GWD_MAY_16

GOLF WORLD
TEST
POWER-PACKED GAME-
The latest irons for mid-handicappers focus on distance as much as control.
WILSON C200
Price: £499(S); £599(G)
Options: 4-PW, SW
6-iron loft: 28˚
Stock shaft: KBS Tour 90(S);
Aldila Rogue Pro(G)
Key technology: FLX face flex;
urethane-filled power holes
MIZUNO JPX-EZ
FORGED
Price (per club): £100(G and S)
Options: 4-PW
6-iron loft: 28˚
Stock shaft: Dynamic Gold(S); Orochi(G)
Key technology: Boron-infused
forged steel; Power Frame; pocket
cavity; multi-thickness face
While power is supposed to rank below
feel and control when choosing an
iron, it’s difficult to find a golfer
who would rather be hitting a 5-iron
than a 7-iron. We shouldn’t be too
surprised, then, that so much R&D goes in to irons that
favour force as well as finesse… especially in the gameimprover
segment of the market.
When it comes to increasing iron power there is a
right and a wrong way to go about it. The wrong way
involves dirty tricks like making the shaft longer and
making the lofts stronger (cue 30-yard gaps between
your wedges). The virtuous path involves smart
engineering to make the face hotter while leaving
control and trajectory unmolested. A key to increasing
ball speed is to make the face more springy. It’s a
concept we’re all familiar with in drivers, but thanks to
new metals and new designs, engineers are finding ways
to generate more spring from the smaller face. All three
manufacturers here have approached this in very
different ways. But which works best? And how will the
extra power blend with the forgiveness fundamental to
any game-improver iron? Our test reveals all.
The background: Ping G Series
The G is the eighth generation of a family that began
back in 2003 with the G2. Delivering easy launch and
forgiveness in spades through its strong peripheral