The 9 Best Game Improvement Irons of 2024

In 2024, more than 48 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 2024.

We loved TaylorMade’s Stealth irons so much that they topped this very list in 2023. When the Qi irons replaced those Stealth irons in 2024, we didn’t simply pass the torch. Rather, TaylorMade earned the top spot once again as it really did improve on an already impressive game improvement iron.

The Qi has a 14% larger sweet spot that its predecessor, Stealth, which is exactly what players in this category are looking for from an iron. TaylorMade also paid special attention to optimizing the CG in each individual iron to optimize performance for that specific part of the bag. Furthermore, the engineers at TaylorMade built draw-bias into the loger irons. If you’ve swapped your long irons for hybrids, TaylorMade politely asks you to think twice before you do that with the Qi irons, because they are so confident you’ll find the long irons easy to launch high and hit straight, which are the primary reasons mid and high-handicappers dump them.

On the other end of the set, the Qi line actually runs all the way up to a 59-degree lob wedge, so if you want consistency and a seamless transition from your irons through your wedges, you can put Qi 4-iron through LW in your bag. 

Pros: 

• Higher, straighter long irons
• Seamless transition all the way through lob wedge
• 14% larger sweet spot than Stealth
• Excellent spin compared to competitors in the game improvement category
• Higher & Lighter (HL) version available with lighter components and weaker lofts

Cons:

• Some reviews noted heads flying off the shaft, an issue I’ve personally had with TaylorMade irons recently as well

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 MAX irons are no exception. 

The Launcher MAX irons emphasize high launch in an easy-to-hit profile. The deep, undercut cavity moves the CG deep and boosts forgiveness, which makes them high-launching while increasing your margin for error.

The set is also built to be lightweight, whether you choose steel or graphite shafts. That only makes them easier to swing and bolsters launch. 

Pros:

• Great value
• Built to be easy to swing, forgiving, and high-launching

Cons:

• Large head may turn off some players
• Low workability

Look up any irons you see commercials for on TV and you’ll quickly realize just how expensive it can be to upgrade your irons. Then, check out these beauties from RAM and you’ll see that this purchase doesn’t have to set you back much at all.

For just $400 (5-PW, chrome), the RAM FX77 irons check every box we can think of for a game improvement iron.

For starters, they look great, with that muscle-back profile despite a hollow head, you can upgrade the look of your bag without sacrificing distance or forgiveness. You even get to choose between a chrome or black finish.

If you’re worried about being stuck with stock shafts and specs in exchange for saving several hundred dollars, that’s not an issue either. You get to choose from a variety of shafts in every flex, various grip options, and dial in your length up or down an inch in quarter-inch increments.

On top of the ability to dial in your own specs, RAM offers one of the best demo programs of any Direct to Consumer club-seller that we’ve seen. For what is essentially a $50 deposit per club, you can demo either a 7-iron ($50) or a 6-iron and 9-iron ($100) for 30 days. After 30 days, you return the club(s) (RAM covers shipping both ways) and you get a refund of store credit to buy the set or club of your choosing. If you decide you don’t want anything from RAM, you can get a refund back to your payment method for a 25% restocking fee.

The finished product is a great looking, custom fit, set of game improvement irons that deliver distance and forgiveness at less than half the cost of most competitors. 

Now that’s tough to beat.

Pros:

• Less than half the cost of most competitors
• Muscle back look with game improvement performance
• Ability to dial in your own specs from shaft and grip selection to length adjustments
• Excellent demo program 

Cons:

• Demo program inventory can be hit or miss

In our testing 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.

For players on the higher end of the game-improvement spectrum, 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-handicappe

We forgive you if Titleist isn’t the first brand you think of when you think of game improvement irons. That’s not exactly the category where Titleist has planted its flag, but there are still plenty of serious players who can and should be using game improvement irons, and for those players, we suggest checking out the Titleist T350 irons.

The T350 set is available in anything from a 4-iron through a 53-degree wedge, with 48 and 53-degree wedges providing options beyond the 43-degree pitching wedge.

Despite the “FORGED” stamp on the hosel, only the face of the T350 is forged, which coupled with toe and heel tungsten weights behind the face and a muscle plate in the cavity, creates forgiveness with a clean, crisp sound at impact. 

Pros:

• Confidence-inspiring at address
• Great for serious players who can benefit from a game improvement iron

Cons:

• FORGED stamp on the hosel is misleading given that only the face is forged
• High end price

PXG is officially in the game improvement iron game.

The August 2024 launch of the PXG Black Ops irons marked the first time PXG released a no-doubt-about-it game improvement iron. You can debate whether the XP version of its 0311 lines qualifies as a game improvement iron, but this is the first iron PXG itself puts in the GI category.

The Black Ops irons get their distance in part from PXG’s proprietary core material, while creating forgiveness with a blend of offset and a low and deep CG.

Pros:

• Superb distance
• Forgiveness toe to heel and top to bottom on the club face
• Relatively minimal looks for a game improvement iron

Cons:

• Thick topline even by game improvement standards
• Players at the better end of the game improvement spectrum could find the distance is too long, and creates distance gaps when transitioning to wedges

If you haven’t seen the Takomo Iron 101, it’s one you must check out before you make any game improvement iron purchase. I personally did a thorough first-hand test of these irons and they performed so well that they stayed in the bag. For me, they delivered everything I want in a game improvement iron: forgiveness and distance without obnoxious looks. And don’t let the tired narrative of “you can’t shape shots” deter you, I grooved an easy baby draw with these irons in the bag.

The Iron 101 was really impressive at retaining distance on shots that missed the sweet spot, which I suppose is just another way of saying it has a large sweet spot. Either way, that’s great for the mid and high-handicap players shopping in this category. 

These irons look like a million bucks, especially given their game improvement peers, but the fact is you can stick a set in your bag – built to your specs – for under $500.

Pros:

• Excellent looks
• Huge sweet spot and minimal distance loss on shots off the toe and heel
• Great value at $489 for 4-PW set
• Option to buy heads only and save even more if you already have optimal shafts

Cons:

• Not available at fitting locations, so you should pinpoint the best shaft option yourself before purchasing to get the most out of this set

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.

The ball speed from these Hot Metal irons is outstanding. 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 the best game improvement irons, your job is not done until you’ve tried the Wilson Dynapower irons. These irons are easy to hit and produce highly-competitive distance. And, they do that at a competitive price.

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