5 Best Golf Irons For The Money in 2022
When it comes to golf irons, then not only are there an array of clubs, but those clubs can also come in at an even wider range of price tags.
Now, you may fall into the trap of believing that the more money you spend on your irons, then the better they will be.
Well, that’s not actually the case.
Instead, you need to identify the best irons that will fit in with your own particular game. At that point, you will have the best golf irons for the money. Also, don’t fall into the trap of always feeling the need to spend a fortune. You are going to quickly learn that this needn’t be the case.
However, let’s go through certain irons that we feel represents general value for money to help you better identify the irons that could very well transform your game.
Table of Contents
- 1. Best Overall - Callaway Strata
- 2. Best For Speed - Best Cleveland Golf Launcher HB
- 3. Best for Distance - Callaway Big Bertha
- 4. Best Individual Iron - Callaway Men’s Rogue X
- 5. Best for Ladies - Wilson D9
- Choosing the Best Irons For Your Game
- Where is Your Game at?
- What to Avoid with Irons
- Overall Conclusion
1. Best Overall - Callaway Strata
Offers multiple irons
Contains high levels of forgiveness
Provides ample control over your shots
Easy to use without complicating matters
The best overall for us has to be the Callaway Strata brand, and if you want to get clubs that deliver on what they promise, then this is where you should head.
While they may not be the most elaborate of irons on the market, that’s not a reason to hate on them. In fact, what they do is deliver a consistent strike over and over again, and that’s a huge deal when you are struggling with your game.
What Callaway has sought to do with the Strata is to produce an iron that covers the basics, and does it well. In this instance, they have succeeded with doing that, and it’s impressive.
The key here is that the irons have a massive sweet spot incorporated into the club head, and the high level of forgiveness is something you cannot miss. This alone will bolster your confidence in your iron shots knowing the clubs are there helping you out.
But there’s also the control you have over your shots. These irons don’t impart too much spin on your shots, and the balance of the irons makes it easy to hit the ball without matters being made too complicated.
The irons are made from stainless steel, and that does make them slightly heavier than what experienced golfers may want. However, when you have a high handicap, it does mean you will need that extra weight to get better control over your shot.
Thanks to the weight, you should not feel as if the club can twist as much leaving it too open or too closed in your shot. That is a huge deal, and it’s something that will benefit your game in those early days.
Overall, we love these irons due to how they play. They are easy to use, and make your iron shots significantly easier than before.
Pros
Cons
Overall Conclusion
These irons are excellent for most people from high handicap players down to mid level players. They are consistent, easy to use, and will simply improve your iron game.
The only potential downside is the weight as that is going to put off some people. However, these irons hit all the right marks for most people starting out where there’s no need to spend a fortune to get a good set of irons.
2. Best For Speed - Best Cleveland Golf Launcher HB
Comes with turbocharged face technology
Has hollow construction for more stability
Hi Bore crown pushes the weight lower
Offers increased ball speed
Provides better distance with your shots
The thing about the Cleveland Golf Launcher HB set of irons is that they are filled with technology designed to really bolster your game. Now, these irons are more in line with tour series irons, so they won’t be suitable for people starting out their golf journey.
There’s a real focus on speed with these irons, and it’s mainly due to the turbocharge face that is built into each club. It means the ball is going to ping off the face without too much energy being lost, and that’s capable of making a significant difference.
With this face, what you get is a steel face that is exceptionally thin. It plays hot, so you will find that the ball will come off the face at real speed, and it will also add some significant distance to your shots.
But that’s not the only advantage associated with these irons.
The hollow construction has the impact of helping cut down vibration through the head. This stability makes it easier to keep control of your shot, and it also provides significant amounts of feedback at the same time.
This construction, which has stability ribs included, is also designed to increase the level of forgiveness linked to these irons. It means you can let rip with your swing knowing the club is there to help you out, and that’s a great thing.
Continuing with the construction aspect, the hi bore crown may not be something you have heard about before, but it’s a great addition. This pushes the weight low in the iron, and that makes it easier to hit the ball, which is clearly a good thing.
Pros
Cons
Overall Conclusion
These irons by Cleveland Golf are excellent at what they offer. They are quite forgiving, and will make it easier to hit the ball, and that’s always a major bonus.
However, these irons are all about touch and feel. If your game is not at that sort of standard, then this could easily get confusing and the game will appear to be even more difficult than it really is.
3. Best for Distance - Callaway Big Bertha
Contains flash face cup technology
Promotes high speed and increased spin
Wider soles offers more stability
Precise CoG gives real balance to the club
Urethane microspheres absorb vibrations
If you thought Callaway Big Bertha was only linked to the driver of this name, then you would be wrong. Instead, this iron set offers you the same explosive power, but with your iron shots.
These irons come with flash face cup technology, and that means the ball will come off the face with real speed and power. This increase in speed will also result in better distances with your iron shots, and it’s possible you will have a few yards added onto your normal shots.
Also, the face of these clubs are all specifically designed, and the idea here is that each club will cope with spin in the perfect manner. That means you can really trust what the club is going to do, and that is a huge deal for your confidence.
The design of the club head means a wider sole, and that also works on the stability of your shots. It sits well on the ground, and it should mean it glides through the turf leading to a better launch angle.
But it’s these urethane microspheres that are the interesting factor with these irons. They have been designed to really work at absorbing the vibrations caused by hitting the ball, and this is pretty unique to these irons.
The intention with absorbing these vibrations is that it means you will achieve substantial feel with the ball, and that’s a good thing. It means you can learn so much about your shots, and this is something that you cannot do when your hands shake due to the vibrations.
Overall, these irons are about power and feel. They do an exceptional job of achieving this, and if you never thought about Big Bertha being linked to irons, then now is the time to change your opinion.
Pros
Cons
Overall Conclusion
Overall, the Big Bertha set of irons by Callaway is an excellent example of how to get increased distance in your iron shots via technology. With increased power and feel with your shots, it will be easy to improve your iron game as a result of these clubs.
However, increased feel can be off-putting for new players, and it does mean these clubs are aimed more at mid to advanced players, so we take off part of a mark as a result.
4. Best Individual Iron - Callaway Men’s Rogue X
Comes with 360 face cup technology
Incorporates urethane microspheres for reduced vibration
Technology included for improved ball flight
Seeks to boost distance of your shots
The Callaway Men’s Rogue X is an amazing iron on its own, and that is why we have sought to include it in this list even though other options have been more to do with sets of irons.
It also contains the same urethane microspheres that we mentioned earlier, and it has the same impact of reducing the vibration that comes through the iron. It leads to improved feel with the club, and you stand a better chance of improving your game as a result.
It too comes with the 360 face cup technology, and it leads to improved ball speed when being addressed, and that is a seriously good thing. It changes how much energy is lost between club and ball, so you will then see improved distance with your shots.
Overall, this club is going to offer consistency with your shot, and it has a good enough sweet spot to allow you to let yourself go with the power aspect. Add in improved distance, and better feel with your shot, and it means your game may be transformed with this iron.
Pros
Cons
Overall Conclusion
This single iron is a wonderful club, and that is pretty obvious once you start taking on a few shots with it. An improvement on distance and speed will happen naturally, and the feedback you get on your shots will allow you to really work on your game.
However, it still falls into that area where not everyone needs that feel and feedback. It’s aimed at mid to low handicap players, so if you are new, then this may not be the right club for you.
5. Best for Ladies - Wilson D9
Creates higher speeds and distances with a flexible face
Contains urethane power holes for larger sweet spot
Low CoG to give added consistency
Improved launch angles
Includes improved control around the green
These Wilson D9 irons are all about speed and control, and Wilson has been able to achieve this in a number of ways.
First, they have included urethane filled power holes on the face, and this is going to help increase the sweet spot according to Wilson. It means you can let go with your shot knowing the iron is there to help correct small errors that may be in your game.
The irons also come with a flexible face, and this is designed to boost the speed and energy transfer between club and ball. By adding in some flexibility, it means less energy is lost, so all the power from your swing is put onto the ball when you address it.
And then there’s the lower CoG. According to Wilson, the CoG here is the lowest they have ever made, and they say it will improve the launch angle and added consistency. Once again, this means you can swing with confidence.
Finally, the balance of these clubs, along with that CoG is going to change your control of your shots, and it will do so for the better. This will become even more important when you are in and around the green.
Your shots will not run away from you around the green, and that will make a huge difference to your overall game.
Pros
Cons
Overall Conclusion
These irons are fantastic, and the difference they can make to your game will be pretty astonishing for you. The improved speed, distance and control does mean they cover every eventuality, and that’s clearly a great thing.
To be honest, you need to be quite picky to find something wrong with these irons. The only thing we can come up with is the lack of feel which, for some people, may be important.
Choosing the Best Irons For Your Game
So the different irons we have listed above are all excellent in their own right and what they can offer, but how do you choose the one that does indeed represent the best value for money?
Well, the key is in understanding your game. Only after becoming aware of your own game can you then look at getting the right irons that will correspond to your strengths and also improving on your weaknesses.
So, this is what you need to do to get the best golf irons for your money.
Where is Your Game at?
Get advice to gain some understanding on where your strengths and weaknesses are with your iron game.
As you look through the different options we have included here, you will see that some focus on distance, others speed, and others control. That is why we recommend you learn more about your own game.
Of course, it also fits into your handicap.
A High Handicap
If you are starting out, then you don’t need irons that offer exceptional feel. In that instance, you want irons with an impressive sweet spot, and where they will support your shots and help you out with mishits.
You want irons that make it easy to hit the ball. You want irons that deliver improved speed and distance without you having to stress too much on your swing and how you can deliver those outcomes.
Mid Handicap
If you are looking at a player with a mid handicap level, then things change as to what you need out of your irons.
Here, you want to be able to play around with your shots a bit more, so the sense of control and feedback from your irons starts to become important. You still need that high level of forgiveness due to the penchant for the occasional wild shot, but it does become less important.
Low Handicap
With a low handicap, you want almost full control over your shots and the ability to manipulate the ball as much, or as little, as you want.
This will change the irons you are looking for once again, as you want to play around with spin and what the ball does after you make contact. The sweet spot is still important, but it’s important because of the control aspect.
What to Avoid with Irons
So while the main focus has to be on your game when getting the best irons for money, there are several things to avoid with your new irons.
If you tend to get too much height on the ball, then avoid irons that improve the trajectory. You will lose significant distance on your shots as a result.
If you have a fast swing speed, then don’t go for irons that boost speed. This is key if you are new to the game or you will lose control over your shot, and that’s not a good thing.
Of course, the opposite also applies. Some clubs that don’t boost speed would be useless for people with a slower swing speed.
Basically, you need to avoid irons that include aspects in their development that will hinder your game, or make the areas where you struggle even worse than before. That is a no-brainer, but it does feed back into the earlier point about knowing where your game is at.
Overall Conclusion
Finding the best golf irons for your money is easy, but only when you know what you are looking for. You should be seeking a balance between value, and what it can offer your game. In this instance, the Callaway Strata is the best.
The Callaway Strata will help various aspects of your game, and it will do so without breaking the bank. However, we do also recommend the Wilson D9 for female players as those irons are also outstanding.
But overall, the best golf irons for the money will be those clubs that help your game. If they are able to bring down your handicap and knock some shots off your round, then they are the ones that represent value for money.
However, don’t overspend when starting out. Equipment can only do so much when it comes to helping you, and at first you don’t need a huge amount of technology that can do all sorts of fancy and elaborate things.
Keep it simple and your irons will ultimately make a real difference to your game.
