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My iron journey has been an experiment on my game | Fully Fit 2026

Johnny Wunder — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:43:42 +0000

Welcome to Fully Fit 2026, GOLF’s new platform for providing you with real-golfer insights into what 2026 gear might be best suited for your game. To this end, we assembled six GOLF content creators of varying abilities and ran them through the gauntlet of six full-bag fittings (driver to putter!) at six major club manufacturers in Phoenix and Carlsbad, Calif. Our hope: that you might see shades of your own game in one of our panelists and take some learnings and inspiration from their fitting experiences. In this installment (below), Johnny Wunder details his iron journey around Fully Fit 2026. You may browse each of our panelists’ full 2026 dream bags here:

The quest for the perfect iron set is never really a straight line.

As mentioned in my opening analysis during Fully Fit, I’m getting older (49), my game is a mess due to lack of playing and practice and I’m just at that point where my eyes are looking for comfort and fun VS precision and responsiveness.

I’m that guy who wanted a Porsche 911 for years, and now, at 49, vibed-out minivans hold more appeal. Make sense?

But what’s the end game? Why can’t I just find one set of sticks?

Well, the answer is actually quite fun… I found a bunch of them; they all work, and I’ll explain how and why.

Set 1: Cobra 3DP Tour, my unicorns.

The journey started with a fascination for a genuine new idea: the Cobra 3DP Tour irons.

Cobra’s utilization of a 3D-printed lattice structure inside the cavity wasn’t just a gimmick; it completely altered how they distributed weight. By using a lightweight structure in the center of the clubhead, they saved substantial weight and pushed it to the perimeter, creating an incredibly stable head in a relatively compact footprint. And looking into the future, they have the ability to make any iron your imagination can dream up.

Cobra Tour lead Ben Schomin fit me into a set that is still my favorite top to bottom. They look and feel INCREDIBLE, ball speed/launch/spin, all there. I put these in play at the Battle of the Beach down at Hammock Beach in March, and they were absolutely on point.

Cobra 3DP Tour Custom Irons

The KING 3D Printed TOUR irons utilize 3D printing technology to unlock a new realm of performance. Their one of a kind design features the most forgiving blade shape on the market, delivering the forgiveness that aspirational players need, and the sleek looks and soft feel that better players desire. 3D PRINTED STEEL CONSTRUCTION Each iron is fully 3D printed from 316 stainless steel. 3D printing provides significant advantages over traditional methods of casting and forging, unlocking more design freedom and significant performance improvements. FORGIVING PLAYERS BLADE SHAPE 3D printing has unlocked new design possibilities, enabling COBRA engineers to create a compact blade shape with the mass properties (high MOI, low CG) of a game improvement iron without sacrificing looks and soft feel that better players demand. INTERNAL LATTICE STRUCTURE COBRA took a muscle-back blade shape (similar in size and shape to the KING TOUR iron), and transformed the inside of the blade into a complex internal lattice structure to reduce the weight of the club by 33%. That discretionary weight was repositioned to optimize feel, CG position, and MOI.

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Cobra

On the coastal terrain, these irons were exceptionally stable. Total distance consistency was remarkable because the strike didn’t need to be dead-center to maintain ball speed. But while they served their purpose beautifully, this gig provides new gear to be tested and new fitters to learn from.

They still remain the gold standard of what I tested, so many good shots and a user experience to get excited about.

The Push for one shot shape: PXG 0311T Gen8

PXG 0311T GEN8 Custom Irons

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, PXG

Next came a shift toward a more compact, tour-inspired shape with the PXG 0311 T Gen8. The Tour profile is arguably one of the cleanest shapes they’ve engineered—thin top line, minimal offset, and a short blade length that just looks right at address. The magic here is their updated weighting system that allows you to create nuanced “bias” in an iron head. This (like Cobra 3DP) is a new form of customization that really speaks to me.

I took them out to the Morris County Golf Club Member-Guest. I hit them great overall, but I ran into a persistent left miss on off-speed shots. Why? Because, against the advice of counsel, I overshot the heel weighting while trying to chase a specific shot shape and mitigate ANY right, which threw a heavy, long left miss into the setup.

Even with that left miss, two great things stood out from that week: first, the sheer level of customization you can achieve with their perimeter weights is unmatched; second, the technology actually works exactly how they say it does. Change the weights, change the flight—I just proved it a little too well.

The Comfort Correction: Callaway X-Forged Max

Callaway 2025 X Forged Max Custom Irons

Forged Precision, Pure Feel Crafted from a single piece of 1020 Carbon steel, X Forged Max Irons deliver the soft feel and crisp sound preferred by better players—along with a mid-compact profile that blends workability, feedback, and just the right amount of forgiveness. Clean Looks, Mid-Compact Shape X Forged Max features a more player-friendly cavity back and offset, mid-compact profile, and a refined topline—crafted to appeal to the eye of the better player looking for workability and forgiveness. Tri-Level Sole Design X Forged Max Irons feature a tri-level sole with beveled leading and trailing edge, promoting smooth turf interaction and precise ball control through impact.

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore, Callaway

Seeking a return to a true one-piece cavity back feel with a bit more structural footprint, the transition moved to Callaway and the X-Forged Max. The X-Forged line is a nod to classic Japanese forgings, featuring a pre-worn leading edge that prevents the club from digging too aggressively.

I LOVE THESE IRONS!

Going through this phase underscored how much a sole design impacts delivery. The feel of a pure, single-piece forging is hard to replicate with multi-material construction. Ball speed stayed incredibly tight relative to swing speed, and the spin characteristics were exactly what you want for holding firm greens out of the rough.

The flight was stable and predictable. But the pursuit of optimization never truly stops when you’re searching for that ultimate balance of speed and control. I also appreciate the fact that optically, although this is a player’s distance iron, they look like any tour cavity-back on the market. Compact shape, great lines, and a long iron to short iron progression for launch.

The cool kid set-up: Srixon ZXi5/ZXi7 Combo (Testing)

Srixon ZXi7 Custom Irons

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore, Srixon

This brings us to the present workspace setup, where two options are going head-to-head. The Srixon ZXi combo approaches performance by blending a multi-piece forged face in the ZXi5 long irons (5-6) with a single-piece forging in the ZXi7 scoring irons (7-PW).

Its primary traits are massive ball speed and spin consistency driven by its i-FORGED and MainFrame face technologies. We all know how well these things feel and get through the ground in any condition, and to be fair, I played them for a while last year when I started with Golf.com. I loved them, actually, just hadn’t tried them with Nippon 120X, so here we are.

This is an ongoing experiment to see if this type of platform works best for me, like X-Forged Max the Srixon combo has that “it” factor of look and feel, and it doesn’t hurt that on Tour they still remain one of the alpha irons out there.

The Play Your Best Matrix i540 / i240 / Blueprint S Combo (Testing)

PING i240 Custom Irons

The Tour-inspired i240 advances our popular Players technology, providing added forgiveness along with the control, look and feel that will appeal to a wide range of skill levels. It’s PING’s highest-launching Players model, giving golfers more control and the ability to consistently hit their distance numbers and stop the ball close to the hole. A new ABS badge in the true cavity-back design is 8.5g lighter, and combined with an elastomer insert allows for more perimeter weighting to increase the MOI in the mid and long irons. This helps achieve an 11% reduction in dispersion. The badge and insert contribute to a more desirable sound and a softer, responsive feel from the 431 stainless steel cast head.

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On the other side of the bay sits the project we’ve been dialing in, and it’s a completely different animal. This isn’t off-the-rack; it’s a highly planned blending of three distinct Ping platforms to build a progressive matrix. We started with the i540 in the 5-iron to give me that high-launch, high-ball-speed floor where my speed typically drops off. From there, it transitions into the i240 for the 6- and 7-irons, offering a perfect bridge of mid-iron forgiveness and stability, before moving into the pure, fully-forged Blueprint S for the scoring clubs (8-PW).

To make this mix work seamlessly, we bent the entire set to Power Spec lofts, creating a perfectly linear gapping progression: a 23.5° 5-iron, 28° 6-iron, 32° 7-iron, 36° 8-iron, 40° 9-iron and a 44° pitching wedge. Built 1-degree upright with Nippon Modus 120 X shafts at a D3 swingweight, the build feels incredibly unified. This set is built around problem-solving mis-hits.

On the TrackMan, this progressive matrix solves my north-to-south dispersion issue.

The Blueprint S short irons give me total control over the spin axis and launch angle when I want to flight a wedge down, while the i240 and i540 heads ensure that my long-iron ball speeds don’t bunch up and stay in a fun spot when I hit it thin. Which I do…a lot.

This will be a really fun experiment

WHY THOUGH?

When looking at the hard truths, there isn’t a set here that won’t work; they all have that performance baseline that helps a guy like me.

I wanted to take this summer to understand a recipe for building a great iron set for me as I go into my 50’s, I even considered combo-ingredients OEMS based on each iron. ie. take the best 5-iron, 6-iron etc. They are all the same spec, so I could pull that off.

Is that realistic? no. Is it interesting? yes.

Keep in mind that any good fitter can get you where you wanna go quite easily, I’m just a little nuts and doing this off the reservation.

Ready to overhaul your bag in 2026 like our Fully Fit panelists? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post My iron journey has been an experiment on my game | Fully Fit 2026 appeared first on Golf.

I thought I knew what irons were for my game. I was wrong | Fully Fit 2026

Wadeh Maroun — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 10:31:21 +0000

Welcome to Fully Fit 2026, GOLF’s new platform for providing you with real-golfer insights into what 2026 gear might be best suited for your game. To this end, we assembled six GOLF content creators of varying abilities and ran them through the gauntlet of six full-bag fittings (driver to putter!) at six major club manufacturers in Phoenix and Carlsbad, Calif. Our hope: that you might see shades of your own game in one of our panelists and take some learnings and inspiration from their fitting experiences. In this installment (below), Wadeh Maroun details his irons journey around Fully Fit 2026. You may browse each of our panelists’ full 2026 dream bags here:

Fully custom-fit irons were never supposed to be the headline of this trip. They were just one box to check on a longer list of equipment that needed dialing in.

I had my identity as an iron player figured out: a cavity-back guy through and through, with maybe a more forgiving 4-iron thrown in at the top of the bag for good measure.

Simple. Settled. Done.

Boy, was I wrong.

The Moment Everything Changed

It all came to a head on Day 1 at the Ping Proving Grounds, working alongside Ryan Carr — a legend of a human being and an even better fitter. We started exactly where I expected to start: cavity-backs, with a more forgiving long iron up top. On this particular day, that meant Ping Blueprint S irons paired with an i240 at the 4-iron.

We went through the motions. The numbers came in exactly like they always had. The good swings were genuinely good — tight dispersion, solid numbers. But the misses told a different story. Every mishit was 20 yards short of the target, no exceptions.

Ryan studied the data, looked over at me, and did something I wasn’t expecting: He reached into his bag and pulled out a demo of the then-unreleased Ping i540, a hollow-bodied players-distance iron.

“I don’t think this is the iron for you. But let’s try it anyway,” he said.

First swing: every number hit, baby draw right on line. Second swing, same thing. Third, fourth, fifth — it just kept happening. The consistency was enough to pull Johnny, Jake and Jack over from other bays on the range, all wearing the same puzzled expression, all asking some version of the same question: “What is that you’re hitting?”

Throwing out the ego

From that point on, the rest of the trip took a different shape. I stopped reaching for cavity-backs out of habit and started hitting nothing but players-distance irons. The TaylorMade P770 felt built for my swing tempo. The Callaway Apex Ai150 impressed. The Cobra 3DP Tour and MB both had moments where they felt like the answer.

It was a genuine revelation: all I had to do was set aside the ego and play what actually fit what I was trying to accomplish — instead of boxing myself into a category because of how I’d always identified as a player.

The 2026 irons that stood out to me

By the end of the trip, three irons rose above the rest: the Ping i540, the Cobra 3DP and the TaylorMade P770. I ultimately went with the P770, which produced the most consistent north-to-south dispersion of the group — the kind of repeatable pattern that builds trust on the course, not just on the range.

Since making the switch, I’ve shaved a full stroke off my handicap, and now I’m down to a 1.1 index in my goal of getting to the coveted 0.0. Scratch.

Ping i540

PING i540 Custom Irons

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I’m just going to say it: these things jumped off the face in a way I genuinely wasn’t prepared for. And the numbers backed up exactly what I was feeling, which doesn’t always happen.

Cobra 3DP Tour

Cobra 3DP Tour Custom Irons

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This was the wildcard of the whole trip and easily the most mind-blowing piece of technology I got my hands on. The first time I flushed one of these, my jaw dropped. It looked like a blade. It felt like a blade. And it forgave like something two or three categories bigger. Now I understand why Max Homa and Rickie Fowler have them in the bag.

TaylorMade P770 (Gamers)

TaylorMade P770 Custom Irons

SOLID FORGED FEEL Improved for a more solid feel like never before. The 2024 P•770 has been strategically tuned using a player’s forged construction and modal analysis to create a notable improvement and the best feeling P•770 to date. MODERN PLAYERS IRON TaylorMade’s FLTD CG™ coupled with precision milled face and grooves, deliver the launch and spin modern players demand. Designed with forgiving, high launching long irons and lower launching, high spinning scoring irons for accuracy and control. CONSISTENCY Consistent ball striking and accurate shot making from a forged iron construction designed with meticulous mass optimization and an updated tungsten weight design for more forgiving long irons. REFINED SHAPING Refined shaping for a cleaner look and improved turf interaction. The 2024 P•770 has a thinner topline visual balanced with a confidence inspiring, compact head shape. A newly modified leading edge design helps deliver consistent shot making and crisp turf interaction.

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What I kept seeing on the monitor, shot after shot, was this incredibly tight north-to-south dispersion that none of the other irons could match. The distance wasn’t just good — it was consistent.

Bottom line

If there’s one lesson from this entire process, it’s this: try everything when you’re gearing up for a new set of irons. Don’t let a label talk you out of testing a club. The iron you swore you’d never play — simply because of how it’s classified — might be exactly what takes your scores lower.

Editor’s Note: Wadeh Maroun is the president of Fairway Jockey.

Ready to overhaul your bag in 2026 like our Fully Fit panelists? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post I thought I knew what irons were for my game. I was wrong | Fully Fit 2026 appeared first on Golf.

McLaren Golf launches Series 1 and 3 irons: What you need to know

Jack Hirsh — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 21:00:01 +0000

The wait is finally over for McLaren’s first golf clubs.

The supercar maker and F1 racing team officially kicked off its new venture Wednesday evening at a launch party tied to this week’s Cadillac Championship and concurrent Miami Grand Prix by announcing its first two sets of golf clubs: the McLaren Golf Series 1 and Series 3 irons.

“We’ve been working toward this moment for some time and there’s a real sense of anticipation in seeing it all come to life,” McLaren Golf CEO Neil Howie said in a release. “Behind the scenes, we challenged every part of the process — from materials to construction — to uphold the exacting standards and constant pursuit of excellence that define McLaren. To now introduce these irons to the world and see them in the hands of golfers is incredibly exciting.”

Justin Rose, McLaren’s first global ambassador and investor, will debut the irons this week at the Cadillac Championship.

Keep reading below for more on the McLaren Series 1 and 3 Irons, including my take on the release.

What’s actually new with McLaren Golf Series 1 and 3 Irons — and why you should care

All in on MIM

To deliver on its precision-first approach, the company’s inaugural iron designs are built entirely around Metal Injection Molding (MIM). MIMing has gained traction in golf-equipment manufacturing over the past decade, allowing designers to create more complex internal geometries and achieve tighter tolerances than traditional forging or casting.

In the past, other companies have used the technology — which, as the name describes, involves injecting powdered metal into a mold to create a structure — in putters, wedges and interchangeable weights.

It also enables the use of a proprietary steel developed from a blended powdered material.

“We were focused on creating a material that was soft and felt really good, while still meeting our performance targets—and I think we hit the mark,” Ryan Badgero, McLaren’s director of engineering, told GOLF.

That material debuts in McLaren’s first two models: the Series 1 and Series 3 irons.

The structural mesh is MIM’d into the back of the clubhead. Jack Hirsh/GOLF

Both feature a structural mesh on the back of each clubhead, adding support while trimming roughly 2–3 grams of mass. That may not sound like much, but in club design, every gram counts. The mesh is also a callback to McLaren’s roots in car design, as the pattern mimics similar structures on McLaren Automotive’s supercars like the GTS and 750S.

“We’re able to MIM this mesh directly into the head, then redistribute that saved weight to tune CG and increase MOI,” Badgero said. “At the same time, it provides structural support, allowing us to go thinner in certain areas while maintaining integrity. It’s really a two-in-one feature.”

That discretionary mass is reallocated into tungsten weighting to create a progressive vertical CG — helping long irons launch higher while making short irons easier to flight.

A playable blade

The Series 1 takes on a traditional muscle-back profile aimed at better players and tour pros. With weight savings from the mesh, the club incorporates a silicone dampening system to enhance feel, as well as tungsten weighting.

Tungsten placement shifts the CG progressively from low to high through the set, and also from heel to toe. Paired with a progressive offset package, the long irons are designed to guard against a right miss, while the short irons remain neutral.

McLaren Golf

The specs show the offset jumping nearly a full millimeter between the 8- and 7-irons, and then jumps another 1.2 mm from the 6-iron to the 5-iron. Everywhere else, the progression is roughly .1 to .2 mm. This was done from direct feedback in working with Rose.

“One of the key pieces of feedback was that players hate seeing that right miss in the long irons,” said JP Harrington, McLaren’s senior design manager for irons and wedges. “CG placement and offset work together to help square the face more easily and prevent that leak.”

A flat sole promotes versatility and shot-shaping for more skilled players.

Supercharging players distance

The larger, more forgiving Series 3 fits into the performance cavity-back category.

Here, the mesh and tungsten remain, but the mass is concentrated more centrally. That’s achieved through a carbon-fiber bonnet housing a tungsten weight, along with a smaller toe weight.

The central piece doubles as a calibration weight, allowing McLaren to fine-tune head weights to extremely tight tolerances while also offering a lighter head option.

The Series 3 has added heel relief for more forgiveness. Jack Hirsh/GOLF

“Because it’s stacked on the center of gravity — we designed it to hit specific CG coordinates — adding weight there doesn’t shift it,” Harrington said. “So from the lighter B head to the standard A head, the CG remains constant.”

The Series 3 sole features added camber and pronounced heel relief to improve turf interaction and forgiveness.

With a more traditional offset progression—similar to the Series 1 in the long irons—the Series 3 could also serve as a long-iron replacement within a blended set. In fact, both the 3- and 4-irons feature the same loft and offset as the Series 1, while the Series 3 5-iron has the strong loft but matching offset. A 5-iron bent weak to match the Series 1 lofts would actually have less offset.

Justin Rose plans to at use a Series 3 4-iron in competition and potentially a Series 3 5-iron as well.

The McLaren Golf iron lineup

Series 1

The Series 1 from all angles. McLaren Golf

What is it: A traditional muscle-back shaping with a flat sole for ease of shot shaping. The iron has been enhanced through progressive CG moving from low-to-high and heel to center from the long irons to the short irons and a progressive offset package to help mitigate right misses with long irons.

Who it’s for: High precision ball strikers who want more speed and stability than a traditional forged muscle-back.

Series 3

The Series 3 from all angles. Jack Hirsh/GOLF

What is it: McLaren calls this iron a “performance cavity-back” in the players distance category. The Series 3 features utilize an internal toe weight, and another enclosed in a central carbon fiber bonet to center the CG within the head and allow for an A and B weight head.

Who it’s for: A wide range of player abilities, from mid-level ball strikers looking to gain more speed or a better players looking for a long iron replacement.

My take: Golf clubs engineered by a racing team

If you had asked me to picture the irons a supercar or F1 team would produce, they would look a lot like these.

These are golf clubs you specifically get if you’re looking to get maximum performance, just like the McLaren F1 team demands from their cars on a race day.

It shouldn’t be surprising that the R&D and leadership teams of McLaren could translate their expertise and design golf clubs in a way that they haven’t before.

Thanks to the MIM construction process, both the Series 1 and Series 3 irons take a trend we’ve started to see in the equipment space by making irons that play like the category above them. For instance, the Series 1 irons are playable to the point where more than just traditional blade players might be able to game them, and the Series 3 irons are going to have the forgiveness and speed of something in the players’ distance category while looking more like a traditional cavity back.

As you’d expect from a supercar company, neither of these irons is shy of speed.

Rose’s fingerprints are all over the Series 1 with the progressive CG and offset to help reduce his right-miss tendency.

Series 3 is something that really intrigues me, and I could see landing in my bag.

McLaren is making a big statement in the golf space that should bring new ideas and innovation. The obvious next step would be Series 2 irons, but as Rose teased earlier this week, eventually there will be a whole bag of McLaren clubs from which to choose.

Price, Specs and Availability

McLaren Golf Series 1 Custom Irons

A Tour blade with the feel you expect and the forgiveness you don’t. Series1 is a modern Tour blade, engineered through Metal Injection Molding. It delivers a level of forgiveness traditional forging can’t achieve, while maintaining the feel and workability often lost in cast designs. The result is performance without compromise – a blade for elite players who demand more from their irons.

Buy Now$375.00 from Fairway Jockey

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McLaren Golf Series 3 Custom Irons

An engineering powerhouse providing distance and forgiveness. Featuring a powerful engine built around its Metal Injection Molded frame, Series3 is a complete performance system. Internal weighting and carbon fiber elements work in unison, positioning the center of gravity with precision and stabilizing the club through impact. The result is scintillating speed, responsive control and vibration-dampening feel.

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McLaren Golf’s new Series 1 and Series 3 irons will be available in North America, Europe and South Korea through select custom-fitting retailers beginning April 30.

Clubs will cost $375 per head.

Stock loft specs of each set are below.

Series 1: (3i) 20, 22, 26, 30, (7i) 34, 38, 42, (PW) 46
Series 3: (3i) 20, 22, 24, 27, (7i) 31, 35, 39, (PW) 44, (GW) 49

Want to find the best irons for your game in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post McLaren Golf launches Series 1 and 3 irons: What you need to know appeared first on Golf.

How I went from lost iron shots to total control | Fully Fit 2026

Wadeh Maroun — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:01:43 +0000

Welcome to Fully Fit 2026, GOLF’s new platform for providing you with real-golfer insights into what 2026 gear might be best suited for your game. To this end, we assembled six GOLF content creators of varying abilities and ran them through the gauntlet of six full-bag fittings (driver to putter!) at six major club manufacturers in Phoenix and Carlsbad, Calif. Our hope: that you might see shades of your own game in one of our panelists’ and take some learnings and inspiration from their fitting experiences. In this installment (below), Wadeh Maroun details the clubs he can’t live without from Fully Fit 2026, his TaylorMade P770 irons. You may browse each of our panelists’ full 2026 dream bags here:

Going into Fully Fit, I thought I knew what kind of equipment was right for my game. Safe to say, I was very wrong, especially when it came to my irons.

A little backstory: Two years ago, I started on a journey to become a true scratch golfer. I got lessons and completely retooled my swing. Before that, I played a cut and hit down on the ball, which created a lot of early extension and left my hand-eye coordination to dictate ball striking — “sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe s—.” At the time, I was a 5-handicap. I needed help.

Then came the pivot.

The lesson plan shifted my swing to be much less prone to early extension and more geared toward hitting up on the ball rather than down. It sounded simple enough in theory, but the real-world impact was anything but.

This new approach created a massive issue from 8-iron down. I started noticing a gnarly split in north-south dispersion. The ball wasn’t going where I wanted, and I had lost all the trust I previously had in my irons and wedges. For what it’s worth, I’m a high-launch, high-spin player by nature, and that combination was no bueno.

Enter the moment of truth: a fitting session at The Kingdom with Matt Simone.

Matt is the kind of fitter who makes you believe in the process again, not just the end result. We started tinkering with lofts, chasing a theoretical fix that would help me cover the ball more consistently and keep it from running up the face. The idea was simple on paper: stronger lofts should tame launch and spin just enough to bring my numbers closer to target.

What happened next felt like a revelation.

The adjustments started to take hold in a way that surprised me. I had a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a while: I trusted my irons to do their job. The result was a real, tangible improvement in how I could control distance and direction, and, crucially, trust the club to do what I asked without fighting my swing. It wasn’t magic, but it changed my relationship with the game in a meaningful way.

Fast forward to now: I ended up in TaylorMade P770 irons, and the arc of my journey has felt like a straight line toward a better game.

TaylorMade P770 Custom Irons

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In just three months, I’ve moved from a 2-handicap to a 1. The swing feels less like a constant battle and more like a collaboration with the gear I’m using. The confidence I’ve gained isn’t about chasing a perfect number; it’s about knowing I can pull any iron, hit my number, get it close, and walk away from a round without giving away three or four shots to avoidable mistakes.

Scratch is still on the horizon, but I’m closer than I’ve ever been. And I credit a lot of that progress to being deliberate about my equipment and trusting the process.

When I pull an iron now, I’m not wondering if I’ve got the right model or loft. I’m looking at the shot in front of me, feeling the club respond the way I expect and letting that confidence take over.

If you’re chasing consistency, I’d offer the same advice: start with gear that matches your swing, not the other way around, and give yourself the space to grow into it.

Ready to overhaul your bag in 2026 like our Fully Fit panelists? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post How I went from lost iron shots to total control | Fully Fit 2026 appeared first on Golf.

PING Golf's irons lineup has something for everybody

Jake Morrow — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 20:00:18 +0000

I recently took a trip to the PING Golf Proving Grounds in Phoenix, Arizona to do a bit of testing with their full roundup of 2026 offerings. After our Fully Fit visit in December, I was looking to spend a bit more time with some of their offerings that I haven’t gotten to take more than a handful of swings with. The PING lineup of irons is quite robust, and it’s definitely one of the more ‘complete’ lineups on the market. Let’s break down the lineup and sort out which irons fit for what style of player and who may benefit the most from each design.

PING i240 – A cavity back ‘plus’

The PING i240 is a unique iron, in a category where PING has definitely differentiated themselves. It’s not a true cavity back iron, that would be the PING Blueprint S, but it’s also not a player’s distance iron; like the PING i540. It sits somewhere in the middle. It’s a great option for players who want the shape and size of a more traditional cavity back, with a loft structure that’s a bit more traditional, but still need a little bit of help. The i240 aims to provide precision for players that want a bit more control over their flight, but with an MOI package that mirrors a much more helpful category of irons.

Irons

Ping i240 irons | 5 things to know about the newest player's irons

By: Kris McCormack

With its more traditional cavity back shape, PING took performance of the i240 one step further over previous generations by giving a significant boost to MOI. On the back of the iron you’ll see the new ABS badge, which helps them save over eight grams in weight, distributed to the perimeter of the iron for an increase in MOI without an increase in size or shape of the platform. They’ve also added an elastomer insert in the cavity which helps to create a softer feeling and sound out of the cast 413 stainless steel body. For the better ballstriker who’s looking for a little bit more help than a traditional cavity back like the Blueprint S, the i240 is the perfect option within the PING lineup. If it’s good enough for a guy like Viktor Hovland, it’s good enough for your bag too.

PING i240 Custom Irons

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PING i540 – Some speed assistance for the better player

The i540 is a special iron. It competes in a really unique marketplace for the better player who wants a good visual but may be losing speed. These are the senior club champions at your local course, or in my case, the guys who take my money every weekend, despite being twice my age. They’re also a really good option for players who need the turf efficiency of something like an i240 but they don’t quite have the ball striking to back it up. The i540 sits here in a really good bucket. It provided almost a club more worth of speed for me compared to the i240, while adding launch and maintaining a similar spin window.

PING i540 Custom Irons

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While testing the lineup, the i540 stood out most. I made the comment while working with PING WRX Master Fitter James Lee that it almost felt too easy. I would have to calibrate my distances a little bit on course, and probably do some gapping work at the bottom end of the bag, but playing the i540 felt… right. It felt like something I could possibly end up doing, just because the data showed us that the iron was really working for me. The only in my own testing is they’re actually a little bit too fast. 130 mph for a 7-iron is quite a bit of speed, and that calibration in speed and distance could make some of the creative shots a little bit more difficult. But this iron wasn’t built for me. It was designed for a crowd that sits in a nice single digit handicap arena but just doesn’t quite swing it as fast as they used to.

Gear

Ping's G440 K driver makes surprising first impression | Fully Fit 2026 Ep. 1

By: Jack Hirsh

When we visited for Fully Fit both Johnny Wunder and Wadeh Maroun agreed. Wadeh was VERY close to putting them in the bag, but since our first day of the trip was at PING, he actually based the rest of his fittings off of the benefits he saw in the i540, and the rest of the week was testing hollow-body irons over cavity backs or forged options. Johnny jumped on board, too. Both guys are low single-digit golfers with very consistent swings and they know what they need out of their equipment. But, in their own admission, they’re losing out on a little bit of speed compared to where they may have been in years past. A hollow-body, high-tech offering like the i540 that maintains a nice visual behind the ball and allows the better player to worry more about making a good swing than if their clubs can keep up with their current game.

PING G440 – In-line game improvement

In-line irons can be tricky. Every company makes a game-improvement style iron that shares the name of their current in-line metal woods, but its a tough category to find balance in. Making sure that the iron performs well for the bulk of the golfing majority while still looking, feeling and sounding good seems to always involve tradeoffs. If there’s one thing that the G440 isn’t going to tradeoff, it’s performance. In the video testing with Lee you can see how much fun we had hitting the G440 irons. For lack of a better word, they’re dummy-proof. The biggest compliment I can give to anything in this realm is that it’s easy. As long as you make half-decent contact, the club is going to work for you.

PING G440 Custom Irons

The G440 iron is a distance-driven design that best fits golfers in need of game-improvement technology who prefer the influence of a players-style shape. Increased ball speed comes from the thinner face and the low/back CG location – resulting in higher- launching, longer-carrying shots with stopping power. FAST AND FORGIVING Thinner face flexes for more ball speed, saves weight to increase MOI. LOW CG SYSTEM Shorter face lowers CG for more ball speed, higher launch. PLAYERS INSPIRED Shallow face height and shorter blade height. PREMIUM PERFORMANCE Four-piece, chrome-plated cavity badge increases flexing, damps vibration.

Buy Now$164.25 from Fairway Jockey

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I always like to say the G440 is meant for the infrequent player. Somebody who definitely knows what they’re doing and has a repeatable swing, but doesn’t practice much and wants a set of irons that will last a long time and always produce for them. My dad, who’s in the last generation G430 irons, is a perfect example. He doesn’t play a whole lot, usually just on weekends that I can visit, but he knows what he’s doing with his swing and just wants to be out there and have fun without any equipment issues getting in the way. Everything I’ve set up in his bag is about ease of use, and the irons are no different. You can get away with a very off-center strike, they still feel good for the category they fall into, and it helps to make the round go by without any additional stress. Plus, PING continues to make sure that they look good in the bag, behind the ball, and in the hands as you twirl a nice approach.

The in-line PING G440 iron Tifani Lynch / GOLF

Fun fact: Rocco Mediate is currently gaming the G440 irons on the Champions Tour! Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

PING G740 – All the help you want

If the G440 is for the repeatable player looking for stress-free and easy rounds, the G740 is for ANY player who wants every single bit of help PING can offer them. The G740 is a large and in charge iron meant for one thing: forgiveness. This is actually a key difference maker in the lineup. The G740 is not an iron developed with speed gains in mind. For me it was about as fast as the i540 or the G440, which all sat around 130 mph ball speed off the 7-iron. What the G740 offers is forgiveness.

The tech-filled, high MOI PING G740 iron Tifani Lynch / GOLF

It really does feel like you can hit the ball anywhere on this iron and get away with it. It makes the G440 seem unforgiving, which is saying a lot. With the 740, the goal is high-tech performance and good looks. This is the true “play the game because you enjoy it” type of iron. Older players who just want to keep swinging, juniors looking to get into the sport, or beginners who would like a non-offensive entry point into the sport will all appreciate the forgiving benefits of the PING G740 irons.

Most importantly, get fit.

One of my favorite lines I’ve ever been told was the first time PING’s Marty Jertson told me “PING is an engineering company that happens to make golf clubs.” Part of that philosophy is that every single golfer should get fit for their new golf clubs by an authorized fitter, like True Spec. PING chooses to not sell their equipment direct to the customer to really hammer home this belief. As an engineering company there’s an understanding that to make tools work for the right player at the right time it takes some fine-tuning. There is no “one size fits all” offering at PING, just the final combination of parts that fits you.

The post PING Golf’s irons lineup has something for everybody appeared first on Golf.

Cleveland/Srixon is turning back the clock on Masters wedges

Jack Hirsh — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:52:24 +0000

Roger Cleveland’s influence is once again making an impact at the Masters.

Cleveland returned to the company he founded last year and his designs have started to infiltrate not only the bags of Srixon/Cleveland staffers, but non-staffers too.

Take J.J. Spaun, who earned his third PGA Tour win last week at the Valero Texas Open and first since his breakthrough at the U.S. Open. While Spaun still uses a previous generation RTX 6 Zipcore lob wedge platform, his lobber features a unique wide sole grind with both leading and trail edge relief.

The wide sole starts with the original shaping from Cleveland’s 588 Wide wedge design from the late 1990s, which is one of the most famous in clubmaking.

“We were doing a lot of grinding to get to what he wanted,” Srixon Tour Rep Michael Jolly told GOLF. “That’s just a lot of trial and error of him hitting different shots and trying to find the right combination of open face, bunker [versatility], and all of those things.”

But Spaun’s wedge is not the only Cleveland wedge prototype inspired by the original 588 shape.

Several pros this year, including Gary Woodland who won with it two weeks ago in Houston, are using a prototype offset lob wedge built on Cleveland’s updated RTZ platform with the 588 Wide sole.

“It started with the sole,” Jolly said. “More and more players are seeing the benefits of a wide sole. The 588 Wide goes back to 1998; it’s something we’ve always had. We wanted to reintroduce it with the new RTZ material. That has gone really really well.

An address view of an offset wedge and J.J. Spaun’s lob wedge. Johnny Wunder/GOLF

“With Roger being back, Roger has talked a lot about offset and the benefits of offset. It’s not something that the young players are used to seeing it, but there a lot of benefits to offset.”

Offset, when the leading edge of the club is set behind the hosel, often scares good players away because it makes the face easier to square and gives the club a left bias.

But on wedges, offset can help give the feeling of trapping the ball. Though it naturally adds a little dynamic loft, most players will instinctively add shaft lean, which lowers flight and adds spin.

In addition to Woodland, Rickie Fowler is using an offset RTZ wedge this season, while Justin Rose just added an RTZ with the 588 Wide sole to the bag for the Masters specifically.

Cleveland RTZ Tour Satin Wedge

All-new RTZ Wedges are made with Z-Alloy, a completely new steel formula that enables a zero-compromise design approach for incredible feel, better durability, and more consistency for our best performing tour Wedges yet. For classic groove length and head shape, select either FULL, MID, or LOW sole grinds. For Full-Face grooves and a higher toe profile, select the new ADAPT sole grind —the only full face groove option for this generation—crafted on tour for open-faced finesse shots.

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Jolly added that players like Spaun prefer the grind with leading and trailing edge relief because they like to manipulate the face, while players who like the full sole usually keep things more square.

Srixon ZXi irons show remarkable consistency

Srixon irons had a tremendous year last season, racking up eight victories, including Spaun’s U.S. Open and they’ve already collected two more this season from their 15 staff players.

Eight of Srixon’s 10 staff players at the Masters this week are using the company’s latest platform, ZXi, with all eight employing some sort of combo between the ZXi5 and ZXi7.

Jolly also noted that the staff had an unbelievable stat for the entirety of last season.

“After the first event of the year, we had zero iron shaft changes across the whole staff,” Jolly said. “That speaks to the consistency the guys see with our irons week in and week out. It just performs the way they want it to and there’s not really a reason to go fishing down that stream.”

What irons and wedges Cleveland/Srixon’s staff is using at the Masters

Keegan Bradley
Irons: Srixon ZXi5 (4-5), ZXi7 (6-9), Z-Forged II (PW)
Lofts: 25/27/31/36/39/43/47
Lies: 62/62/62.5/63/64/65/65
Shafts: True Temper Dyanmic Gold X100
Length: 37.25″ 7-iron

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ
Lofts/Grinds: 52 Mid, 56 Mid, 58 Low (C)
Shafts: True Temper Dyanmic Gold S400

Golf Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond

Nico Echavarria
Irons: Srixon ZXi5 (4-5), ZXi7 (6-PW)
Lofts: 24/26/31/35/39/43/47
Lies: 62/62.25/62/61.5/62.25/62.5/63.5
Shafts: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 X (4-5), Nippon Modus3 Tour 125 X (6-PW)
Length: 37″ 7-iron

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ
Lofts/Grinds: 50 Mid, 54 Mid, 60 Low
Shafts: Nippon Modus3 Tour 125 X (50), True Temper Dyanmic Gold S400 (54, 60)

Golf Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond

Ryan Fox
Irons: Srixon ZXi (2), ZXi5 (4), ZXi7 (5-PW)
Lofts: 19/24/26/31/35/39/43/47
Lies: 60/60.5/61/61.5/62/62.5/63/63.5
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Blue+ HB 10-X (2), True Temper Dyanmic Gold X100
Length: 36.75″ 7-iron

Wedges: Cleveland RTX 6
Lofts/Grinds: 50 Mid, 56 Mid, 60 Full LB
Shafts: True Temper Dyanmic Gold X100 (50, 56), True Temper Dyanmic Gold S400 (60)

Golf Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV

Naoyuki Kataoka
Irons: Srixon ZXi5 (4-5), ZXi7 (6-7), Z-Forged II (8-9)

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ
Lofts/Grinds: 52 Mid, 58 Mid

Golf Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV

Brooks Koepka
Irons: ZX7 Mk II (4-PW)
Lofts: 23.5/26.5/31/45/38.5/42/46
Lies: 60.5/61/61.5/62/62.5/63/63.5/64
Shafts: True Temper Dyanmic Gold X100
Length: 36.75″ 7-iron

Brooks Koepka’s lob wedge. Jack Hirsh/GOLF

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ
Lofts/Grinds: 50 Mid, 56 Mid, 60 Full C
Shafts: True Temper Dyanmic Gold S400

Shane Lowry
Irons: Srixon ZXi (3), ZXi5 (4-5), ZXi7 (6-PW)
Lofts: 21/24/27/30/34/38/43/47
Lies: 61.5/63/64/64.5/65/65.5/66.5/66.5
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Blue HB 9-X (3), Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 X (4), KBS Tour X (5-PW)
Length: 37″ 7-iron

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ
Lofts/Grinds: 50 Mid, 56 Mid, 60 Low C
Shafts: KBS Tour X

Golf Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV

Hideki Matsuyama
Irons: Srixon Z-Forged II (4-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400

Hideki Matsuyama’s 7-iron. Jack Hirsh/GOLF

Wedges: Cleveland RTX4
Lofts/Grinds: 48, 52, 56, 60
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400

Golf Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV

Andrew Novak
Irons: ZXi5 (4), ZXi7 (5-PW)
Lofts: 23/26/30/34/38/42/46
Lies: 61.5/62/62.5/63/64/65/65
Shafts: True Temper Dyanmic Gold X100
Length: 37″ 7-iron

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ
Lofts/Grinds: 50 Mid, 54 High, 60 Full LB
Shafts: True Temper Dyanmic Gold S400

Golf Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond

J.J. Spaun
Irons: Sirxon ZXi5 (4), ZXi7 (5-PW)
Lofts: 23/26/30/34/38/42/46
Lies: 60/60.5/61/62/63/63.5/64
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Length: 37″ 7-iron

J.J. Spaun’s 6-iron. Jack Hirsh/GOLF

Wedges: Cleveland RTX Zipcore Tour Rack (50), RTZ Tour Rack (54), RTX 6 Tour Rack (60)
Lofts/Grinds: 50 Mid, 54 Full, 60 Low C
Shafts: True Temper Dyanmic Gold S400

Golf Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond

Sepp Straka
Irons: Sirxon ZXi5 (4-5), ZXi7 (6-PW)
Lofts: 24/27/30/34/38/42/47
Lies: 61/61.5/62/63/64/65/65
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Length: 37″ 7-iron

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ
Lofts/Grinds: 52 Mid, 56 Full, 60 Full HB
Shafts: True Temper Dyanmic Gold S400

Golf Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV

Want to find the best irons and wedges for your game in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post Cleveland/Srixon is turning back the clock on Masters wedges appeared first on Golf.

I was terrified of this blade 5-iron. But 1 swing changed everything | Fully Fit 2026

Jack Hirsh — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:45:33 +0000

Welcome to Fully Fit 2026, GOLF’s new platform for providing you with real-golfer insights into what 2026 gear might be best suited for your game. To this end, we assembled six GOLF content creators of varying abilities and ran them through the gauntlet of six full-bag fittings (driver to putter!) at six major club manufacturers in Phoenix and Carlsbad, Calif. Our hope: that you might see shades of your own game in one of our panelists’ and take some learnings and inspiration from their fitting experiences. In this installment (below), Jack Hirsh details the one club he can’t live without from Fully Fit 2026, his Cobra 3DP MB 5-iron. You may browse each of our panelists’ full 2026 dream bags here:

If I was shocked by one thing during my Fully Fit 2026 journey, it’s how easy this muscle back 5-iron could be to hit.

Long irons and I have always had a love-hate relationship.

I’ve hit some incredible shots with them. You know the ones that launch high off the face and rocket into the air directly on line before gently rolling over to the left as they fall back to earth, landing gracefully on the green and releasing toward the pin? Bliss.

But even when I play some of my best golf, long-iron shots can still give me the most trouble. Despite finishing runner-up in my club championship this past summer, the multiple 200-plus-yard par-3s at my club often left me feeling like I couldn’t get a shot airborne. Thank god for match play — but still, I bowed out of the final match after pulling a 5-iron 25 yards left on one of those par-3s.

And that was with an iron set that included a larger and more forgiving 5-iron.

Fast forward to the start of 2026 and now I have a 5-iron — a Cobra 3DP MB — I can stand over and be truly confident that I’ll hit it flush, exactly how I want to. The surprising twist? It looks nothing like the 5-iron I thought would be my solution.

How I ended up in an MB 5-iron

Heading to Cobra’s fitting day for Fully Fit 2026, I had expected to find a set of the new 3DP MB and Tour irons that would be best for my game.

I just didn’t think the long irons would wow me so much.

At first, the new muscle back intimidated me. I’ve never played blades seriously before. Surely I was going to skull or, worse yet, present the hosel, with these compact irons. But I was shocked by how easy they were to hit. That’s owed to the unique 3D-printed construction of the 3DP MB, which you can read more about here.

I compare the feeling to hitting a mini driver off the deck for the first time. It seemed like I was about to drive the ball into the ground, but the soles on modern mini drivers make them almost as easy as a 3-wood to hit from the deck.

Working with Cobra fitter Andrew Lusty, we started with the 7-iron, as most iron fittings do, and it didn’t take us long to see how effortlessly I could hit the new 3DP MB while getting similar numbers to my gamer. We also dialed in a shaft change and a flatter lie angle that has virtually eliminated the left side of the golf course for me.

Still, as small as the 3DP MBs look to me, I couldn’t wrap my head around playing the line’s long irons.

Jack Hirsh/GOLF

That’s when Andrew offered me stock 4- and 5-irons to hit to see if I could hit the intended ball speeds. These were softer and shorter shafts than what I’m spec’d for, but the idea is if you can hit designated ball speeds and peak height windows with stock setups, you should easily be able to with the proper specs.

I was shocked when it took me just one swing to flush the stock MB 5-iron: 141 mph, 110 feet in the air. Exactly the numbers we were looking for.

We broke the set with the 4-iron because I was only able to muster around 141-143 mph out of the MB 4-iron, short of the required 5 mph ball-speed gap. Past the 5-iron was clearly my point of diminishing returns. Switching to the 3DP Tour 4-iron, the feeling of effortlessness returned.

Specs
Cobra 3DP MB 5-iron
Shaft: Nippon N.S.Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X
Length: +.5″ (38.75″ EOG)
Lie: 2˚ Flat (59)
Loft: 26.9˚
Swingweight: D2.5

Cobra 3DP MB Custom Irons

The 3DP MB iron combines the looks and feel of a traditional forged muscle back with the forgiveness of a cavity back iron. The most forgiving blade on the market, the MB has captivated Tour players by checking all the boxes and exceeding expectations with its exceptional stability and feel. FORGIVING MUSCLE BACK BLADE SHAPE A slightly revised shape from the KING MB inspired by feedback from PGA Tour player Max Homa, the MB features a thinned topline and enhanced offset. The internal 3D printed lattice and heel, toe and hosel tungsten increases MOI for stability, and positions the CG perfectly centered and lower than the KING MB to promote higher launch. EXTREME FORGIVENESS MEETS SOFT FEEL The 3D printed internal lattice structure not only optimizes weight savings, but also provides the stiffness and strength to support the face and fine-tune the acoustics of each iron to produce the most appealing impact sound and feel. TUNGSTEN WEIGHTING The discretionary weight savings from the 3D printed lattice allowed for up to 55g of tungsten to be positioned low in the heel, toe and hosel resulting in the perfect blend of a compact blade shape with a low CG and high MOI that mirrors a game improvement iron.

Buy Now$329.99 from Fairway Jockey

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Cobra

Why this 5-iron is my favorite

While I had hoped to have played more golf by this point in the year, I’ve hit enough shots to know how much of a game-changer this 5-iron is.

During indoor testing, I hit 8 shots with the 5-iron and recorded a 3.7-yard carry standard deviation with an average carry of 204.5 yards. That basically means my 5-iron is like a pitching wedge, but from 205 yards.

Knowing that is confidence-inspiring, but the ease with which I can still work the ball up, down, left or right has really proved the club’s worth.

My goal with long irons is to make sure I’m just not losing strokes, but with this MB 5-iron, I feel like I finally have a weapon with which I can attack greens from 200 yards.

Ready to overhaul your bag in 2026 like our Fully Fit panelists? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post I was terrified of this blade 5-iron. But 1 swing changed everything | Fully Fit 2026 appeared first on Golf.

This is the endless potential of Cobra's 3DP Iron program | Fully Equipped

Jack Hirsh — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 19:20:40 +0000

Imagine being able to pick from the best features from all your favorite irons to make the perfect one for your game.

Take the offset from one set, the blade length from another and the topline thickness from a different one.

It sounds like a dream only available to Tour players, but it might be closer than you think for the average consumer.

On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, co-host Johnny Wunder and clubfitter Bryan LaRoche of BryanGolf discussed what a game-changer Cobra’s 3DP iron program could end up being.

Wunder explains that he landed on a set of Cobra 3DP Tours because Cobra Tour Rep Ben Schomin was able to customize a set for him.

“I was really close on a set of [TaylorMade P]770s, because 770 is another great iron for me, right?” Wunder said. “The only reason I didn’t pick the 770s is because I can’t make them with offset, right? I don’t want to bend them any stronger. I can’t build offset into those things.

Cobra 3DP Tour Custom Irons

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Cobra

“But I’m getting the same performance out of the 3DP Tours. And all I said to Ben was like, ‘Can you make these with offset?’

“He’s like, ‘yeah, I have a set with offset.’ And literally handed me a set with offset.”

Wunder used to play the Callaway Apex TCB ’24 irons, which had short blade lengths and lots of offset. Schomin told him he could even have a set of 3DP Tours printed with the same look.

It probably won’t be long before a customer can order an iron with whatever shape characteristics they want.

Will that make a fitter like LaRoche’s job harder or easier?

“That would change everything. You never are gonna strike out on a set of irons with somebody,” LaRoche said. “You’re never gonna struggle to find what you need, performance wise, and pick all the look boxes.”

That future might be here before we know it!

For more from Wunder and LaRoche, listen to the full episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped here, or watch it below.

Want to overhaul your bag in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post This is the endless potential of Cobra’s 3DP Iron program | Fully Equipped appeared first on Golf.

The 6 iron sets our staff loved during testing | Fully Fit 2026

Jack Hirsh — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 17:04:15 +0000

Welcome to Fully Fit 2026, GOLF’s new platform for providing you with real-golfer insights into what 2026 gear might be best suited for your game. To this end, we assembled six GOLF content creators of varying abilities and ran them through the gauntlet of six full-bag fittings (driver to putter!) at six major club manufacturers in Phoenix and Carlsbad, Calif. Our hope: that you might see shades of your own game in one of our panelists’ and take some learnings and inspiration from their fitting experiences. In this installment (below), check out the iron sets that each of our Fully Fit 2026 panelists chose for their golf bags. You may browse each of our panelists’ full 2026 dream bags here:

Finding the right set of irons is most crucial to shooting lower scores. How good is a great driver if you can’t find the green from the fairway? Or a great putter if you’re not leaving yourself birdie putts?

Although with this year’s offerings of irons, if you can’t find a set, then that’s probably on you more than anything. While this part of the bag is so crucial, each of our team members came out of their fittings confident with the set of irons they landed on.

After fittings with six manufacturers, here are the iron sets our six panelists chose for their bags in 2026.

Jack Hirsh’s Irons

1/2

Jack Hirsh/GOLF

2/2

Jack Hirsh/GOLF

Set composition: Cobra 3DP Tour (4), 3DP MB (5-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S.Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X
Length: +.5″ (37.75″ 7-iron EOG)
Lie: 2˚ Flat (60˚ 7-iron)
Loft progression: 22.5/26/30/34/38/42
Swingweight: D2.5-D3

Cobra 3DP MB Custom Irons

Buy Now$329.99 from Fairway Jockey

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Cobra

Why they’re in my bag: If you had asked me if I would have expected to come out of this project with a set of muscle back irons, I would have said yes, only because I knew these 3DP MBs would be those muscle backs. The 3DP MB will actually be the first set of blades I’ve ever owned, but these are obviously not your ordinary blades. Because they are as compact as a typical blade, I almost experience a similar phenomenon to when I started playing a mini driver. It doesn’t look like I can hit these things solid and up in the air, but it sure is easy to do anyway.

I really love the process I went through with Cobra fitter Andrew Lusty here, as we changed shafts to the Modus 120 X (As mentioned above) to eliminate my right miss and gain consistency. I also benefit that Cobra’s standard lie angle is 62˚ on the 7-iron, so going the maximum two degrees flat really gets my start line in a good spot. The last thing we did was hit stock builds of each head through the set to figure out where we would jump to the 3DP Tour. Shockingly, it only took me two swings to commit to a 3DP MB 5-iron, but that’s where the magic ran out because I couldn’t hit my target ball speed with the 4-iron. When we switched to a 3DP Tour head, it was easy again.

1 key data point: 3.7 yards carry yardage standard deviation. I could give you my numbers with a 9-iron here or a 7-iron or even a 6-iron, but that 3.7 number I showed you was produced over 8 balls with a 5-iron with an average carry of 204.5 yards. This basically makes my 5-iron play like an 8-iron and as someone who occasionally forgets how to hit a long-/mid-iron, that’s a huge advantage.

See Jack’s full bag here

Jake Morrow’s Irons

Model: Cobra 3DP Tour, Cobra 3DP MB
Set composition: 4, 5-GW
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Length: 37″ 7-iron
Loft: 34º 7-Iron
Lie: 1º Upright

Cobra 3DP MB Custom Irons

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Cobra

Why they’re in my bag: I’ve played the Cobra King CB/MB set for the better part of the last 4 years, and putting the 3DP MB in the bag was a no-brainer. It gives me the turf interaction, size, and relative shape of the MB that I love with forgiveness that exceeds the CBs that I love. It’s a fairly easy switch to end up with these in the bag for me. We decided to throw a 3DP Tour 5-iron in the top end of the bag for just a touch more forgiveness, but really it’s for easier tee shots on longer par 3s. I may actually end up doing a little bit of custom work to the sole on that one, but more to come on that if I get the opportunity.

1 key data point: Forgiveness. At the beginning of this, I mentioned that the weakest part of my game is iron play on the course. These are going to and have already helped me with that. I have tried a ton of irons this year, with sneaky contenders in the Wilson Staff Model CBs, but the Cobras just continue to prove their worth every time I test. It’s not about the good ones, it’s about the bad ones. And the bad ones from these can be just as good as the good ones from others. It’s a no-brainer in forgiveness.

See Jake’s full bag here

Johnny Wunder’s Irons

1/2

Johnny Wunder/GOLF

2/2

Johnny Wunder/GOLF

Set composition: Utility Srixon ZXiU (4), Srixon ZXi5 (5), Cobra 3DP Tour (6-9)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI HY 95X (4i), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X (5-9)
Length: Std (5-iron @ 38″ EOG)
Lie: std (61˚ 5-iron)
Loft progression: 22/24/28/32/36/40

*The utility finds its way in on faster tracks where the ball chases out a bit and I need to keep it down.

Cobra 3DP Tour Custom Irons

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Cobra

Why it’s in my bag: Look, feel, perfect amount of offset, and north-to-south dispersion. The Cobra 3DP Tour has an awesome low-face miss, and I appreciate the fact that when I do smash one, spin stays in a great spot. Typically, irons like this lose spin when you chip it or if you try to hammer one. These do nothing of the sort. The Srixon ZXi5 5-iron is in there for pure ball speed and gapping. I wanted something with a similar offset to my Cobras, but also cranked the ball speed up a bit to gap into the Ping G430 4H. I was getting 133-135 mph consistently with the Srixon vs anything else. Same Idea with the Srixon UT, it’s a 15th club that goes in when I need a lower-launching, hotter 4-iron.

1 key data point: 7-iron ball speed/spin, 123 mph, 6600 RPMs, 173 yards Carry

See Johnny’s full bag here

Maddi MacClurg’s Irons

Set composition: Titleist T250 Launch Spec 5-PW
Shafts: Nippon NS Pro 750 GH Neo R
Length: -1″ (36″ 7-iron)
Lie: 1° Flat (62˚ 7-iron)
Loft progression: 27/31/35/39/43/47

Titleist 2025 T250 Custom Irons

Distance never looked this pure. T250 Irons give golfers the ultimate combination of raw speed, stability, and consistency with an ultra-clean design that players love. It’s a merger of form and function, crafted for powerful performance while satisfying the eye of the most discerning golfers.   Singular Design High-strength steel construction allows powerful performance technologies to be discreetly housed within a sleek, modern design. Elevated Speed A new forged L-Face Design heightens ball speed and launch for astounding distance across the face. Enhanced Consistency Improved Max Impact Technology and a progressive groove design promote consistent carry, spin, and dispersion from any lie. High Flight & Stability Split high-density tungsten produces optimal CG with high stability for more forgiving shotmaking. Launch Spec Configuration A brand-new addition to the T-Series lineup, T250 Launch Spec provides the same technology and features the same construction as T250 but with a lighter headweight and added loft, promoting effortless launch, increased carry distance for low-flight players and more stopping power into the greens.

Buy Now$215.00 from Fairway Jockey

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Titleist

Why they’re in my bag: I selected these irons because of how well they launch and spin the ball compared to other models I’ve played. The forged L‑Face with a V‑taper design helps generate a ton of ball speed and a super high launch, which really boosts my spin and stopping power into greens, something I’ve really been wanting from my irons. With these in the bag, I feel confident attacking pins and holding greens, even from longer distances.

1 key data point: I love how these irons get the ball in the air. Even on shots that aren’t perfectly struck, the forged L‑Face with V‑taper design helps produce a high, penetrating launch that still carries well and stops quickly on the greens.

See Maddi’s full bag here

Sean Zak’s Irons

Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
Length: Standard (37″ 7-iron)
Lie: Standard (63˚ 7-iron)
Loft progression: 24/28/32/36/40/44

Titleist 2025 T150 Custom Irons

T150 Irons are crafted for added distance with unwavering accuracy. Forged into a player’s shape with progressive blade lengths, T150 offers a precise blend of speed, stability, and consistency—providing the confidence to hit and hold greens from anywhere.  Confidence-Inspiring Forged Design Forged into a player’s shape with a slightly larger head size for pure feel with extra stability. Elevated Ball Speed 1° stronger lofts (vs. T100) combine with an improved muscle channel through 7-iron and lower long-iron CG to help improve speed, launch, and carry. Superior Flight and Stability Split high-density tungsten produces optimal CG with remarkable stability for precise shotmaking. Consistent Speed & Spin  New VFT technology and progressive groove design provide consistent spin and speed across the face in variable conditions.

Buy Now$215.00 from Fairway Jockey

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Titleist

Why they’re in my bag: They were probably always supposed to be. I got fitted into T100s over the summer and while those blades are beautiful to look at, they’re just not forgiving enough for me, as I found out during my next fitting … and the others I did on our trip. I found a lot of success with TaylorMade’s P770s and Cobra’s 3DP Tour line, but I think the T150s seem to look better to me when I stare down at them. Probably because I’ve been playing Titleist irons already. There’s something to be said for sameness and comfort. (Will I be keeping the others as backups? Absolutely.)

1 key data point: Dispersion distance. Like the longer parts of my bag, my mishits — which are still struck fine — just weren’t flying consistently enough to match my best strikes. If my 7-iron is a 170-yard club, my 7-iron mishits were flying 152 yards, weak and to the right. Getting T150s into the bag just narrowed the gap between my pure strikes and my misses, which now feel like they’re still going 160 yards. As we said above, that could be the difference between a soft lie in the rough and taking a drop from a hazard. That’s everything.

See Sean’s full bag here

Wadeh Maroun’s Irons

Wadeh Maroun

Set composition: Titleist U505 (4i), TaylorMade P790 (5i), P770 (6-P)
Shafts: KBS $Taper 120 S
Length: Standard (37″ 7-iron)
Lie: 1˚ flat (61.5˚ 7-iron lie)
Loft progression: 22/22/27/31/35/39/43

TaylorMade P770 Custom Irons

Buy Now$200.00 from Fairway Jockey

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, TaylorMade

Why they’re in my bag: The journey to more forgiveness and less doubt led me to these beautiful irons. Everything about these takes all the guesswork out. In the couple of rounds I have played with them, I can feel the strokes coming down.

1 key data point: North and south dispersion only had a 3-yard standard deviation.

See Wadeh’s full bag here

Watch Fully Fit 2026 below!

Ready to overhaul your bag in 2026 like our Fully Fit panelists? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post The 6 iron sets our staff loved during testing | Fully Fit 2026 appeared first on Golf.

Miura's PI-402 irons bring legendary feel to game-improvement irons

Jack Hirsh — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:00:30 +0000

Miura’s brand and legacy are built on ultra-premium single-pieced forged irons. Those irons can be played by a much wider range of golfers than you might think, but now they have a multi-piece iron for the aspiring golfer that looks like and feels like a Miura, too.

Miura’s new PI-402 iron is Miura’s attempt to deliver a design worthy of the Miura name while also offering a level of speed and forgiveness they didn’t previously offer.

“For the first time in Miura’s history, we have a multi-piece iron that looks and feels like a Miura one-piece forged iron,” Miura President Anthony Newville told GOLF. “That was the huge focus for us with this model: to have something with technology and forgiveness that still sounds and feels like the irons people associate with Miura.”

The new iron introduces a host of new technologies to help the target golfer, including a hot-rolled nickel-chromium-molybdenum steel face, 35-gram tungsten weights, a TPU vibration-control plate and a new Kissaki sole design for better turf interaction.

Aesthetically, the iron also features new, cleaner cosmetics than its predecessor, making it look right at home in Miura’s lineup.

Keep reading below for more on the Miura PI-402 Irons, including my take on the release.

What’s actually new with Miura PI-402 irons — and why you should care

Achieving the Miura feel with speed

With traditional game-improvement irons, sound and feel usually suffer because of different construction methods from those used in forged irons.

But with the PI-402, feel was always the main design goal.

To achieve this in the multi-piece construction, Miura used a TPU vibration plate inside the head to dampen the unwanted sound and then 30-35 grams of tungsten were placed right behind the center of the club face. The placement helps create the solid, satisfying Miura feel and sound at impact.

“We then strategically use tungsten so center of gravity placement as well as the TPU, the thermoplastic urethane, really is what makes it feel like a Miura,” Newville said. “Strategically putting those two things in through the design of Shinei Miura is what gives the 402 that Miura type of feel.”

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Miura

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Miura

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Miura

Optimizing for strike location

Miura’s most recent iron, the TC-202, featured the company’s Y-Grind sole, a pre-worn leading edge that allows the club to enter the turf more efficiently.

With the PI-202 targeted for a much different player, one who has a shallower swing, Miura created a new, Kissaki sole, which is their interpretation of the modern V-sole design.

“The Kissaki sole is inspired by the tip of a traditional Japanese sword,” Newville said. “It helps the club enter and exit the turf cleanly and works across a wide range of attack angles. We wanted something that wouldn’t dig but still gets into the ground quickly and releases.

“We played around with sole tech quite a bit and landed on this because it has enough bounce to not dig, but it also has the perfect blend to help those players. It’s that gentle blend of trying to get the sole into the ground as quickly as possible, but not get stuck.”

The Miura PI-402 has a new Kissaki sole to improve turf interaction. Miura

The placement of the tungsten also plays into the target players’ shallower swing, as those players tend to strike the ball lower on the face. A lower CG helps that player even more to get the launch up, even from balls that are hit low on the face.

A complete Miura lineup

The PI-402 establishes the most forgiving iron in the Miura lineup and sits at the other end of the spectrum from the MB-101.

“Those pole positions are wildly important for us,” Newville said. “Miura started as a brand played by some of the best ball strikers on the planet, but in the evolution of the company, we’ve moved to making models for every type of player.”

The Miura PI-402 looks like a traditional Miura iron. Miura

Newville described the iron’s forgiveness level as similar to the IC-602 hollow-body, but players who need more help with launch and speed will gravitate to the 402.

The iron still has fairly compact shaping compared to competitors in the category, but it will help to reinforce that Miura isn’t just for elite ball strikers anymore.

The Miura PI-402

The Miura PI-402 from all angles. Miura

What is it: A more compact game-improvement style iron designed for fast ball speeds and without super strong lofts.

Who it’s for: Players looking for speed and forgiveness in a more traditional shape without sacrificing feel.

My take: The Miura iron for everyone

Miura irons are already more playable than you might first realize, but now there’s an iron in their catalog that looks and feels just like all the others while also allowing almost any golfer to enjoy it.

This iron is going to be slightly smaller and slightly weaker than others it’s competing with, but I think that will end up giving it an advantage simply in the looks department.

The new PI-402 looks much more like a Miura iron than its predecessor, and once people actually get to play it, they will have the revelation that Miura irons aren’t just for elite ball strikers.

I really like the addition of the new Kissaki sole, as we’ve seen turf interaction become much more of a focal point in iron design over the past few years.

That’s the kind of innovation that will help establish Miura as a brand for any golfer and not just the best iron players.

Price, Specs and Availability

Miura PI-402 Custom Irons

Buy Now$350.00 from Fairway Jockey

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Miura’s new PI-402 irons are available for pre-order starting March 10 and will arrive at retail locations on March 17.

Each iron model will cost $350 per club.

Stock lofts are as follows, but can be adjusted through custom:

(4i) 21, 23, 26, (7i) 30, 34, 38, (PW) 43, (GW) 48

Want to find the best irons for your game in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

The post Miura’s PI-402 irons bring legendary feel to game-improvement irons appeared first on Golf.