The Best Budget Irons of 2024: 8 Picks From $350 to $650

I’ve been covering and writing about golf for more than 30 years, and have been asked this question a lot by beginners:

“What kind of clubs should I get?”

My answer has always been the same. “Cheap ones.”

The truth is golfers of all abilities can be frugal when buying golf equipment without sacrificing quality. Some of the best budget irons today come from lesser-known companies that produce some really high-quality irons with little or no marketing.

A new set of irons can easily cost more than $1,000, but you can get a really good set of irons for hundreds less. Many of the best deals on irons come from brands that sell directly to consumers. You won’t find some of these brands in retail stores or golf shops.

You might be concerned that these online options don’t offer much in terms of fitting or customization. The truth is, many direct-to-consumer club manufacturers let you build clubs to your exact specifications. Most of the brands featured on this list, like Haywood, Takomo, Sub 70, MacGregor and RAM, offer ample shaft and grip options, and the opportunity to order your irons to custom length and lie specs. You can even have lofts tweaked a degree or two in some cases. 

With those custimization options in mind, knowing your specs is a powerful key to help you get a custom set of irons at a bargain price. 

I would classify a budget set of irons as those around $600 or less for a set of six or seven clubs. That price range safely puts you at about half the price of a new set from the big brands (Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade, PING, Cobra, Srixon) of the industry.

Another avenue, however (which is what I tell a lot of newbies) is to look at used clubs. If you’re looking to save money on a proline set, for example, that’s your best bet. Since counterfeit golf clubs are legitimate concern, we recommend purchasing used clubs through a trustworthy seller, like 2nd Swing Golf or Callaway Pre-Owned.

Another thing you should always be on the lookout for, however, are knockoffs. These are cheap imitations of better known brands. A couple of decades or so ago, knockoffs were a real problem. Cheap copies of the Ping Eye2 were showing up everywhere. A brand called King Snake was the knockoff of the very popular King Cobra irons at the time. Today, there are clone clubs such as Z-Force, Ashton, and Turner, which some simply call “components.” They’re cheap, around $35 per club, but I would steer clear of them, even if you’re a beginner, because the quality and consistency is pretty suspect.

Here, then, is a look at some of the best budget irons that have real value and quality.

Pros: 

• Fairly attractive
• Impressive distance
• Very forgiving

Cons:

• Doesn’t feel as good as many players distance irons

These Adams Idea irons might fly under the radar a little bit for you, but when I hit them, I found them very easy to hit, not bad to look at, and even somewhat workable. While these are definitely game-improvement irons, I’d have no problem putting them in my bag.

The Idea irons have a slightly thicker topline than a lot of players distance irons, a little bit of offset, and tri-sole design to help you on those tight lies. They have hollow body construction with a low center of gravity, which means they go far and get up in the air fairly easily.

Pros:

• Fully forged head
• Players profile with compact footprint
• Fit to any spec with various shaft, grip, length, lie and loft options/adjustments available
• Save even more with option to buy heads only if you already have your preferred shafts

Cons:

• Return policy is not favorable if you use them and decide they aren’t for you

The typical warning on fogred, players-profile clubs is that they’re reserved only for better players. However, GolfLink's thorough test of these MT Milled irons from MacGregor proved they perform exceptionally well whether you strike the center of the face, or miss it on the toe or heel side. That’s why we think this is one of the best budget irons of 2024 for mid-handicap or better players.

On top of that surprising forgiveness, these irons look great in the bag and check in at just $549 for a 5-PW set. MacGregor even gives you all the shaft options you could possibly need (many of which come at no upcharge) plus the option to adjust length, lie angle, loft, and select your grip specs. If you want to keep the shafts you’re already using, or you want to assemble the clubs yourself, you can buy just the heads and save another $100.

Pros: 

• Compact design and look
• Impressive distance
• Nice feel

Cons:

• Not as beautiful as some other players irons

When looking for budget irons, you should always check what the savings look like on gently used iron sets. Often with some of the name brands you can go back a generation and score some bargains with some really high quality clubs. Some manufacturers, like Callaway, and even second-hand retailers like 2nd Swing Golf, have really good trade in programs, which really benefits golfers who upgrade their equipment regularly.

For the budget-conscious consumer, that means significant savings on equipment that’s often in near new conditions. Such is the case here with Callaway pre-owned Mavrik Pro irons that, depending on the condition rating and specs of the set, you can get from $400 to $600 for a set. They were closer to a grand when they were introduced a couple of years ago. 

These irons have a lot of technology wrapped up into them, including an AI-designed Flash Face Cup for distance and forgiveness. They also have a tungsten energy core for optimal launch, and urethane microspheres for terrific feel.

Pros: 

• Great forged feel
• Workability
• Good distance

Cons:

• Thicker top line and offset might not appeal to some players

You’re not likely to find a better deal anywhere on a forged set of irons. A set of 4-PW of these Takomo 201 irons is just $589, while pretty much all other forged sets are well north of $1,000.

The best part is that these are high-quality, great feeling clubs that should appeal to the better player. Made with soft carbon steel, the clubs are also customizable. You can get different lies, shafts, and other options. Like you would expect in a better players’ club, these irons are also very workable, but somewhat forgiving, too, since they are cavity back.

Pros: 

• Great looking irons
• Forgiving
• Good distance
• Custom options

Cons:

• Show wear more quickly than some other irons

You can get the Ram FX77 in a chrome finish or a stainless steel black. I picked the latter because it has such a great look. And these are really good irons despite that rock-bottom price ($449 for a 4-PW set or $399 for 5-PW right now). Plus, they are available with lots of custom options.

These players distance irons look good, are forgiving, and go pretty far. It’s a great combo, of course, found in many of the most popular, and more expensive, irons on the market. Besides the black finish, I also like the thin topline. 

These hollow heads have a muscle-back look to them, and even though they are not forged, they undergo a special heat treatment that is supposed to give them somewhat of a forged feel. 

Pros: 

• Cool, sleek appearance
• Very forgiving
• Good distance

Cons:

• Look may be a bit too radical for some

All the irons from Sub 70 are really cool looking, but I really like the design of the 699 v2 irons, which the company says were the result of three years of research, testing and development. These clubs feature a redesigned 1.7-millimeter face that not only increases distance, but also enhances distance on strikes across the entire face. Anybody who’s looking for an iron that’s easy to hit should consider the Sub 70 699 v2.

The standard satin finish looks really sharp and is durable. But you can also get these irons in black, which features a “diamond-like carbon” coating that’s supposed to be eight times stronger than steel and are highly scratch and fade resistant. So these should look good for quite a while.

Pros: 

• Clean look
• Responsive feel
• Workability

Cons:

• Probably not forgiving enough for high handicappers

Another example of players hollow body irons, the Haywood PD.1 Players Distance irons have a really clean look and great feel to them.

They feature what the Canadian company calls 17-4SS body injected with 11 grams of strategically placed foam and an S450 face. With minimal offset you can really work these clubs, yet the foam combined with a thin responsive face translates into great feel and really good distance. A fog silver finish looks premium and reduces glare at address.

It's easy to customize your Haywood irons. When ordering, you can select from 25-plus shaft options, tweak length, lie, and loft, select your preferred grip, and even add custom ferrules. Based in Vancouver, Canada, you can order these irons directly or visit one of their dealers, which are located throughout North America, as well as locations in Europe and Asia.