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In golf, an intermediate player is someone you might call a mid-handicapper. These players are just above bogey golfers, and may or may not score below par. Much like beginners and pros, these golfers have specific clubs designed to make their experience on the course much more enjoyable and fruitful. In terms of irons, mid-handicappers are those who benefit most from game improvement irons which are intended to lower your handicap and maximize the results of your swing given your intermediate skills.
So, even at the level of a mid handicapper, you can come out on top and shine like a pro - as long as you have the right clubs to match your level of expertise. Now, with this knowledge, the biggest question on your mind might be - what are the best golf irons for mid handicapper players and how do I choose a set that’s just right for me?
Much like any other sporting equipment, you should look for something that meets all of your needs and preferences when buying irons. So if you’re feeling overwhelmed with your choices, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to start you off on the right foot.
There are two main types of irons - cavity backs and blades. These two types differ mainly in terms of their head silhouette. The blades, as the name suggests, are thinner and sleeker, offering impressive feedback ideal for players who want to become more consistent with their shots. With a smaller sweet spot, you could say that a blade is harder to hit compared to a cavity back. But because they do let you ‘feel’ the ball upon impact, they offer users an increased capacity to shape a shot.
Cavity backs on the other hand, are thick and bulky club heads that feature a hollowed area around the back. The purpose of the design is to achieve what’s called “peripheral weighting” - a golf club feature that places more reinforcement around the sides of the club’s face. This widens the sweet spot so that off center shots still make decent results.
If you want the best of both worlds, there are what’s called “hybrids” which combine some of the features of irons and woods. These are intended to replace longer irons which are typically harder to master compared to shorter irons. Hybrids work by moving the center of gravity lower and towards the back of the head so that users can generate more lift and distance even if their swing isn’t necessarily the best it could be.
For mid-handicappers looking for the best irons for their needs, it’s important to first consider what you want to achieve. Are you hoping to learn more about your swing and adjust your strategy based on feedback you receive upon striking the ball? A blade might be better suited to your needs.
Are you more interested in landing reasonable shots even though you might not have the most polished skills? A cavity back offers maximum forgiveness to improve distance and trajectory in spite of a flawed swing.
Are you looking for a long iron that offers greater control and accuracy? Maybe what you need is a hybrid that helps maximize distance for users who might find it harder to get the hand of typical long iron designs.
The selection for irons can be vast and varied, so it’s no wonder why some buyers struggle to find the right one all together. If you want to make sure you’re buying the ideal irons for your needs and skill level, be sure to take these tips into consideration.
If there’s one main issue you might want to settle before you buy an iron, it’s whether you need more forgiveness or more feedback. Each one of these factors plays a role in your performance as a player and will ultimately determine how you get to enjoy your new club.
Feedback is basically how well you’ll be able to feel the way your club makes impact with the ball. The greater the feedback, the easier it will be for you to calibrate your swing and learn what works best for what type of outcomes. More experienced players will almost always choose feedback over forgiveness because it helps them improve their skills.
Forgiveness on the other hand, pertains to a club that takes your bad shots and turns them into pretty good ones. For less experienced mid handicappers, this means you can get better results today even without improving your skills.
Of course, that might sound enticing, but it’s important to remember that as a mid handicapper, there’s still a lot of room for improvement. If you choose a club that’s too forgiving without providing feedback, you might find it hard to learn how to calibrate your swing.
Another factor that comes into play when considering club performance is the make and material used for the shaft. Changes in design can take a toll on flexibility and feel, which may or may not be beneficial to you as a player. Basically, the shaft on an iron can make use of one or both steel and graphite.
Steel tends to be stiffer, letting you feel the ball better and allowing greater consistency between shots. Graphite is lighter and more flexible, increasing the transfer of energy through the shaft and launching your ball much further than steel, albeit a little less consistent and accurate.
According to experts, mid-handicappers should focus more on steel shafts or combination shafts. That’s because graphite irons are much better suited to petite users, seniors, and beginners who might benefit more from the lightweight design. Besides, launching the ball further relies on more than just the material of your club’s shaft, so it’s something you can learn later on.
There’s a big chance that you, as a mid-handicapper, are hoping to improve your game. So if you’re really invested, you might want to mark your calendar for upcoming demo days. Basically, these are events organized for golfers of all skill levels where club manufacturers come together to show off their new clubs. At most of these events, you might find custom fitters who basically help buyers figure out the right golf club dimensions for their size, height, and strength.
With countless dedicated buyers from all over the globe, the Callaway Golf brand offers nothing less than premium performance and superb craftsmanship. And while they do have quite a lot of irons in their lineup, we found the Rogue Individual Irons to be the best they had to offer for intermediate players.
At glance, it’s easy to see that the Rogue Irons mean business. But there’s so much more to these clubs than just what they offer at face value. Their revolutionary club construction combines multiple technologies to improve ease of use and playability, and to give you a satisfying experience on the course.
What we especially like about the Rogue irons is that they incorporate what the manufacturer calls “urethane microspheres.” These bits of flexible urethane cushioning are inserted into the club heads and improve sound and feel to make feedback more potent and easy to understand. The urethane microspheres also help improve sound quality to make each swing more satisfying. This, plus the fact that the club offers intuitive forgiveness, all make it a great choice for intermediate players.
For mid-handicappers who are closer to bogey players than pros, the Callaway XR OS Individual Iron is a suitable choice. With incredible forgiveness and superb speed, these clubs help ensure the farthest possible distances even with intermediate level skills. They achieve this mostly by way of Callaway’s Cup 360 technology which optimizes the club head to maximize ball speed. For these reasons, they’re often considered the best irons for 20 handicap players.
Other than that, the XR OS Individual Irons are also designed to be easier to hit. The center of gravity on these clubs are lower and positioned towards the back, lending more power and distance to each strike. What’s more, the head’s are designed to be exceptionally forgiving, with a wide sole and a large sweet spot that makes almost every shot a reasonable one, no matter how off center you might have been.
If you were looking for something a little more user friendly, then we recommend the Cobra King F8 Hybrid Golf Club. This specific design is big on forgiveness, lending incredibly accuracy to each shot even if you don’t necessarily have the most polished swing.
Some of the things we love about the Cobra King F8 is that it utilizes an aerodynamic construction that reduces drag to let you increase club swing especially in windy conditions. The design also incorporates the brand’s Baffler Rail System which helps improve forgiveness regardless of lie by making the rails steeper or shallower depending on how you set up your shot.
Is it an affordable club? We’d say that maybe it’s a little more expensive than most of us would be willing to spend on a club. But if you’re a dedicated mid-handicapper who’s eager to improve his game, then the King F8 can be a very reasonable investment.
The irons are some of the most utilized clubs in the game of golf. If you’re a mid-handicapper hoping to get your hands on some good irons, you’ll find that the market for these clubs can be very vast and confusing - especially if you’re not sure what to look for.
We’ve done the research and we’ve scoured the market for all the best golf irons for mid handicapper players, and we’ve come to find that the Callaway Golf Rogue is the very best mid handicap iron we’ve seen. These top performing clubs maximize learning and forgiveness so you can get the best of both worlds, promising to have you swinging like a pro even at a mid-handicap skill level.
