Best Players irons within budget

[1221]

Best Players irons at the moment nothing too old

Looking to upgrade

[Tree Levino]

714/16/18 AP2 - traditional lofts, high spin/flight, forgiving enough, slightly clicky feel

Srixon 745/765/785 - stronger lofts, lower spin/flight, butter soft, turf interaction sublime

P770 - soft, cheap, high spin

Wilson V6 - High spin, weaker lofts, soft,

Ping i200 - more forgiving than the above, feel good, solid all around iron, cheap

Ping iblade or s55 - look good, soft for cast, higher spin, forgiving

[jvincent]

I'm going to be more specific than @balls_deep and just say Z785. Basically a current model and can be had for a steal used.

[RayGorman]

What's the budget? you can get new Hogans for $700 instead of $1000-$1200 for some other brands. Either the Hogan Ft. Worth's or PTX Pro's

[Nixhex524]

What are you upgrading from? @balls_deep hit them all... All great options.

[JoeFrigo]

check out Sub70 Golf. I played the 639mb all year and loved them. Depending on your setup a brand new iron set costs under $600. I honestly would put them up there in feel against anything

Even though I just got fit last month for the Mizuno's I have now, i hate the fitted shaft in there and im thinking of going back to the sub70's

[dmeeksDC]

A bunch of good ones listed already on which I concur, especially the Srixon 700 series and TaylorMade 770 if you want a true forged club all the way through the bag. Not important to me.

If it is shape and size you are focused on, and some elastomers and/or hollow heads are fine to make long iron life a little easier, the Pings i200 are great and so are the Ben Hogans (I prefer the PTX over the PTX Pro, which is not really a ‘Pro’ design.) If you like compact the PTX certainly are, surprisingly so compared to others.

How affordable do you want to go? Nike Vapor Pros and Vapor Pro Combo are both strong choices as players irons. If you look at what PXG and TM are doing will filled heads, a lot of that technology can be found in those Nike VPC heads with the Injected RZN polymer, and they perform really well. Look great from address.

Happy hunting!

[Tree Levino]

 

 

J15 CB a great option too if they can be found in good condition!

[bladehunter]

Razr X cb or Adams cmb comes to mind as best on the cheap.

[sphna12d]

I would add the Bridgestone J15 cb and mb to the list of things to try.

[Viktoryred3]

And I was just starting to talk myself out of my gamers of 3 years (VPC), and make the switch to some JPX 900/919 or the Z785.....hell the mp54 have always fancied me

[Krt22]

Yep! Almost put them back in the bag, but these new mp20s just look so dang good.

[Z1ggy16]

Upgrading from what? Do you want a cb or a true mb? Too generic of a post to get a ton of meaningful help. People just gonna spit names and anecdote at you with no real context to what might help you the most.

[fore_life]

Cobra s3 pro always seem to fly under the radar

[chisag]

... I am always a little surprised how little mentioned Cobra is on this forum when it comes to their players irons. Cobra Forged Tour irons are available new for under $400 on eBay. I have always felt they are just a little bit better than AP2's although the new T100's might have changed that. You can find earlier generations with only cosmetic differences like the Fly Z+ for even less.

[Tree Levino]

Really a shame they didn't make that particular iron in black. I think they would sell a boat load if they did. Very forgiving, pretty soft, nice lines. Just a good iron.

[Whit1969]

Going to be hard to beat JPX 900 or 919s especially when you pick them up in fantastic condition for $350 to $600 depending on how many irons in the set you want.

[Springsteennut]

I’ll second this. They make nice irons at reasonable prices.

[dmeeksDC]

Well, all of those clubs you name are great ones, too, and it is fun to hit different clubs. Pick one you’ve always wanted. Golf is a hobby for me, not a competition. You cannot go wrong with the JPX lineup, but I’ll say that the 900 Forged and 919 Forged are not the same and I like the profile more with the 900. The 785 is beloved on wrx. One of the best ever in a hot run of irons for Srixon. I find the 765 slightly more forgiving on mishits, but mainly because it is a larger head. The MP54 is very forgiving for an MP head, with many loving the 54 and others preferring the 53, which launches slightly lower.

I still have my Vapor Pro Combos. Do not currently game them. I cant sell them because I shot my best round ever in an amateur event with them. (73 on the Old White Course at Greenbrier in 2017). I still think few clubs suit my eye better from address. They are not jacked lofts (34 degree 7 iron). Sometimes I think it would be fun to “update” them by swapping in a few hollow-headed Vapor Speed or Vapor Fly 4 or 5 long irons, which would definitely add distance, and then go VPC for either 6 or 7 through PW, but strengthen the 6,7 and 8 one degree. If you compare the offset on the VPC, it has less than many of the players irons that came after it, including the JPX line except for the Tours.

[Hobbs]

Everything listed by balls_deep is where I would start. I would add the Mizuno MP18 SC to that list. With the release of the new MP20, the MP18 SC are going to be listed everywhere and for a good price.

I would also say the Wilson V6 is often over looked, If I did not already have the MP18 SC before I tried the V6, I mostly likely would have purchased the V6 instead. Either way it was a win-win situation.

[Bladesonly72]

Hands down the Adams pro black mb or the satin or pvd black Mb2’s.

[Golfingfanatic]

The Adams XTD Tour Ernie Els model is seriously underrated.

[Natural1]

Honma TW 747v

These are as close to the perfect "forged cavity back" as I've ever played. Great looking head, very little offset, excellent soft feel, does what your swing tells it to do. Can usually be had for really good price too.

[chrisokeefe12]

I have been playing a set of the TM P770s now and got them for about $350 4-P. I also just got a set of Srixon 745 to try them out, but haven't been able to get out on the course to hit them since I live in Michigan. I also just got fit at Sub 70 and I'm probably gonna roll with a combo set of the 699 4-6 and the Cbs in 7-P for under $600, which you can't beat a set of fitted clubs for that unless you know what your specs are gonna be. I just love the feel and workability of the P770s.

[WristySwing]

Depends on your budget, and depends on what you call too old. Are we talking 1 or 2 seasons as the cut off or are you upgrading a set of 15 year old sticks so 5-6 years is looking pretty good to you right now? Do you want forged or cast? Do you need distance (Player's distance iron) or something more traditional? I'm just going to assume 5-6 years is okay and you are open to forged or cast and distance doesn't matter to you either way, and you can do your own homework on how old some of these are and decide for yourself. I will list them by brand for convenience.

Adams CMB/XTD Forged/CB1/CB2

Ben Hogan FT Worth product

Bridgestone J36/J40/J15/Tour series

Callaway X-Forged 2013/Apex Pro '16/Apex CF16

Cobra Forged Tour/Forged CB/Forged Tec

Mizuno MP4/MP5/MP25/MP15/MP18 line/JPX 900 Tour

Miura 1957CB/MB001/CB1008/CB301 (older gen 301)

A little outdated now but I challenge you to find a prettier iron set than the MacGregor M or C series from 2008/2009, and they were Don White designed.

Nike Pro Combo/Vapor Pro Combo/Vapor Fly Pro

Ping i20/i25/i200/iBlade

Taylormade Rocketbladez Tour/P770/P790/P750

Titleist AP2 712/714/716/718 (CB or MB models would also work depending on how good you actually are)

Wilson Staff V4/V5/V6/C300 Forged

Srixon 745/765/785 (or any combination of the 9-series blades or 5-series distance irons)

 

I think everybody on this board could find something they enjoy out of this list. There is no "best" it is so subjective. I loved my Nike Vapor Combos and hated the AP2s I tried and Wilson V6s. The AP2s and Wilsons get loads of love on here and the Nikes were condemned from the onset, go figure. I will say though I still kick myself for not buy the Callaway X-Forged 2013s when my local store was selling them brand new for like $500. As others have said too, you can still find new product that is around that. Sub70 golf is one of them, New Level is kind of cheapish, Ben Hogan and Tour Edge are others. All that matters is that it fits you.

[TimK1]

I switched to Hogan PTX pro's this past summer after 23 years of Mizuno. Had MP 14's for ever. It was a big deal to me but the Hogan's felt so sweet that it convinced me. I have tried to buy irons for the past six years but nothing ever really stood out until these.

Great club for the price. You will not find them in any store. Direct from the factory.

[Paddy_2_Iron]

I've got some Big Bertha knockoffs for sale.

[FairwaysToHeaven]

Bridgestone J15cb. Still played on tour, great deals under $500, extremely soft, playable, forgiving, ....

[deepred]

Golfworks, get custom forged irons for under $600, their staff is very good at fitting you over the phone and you can get a club or two to try. Several of their models are available with a wide variety of upgraded shafts and are still under $600.

 

[JB_TexasEx]

I've got my eyes on one of Sub 70's new releases - the 699 Pros. I spoke with their CEO, Jason Hiland, briefly and he's gonna send me a demo pack that includes it and a 639 CB.

I'm also looking at the Ben Hogan PTx-Pro, but it'll be tough for them to overcome Sub 70's personal attention and customer service. But, I'm a Texan living in Tarrant County so the pull to BH is strong. I currently play the 1999 Apex Plus perimeter weighted forged irons. These were manufactured by Spalding back when they owned the BH brand.