Which are the best mid-handicap golf irons in 2023?
Sometimes known as ‘game-improvement’ irons, the best mid-handicap irons offer golfers plenty of distance and forgiveness, but in a package that still looks and feels good. Typically aimed at handicaps ranging from 10 to the low 20s, mid-handicap irons aren’t as forgiving or distance-boosting as high-handicap irons, but offer more help than blades or players’ irons.
With the average handicap sitting somewhere in the mid-teens, it’s little surprise that mid-handicap irons are incredibly popular. It’s an area most brands have focused on over the last few years, meaning there’s a fantastic range of mid-handicap irons to choose from. But which are the best mid-handicap irons for you?
The Today’s Golfer’s best forgiving golf irons test compared all the mid-handicap irons from every manufacturer and found four models to be the best of the best.
Srixon ZX4 MK II
The Srixon ZX4 MK II iron head features elegant straight lines, similar to the equally brilliant ZX5 and ZX7 MK II models. Although the ZX4 heads are the biggest and longest of the three models, there’s still a very attractive look at address, with not too much offset.
Srixon have made the topline thickness of all three models fairly consistent so they look similar at address, which means golfers can create their own perfect combo set of two or three models.
In the Today’s Golfer test, the ZX4 was the joint-longest mid-handicap iron, producing the fastest ball speeds, while also ranking in the top-three for forgiveness.
That’s a seriously impressive performance from a club that looks and feels as good as any mid-handicap iron, while also being competitively priced.
TaylorMade Stealth
TaylorMade offer a great range of clubs for mid-handicap golfers and the Stealth irons look and sound the part while delivering excellent distance and forgiveness.
TaylorMade also offer excellent custom fitting, enabling you to try the Stealth irons at weaker and stronger lofts in order to dial in your ideal ball flight and carry distances.
Ping G430
Ping G irons have always offered lots of forgiveness and the G430 is no different, but the looks are a step up on previous versions.
The centre of gravity has been lowered, as Ping’s research found that most amateurs hit their iron shots low on the face. There are yardage and forgiveness gains to be had over the previous model, the Ping G425, and Ping have switched to two-year product cycles, so you can buy the G430 safe in the knowledge that the model won’t be old hat next year.
PXG 0211 XCOR2
PXG made their name with super-premium clubs before releasing some models at more reasonable price points, including the excellent 0211 XCOR2 irons.
Although the 0211 XCOR2 irons aren’t forged, and don’t feature PXG’s famous weighting technology, you are buying into the brand’s impressive knowledge and design expertise for just £99 per club (when you buy five irons or more). That’s outstanding value for money and most golfers would struggle to feel a difference between the 0211 XCOR2 and PXG’s far more expensive irons.