The Best New Forged Irons - 2016

For the better ball striker, forged irons are the ideal type of iron. They help deliver maximum distance and optimal spin while still maintaining that great feel and forgiveness, which you might not get in a game improvement iron. Here are the best releases for the 2016 season including the Titleist 716 CB/MB, Srixon Z745, COBRA KING MB/CB, Mizuno MP25, Callaway Apex CF 16, Wilson FG Tour F5, PING S55 and TaylorMade PSi.

Titleist 715 CB/MB

Titleist always release an amazing irons time after time and the new 715 CB is no different. This iron is perfect for the golfer looking for shot control with forgiveness while still maintaining that forged feel.

For precise distance, the Titleist 715 CB iron uses extreme high density tungsten weighting on the heel and toe of the club to lower the centre of gravity and allow for more speed upon impact with tour proven trajectory and spin. The innovative co-forged construction puts the high-density tungsten low and on the perimeter for added forgiveness. This high MOI design has been created using an average of 55.2g of tungsten per head, which also helps to drive higher ball speeds. On top of increasing ball speeds across the face, the leading edge has been worn for better turf interaction.

Titliest 716 CB/MB technical specifications, pricing and availability

• Loft: Available 4-PW. 2 and 3 irons are also available.
• Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT (R and S flex)
• Grip: Titleist Tour Velvet
• RRP: £819
• Available now

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Mizuno MP25

Mizuno are well renowned for designing some of the smartest look irons on the market and the MP25 iron fits the bill perfectly. There’s a whole host of new innovative design including some similar technology to the Mizuno JPX EZ iron. This is the first true high-ball speed iron designed for tour players through low-mid handicappers.

The MP25’s stunning tour inspired design has an injection of boron, which results in higher ball speeds and therefore more distance. Rather than cramming a distance technology into a smaller shell, the clever people at Mizuno decided to start with a pre-determined tour player profile and then engineer ball speed. A boron injected steel billet allowed the engineering of a Micro-Slot pocket cavity to increase ball speeds.

Forged in Hiroshima, Japan, the MP25 offers precise distance and control through Grain Flowing Forging, which compresses and maintains a consistent grain through the neck and hosel, which in turn ensures consistency through every club. 

Mizuno MP25 technical specifications, pricing and availability

• Loft: Available 3-PW
• Shaft: Dynamic Gold (R and S flex) or Project X 5.5 (XS flex)
• Grip: M-31 58 Round
• RRP: £920
• Available now.

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Callaway Apex CF 16

The Callaway Apex CF 16 is one of the most aesthetically pleasing forged irons on the market and offers an extremely soft feel from advanced forging.  Callaway have applied an extremely precise quadruple net forging, precision milling and 1025 mild carbon steel to produce an all-new standard for incredibly soft feeling forged irons.

The Apex CF 16 iron is the first time Callaway have introduced face cup technology in one of their forged players irons. The industry-leading Cup 360 technology gives you consistent ball speeds across the face in a forged Apex design. The iron also has progressive offset, sole widths, CG height and notch weighting that provides the right balance of ball flight, playability, forgiveness and control for each individual iron. The multi-piece construction allows the longer irons (3-7) to utilize the Cup 360 technology to increase ball speeds, whereas the shorter irons (8-GW) feature a unique engineered face plate to enhance feel and distance control.

Callaway Apex CF 16 technical specifications, pricing and availability

• Loft: Available 4-PW. 3 iron, GW and SW also available.
• Shaft: Stock Steel Shaft: TT XP 95 (R and S flex)
• Stock Graphite Shaft: UST Mamiya Recoil 760/780 (L, R and S flex)
• Grip: Callaway Diamond Universal Blue
• RRP: £849

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Cobra KING Forged MB/CB Combo

Used by the 2016 Abu Dhabi championship winner Rickie Fowler, COBRA have created an iron that offers tour proven performance. The MB/CB combo consists of cavity backs (CB) between the 3 and 6 iron and muscle backs (MB) between 7 iron and pitching wedge with both offering soft feel and precision demanded by golfers.

Cobra are urging golfers to “go with the flow” as the mid and long irons offer extreme forgiveness due to the cavity back design and the muscle back design in the short irons offers great precision, workability and accuracy, perfect for attacking the pin. Cobra have also strategically placed a tungsten insert in the toe of the club to move the centre of gravity to the centre of the face greater precision and shot making.

The 10-25 Carbon Steel head has been forged five times to deliver a refined grain structure that offers soft yet solid feel on every shot. Finally, the CNC milled faces with wedge style grooves help deliver maximum spin and more consistent launch trajectories from 3 iron to pitching wedge.

COBRA KING CB/MB technical specifications, pricing and availability

• Loft: Available 3-PW. 2 iron and GW also available.
• Shaft: KBS C-Taper 120 (R, S and XS flex)
• Grip: Lamkin UTX/KING LTD
• RRP: £749

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PING S55

PING’s new S55 players iron doesn’t feature much brand new technology but why would you make any changes from its predecessor, the S56, when it was a massive hit on the professional tours around the world?

This compact, multi-material iron comes with a whole load of benefits such as greater distance while still maintaining great feel, workability and forgiveness. There is a tungsten toe weight that stabilises the face for more accuracy and the vertical stabilising bars offer better distance control. For a soft feel and sound at impact the custom tuning port is made from a thermoplastic elastomer. Finally, larger CTP sits deeper in the face for optimal launch conditions and the thinner face helps increase ball speeds.

PING S55 technical specifications, pricing and availability

• Loft: Available 4-PW. 3 iron also available.
• Shaft: Stock Steel Shaft - PING® CFS® (Soft R, R, S and X flex)
• No extra charge for KBS Tour (R,S,X ), Dynamic Gold S300, X100, R300
• Stock Graphite Shaft: PING® TFC® 189i  (Soft R, R, and S flex)
• Grip: 360 ID8 or 360 ID8 Full Cord
• RRP: £826
• Available now,

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Srixon Z945

The Srixon Z945 iron has been designed for two very distinct types of golfer; the low handicaper looking for the unique feel and work ability of a blade and the tour professional. The likes of Graeme McDowell, Keegan Bradley and Hideki Matsuyama have all had their input on the shape, adjustability, weight placements and face materials in order to create a high performance club.

The iron is forged from ultra-soft 1020-carbon steel using the highest quality, premium process available. The Z945 has a lower carbon content to many of it competitors for a strong head but exceptionally responsive and smooth feel at impact. The Tour V.T. sole has been redeveloped to increase leading bounce and decrease trailing bounce to tighten up shot dispersion. To offer stable spin performance and distance control, there are two different laser milling patterns on the face. One of these is parallel to the grooves and one slightly more angled to offer a more stable spin performance from all lies.

Srixon Z745 technical specifications, pricing and availability

• Loft: Available 3-PW
• Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold (R, S and XS flex)
• Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Black
• RRP: £600
• Available now

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Wilson Staff FG Tour F5

The brand new Wilson Staff FG Tour F5 irons offer some exciting new technology and are perfect for the golfer who desires maximum distance with the perfect feel.

The FG Tour F5 iron features the same Speed Sole technology debuted in the innovative D200 irons which results in a crossover blend between forged feel and pure distance. The Speed Sole technology creates a thin face-to-sole transition that enlarges the sweet spot lower in the face, which results in faster ball speeds and distance in the long to mid irons.

The stabilising bar situated on the back of the club head provides support behind the thin, responsive face to allow for even more forgiveness while still maintaining shot workability. The cavity back heads are forged from 8620 carbon steel that provides a great combination of feel, feedback and forgiveness on miss-hits.

Wilson Staff technical specifications, pricing and availability

• Loft: Available 4-9, PW and GW. (Note: A 3-iron is available in RH)
• Shaft: Steel: True Temper Dynamic Gold XP (R, S and XS flex)
• Graphite: MRC Kuro Kage LB 85 (R flex only)
• Grip: Lamkin Crossline Black
• RRP: £599 (Steel)
• £699 (Graphite)
• Available now

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TaylorMade PSi

TaylorMade has always prided itself to be ahead of the field in terms of iron innovation and the TaylorMade PSi iron looks to maintain that reputation. TaylorMade have combined the best of both worlds in terms of distance by offering great feel and forgiveness, as well as a great sound too.

The new Cut-Thru Speed Pocket on the sole of the club compresses and flexes upon impact to offer higher ball speeds and more distance. There is also Face Slot Technology, which sees the addition of a speed pocket on the toe and heel of the face to offer higher ball speeds across the face and more distance on those mishits. There is a Multi-Material Damping System with HYBAR material to add to the tungsten weights in the long irons and forged short irons. This offers golfers the chance to optimise ball flights and distance gaps in the long irons and offers great feel and control in the short irons.

Finally, the iron has an ultra-thin 2.0mm face, Inverted Cone Technology and 360* allow lower CG location for optimal trajectory and more distance on those mishits.

TaylorMade technical specifications, pricing and availability

• Loft: Available 4-PW. 3 iron, GW and SW also available.
• Shaft: Stock Steel Shaft – C-Taper 105 (R or S flex)
• Stock Graphite Shaft - Mitsubishi Rayon Kuro Kage (R and S flex)
• Grip: TM Lamkin UTX REC
• RRP: £799
• Available now.

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Nike Vapor Fly Pro

The general theme in irons this year is to get the ball higher while still maintaining distance, feel and forgiveness. The new Nike Vapor Fly Pro gives you just that through various different RZN technologies produced in “The Oven.”

The Modern Muscle Technology balances the centre of the gravity in the centre of the face in order to optimise stability, energy transfer and workability. To add, the lightweight RZN material allows more weight to be distributed lower and deeper for a higher ball flight. The flexible Nexcor Face is supported by a stiffened FlyBeam re-enforced chassis that delivers high ball speeds across the face.

The long irons (2-5) feature a metal-wood style construction through a hollow RZN cavity and when combined with the FlyBeam reinforcement you get superior distance and ultimate forgiveness. The RZN pocket mid irons (6-8) utilise Nike’s RZN material to redistribute weight to combine stability and feel. Finally, the short irons (9-GW) also feature the RZN material in order to enable shot making ability.

Nike Vapor Fly Pro technical specifications, pricing and availability

• Loft: Available 4-PW. 2 iron, 3 iron and GW also available.
• Shaft: True Temper XP 95 (R, S and XS flex)
• Grip: Golf Pride Z-Grip
• RRP: £599.99
• Available now.

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