the Edels definitely deserve a shot to go in your bag.The performance is top-notch, the SMS irons deliver distance and consistency and the Pros are a true performance club delivering distance control and workability. Edel has a really strong offering on their hands here.”
ChitownM2 commented: “This is an easy one for me, the Edel SMS irons are staying in my bag. Right now they are the best thing I have going and I’m hoping that over the rest of this season I can bring my game back up to match what I’ve been doing with these clubs and start shooting some personal best scores. I really believe in the movable weight concept behind these irons as I think it’s helping my mishits now and is something that could help me with shot shaping if my game develops to that point.”
Getoffmylawn added simply: “If you can, try them.” He went on to say Edel has “created a phenomenal set of irons that blend together nearly seamlessly and deliver exceptional performance. These irons can be customized in a way no other iron can to help golfers optimize the fit of the club to their swing, and in turn optimize on-course results.”
Triple_Putt mentioned that “out on the course these irons shine. They feel great both off the tee and when in the fairway or the rough. They come through the turf very well and still glide through relatively smoothly even when hitting it a bit too chunky.
These are staying in the bag, no question about it. Having a confidence-inspiring set of irons in the bottom end of your bag does a world of good towards improving your entire game. They keep feeling better and better in the hands and more like an extension of the body the more I play them.”
GolfSpy BOS closed out his review noting that “the Edel SMS Pro irons looks are only bested by their sound and feel. I thoroughly enjoy the confidence they give me when I set up for shots, even with the compact profile. They feel strong and powerful but offer a deeper ‘thwack’ sound that I love and partial shots feel soft like they should, not springy and hot off the face. The milled tri-sole is a fantastic addition to the iron and it may be the sneaky sleeper best feature of the irons over the moveable weights.”
travis
7 months ago
there was no doubt in my mind what these reviewers would think of these irons! I have 4 of edel wedges, and they are by far the best clubs on the market.