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Back when golf courses were harder to maintain, most players were called “diggers.” That is, their shots would produce large divots in the ground as though they had gone digging through the course. These days though, courses tend to be much better manicured, so it’s easier to swing without creating such large pots in the soil. Sometimes, players with sweeping shots don’t even make any divots at all, which is why they’ve come to be called either sweepers or pickers.
As the monicker suggests, sweepers and pickers either sweep the ball clean off the ground or tee, or pick the ball without causing any damage to the ground underneath. These players achieve this by employing a shallow swing angle, allowing a clean sweep over the ground, hitting nothing but ball.
Not all clubs work to the advantage of sweepers and pickers, and there are a few that might actually help improve your game better than others. So if you’re in search of the best irons for sweepers and pickers, make sure you take note of these important buying tips.
There are two main types of irons - namely blades and cavity backs. Blades have thin heads that resemble, well, blades! They’re a lot lighter and offer superb feedback, making it easier to be consistent across your games. The downside to blades is that they can be difficult to master, often causing some accuracy problems especially for players who are only just starting to learn the ropes.
Cavity backs are the go to for beginners and high handicappers, because they have a little more forgiveness to them. Because sweepers might want a specific weighting to their club head, a cavity back might offer something that better suits their preferences. The bulkier head can be designed in a variety of ways, giving you a selection of weighting dynamics compared to those offered by blades.
Not all irons will give you that divot-free satisfaction. Keep these factors in mind when making you’re purchase to help guarantee a clean sweep.
COG, or center of gravity, is the way by which your club’s weight pulls down on its mass. For sweepers, a club with a very low center of gravity works best because it pulls the club head away from you and towards the ground to create a clean, crisp sweeping motion that makes the entire swing a little less effortful for sweepers.
The thinner the sole on your club, the less interaction you’ll have with the turf. Pickers and sweepers benefit most from a club that doesn’t risk too much contact with the ground. This can be easily achieved by choosing something that has a thinner sole which can glide over the ground without producing a big divot.
If your club has too long a shaft, it becomes really easy to extend its length beyond the turf and scrape ground upon impact. As a sweeper or picker, you should be more interested in clubs with shorter shafts because they allow you to swing clean without risk of dislodging ground underneath. In the same light, you shouldn’t look for something too short as it might compromise your posture. As a general rule, you might want to consider a club with an adjustable shaft first to determine what length works best for your style.
Aside from having a low COG, it would also help if your iron was weighted towards the back. This distinct weighted design helps add lift to your strike, especially because sweepers tend to hit the ball almost precisely level. By increasing the weight backing the face of the golf head, you can generate a higher trajectory which also helps improve the distance that your ball travels.
The last feature we recommend that you look for is flexibility, not only with the shaft, but with the head itself. A club that recoils more readily to impact can be significantly more powerful at delivering distance. Perimeter weighting helps improve flexibility, especially on cavity back irons with very deep hollows. So if you were hoping to generate much longer distance shots with your sweeping style, make sure to look for a cavity back that has more depth.
The Callaway Apex Pro 16 Individual Iron is an iron for a sweeper, and the design is best suited to low handicappers because it’s a powerful club that can produce high flying, long distance shots. In an untrained hand, this iron might be a little confusing to become accustomed to, so it’s not necessarily a game improvement iron, and is instead a professional player’s iron.
The design uses a forged head, and each one in the series features a progressive COG so that longer irons have a very low COG, perfect for maximizing the strength and speed necessary for longer distance shots. Another reason why this iron can be much more potent than others in the same category is the fact that it has a slightly softer head feel. The forged carbon steel is impressively responsive, giving ample rebound after impact, thus imparting more speed and strength into each launched ball.
For something with such an intuitive design, you probably think you’d have to pay a fortune for an iron like this. Unfortunately, that is true. The Apex Pro 16 from Callaway is a tad pricey. But because it’s one of the best irons you’ll find if you’re a sweeper, it can really be a smart investment if you’re willing to spend that much.
While it isn’t as popular as the Callaway brand in the market of best irons for pickers, the MAZEL Golf company has had a pretty good number of great hits in its history in the market. Their Individual Irons are a great choice for budget conscious buyers, offering impressive performance despite its pocket-friendly cost.
The stainless steel heads have a large sweet spot, and are weighted low and towards the back, lending superb power to each swing. A deep cavity at the back of the head improves distance and creates a sizable face that’s responsive and flexible, allowing better energy transfer between the club head and the ball.
Finally, the MAZEL Golf Individual Iron features a single-weight design across all the different types of irons it offers. With that, it becomes easier to achieve consistence through all of your shots especially if you choose to buy the clubs as a set rather than piece by piece. So if you’re a player who wants to shoot consistently well instead of being known as the one-hit-wonder, you might want to invest in these affordable irons.
The ultralight Nicklaus Polarity MTR feels different right off the bat and is often considered the best iron for a picker. This premium club features urethane inserts that add durability and stability to the design, allowing you to wield your club at maximum speed without losing control. Aside from this however, the Nicklaus also features a unique weighting feature, with the majority of the head’s heaviness geared towards that toe and hosel, making it the lowest possible weight you’ll find on an iron. This precise feature helps reduce twisting and produces much more accurate, straighter shots.
The face on the Nicklaus is also exceptionally intuitive. The large sweet spot makes the club highly forgiving, allowing you to meet your objectives even if you don’t hit it right on the center. Deep hollows along the back of the head create superb contrast between the central and peripheral weight. It’s this feature that optimizes ball behavior after being struck, increasing distance, height, and guaranteeing a straight trajectory.
For all these features, the Nicklaus Polarity costs just under $30 USD per club, which makes it impressivley affordable as well. The only real issue we found with it is that despite being a cavity back, it’s probably better off in the hands of a low handicapper because the strange weighting can make it tricky to become accustomed to.
The irons are some of the most important clubs in the bag, so be sure you have one that properly suits your swing style. If you’re a sweeper or a picker, you need to make sure you find something that lets you maximize your swing and that encourages you to clean away your ball without making a divot.
There are lots of irons out there, but which ones are the best irons for sweepers and pickers? Based on our research, the Callaway Apex Pro 16 Individual Iron makes an excellent choice for clean players who enjoy a clean swing that hits nothing but ball. This premium, high quality club boasts a lightweight construction, a responsive head, and unbelievable control that all pave the way for explosive speed and unbeatable accuracy guaranteed to get you closer to the green.
