YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO IRONS

When I started playing golf two decades ago, if you wanted a new set of irons, you basically had two options: a set of muscleback blades that looked like butter knives and sent shock waves through your fingers if you caught them a bit thin, or a set of super-forgiving boat oars with enough metal to rebuild the Titanic…

Fast forward 20 years and look how much things have changed… for the better. These days, there are irons designed for you if you’re in the world’s top 100 (in fact, there are several). There are irons designed for you if you’re in low single figures but need a tiny bit more forgiveness now and again. There are irons for you if you’re in high single figures and need a bit of forgiveness a little more often.

Then we have irons for mid-handicappers who, on their day, can actually hit it pretty well but need as much help as they can get when it doesn’t quite click. We have irons if you want to hit it further or hit it higher. We have irons if you’re brand new to golf, if you’re young, old, male, female… the list goes on and on.

In fact, a brand like Mizuno – who have built their reputation on brilliant irons – now have eight iron sets in their range, for everyone from Luke Donald to Luke Skywalker. So where do you start if you want to buy a new set? Well, page 81 is a pretty good place.

We’ve tested every brand’s range this year and have the data to reveal how a Mizuno Pro 241 compares to a Pro 245, or a JPX923. But that’s just the beginning: you’ll find lots more at todays-golfer.com