A set of irons is arguably the most important purchase when filling your golf bag. Irons comprise most of the clubs in your bag, and most of the strokes you’ll take on the course. While the best way to find the perfect irons for you is to get a professional fitting at a specialty golf shop, this may not be an easy option for everybody, but is certainly worth the time. 

So, we’ve made a guide that covers the most important aspects of how to choose golf irons:

Consumables	Tees, balls, towels, and even gloves are all consumable items that golfers always replace. This means that a golfer of any experience level can appreciate having extras of all of them.
Distance	How far a ball goes based on things like clubhead speed, ball speed, launch angle, spin rate, and descent angle.
Workability	The ability to purposefully shape your shots with slight adjustments to your swing.

All of these will impact how well a golf club suits you when you’re on the course, and they can all be considered no matter what brand of club you prefer or what type of club you’re shopping for. Things like shaft flex and grip material/size can also impact your experience with your irons, but these can be adjusted no matter which iron you get, so we are only covering the things that are harder to change after purchasing your set of irons.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness refers to how well the ball maintains height, spin rates, and flight path on off-center strikes with a given club. This isn’t just for newer golfers– even the best golfers prioritize some forgiveness in their irons to ensure consistency when they golf in sub-par conditions.

These are some of the ways that manufacturers can add forgiveness to their irons:

Low/Rear-Biased CG	To increase MOI or the amount of playable surface area on the face, manufacturers will move weight lower and deeper in the clubhead increasing forgiveness on off-center strikes. This sometimes means making the clubhead thicker to provide more space in the rear to add weight.
Turf Interaction	To improve the way a club glides over the turf you’re hitting out of, manufacturers will change the shape of the club’s sole to enhance turf interaction and keep a club from digging into the ground.
Face Construction	Using better materials in and behind the face, strategic spacing, and weight placement can also improve forgiveness by allowing the face to flex more and provide consistent ball speeds across more of its surface area.

Irons with these features will be easier to hit consistently, and newer golfers who prefer game improvement in their irons will likely want to prioritize these features across their entire set. Golfers who hit a bit more consistently but still want clubs with some level of forgiveness can settle for clubs with only a couple of these features.

Distance

Distance is not commonly overlooked, but it is still important to understand what increases the distance of an iron. The following are some ways manufacturers can improve the distance of their clubs:

Forward CG	Manufacturers can move the center of gravity closer to the face to reduce ball spin and create a lower ball flight.
Weight Reduction	Reducing the weight of a club will typically increase distance by increasing swing speed.
Face Construction	Using better materials in the face and creating space between the face material and the internal weights can improve the energy transfer at impact and increase ball speed.

Newer golfers will likely prioritize distance in their irons since they can be harder to hit far initially. More experienced golfers will usually do the opposite. Since they are usually comfortable with their stock iron distances, they lean toward workability over distance in these clubs, sometimes with a touch of forgiveness to keep their game consistent.

Workability

Workability is a vital aspect of a club for more experienced golfers who don’t struggle much with consistent contact. The ability to shape their shots and increase or decrease ball spin depending on their distance from the green can vastly improve their score.

The following are some ways manufacturers can improve the workability of their clubs:

Smaller Clubhead Size	To make the clubhead easier to manipulate, manufacturers will usually shrink their more workable clubheads.
Weight Reduction	Reducing the weight of a club will also make it easier to manipulate the clubhead and reduce the resistance to minor adjustments made to the swing path and angle of attack, with thin blade-style irons being some of the most workable on the market.
Face Construction	Using different materials in the clubhead can reduce the flex in the face, ensuring that the effect of small adjustments isn’t dampened on impact.

Workability is not something that newer golfers should worry about. Workability is focused on increasing the impact of minor adjustments to a golf swing, and it will also increase the adverse effects of small mistakes, making it difficult to hit consistently if a golfer hasn’t had years of repetition in their swing.

Workability becomes extremely important for those with consistent golf swings in their irons. Intermediate players may prioritize workability only in the shorter irons and focus more on forgiveness and distance as they go up to ensure they don’t sacrifice their long iron game for a more accurate short game. This is why blended iron sets are increasing in popularity, and brands are crafting their new irons with blended sets in mind.

Get a Professional Golf Fitting

It has been mentioned several times throughout this article, but the best way to find the right set of irons is to get a professional golf fitting. Irons comprise the lion’s share of your golf game, so getting the perfect clubs and configurations should only be done by swinging with a few of them in the presence of an expert who can analyze your swing and help you get the perfect result.

Learn How to Choose Golf Irons at Worldwide Golf Shops

Worldwide Golf Shops provides next-level service to customers of all experience levels, with the best-trained staff in the industry. We pride ourselves on our ability to provide guidance to beginners and to share pro tips with even our most experienced clientele, making us one of the best places to learn how to choose golf irons.

Check out our online store to see our industry-standard variety of irons sets and all of the following:

• Golf clubs 
• Golf carts
• Footwear
• Golf apparel
• Golf accessories 
• GPS and tech

At Worldwide Golf Shops, we take pride in offering brands that we guarantee will provide the highest level of value to our diverse range of golfers. Our knowledgeable staff is ready to assist you in finding the perfect golf gear. Find a store near you today!