- 4 months ago
Irons expert Joe Ferguson runs through the best compact distance irons or players distance irons on the market in 2025 so you can make a better buying decision should you be a mid handicapper looking for a new iron set this year that combines distance and forgiveness with a compact look at address.
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00:00In this video I'm going to be taking you through some of the very best latest releases in the
00:04compact distance irons category and by the end of the video I'm hoping you're going to have a
00:08much better idea of what might work for you and stick with me to the end because I might just
00:12name my personal favourite. I've done a few of these videos before and I've seen a few videos
00:18out there where people are kind of telling you what looks the best and I find that really difficult
00:22to get my head around. I've been thinking about it more and more because what I like the look of
00:26you might completely hate and vice versa. So I think probably the best way to go about this is
00:31highlight a few characteristics within irons that you might be looking for. So the first one of those
00:37in this category I'm going to split up to a couple because some of us in this category might still be
00:41looking for that forgiveness and confidence at address whereas some others might still want to
00:45be veering towards that kind of better player look. So to start with I'm going to be going on the
00:49confidence side of things. If you're someone who's looking for maximum confidence inspiration at
00:54address I've got three that I'd like you to take a look at. The first of which is the PXG 0311P
01:00Gen 7 iron. Now not the world's catchiest name I think you'll agree but it's a really strong iron
01:06particularly in the visual element I'm talking about there of confidence inspiring. When you get
01:11out of the bag it's got a relatively thick sole compared to some of the others so that could help
01:14sort of give you connotations that we're going to get through the turf and there might be a bit of
01:18forgiveness there but when you put it in behind the ball there's a nice healthy blade length
01:22and a reasonable top line there. It's not thin it's not thick it's just in a really nice comfortable
01:28place and just a smidgen of offset so every time I've tested this I put it in behind the ball and
01:33I think yeah I can play this this is a comfy looking iron. Now the second one I want to talk
01:38to you about in that regard is the Tor Edge Exotics C725. Now I've been really impressed with Tor
01:44Edge across the board particularly in terms of their aesthetic. Again as soon as I pull this out the bag
01:50and put it in behind the ball the blade length is just that little bit longer than some so you feel
01:55like you've got a bit of play heel to toe so you feel like you've just got a little bit of leeway
01:59and just every time I put these in behind the ball whether it's the longer iron the mid iron or the
02:03short iron I just get that feeling that I've just got that bit of margin for error which is something
02:08which can be really important to some people. But finally the one I probably think stands out maybe
02:12in the confidence inspiring category is the new Hogan Legend iron. This is a direct to consumer brand which
02:17we'll probably touch on a little bit later but in this category I think it stands out just simply
02:22because it's just got a little bit more size. Now as I said some of you are going to prefer something a
02:26little bit more compact but we've got a really meaty head here. It still does all the same sort
02:31of performance characteristics as a lot of these other irons but it's just wrapped up in a much
02:35friendlier much more user-friendly package it's going to give you that confidence so this is one I'd
02:41really take a good look at particularly on price as well but if we're talking visuals it's going to give
02:44your confidence the Hogan Legend is a really good start. So those are the friendlier looking irons
02:49now let's have a look at the stuff in this bag it's got a bit more of that better player aesthetic
02:52and I'm going to start with a Srixon iron the ZX-I5. Now this aesthetic we always talk about sort of
02:58looking behind the board but I think this aesthetic starts when you just grab it out of the bag
03:02straight away it just looks classy it looks premium it's got a real better player feel just with the
03:07finishing and you can see that Tor VT sole that I love so much which helps serve interaction as soon as you
03:12see that you know you're dealing with something that's got a bit of refinement to it but as you
03:16do put it in behind the board it's a little bit more angular than some there's some of the more
03:20yeah an angular toe less rounding less soft it's quite a harsh looking head but for me I really like
03:26that sort of boxed off look and a lot of players will really enjoy that minimal offset and a relatively
03:31thin top line it's just got that real better player connotation about it and in a similar vein the
03:37Titleist T200 so again when you pull it out the bag from a shelf appeal point of view just oozes
03:42sort of that premium class there's no gimmicks there's nothing flashy going on here you just
03:46know you're dealing with a a nice classy better player iron and again then in the playing position
03:53we're just dealing with slightly less offset than some in this bag and a slightly thinner top line
03:57and those are the sort of differentiating factors that make me think about game improvement to better
04:03player irons it's just those little details and I think Titleist have nailed it in this T200 so
04:08again if you're looking at a better player aesthetic that's really one to consider now
04:12another one I wanted to mention was the TaylorMade P790 the new version for 2025 now
04:17it could probably still sit in the confidence inspiring category but I wanted to mention it
04:22because they've kind of drawn the aesthetic back a little bit towards the better player
04:26when I put it down against the 23 version we've got a significantly thinner top line there's been a few
04:32little visual refinements particularly the transition from the hosel into that top line looks so much
04:37better from a shaping point of view that I think that's worth pointing out if you're someone that's
04:41steered clear of P790 before because you just wanted that slightly better player look well now you can
04:48get it in P790 you've still got all the performance but they've just reined into kind of that better
04:53player model that I'm talking about here I'm a big fan of this one but I think in this category when we're
04:57talking about looks in terms of the better player stuff you're going to do well to beat the Mizuno
05:03Pro 245 now I've said this before when I was testing this out they sent me the whole lot so
05:08they sent me the 241s the blade the 243s and these and I kept reaching for the wrong one when
05:14I was trying to pick up the 245 to test it out I kept picking up the blade because they look so
05:18similar particularly from the back you could put these in the bag and people are going to be thinking
05:22you're playing a set of Mizuno Forged blades but you still get all the performance benefits of
05:27the hollow body and the distance stuff we're talking about in this category but it is disguised
05:32again down by the bull probably the least offset of anything I've got here a very thin top line
05:37there still isn't much between these in terms of looks between the 241 and the 245 so for that reason
05:43if you are shopping in this category and you do want something a little bit in that better player
05:47style then you're not going to go wrong with the Mizuno Pro 245. Right so I'm going to talk about feel
05:54now and I think feel in this particular category the compact distance or the player's distance whatever
05:59you want to call this category it's quite an interesting one because we've got a few different
06:03players converging in this category what we might have is some people who've traditionally played maybe
06:10a blade or a very small cavity who are getting on in years or just need that extra distance boost so
06:15some of those players might want something that feels a bit more familiar down that end if you like in
06:21terms of that softer forged feeling so it's important that some of these clubs can give us
06:26that but on the flip side of that we might have players coming from a game improvement category
06:30who are used to and like some some of that more robust industrial feel that really kind of shows
06:35off the power within here so I'm not going to try and tell you what you like again it's similar to
06:40the looks what I like the feel of could be completely different to what you do so I think that's a bit of a
06:45redundant exercise nowadays so I'm just going to highlight a few of the models that I think show
06:50us both of those I'm going to start with some of those that just give us that again I keep saying
06:55better player feel but the the feels that I associate with those sort of softer more traditional forged
07:00irons so the first of which I want to talk to you about is the Strixon ZX-i5 now I've spoken about
07:07this in terms of looks so we already know it's got those refined looks and that doesn't stop when we
07:12start getting into the feel it's very very soft the turf interaction on these in particular
07:20is really really good the Tour VT Soul for me is one of the best souls in golf and you see that
07:28so many non-contracted players out on Tour that are playing Strixon irons and this is a big part
07:33about it it's split in two and it just really helps a really smooth entry and exit into the turf I was
07:39quite shallow on that one so it wasn't a great sort of demonstration of it but it really helps
07:44players whether they're shallow whether they're steep get in and out of the turf and the ball
07:47just melts into and off the face it's a really soft feeling iron the next one I wanted to talk
07:53about is the TaylorMade P790 now again it's similar to what I said in looks that what they've done here
08:00both in terms of that aesthetic and in terms of the feel is they brought it just a little bit closer
08:05to maybe the P770 and the P7CB both in refinement of looks and in the feel you still get a really
08:13interesting sensation off the face here you know you know something's coming with a bit of power
08:20and you can feel it and it goes but you also get a real depth of strike which I didn't think was
08:26present in some of the previous P790 models they're a bit clickier a bit firmer the ball melts in and it
08:32really explodes off here it's a really strong feeling iron now the next one I want to talk
08:37to you about is the Tacomo 101T iron now this is really popular not least because of its exceptional
08:44value nice minimalist minimalist looks but maybe the softest of the bunch of what I've tried here
08:50and I found that with the the MBs this I tried and the CBs really soft irons and it continues even in
08:57this sort of hollow body construction which is designed for power I see that power which is great
09:05and I know it's there but I'm getting really sort of marshmallowy soft impact feel so if you're
09:11someone who prefers that really softer feel then the Tacomo is a great one to look at but like in the
09:16looks category there's another one here is a Mizuno iron that I think blows the others away in terms of
09:21feel now this is the JPX 925 forge so I'm not sure if I've ever come across an iron that I find
09:29so confusing in all different compartments of my brain I pick this out and I see Mizuno
09:34I see the finish it's premium it's got forged written on it so immediately I'm getting those
09:39better player vibes I put it in behind the ball and I see a relatively long blade length but a nice
09:44compact head so I feel like I know what I'm going to get then I strike it and once again
09:52I get that beautiful Mizuno soft feel and then the confusion starts because I look at the launch
09:59monitor and it's just gone miles the ball explodes off the face of this club everything about this
10:05screams compact forged premium better player I think this is the standout in that particular category of
10:11feel for me okay so on to another style of feel all together now this is the category I'm talking
10:18about for players that may have come from more game improvement style irons maybe you're on that
10:24journey you're getting better through golf and you're coming out of a package set or like I said
10:28that very much game improvement iron and you're coming into this player's distance category from that
10:32side so you might be used to and you might like something a bit firmer a bit clicky that doesn't
10:37maybe disguise the power quite as much so the ones I've selected in that regard I'm going to start
10:41with the Tor Edge Exotic C725 now I'll hit a couple away here because this really does exude power
10:52as soon as I hit it it's audibly firmer there is a bit of a click to it some people won't like that
11:00some people absolutely love it it is like I said audibly a little bit clickier but what I like about
11:06that is that sort of kind of in builds that sense of power that clicky that firm noise and that firm
11:12feel makes me feel that the power's already there so maybe I don't have to subconsciously put as much
11:20into it I can put some smooth emotions on the on this ball because I know the power's in that club
11:24I get that feeling from impact so that's one that I really like another one that jumps out to me here
11:30now let me let me leave that one for last actually I'm going to get the pxg 0331 p gen 7 so I do like
11:37this iron I think it sets up really well in fact I like the whole pxg iron range this year and this
11:43one definitely for me sits on that slightly firmer end of the scale again if I just clip one away
11:49I don't know how well it shows up on the audio but much like that tour edge iron it is audibly just a
11:58little bit clickier a little bit firmer and the ball just doesn't seem to stay on the face as long
12:04as some of those other irons that I use to start with it's on and off in a flash and you know it's
12:08got some power so that's a really good one again in terms of that sort of more robust feel but the one
12:14that stands out for me here is the ping i530 for someone who wants just that utter feeling of raw
12:19power this is a nice blend this probably to me is the softer of the three but it's still on the
12:25firmer end but the ball just seems to explode off the face of this thing it's a really nice compact
12:30setup and every time I hit it I know it's hit it's really just pops out there and I know I've got
12:38no issues whatsoever in terms of raw yardage it is just exceptional and you feel it as soon as it
12:45comes off the face it's gone so in terms of the robust feeling irons those are the ones I'd recommend
12:53right so let's get on to the all-important performance it's all very well having a great
12:57looking iron and a great feeling iron but we need all this numbers all the data to stack up on the
13:02launch monitor so what I'm going to do I've done a lot of testing with all of these clubs I'm going to
13:07pop the data up on the screen now for you I'm going to get rid of it in a second so if you do want to
13:11digest that a little bit more feel free to pause it now and have a look otherwise it's gone so let's
13:17get into a few of the performance categories I want to talk about now I'm going to talk about one to
13:21start with it's less quantifiable it's nothing to do with the data you've just seen it's about
13:25forgiveness now the three irons that I probably saw the best results on my heel and toe strikes and
13:33particularly my miss which generally is low on the face I want to talk about the ping i530 to start
13:39with the technology in that club just supports it's so stable anything off center is gobbled up
13:46and flattered and the ball speed retention that I saw with the ping i530 I hit some pretty questionable
13:52strikes in testing with that particular iron and I very rarely lost more than one and a half to two
13:57miles per hour is exceptional on ball speed retention so that's one to consider again I'm
14:03going to mention the tailor-made p790 it's kind of the grandfather of this category but this particular
14:08iteration is really really good they they have as I've said brought it back to more a better player
14:14feel in terms of the aesthetics and that impact feel and sound but what we haven't lost is any of
14:20the playability again ball speed retention is up there with that ping and the spin rates are very very
14:26stable when I hit that ball low on the face which I do quite a lot a lot of irons I see spin up a lot
14:31and I lose a lot of distance the spin sort of characteristics stay very very stable with that
14:37p790 so that's really one to look out for there a real surprise for me was quite a late entry to this
14:43the Hogan legend iron now I've talked to you about how forgiving it looks well it carries through into its
14:48performance I think maybe it's just the sheer volume of the head it is a little bit bigger than some of
14:53the others so it gives me the confidence that I'm going to hit it a little bit better but when I do
14:57spray it off that heel and toe I saw some really nice tight dispersion so in terms of the forgiveness
15:03style of irons or the the most playable or user friendly those are the three I would have a really
15:08good look at if that's what you're prioritizing now onto a couple of the more quantifiable categories
15:13that we need to know about we forget about this sometimes in in irons we're always looking for that
15:17carry number or you know that that overall distance boost particularly in this category but we
15:22still need to be able to hold greens it's getting very sunny out here so pretty soon this ground's
15:27going to firm up and if I've got a six iron in over over a bunker to a tight pin I need to know
15:33that I can get it up and down and stop it with some sort of efficiency and there's a few in there that
15:38I'd like to talk to you about there looking at the data so the Wilson dyna power forged did a really
15:43really good job that was actually my highest launching at 17.4 degrees and the highest peak height
15:49at 106 feet for me now this will all vary from player to player I'm just giving you my findings
15:54the other one I want to mention in that category is the Tacoma 101T again a really good launch
15:59launch number sort of mid 17s and marginally more spin which helped it to be the only other one that
16:05I got over 100 feet of height and when we get that height we see that peak that sort of descent
16:10angle steepening and that just gives you a little bit more chance of holding it on the green so
16:15that's something I want you to bear in mind when you're selecting an iron we often overlook that
16:18you need that height to be able to get some control so those are the ones that will help you do that
16:23if we are talking raw distance there were three that stood out for me the P790 produced some really
16:28savage distance in there as you'll see from the carry numbers the JPX Forge that I've spoken about
16:34disguised wrapped up it's really it's like a stealthy distance bat it looks like a forged iron and it's so
16:40surprising what you see on the launch monitor numbers particularly when it comes off so delicate
16:44and buttery soft but don't let that fool you that provides some serious distance and then the other
16:50one the Tor Edge Exotics really good third place in that carry distance number and it's some exceptional
16:56value there which we'll probably get onto a little bit in a moment there are some other things you
17:01probably want to look out for as well turf interaction I talk about it so much with irons I'm
17:06on a beautiful practice ground here and I'm really seeing what I've seen in other practice sessions that
17:11I've had here the Tor VT sole from the ZXI 5 the Suixxon iron it's just exceptional both entry and
17:19exit so a lot of these irons with their shaping of the sole focus very much on getting the club into
17:23the turf in the right way but that VT sole with the symmetry on the back really focuses on getting it
17:28out so it slips in and out with minimal disruption it's a really nice feature that enhances the overall
17:34feel of the iron the Hogan Legend I'm going to mention it again it's got a very similar sole it's
17:39it calls it it's V sole but it's got a really high bounce leading edge so there's no I found it very
17:45difficult to duff that iron if you like I don't hit many full duffs but my miss would generally be
17:51a little bit on the heavier side and when I do that that higher bounce leading edge just stays out
17:55the turf a little bit longer and I got away with that so that for someone who who might be prone to a
18:00fat shot think about that Hogan Legend iron and the P790 again I keep mentioning it but it's a very good
18:07overall line it's been redesigned with an increased radius on the sole not necessarily extra width
18:12but just an increased radius which just helps it slip through that turf a little bit more
18:18if you want someone wanting the wider forgiving sole the Ping i530 is a really really good option
18:23as is the Wilson Dyna Plower Ford's or the Titleist T200 it doesn't look that thick when you
18:29pick it up but in practice it plays a little bit wider for me I've noticed it just sliding through
18:34in certain conditions a little bit better if you're looking for a bit more precision in the
18:38shorter irons now that's something I've tried to bring into my iron reviews often we look at just
18:42seven irons and six irons and see what the data number says but we're going to play a whole set of
18:47these right and the shorter irons are your scoring irons so we need them to be versatile and do the job
18:54we want them to do and my personal favorites of what I saw in the shorter irons I keep saying at the
18:59TaylorMade P790 either of the Mizuno irons the Pro 245 or the JPX 925 Forged or the Strixon ZXI5
19:08really refined very versatile the soles are great the heads aren't too big you'll be able to get
19:13some good short iron results with those sorry to interrupt everyone but if you are enjoying this
19:18video don't forget to subscribe to the channel hit that like button and comment down below which of
19:23the irons I'm talking about do you like the look of have you tried any I want to hear all about it
19:30let's talk a little bit about value and that's really important particularly in today's economic
19:34climate but I don't want to patronize you and tell you what is good value for money because we'll all
19:39have different ideas of that so what I'll do is I'll put the prices of everything in this bag
19:44up there so you can take a look and from what I'm saying about them from your experiences and you'll be
19:48able to make your own mind up on what is really good value for money but one thing I definitely did want
19:53to talk to you about was the direct to consumer model that seems to become a lot more prevalent in the
19:58last couple of years so we've got companies like Hogan, Tacomo who you'll all be familiar with by
20:04now and even Tor Edge to a certain extent are operating on kind of a hybrid direct to consumer
20:09model so what we get with direct to consumer is we're missing out that middleman where we've got
20:13to build in some margin for the people who are going to sell it in their retail outlets and that saving
20:18goes direct to you so you're getting some significantly reduced product now historically people have
20:24associated a lower price with a lack of performance but if you head back to that performance chart you'll
20:29probably see well in fact you'll definitely see very similar very comparable performance between
20:36everything I've got in my hand here and some of the much bigger brands that cost almost double at times
20:43now there are some drawbacks from going direct to consumer there is you can't often try before you buy
20:49with direct to consumer because they're not in a retail outlet so they might not have a custom fitting
20:54and again custom fitting you're not generally going to get that from a direct to consumer point of
20:58view unless you already know your specs or sometimes you can go through an online fitting process but
21:05from my experience those can be a little bit hit and miss that said there'll be plenty of people who
21:11take advantage of the value on offer from direct to consumer
21:15well I hope that's given you a good indication of what's out there on the market in that players
21:20distance or compact distance category now I've tried to steer away from telling you
21:25too much about what you like I've tried to just present the facts as they are to give you the
21:29opportunity to make your own decision but that still doesn't stop me from having a couple of
21:34favorites now before I get to the two I've selected that I think really stand out I've got an honorable
21:38mention so the Tacomo 101T I think is just a really good strong iron I love the minimalist looks the
21:46performance stacks up against just about everything else isn't quite as aggressively lofted as everything
21:51else so there's quite a lot of stuff around the 30 31 mark in terms of the seven iron loft this comes
21:55in at 32 so will help as we saw in the launch and spin category that helps players who are looking for
22:02that very important parameter and just an all-round great iron at some pretty exceptional value but the
22:07two that really stuck out for me and it might be clear from the way I've been talking through the
22:12video so the Mizuno JPX 925 forged just blew me away in terms of what it produces data wise you get
22:19that forged soft performance but some exceptional distance and it really stands out in this category
22:26but and it might be boring but I still think this is the godfather of this category the TaylorMade P790
22:32it's been leading this category for some time I really like the refinements TaylorMade have gone with
22:38this year of just that slightly thinner top line a much better hosel to top line transition and just
22:44making it feel just a little bit more premium but retaining all the power and all the forgiveness
22:51so this would be very hard to beat for me and be a great starting point if you're shopping in this
22:55category I hope you've enjoyed that thanks for watching and we'll see you next time
23:08so
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