Edited by: Jordan Fuller
Reviewed by: John MarshallLast Update:
The Rundown:
Best Overall: TaylorMade M6
“Offering an inviting sweet spot, innovative cavity back design, and incredibly long distance with each swing, the TaylorMade M6 is one of the best irons for performance and outstanding value.”
Best Value Option: Lazrus Golf Irons
“The Lazrus Golf Irons feature an increased swing speed, improved turf interaction, and a seven-iron starter set at a very low price- perfect for beginners!”
Best Distance Option: Callaway Rogue X
“Need more distance? The Callaway Rogue X provides a 360 face cup, urethane microspheres, and lightweight feel for increased speed, a wonderful feel, and a staggering swing speed.”
All golfers search for the best bang for their buck when it comes to golf equipment. Since golf can be an expensive game to enjoy, players are always looking for ways to stretch their dollar.
On our list of the best golf irons for the money, we take a deeper look at sets that offer premium performance but also offer the best value.
A wonderful place to start for golfers looking to upgrade their iron set, our list of the best golf irons for the money offer long distance, low center of gravity, high launch angle, and ball speed to the golfer.
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Last updated on 2021-01-20. The links are affiliate links. Product images are served from Amazon Product Advertising API.
Table of Contents
Best Golf Irons For The Money In 2021
TaylorMade M6
Best Overall Option
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KEY FEATURES
- Speed Bridge stiffens head for exceptional sound and feel with high launch
- Ultra-thin face with smooth top line and leading edge for excellent turf interaction
- Available in Senior, Stiff, and Regular Flex for customized fit for mid to high handicappers
The best golf irons for the money on the market today are the TaylorMade M6 Irons. These game-improvement irons offer an inviting sweet spot, innovative cavity back design, and incredibly long distance with each swing.
The best feature of the M6 set is the Speed Bridge. This bar that runs across the back of the iron, attaching the sole to the top line, stiffens the head of the club to provide more muscle directly to the golf ball.
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Other notable features include the Fluted Hosel and 360-degree Undercut that provides enhanced turf interaction. Those two features along with the ultra-thin face creates staggering ball speed for each of the clubs in this set.
The M6 set is available in a few different combinations starting with either a 4-or 5-iron and offering up to three wedges.
A wonderfully capable set that is outstanding value and one of the best irons for performance, the TaylorMade Golf M6 Irons are an absolute blast to play.
Lazrus Golf Irons
Best Value Option
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KEY FEATURES
- Increased swing speed with power for higher launch
- Marvelous mid irons offer distance with improved turf interaction
- Seven-iron starter set for incredibly low price, great for beginners
An up and coming equipment manufacturer, Lazrus, has released a set of interesting, high-value irons. The irons offer a wide sole that delivers terrific turf interaction, along with a wide face on each golf club that boosts forgiveness.
The steel shaft irons are solid and provide nice feel, but certainly don’t have the workability of blade irons. These are straightforward clubs that do one job well; lift the ball and get it down the fairway toward the cup.
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Starting with a 4-iron, the Lazrus set runs seven clubs deep, stopping at the pitching wedge. You will have to add a few wedges and hybrids with this set, but as cheaper set-building foundation sets go, you could do a lot worse.
While these Lazrus Irons won’t win any performance awards, for super game-improvement irons they offer a worthwhile alternative for a low price.
Callaway Rogue X
Best Distance Option
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KEY FEATURES
- 360 Face Cup for increased speed across the face for more distance
- Urethane Microspheres offer wonderful feel throughout the swing
- Lightweight feel at address helps create staggering swing speed in mid irons
Callaway’s Rogue X Irons set offers a broad, inviting sweet spot on each golf club in the collection for max forgiveness and high launch of the golf ball.
What the Rogue set does very well is create distance. The wide face on each golf club is powered with the 360 Face Cup Technology. The innovative design offers a carbon steel body that provides low cg with either steel or graphite shafts.
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The irons feel lighter in your hand, primarily due to the hollow cavity design that is filled with the company’s urethane microspheres. This filling bumps up speed for the ball and creates high MOI for less twisting at impact.
Easily one of the best golf iron sets available to golfers, like its brother the Big Bertha Irons, the Callaway Rogue X iron set is a splendid arrangement of clubs to increase distance and improve accuracy.
Callaway Mavrik
Best Luxury Option
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KEY FEATURES
- A.I.-aided design increases flexibility across the face for better forgiveness and distance
- Tungsten-infused weighting lowers and deepens the CG for higher launch
- One of the best irons set on market with high quality design and exceptional performance
For golfers that don’t mind spending some cash to improve their game comes the Callaway Mavrik Irons. This golf iron set generates excellent accuracy with a tight shot dispersion on the green for shorter birdie and par putts.
The Mavrik Irons feature Artificial Intelligence-aided design with the 360 Face Cup that adds flexibility to the face for enhanced forgiveness on off-center strikes. The irons also have tungsten weighting along the sole that boost launch.
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The long irons offer moderate shot height with extended distance. But their muscle doesn’t sacrifice accuracy. On shots over 150 yards, the Mavrik Irons are highly capable of launching tall arcing shots that find the flag.
Sure to lower your scores with improved shotmaking ability, the Callaway Mavrik Irons are first-rate clubs that look like forged irons but play like the best golf improvement irons you’ve ever witnessed.
Ram Golf Irons
Best Low Price Option for Beginners
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KEY FEATURES
- Cavity backing with wide sole helps golfers hit the ball with more speed
- Forgiving sweet spot helps redirect shots along the target line
- Comes with two wedges to help beginners increase launch with improved speed and distance
The Ram Golf Irons represent the lowest priced irons on the list, but that doesn’t mean these clubs offer poor golf. Men, looking to start their golfing journey, will find that this set allows them to concentrate on learning the game with impressive results.
The beginner irons feature a wide sole with a long sweet spot. The set comes with two wedges that help beginners get the ball into the air easier for better short game play.
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The set starts with a 5-iron and runs through a sand wedge. Each club offers moderate length with admirable launch on a well-struck shot.
The Ram Golf Iron sets are for beginning golfers only. Most advanced golfers will spend more on their sand wedge, than this set costs, but that doesn’t mean it should be excluded from the best golf irons for the money list. Instead, by keeping costs low, the beginning golfer can learn with the Ram Irons and save for a better set when they improve.
Extreme X5
Best Performance Option for Seniors
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KEY FEATURES
- Built specifically for senior golfers with tall and wide face for easy launch
- Designed to provide maximum forgiveness with stainless steel shafts
- Golf grips on set are made to help golfers struggling with arthritis
Another set of irons that present benefits to a specific group of golfers is the Extreme X5 Irons. This set is exclusively for seniors. Everything about these irons is tailored to help the senior golfer increase their length, carry, and accuracy, while being easy on the hands.
Another excellent feature on the X5 Irons is the arthritis-friendly grips. For senior golfers with constant hand pain, these grips alleviate those annoying aches to help generate club speed and length from the fairway.
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For irons, like the 7-iron, the Extreme X5 set offers a tall, long face that keeps the ball moving forward with impressive forgiveness. The wide sole also produces terrific turf interaction with clean contact that produces results.
A marvelous set for senior golfers that want more from their game, the Extreme X5 Irons are delightful.
Cleveland Launcher Turbo HB
Best Hybrid Iron Option
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KEY FEATURES
- Turbocharged face increases ball speed for high launch and extended length from fairway
- HiBore Crown offers low, deep center of gravity with inviting top line for clear sightline to ball
- Progressive Hollow Shaping allows for gradual, but smooth, transition from hybrid-irons to low irons
From Cleveland Golf, the Launcher HB Iron Set, delivers an easy to hit hybrid alternative to golfers who are struggling to get the ball into the air.
The long irons in the set have a hybrid sole and back to provide smooth launch with excellent turf interaction. The short irons, in contrast, are similar to the type of irons you’d find anywhere. They have a cavity-backed design for tall shots that land softly on the green.
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Each iron in the set offers a turbocharged face that is thinner and hotter for more club speed. After impact, the ball carries with high launch, powered mainly by the steel shaft option, although a lightweight graphite shaft option is available.
What stands out about the Launcher Turbo HB Set, or its siblings, the Cleveland Launcher CBX Iron Set is how effortlessly it provides distance with dazzling accuracy. It is difficult to work these irons, especially the hybrids, but they provide unmatched consistency in a high value package.
TaylorMade SIM MAX OS
Best Forgiveness Option
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KEY FEATURES
- Speed Pocket delivers maximum flexibility across face for enhanced forgiveness
- Exceptional iron set that delivers outstanding launch with staggering distance
- Incredible turf interaction that works like forged irons
TaylorMade has once again created a masterpiece with their SIM MAX OS set.
Each golf club in this set is crafted with care, delivering magnificent length for advanced golf clubs. This set of irons does not waver from the rough, either as the wide sole produces unreal turf interaction for incredible contact with each swing.
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Although these do not have a graphite shaft option, this set of irons offer a stainless steel option that is straight muscle. Each golf club in this set of irons, like the 7-iron for example, produces a high arc that lands softly on the green with high spin.
These stunning golf clubs have the look and feel of forged irons, but deliver the consistent launch of clubs in the improvement categories.
PGX Single-Length
Best Single-Length Value Option
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KEY FEATURES
- Great iron set for creating one-plane swing for your fairway game
- Balanced short irons from heel to toe keeps face level through the impact zone
- Offers terrific consistency throughout the entire set with single-length steel shafts
For golfers looking to dabble with a one-plane swing, the Pinemeadow PGX Single-Length set of irons allows players to reproduce the swing path that pro golfers like Bryson DeChambeau swear by for their game.
The irons feature a low, balanced CG that launches the ball high into the air with a soft landing that keeps shots close to the pin. Each iron has a broad sole for excellent turf interaction and the longer face also helps with forgiveness.
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What these golf clubs do best is provide consistency for your fairway game. Since each club is the same length, the golfer can take the same stance and produce the same swing for a reliability that other golf clubs cannot deliver to players.
Although single-length golf clubs might seem too abstract to play, for golfers that struggle with traditional irons, these PGX golf clubs offer an exciting alternative.
Wilson Staff D7
Best Cavity-Back Option for Mid Handicappers
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KEY FEATURES
- Deeper center of gravity increases launch angle for maximum carry to shots into the green
- Oversized head delivers balance along with forgiveness for crisper contact from clubs
- Available in graphite shafts for faster swing speed that adds distance to your game
The final set of golf clubs on our list is the Wilson Staff D7. Although the company makes several worthwhile iron sets, the D7 are available at a low cost and deliver outstanding performance.
Each iron features the company’s patented Progressive Power Holes. Like with pockets behind the face of TaylorMade Irons, the holes of these Wilson clubs provide flexibility along the entire face. The holes also balance the face for better accuracy and additional yardage.
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The feel on the Wilson Staff D7 irons is another impressive detail with each iron in this set. At impact, the damped vibration offers a solid feel that grows confidence in the golfer.
The irons start with a 5-iron and offer two wedges, a pitching and gap wedge.
A wonderful set of irons that work great for any mid handicapper, the Wilson Staff D7 set is a top-tier option and a great value for the money.
What To Look For When Picking The Best Golf Irons For The Money
Inclusions
The inclusions of a golf set deal with the build of the collection. For example, most golf iron sets begin with a 4-or 5-iron because most amateurs like to play with hybrids. By starting with this mid-iron, manufacturers can include additional wedges or create a sparse set that lowers price and minimizes the number of clubs.
Another area of inclusion that most golfers need to pay attention to is the number of wedges included in the set. Most sets offer a pitching wedge, but other, more detailed sets, include as many as three wedges for golfers. For beginners and higher handicaps, additional wedges will help lower scores.
Comfort
Every golfer needs to be comfortable with their iron set. For advanced golfers, the ability to work shots is vital to posting low scores and that comes from feeling comfort with their clubs.
For high handicap players and beginning golfers, an iron set needs to increase the speed and distance of shots, primarily with the help of creating high launch. The more positive results that golf irons provide, the more golfers at this level will feel a sense of confidence and comfort.
Irons that produce pleasing sound and feel also instill confidence for golfers while providing comfort to their game.
Technologies
Innovative technologies can help increase forgiveness, length, and reduce sidespin for better accuracy inside 150 yards.
For golfers with a high handicap, the club’s innovations can produce more repeatable quality shots. Additional length and shot height are two benefits to playing with new golf irons. Cavity-back irons also produce these results for beginning golfers.
Such elements as feel, sound, and turf interaction are also greatly enhanced by well-made golf irons. When purchasing a new set, knowing how the clubs perform with regard to producing the shot height and high-quality speed is a huge advantage.
Material
The material used in a golf iron is vital to its overall performance. From the steel used to create the head to the weight of the shaft, each component plays a vital role in the type of shot the club produces with each swing.
The shaft of the iron is also important because stainless steel, although preferred by most golfers, is heavier than graphite. For golfers that need more club speed, a graphite shaft’s reduced weight can help add MPH to the bottom line.
The heavier the material used to create the head, the slower the club will move on the downswing as well.
Forgiveness
Typically, the wider and larger the face of the iron, the more forgiving it is for the golfer. Now, why that may sound simplistic, more times than not, it is true.
An iron’s forgiveness begins with the design of the club’s head. Everything from the sole, perimeter weighting, moment of inertia, center of gravity, zip grooves, top line, and leading edge play a part in how forgiving the club is on each shot.
When a ball impacts the face at a point that is considered off-center, the flexibility of the face works to redirect the golf ball by reducing its sidespin and sending the ball on a straighter path.
Conclusion
On our extensive list of the best golf irons for the money, each set offers golf clubs that work to increase distance, improve accuracy, and offer higher levels of forgiveness.
When looking for the right golf irons for the money to fit your game, price should always play a big factor, but never above the quality and performance of the set.
For golfers who want performance and value from their set, our top choice, the TaylorMade M6 iron set offers premium design and features with unbelievable results on the course.
The M6 set provides mid to low handicappers with advanced game-improvement irons that continue to offer workability and magnificent control.