Are golf club makers creating a new iron category? | Fully equipped

If 2024 was the year of the driver, then we can say with confidence that 2025 was the year of the iron.

From releases like Titleist’s new 2025 T-Series, TaylorMade’s fifth generation P790 and the continued run of the P770 and P7CB, Ping’s i240, Mizuno’s JPX 925 and Pro S-3, Callaway’s X Forged and Ai150, Srixon’s ZXi series and Cobra’s full retail release of the 3DP Tour, the market has never been this deep.

On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, co-hosts Johnny Wunder and Jake Morrow discussed this year’s iron releases, especially in the cavity back category, and Morrow made an interesting point about the focus of golf club manufacturers.

“You have an incredible cavity backmarket, but it seems like all the OEMs are trying to push the market slightly above that,” Morrow said.

As Morrow points out, there are only so many things you can do with a Cavity Back iron before it becomes something that is more game improvement but not as big in terms of chassis.

You have irons like TaylorMade’s P7CB, Titleist T100, Mizuno Pro S-3, Callaway X Forged, Srixon ZXi7, and so on. But it seems like the clubs that the OEMs think more golfers, even low handicappers, should buy are the P770, T150 and T250, JPX 925 Forged and Hot Metal Pro, X Forged Max and Ai150 and ZXi5.

TaylorMade P770 custom irons

FORGED HOLLOW BODY CONSTRUCTION The forged hollow body construction gives golfers the best of both worlds; beauty and performance. A soft 8620 carbon steel body combines with an incredibly thin forged 4140 steel face and Thru-Slot Speed ​​Pocket™ for a design that is fast, flexible and forgiving, even with a compact head shape. FLTD CG FLTD CG strategically positions the center of gravity (CG) at the lowest point in the long irons and gradually shifts higher throughout the set. FLTTDCG uses up to 46 grams of tungsten and is designed to provide players with improved launch and playability in long irons and increase spin in the scoring irons. SPEEDFOAM AIR The all-new SpeedFoam Air is 69% less dense than its predecessor, creating mass savings that are redistributed to improve performance. SpeedFoam Air dampens vibrations for excellent sound and feel while creating a fast, flexible clubface. TOUR-INSPIRED DESIGN With elegant refinements including less offset in the long irons, the new P•770 is designed for a more demanding player’s eye with visual cues including a thin topline, less offset and a shorter blade length compared to the P•790. THRU-SLOT SPEED POCKET The Thru-Slot Speed ​​Pocket™ provides increased face flexibility while maintaining ball speed and distance on low impact shots.

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, TaylorMade

These clubs are in a category that is more playable than the traditional Cavity Back iron, but does not quite fit the size, appearance or ball speed of the player’s distance category. It’s almost like a brand new iron category is created between players’ hollow backs and players’ distance.

“You also see a little bit with the drivers: the super game improvements and the player drivers, the gap between the two is getting smaller and smaller,” Wunder said. “And these R&D departments are able to pack a lot of technology into a smaller package.”

Morrow pointed out that TaylorMade’s second-generation P770, the first with a hollow design in 2020, was probably a bit too hot for most of the players it was aimed at.

Now the focus is on finding a hollow body iron that is not as fast as those in the player distance category, but still retains the ball speed and spin retention properties of those designs.

Golfers who play caveback and blade irons use them because they want consistency and control. If you can give them irons that offer the same level of control but also more forgiveness for their bad swings, they will use them.

Wunder and Morrow have already seen this in action with PXG’s new 8th generation “T” iron during a preview event earlier this month, which would presumably fall into this new category.

It appears this won’t be the last iron to fall into this new player-to-player distance category.

For more information about Wunder and Morrow, listen to the full episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped hereor watch it below.

Want to give your bag a makeover in 2025? Find a club fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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