Pro Tip: Golf Iron Comparison Chart by Handicap and Brand

With many brands and models of golf irons available to us, how do we determine "the best irons for me”? If only there was an iron selector tool…

Don’t worry, GlobalGolf’s USelect^® for golf clubs will get the job done for you, but let’s dive into a golf club comparison so you have the background knowledge to make a confident choice.

The truth is, some irons are meant for beginners while others are meant for tour players - with tons of options in between. It’s important to choose irons that fit your game because doing so will allow you to hit those crisp shots we all crave and advance to the next level. This leads us to Pro Tip #4 - make the golf clubs work for you, not the other way around.

Handicaps play an important role in golf because they assign a number to your game that allows you to enjoy competition against every skill level. Developing a GHIN handicap serves as an official way to track your game’s progress in a consistent manner and guide you towards which golf clubs are best for your game.

According to the USGA, the men’s handicap ranges from 0 to 36.4 and the women’s handicap ranges from 0 to 40.4. You may hear buddies with a 0 handicap calling themselves “scratch golfers,” meaning they shoot close to par on 18 holes. The most common handicap is a 15, which puts your average score close to 90.

Below, we’ll dive into each major golf brand’s irons in our golf club selector charts and determine which irons are for low, medium and high handicap players. But first, let’s review a few important terms relating to irons:

Feel free to check out our handicap comparison guides for drivers, fairway woods and hybrids as well.

Mizuno Irons Handicap Chart

Mizuno irons have a reputation of being “better player irons.” While their latest selection of irons are geared toward low handicappers, they do offer a couple options for mid to high handicappers.

Low to mid handicap irons from Mizuno Golf are precision clubs. Their technology is focused more on your golf swing accuracy and power than assisted forgiveness and consistency. If you enjoy shaping shots and have the game for Mizuno golf clubs, you’ll feel like you unlocked the next level of iron play.

The Mizuno JPX921 irons boast increased ball speeds, especially with the JPX921 Forged irons, while the Mizuno Pro irons build on the Mizuno MP-20 irons with more compactness and an improved forged feel.

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Callaway Irons Handicap Chart

Callaway irons are one of the most consistently high performance golf clubs in the market. Ever since they introduced Apex technology, their irons are the perfect blend of accuracy, distance and forgiveness.

Callaway Golf has a solid foundation from which to improve their designs. Another cornerstone of their early days was the Big Bertha line. Callaway finds the pure feel in their clubs and innovates further to deliver high quality game improvement irons for every handicap, not just tour players.

Take the 2018 Rogue irons, for example. Their legacy led to a new-and-improved Rogue ST line thanks to the use of A.I. technology.

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Titleist Irons Handicap Chart

When it comes to irons, Titleist Golf is known for their blade designs and driving irons. You will see plenty of Titliest long irons on Tour utilized as driving irons when the fairways get too narrow. Their T-Series irons are geared toward low to mid handicappers, though that doesn’t mean Titleist Golf has eliminated offerings for their higher handicap customers.

In fact, the T300 irons are some of the most advanced game improvement irons in the market today; slightly larger but packed with the same T-Series technology, the T300 irons increase your swing speed and forgiveness.

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TaylorMade Irons Handicap Chart

TaylorMade Irons also range from low to high handicap options. If you’re looking for a more controlled ball flight and like having some shot shaping skills in your bag, the TaylorMade P790 series is right up your alley.

On the flip side, if you’re a higher handicap golfer, the TaylorMade Stealth irons are designed with a larger sweet spot and a higher launch angle, which means you’ll find more distance and accuracy on your iron shots despite any slight miss-hits. Turns out TaylorMade Golf’s driver technology carries over into their irons.

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Cobra Irons Handicap Chart

Cobra irons have a large offering for every skill level. If you’re looking for control and feel, you’ve got it; if you’re looking for speed and distance - check.

Another fun offering from Cobra Golf is one length irons. Inspired by professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau, these Cobra golf clubs have the different lofts that are typical of a set of irons but also have the same length shaft. Higher lofted clubs have shorter shafts for more control, but DeChambeau believes having all irons at one shaft length will increase your golf swing’s consistency and accuracy.

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PING Irons Handicap Chart

PING irons have mainly focused on Moment of Inertia (MOI) as of late. By increasing the MOI, or resistance of the clubhead in the impact zone, PING Golf has given the clubface a much higher chance to be square at impact, creating straight, long shots.

This is why the PING G425 irons are revolutionary - with their increase in MOI, they are some of the best game improvement irons in the market.

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Cleveland Irons Handicap Chart

Cleveland irons are focused on increasing your launch angle, as noted by the models listed below. Theoretically, the higher your golf ball goes - with the appropriate amount of spin - the longer your carry distance.

By implementing technologies to increase your launch angle and your swing speed, Cleveland Golf has just made plenty of mid to high handicap players happy with their new distance and ball flight.

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Srixon Irons Handicap Chart

Srixon irons offer golfers of all skill levels the chance to play with forged irons. Typically a low handicap recommendation, forged irons have found a way into the game improvement category with Srixon Golf.

On the other end of the spectrum, the latest Srixon irons for lower handicap golfers provide more control and speed with their blade irons.

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Wilson Irons Handicap Chart

Wilson Golf is the dark horse of high-quality irons. Their forged irons, recommended for low handicap golfers, are said to have more forgiveness than expected for this iron category; this just goes to show how different companies utilize various methods of innovation to design the best golf clubs for your game.

Wilson’s mid to high handicap irons tend to focus more on gaining you distance by increasing the launch angle and decreasing the spin; this also leads to more accuracy in your approach shots.

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GlobalGolf’s USelect^® for Irons is Here to Help

While these golf club comparison charts give you some background information on which irons to look into more, GlobalGolf’s USelect^® - our golf club selector tool - will help you narrow down your choices even more with a couple simple questions.

A golf iron selector tool, USelect^® generates recommendations for your game by asking some multiple choice questions about your game. For instance, what is your typical score? What’s your desired shot shape?

All of these scientifically-backed questions from our staff of PGA Professionals have one purpose: to find the right set of irons for you and your game. Our golf club comparison tool is easy to use and filter by your favorite brands and more.

Once you have compared golf irons and narrowed down your choices to a couple irons of interest, take advantage of GlobalGolf’s UTry^® program, where you can demo the latest golf products when, where and how you want.

To decrease the price point on those new golf irons, don’t forget to calculate the best trade-in value for your golf clubs with UTrade-In^® where you can earn credit towards your next purchase.

Comparing golf clubs - and shopping for golf irons by handicap - is a great way to start weeding through all the choices out there. GlobalGolf is here to help you make informed decisions that will help you feel confident and satisfied with your new iron set.