When we conduct golf club testing, there are always a few clubs we expect to perform well. But then there are the outliers—the smaller brands, new releases and lesser-known products that surprise us by winning a category or even an entire test. Our best golf gear testing is based purely on performance: raw data and numbers that reveal what works to get you closer to the target faster. If you’re curious to see some of the clubs that surprised us with their performance, here are a few standouts.
Haywood Golf: Most Forgiving Fairway Wood
Haywood isn’t a household name when it comes to golf equipment. However, the Haywood Golf fairway wood easily earned the top spot for the most forgiving fairway wood of 2024.
We measure forgiveness by how consistent a golf club is at producing similar shots repeatedly. The Haywood Golf fairway wood had the most consistent ball speed, carry distance, backspin and dispersion of any fairway wood in the test.
What’s even more impressive is that this is Haywood Golf’s first attempt at a fairway wood. It has a little more spin than most testers wanted to see and the distance and accuracy don’t help its overall rating but if you want consistency in your shot outcomes, you’ll find it.
Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D: Best Driver for Distance
We know it’s not surprising for a Callaway driver to be the best golf driver for distance. However, seeing a draw-biased driver win best golf driver for distance was surprising.
When you think about draw-biased clubs, chances are forgiveness and accuracy come into mind. After all, draw-biased drivers are designed to fix a slice. However, the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D was in the top five for distance metrics for more testers than any other driver in the test.
The Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D won third overall in the test. Testers were surprised by what the driver could do, even though it was a draw-biased model. One said, “Stellar balance, very workable, and the distance is there. It also sits great despite being a draw-biased driver.”
Tour Edge Exotics E723: Best Game-Improvement Iron
We refer to the Tour Edge Exotics E723 as the underdogs. Everybody loves a good underdog story and this is certainly one. Tour Edge’s golf products continue to be consistent and accurate.
The Tour Edge Exotics E723 irons scored a perfect 10 for forgiveness (consistency) and held their own in accuracy as well. In fact, the E723 is one of the most accurate 7-irons in the entire test.
If you can accept the concept of performance over subjective appeal, the E723 is the perfect example of a club you should consider.
Srixon ZX5 Mk II: Best Player’s Distance Irons
We measure a golf iron’s accuracy by its Strokes Gained performance. The Srixon ZX5 Mk II not only won our best player’s distance test but also was the most accurate player’s distance iron. If you want to hit more greens in regulation and shoot lower scores, you’ll find the necessary performance in the ZX5 Mk II.
Srixon continues to impress us each year yet it still seems as though the golfing masses underrate the Srixon. Srixon won the best player’s distance iron two years in a row. If you want a blend of performance from a quality iron, give this one a try.
Cleveland HB Soft 2 #1 Putter: Best From 20 Feet
There are two great things about the Cleveland HB Soft 2 #1 putter. It’s the best putter in the blade putter test from 20 feet and it easily won the best value putter of 2024.
If you want performance on your longer putts but don’t want to spend a ton of money, the HB Soft 2 #1 is worth trying. From five and 10 feet, the HB Soft was still consistent. It’s a classic blade style with great distance control at a price that’s hard to complain about.
T Squared TS-912: Third-Place Overall Blade
While we are on the subject of blade putters, it’s important to also look at the T Squared TS-912. This was the first year we included a T Squared putter in our test and it came away with a third-place overall finish.
Most importantly the TS-912 was the best overall putter from 10 feet.
In our testing, the 10-foot distance is a priority as it can really be a score changer. From five to 20 feet, the TS-912 can’t compete with the top putters.
The TS-912 is a wide-blade putter with a round grip that can be helpful for handsy golfers. It’s earned its spot near the top of the best 2024 best blade putters.
Ram Axial Forged Irons: Third-Best Player’s Irons
Although the Ram Axial Forged irons retail for the budget-friendly price of $499, they won third-best overall players irons of 2024.
One of the things helping the Ram Axial forged irons move to the top is distance performance. Distance isn’t necessarily a top concern for golfers switching to players’ irons yet added distance is not something golfers complain about.
Accuracy and forgiveness from the Ram Axial Forged are adequate. One tester described their experience (and ours) with the Ram Axial Forged irons perfectly: “I like it a lot, and I wasn’t expecting to. It has an appealing design and is consistent.”
The Ram Axial Forged irons won’t wow you with their looks, feel or sound but the price tag and performance just might.
Tommy Armour 845+: Best Super Game-Improvement
The Tommy Armour 845+ irons are the best overall super game-improvement irons of 2024. In addition to earning the top spot, the Tommy Armour 845+ grabbed first place for forgiveness and second for accuracy.
These irons retail for $399, making them easily the best-value super game-improvement irons.
Our goal is always to give you the data necessary to see if these golf clubs perform on the golf course. The Tommy Armour 845+ is a perfect example of a golf club that performs well for testers despite most of them not even considering it would win first place.
Sub 70 TAII: Best Wedge For Consistency
If you are searching for the best wedge for your game, distance control and dispersion are two things to consider. The Sub 70 TAIII is the best wedge for consistency. This means that for full-swing, 50 yards wet and 50 yards dry testing, it was the best at producing similar shot outcomes.
Considering the price ($125) of the Sub 70 TAIII, it is a good value wedge that still performs. If you are on a budget, don’t overlook this one.
Don’t see anything on this list that could help your game? Check out all of the winners of 2024 on our list of the Best Golf Gear of 2024.
Lefthack
4 weeks ago
My Haywood 3 wood is the best club in my bag. They finally came out with the 5 wood, but the 3 is still my go to.