The 9 Best Game Improvement Irons of 2023

In 2023, 49 percent of male golfers hold a handicap between 10 and 20. That’s prime game improvement iron territory, which is why equipment manufacturers invest tons of research and development into making the best game improvement irons possible. They’re doing a great job, too. Today’s game improvement irons are undeniably impressive.

If you’re shopping for new irons, and your handicap falls in the meat of the market – between 10 and 20 – it’s most likely a game improvement iron will fit your game better than any other category of iron. 

To help you decide which set might be the best for you, or learn about which ones you need to demo at your next fitting, we’ve selected our nine favorite game improvement irons of 2023.

The TaylorMade Stealth irons take our crown as the best game improvement irons of 2023. They performed best for distance in our testing, and also produced the highest ball speed. From a game-improvement standpoint, the Stealth irons had the easiest sweet spot to find, which is essentially what this entire category comes down to. 

With the capped cavity back and a neutral color scheme, the Stealth irons are pleasing to the eye. TaylorMade carries some of its traditional technology into the Stealth irons, like the speed pocket in the sole of the club, which promotes fastest club speed. That’s a nice perk for players who don’t want to swing out of their shoes to get max distance. 

Pros:

• Top end distance
• Forgiving club face
• Clean, neutral aesthetics

Cons:

• Not the most accurate iron in our testing
• Maybe too much offset for players at the top end of the game improvement category

Cleveland has carved out a nice niche among avid golfers with decreasing swing speeds. The brand simply makes great clubs for seniors, and the Launcher XL Halo irons are no exception. 

The XL Launcher irons are somewhat of a blended set. The long irons emphasize forgiveness while the short irons prioritize accuracy and control. Every club from the 8-iron up has deeper grooves that are closer together to generate more spin. Meanwhile, the longer irons have larger heads, for more confidence on those tougher shots.

One final feature that’s important to note is counterweight in the grip. The 8g weight makes the club head feel lighter and also helps battle a slice.

Pros:

• Great value
• Counterweight makes them easier to hit straight
• Blended set to get the most out of every club
• Built for forgiveness
• Loft stamped on club head

Cons:

• Large head may turn off some players
• Low workability

If you want a game improvement iron in a traditional-looking package at a stunningly low price, there’s one obvious choice: the Sub 70 699 irons.

The 699 irons don’t look like a game improvement iron, but they are. They’re hollow-bodied with a thin face for maximum distance, with TPE material behind the face for premium feel at impact. On top of that, forgiving across the face.

For $560, the 699 irons perform like sets that cost double triple the price.

Don’t just take our word for it. As of this publishing, 108 people have reviewed the 699 irons, and 107 of them gave them a perfect 5-star rating. The other one? A mere 4-stars.

Pros:

• Very forgiving
• More traditional lofts than most competition
• Best value in the game improvement category
• Best customer service in the industry
• Industry-leading demo program

Cons:

• Most golfers don’t have access to a Sub 70 fitting before buying
• Not the latest release of this iron line (699 v2)

The Callaway Paradym irons out-performed the competition in the statistic you could argue is the most important for this category of irons: accuracy.

If you’re a mid-handicapper who just needs to hit a few more greens to shoot your target scores, the Paradym irons really could help you get there. Of course, we recommend being fit before committing to such a significant purchase, but make sure to test the Paradym irons when you do.

Besides being most accurate, the Paradym irons feel great through impact, and with minimal offset, a relatively toned-down design, and medium sole width, they’re great for players on the better-end of the game improvement spectrum, and even work great for single-digit handicappers. That’s great news for improving golfers, because for what you pay, you’ll want to keep them in your bag for a long while.

For players on the other side of the coin, the Paradym X has a touch more offset, wider sole, and larger head, and may be more suitable for the upper-mid-handicappers.

Pros:

• Top-end accuracy
• Great choice for players on their way to single-digit handicap
• Satisfying feel through impact
• Confidence-inspiring at address

Cons:

• More targeted to the better mid-handicapper than the higher-mid-handicapper (consider Paradym X)
• Price will turn off many shoppers

For whatever reason, Cobra seems to get overlooked by golf consumers compared to some of the other top brands, but that reason is certainly not performance. If you’ve never tested clubs from Cobra, do yourself a favor and give them a shot, you’ll see exactly what we’re talking about.

The Cobra Aerojet irons were among the best game improvement irons we tested. Ball speed across the face beat almost every other competitor, and even a smooth, controlled swing cranked out some of the best distances of the irons we tested.

The reason for those increased ball speeds is Cobra’s AI-designed variable thickness face, designed to produce maximum speed whether you hit it pure, or away from the center. That’s a feature anybody in the game improvement segment will appreciate.

Pros:

• Impressive ball speed all over the face
• Satisfying feel through impact
• Available in one-length sets for players looking for even more consistency (get fit first)

Cons:

• Spin numbers in our testing we lower than most competitors

PING took its mission to improve on the previous generation G425 irons seriously before it released the new G430 irons in 2023. During testing, PING engineers realized that the badge on the back of the G425 irons was causing reduced distances – by a significant amount –  so they engineered a new Pureflex badge that allows the face to flex and unleashes maximum distance.

PING also has the advantage of a partnership with Arccos, and can use data to see where PING players need the most help. This data helped introduce a new loft cadence with the G430 irons that pair increased distance with ideal gapping.

When it’s all said and done, the G430 irons fly farther, spin more, and land steeper than their predecessors, all elements that will help golfers hit more greens. And in case you didn’t know, hitting greens in regulation is one of the top predictors of your score. The more you hit, the lower you shoot.

Pros:

• Noticeably improved distance compared to G425 irons
• Impressive sound at impact
• Steep descent angle helps players hold greens

Cons:

• Not the best-feeling iron at impact in our testing
• Strong-lofted 41-degree pitching wedge essentially requires adding one more wedge to the bag

Despite releasing Paradym in 2023, Callaway is keeping its previous generation of irons, Rogue ST Max, in the rotation for another year. And guess what, they perform quite similarly to Paradym, but with a much more palatable price tag. 

There’s no denying that Paradym and Rogue ST Max were two of the best-performing irons we tested. While Paradym eeked out two more yards of distance, spin numbers were comparable, and accuracy, club speed, ball speed, and smash factor were all pretty much identical. On top of that, Rogue actually had a steeper descent angle by two degrees. 

The Rogue ST Max are great irons for players shopping in the game improvement category, and now that there’s a new Sheriff in town, you can grab these at a really good price. And because they’re still in Callaway’s cycle, you can still get custom fit for them at national fitting retailers.

Pros:

• Excellent performance at a significant discount
• One of the most accurate game improvement irons we tested
• Steepest descent angle of our test group

Cons:

• May launch too high for some players

If you’re simply passing through the mid-handicap and game improvement segment as you speed to your final destination of being a low-handicap or scratch player, you might want an iron that will bridge more of that gap than the others on this list. For those players – and anyone seeking quality, high-performing irons – there’s the Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal irons.

Ball speed on these Hot Metal irons is outstanding, and the Hot Metal line includes the Hot Metal, Hot Metal Pro, and Hot Metal High Launch. The standard and Pro editions use the same lofts, but the Pro has a more compact profile. That means for players interested in a blended set with larger heads for more confidence in the long irons, and more confidence-inspiring heads in the scoring clubs, these work perfectly.

For players with slower swing speeds who can’t quite launch these strong-lofted (28.5-degree 7-iron) clubs, the High Launch edition simply offers weaker lofts for easier launch, at the expense of a little bit of distance.

However, if any version of the JPX923 Hot Metal irons are in your bag, distance won’t be a concern. Mizuno has equipped these irons with Nickel Chromoly, which it says boosts ball speed so much that its engineers had to pivot their focus to feel and stopping power. What a nice problem to have.

Pros:

• Penetrating ball flight
• Top-end ball speed
• Ability to blend a set or opt for the high-launch version if the lofts are too strong

Cons:

• Doesn’t offer the soft feeling of a forged iron

If you’re dipping your toes in the waters of 2023 game improvement irons, your job is not done until you’ve tried the new Dynapower irons from Wilson. These irons are easy to hit, and produce highly-competitive distance. And, they do that at a better price than any other iron on this list that was released in 2023 (the more affordable irons on this list were all released prior to 2023).

On top of easy distance, the Dynapower irons are forgiving across the club face, thanks to the AI-design and variable thickness. With a lower CG, it’s easy to launch these high and stop them quickly.

Pros:

• Highly forgiving
• Easy to hit
• Excellent price
• Competitive distance

Cons:

• More ball speed retained on toe misses than heel misses
• Club head can appear large at address which may not suit some golfers