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The irons are a family of clubs that are designed for long distance shots that approach the green. Producing shots that are a little shorter in distance compared to the woods, irons are best used from under 200 to around 120 yards from the green. However, that’s a standard that’s held mostly for men. The use of irons for women is a completely different story.
As women are known to produce slightly shorter distances than men across the board, the best golf irons for women will often be slightly different from what a man might bring around. Designed to accommodate the distinct qualities of a female’s swing, the best golf irons for women make it possible for any lady golfer to achieve shots that are no less powerful and accurate than any Tom, Dick, or Harry’s.
Women’s irons are designed to factor in the general qualities of a casual lady golfer’s swing. In fact, in many ways, these irons can also work well for beginners and high-handicappers who need a more forgiving club that can generate greater distances even with a slightly slower swing.
But what exactly makes a woman’s iron any different from men’s?
As you might expect, irons designed specifically for women will be lighter than men’s. This simply makes it easier for the player to swing at full speed, without the weight of a hefty club dragging back the power. But other than the design’s overall weight, the distribution of its weight also differs.
Compared to a men’s iron, those designed for women will have most of the weight focused in the head area. The club remains lighter overall, but the extra distribution in the region of the club head creates more of a pendulum swing that smooth out the arc for a more powerful, accurate shot even at slower swing speeds.
Height differences between male and female players make an obvious consideration for golf club manufacturers. With relatively shorter arms and stature, women may have difficulty with a long, male-patterned clubs that are designed for taller players with greater reach.
The general women’s iron will be an inch shorter on average, compared to any men’s option. But that isn’t set in stone. Because there are some lady golfers who can be shorter or taller than the usual, women’s clubs can also be purchased in a variety of specialty lengths that cater to women who might not fit the average height.
Flexibility adds to speed - that’s just part of golf club science. When an iron’s shaft is designed to flex, it can produce more powerful collision to launch your ball farther distances. This works mostly for individuals with slower swing speeds who need the extra oomph to come to par with more experienced heavy-hitters.
A woman’s iron will typically brandish a graphite shaft that readily flexes during the swing. With its heavy head dragging behind, the shaft bends back and preserves momentum to impart more power during impact. Plus, graphite is known to be a far lighter material than steel, making it possible for the club to be less weighty overall.
Choosing a golf club is something of an exact science. The fact that there are dozens of specialty shops and services that will professionally fit a club for you based on your unique body build and swing will tell you that the process of club selection isn’t all that easy. And while there are a sundry of considerations that need to be accounted for before coming to a final decision, there are a few tips you can use to come to a sound choice.
Some of the long distance irons can be tougher to use, and may produce reduced distances in the hands of a lady golfer. Of course, that ultimately depends on your level of expertise. For instance, an advanced lady golfer could easily handle a 4 or 5-iron, which means they could carry one in their bag without much of a fuss. But for the average, intermediate or beginner, it may be important to factor in how much experience they have.
Most experts recommend that women use the 7-iron as their longest iron. Any irons longer than that can be replaced by hybrids or woods. They are typically easier to handle and far more forgiving than the 6, 5, 4, 3, 2-irons which are considered some of the hardest to hit. For reference, most experts recommend that women consider substituting the longer irons for these alternatives:
IRON | ALTERNATIVE |
|---|---|
2-iron | 4-wood or 3-hybrid |
3-iron | 5-wood or 4-hybrid |
4-iron | 4 or 5-hybrid |
5-iron | 5 or 6-hybrid |
6-iron | 6 or 7-hybrid |
Slight differences in the anatomy of the club head can produce a world’s worth of difference in terms of performance. The distinct qualities of a woman’s swing should have her looking for these specific characteristics in her irons’ club heads.
A wider sole creates a smoother, ‘bouncing’ motion off of the turf as the club swings forward towards the ball. With a wider, rounder sole, you minimize the risk of cutting into the turf, creating large divots. And resulting to a fat shot that puts earth between your club face and your golf ball.
The cavity back design is becoming particularly preferred in spheres of golfers who have either high handicaps or slow swing speeds. The design takes a large chunk of the club head’s volume from the back of the face, creating a cavity that adjusts the weight and physics of the head. This generates a much larger sweet spot on the face. Allowing you to correct mishits and produce a relatively substantial distance even without maximum power.
This refers to the distribution of weight across the face of the club. With most of the club’s mass surrounding the center of the club face, you get a much wider strike zone. In many ways, perimeter weighting is also the result of the cavity back anatomy, allowing a more forgiving iron all around.
Generally speaking, most women players will find graphite shafts to be particularly conducive for both casual and competitive play. But there’s a whole lot more to choosing a shaft material than simply going off of what everyone tells you to do. Remember - buying a club is all about satisfying your own standards and preferences. So it helps to fully understand what each shaft brings to the table if you’re interested in buying something that really matches your unique play.
MATERIAL | BENEFITS | DRAWBACKS |
|---|---|---|
Steel | Least expensive of all golf club shaft materials, steel can last the longest with proper care. Ideal for more experienced golfers who want to leverage extra weight to maximize accuracy and swing power. | Might be a little too heavy for lady golfers, beginners, seniors and high-handicap golfers. It doesn't absorb shock, so mishits tend to produce an unpleasant resonance. |
Graphite | Lightweight and flexible, it is often branded as the best material for women's clubs. Often the shaft material of choice for players with slower swing speeds, since the flexibility works to augment results by adding distance and speed. | Typically the last durable among all types of club shaft material. May need more care and more frequent replacements compared to steel and titanium. |
Titanium | Heavier than graphite but lighter than steel. It is an ultra-stiff material that finds its home in the hands of the most experienced, advanced golfers who appreciate the strong vibrations and feedback that come from the heavy-duty material. | Aside from being a little more expensive than other material options, it is also the loudest at impact and may be particularly difficult to hit for beginners, high handicappers and slow swingers. |
Designed for professional-level play, the Mavrik Max Individual Iron fights for the position of the best womens golf irons with its intuitive engineering and ingenious material combinations. The clubs are available in a standard graphite and a graphite ultra-light option that’s designed for beginner’s and petite lady golfers who might need even lighter clubs for the course. The heads are particularly heavy, designed with the brand’s Flash Face Cup that works to spread out the sweet spot, giving you more surface area to work with for a variety of shots.
But more than just an enlarged strike zone, these clubs feature a tungsten component that’s incorporated into the heads. The purpose of which is to calibrate the position of the head’s center of gravity. The result? Perfect CG placement that almost picks up your ball, grips it during the launch, and throws it over longer distances with substantial height. All that said, these clubs promise to give you that coveted lift that you need to get your ball going.
Another entry from Callawya Golf, the Callaway Golf Rogue Individual Irons are intended to help any woman achieve professional level performance on the course. Often considered one of the best golf irons for ladies, the Callaway Golf Rougue series uses premium construction with high-grade materials to bring you excellent feel and results anywhere on the course. The heads are carefully designed with the brand’s own Cup 360 technology that optimizes weight distribution for an enlarged sweet spot. Its shaft, made from the brand’s Synergy 60G material, is a lightweight graphite that provides maximum flex.
Precision milling on the club face produces excellent feedback and resonance during the shot. Therefore, helping players pick up on subtle information to help improve their next swing. And because these clubs were designed with women in mind, they’re especially lightweight and forgiving.
The TaylorMade Kalea Golf Irons were especially designed for a woman’s game, providing featherlight performance that extends distance to the last yard. The heads are designed with especially low and deep centers of gravity, allowing a more controlled, smoother swing that produce accurate results every time. This, combined with the club’s milled face texture, allows an effortless launch that gets your ball airborne with little effort.
With its Speed Pocket feature, the Kalea clubs are intended to shoot through the swing plane with substantial speed, allowing slow swingers to experience explosive results with each stroke. Slim Tech shafts make the Kalea Golf Irons especially lightweight, giving off a satisfying feeling in the hand to improve your control and accuracy.
The Powerbilt Golf EX-550 Hybrid Iron Set features graphite shafts and hollow-body construction that work together to bring you reliable performance that mitigates the risk of mishits. Its hollow back heads are intended not only to enlarge the sweet spot, but are also engineered to heighten the clubs’ moment of inertia. This simply means that as you swing at top speed, the club becomes far more resistant to twisting motions that could result to a mishit.
The lightweight graphite shafts are particularly flexible and easy to control, letting you achieve a smooth swing that’s dead on the target. The longer irons feature a wider, larger sole that works to reduce the risk of fat shots, while the shorter irons tout smaller, narrower soles to lend you greater precision as you approach the green.
Gone are the days when men dominated the course. Today, women earn the same right to rule the round with a variety of specially designed clubs that level the playing field and max out their potential to compete closely with the boys. If you’re hoping to prove that you’re a formidable golf course force to be reckoned with, don’t forget to pack along the best golf irons for women.
Our research has found that the Mavrik Max Individual Iron come out as the ultimate irons for any woman across the board. Helping to amplify your skill to bring out the best shots with forgiving performance and premier engineering.
