Best Irons for 20 Handicap

We know that not everyone can go through this guide due to time constraints. Some people just want to know which of the following iron can work the best for them.

Hence, we have made the job easier for you by comparing five of the best golf irons for 20-handicap.

To be fair, it was not easy to pick the best one from the lot as all of these irons come from top brands that compete quite fiercely with each other. Still, after hours of consideration, we have picked the TaylorMade Golf M6 Iron as the top choice.

The M6 Irons are just too convenient for mid handicappers, thus making it hard for us to ignore them.

Whether we talk about its swing speed due to the Speed Pocket technology or the Twist Face technology that offers excellent launch angle and distance, TaylorMade has definitely hit the right note with this iron club set.

TaylorMade’s irons are always a terrific set of clubs that bring a much-needed impetus in terms of accuracy and distance for golfers with mid-handicaps. The well-built M6 is TaylorMade’s most recent game improvement iron.

They are a direct replacement of the highly successful M4 iron.

In fact, instead of completely reinventing the wheel, TaylorMade has built on M4’s best offerings, making M6 more of a refined upgrade.

As M4 irons were top irons, the M6 follows suit with the same performance.  

However, there are other spectacular additions as well. For example, TaylorMade has incorporated Speed Bridge Technology in the M6. This structural beam covers the area from the iron’s cavity to the topline and back bar. It helps in minimizing impact vibration and improves the stability of the iron.

As a result, it makes a sweet sound and offers a good feel. The Speed Pocket technology ensures that all the shots hit low on the face receive a strong launch, along with a great deal of speed and spin.

On the other side, you might have to compromise because of reduced feedback at impact. This can make it tricky to identify if you got help from the iron or you if hit the ball flush.

Similar to other golf clubs, the M6 irons also come with jacked up lofts – you can swing the ball for a long distance with it.

These irons are among the most suitable clubs for golfers with mid-handicaps.

These sleek metal and black clubs are distinct because of noticeable bigger faces, making up for quicker ball speeds.

This series is often considered a successor to the legendary XR-series clubs. It combines a compact head with high forgiveness, making up for a pro look. Thus, it exhibits the same characteristics as the XR clubs.

The highlights include a thinner, updated 360 Face Cup technology. It forces the face to flex further during impact. The face’s weight distribution is based on its cavity back design, which in turn also imparts a higher degree of forgiveness.

Often clubs with cavity back design falter in terms of feel and sound. Callaway smartly addressed this dilemma and used the Urethane Microspheres to rectify it. In this way, the Rogue irons now sound more like forged blade irons – one of their notable advantages.

Conversely, there is a minor drawback as well; as the cavity goes bigger with the irons, the sound also becomes louder.

At address, the club-head exudes confidence.  With white line on the face’s bottom, mid-handicappers can adjust their alignment correctly.

Due to low CG, golfers can easily let the ball go up in the air, despite using clubs with small lofts. Keep in mind the primary function of the Callaway Rogue is to minimize curve and launch the ball straight. For mid handicappers, the standard Rogue offers plentiful of distance.

However, if you are looking to improve your carry distance, perhaps you ought to have a look at the Rogue X.

To sum up, if you have a handicap from 12 to 20, the Callaway Rogue Irons set is an ideal choice. If you have a lower handicap, then you must prefer the Rogue Pro set.

3. TaylorMade M4 Irons

The TaylorMade M4 Iron 2018 individual succeeded the M2 irons with a much more professional looking design. It is also considerably sleeker than its predecessor.

Due to its design, it is a club that can cater to a wider audience. While initiating a drive, you can find it all too easy to launch the ball up in the air and propel it towards your target. Due to the extremely large sweet spot, it is hard to differentiate between good hits and mishits.

It comes with several features through which a mid-handicapper can keep the ball straight and low – one of them is the patented TaylorMade technology. It offers a golfing experience which can massively enhance the ability of golfers with a mid handicap.

Meanwhile, much of the increased distance owes to the RIBCOR technology that also strengthens launch angle for softer and higher entry shots, along with max forgiveness to reduce side spin.

On the flip side, be prepared to lose some deviation and distance. However, it is more likely that you will find yourself closer to the green hitting easy chips, rather than finding yourself left or right of the greenside bunkers.

Longer irons can help in generating greater forgiveness and distance on mishit and center strikes. This is due to a deep cavity back with a tiny channel at the backside of the face.

The set’s lofts pack a powerful punch; they can are a lot stronger than you might think.

You can boost distance with the more upright lofts.

4. TaylorMade Golf P790 Iron Set

The majority of this club’s body is formed from cast carbon steel, except for the perimeter and the face.

This means that the area that strikes the ball is made of forged carbon steel; you can notice it well during impact, particularly with your good shots.

A 4-gram foam fills a hollow space behind the forged area, which is screwed with the toe and popularly called as the SpeedFoam.

The SpeedFoam is known for a four-time expansion and offers a solid foundation to the thin forged face, which is less than 2mm thick. Although some experts believe it to be new tech, TaylorMade used it a decade ago, in 2009 with the RS irons.

Since these clubs are not only thin, but they also have a hollow head, you might be worried if its lightweight factor can cause an issue.

This is why high-density tungsten is used for weighing the 3- to 7- irons.

The head’s lower-back area is utilized for weight placement, a little below the cavity. This helps in lowering the center of gravity, which you can adjust according to your preference.

As a result, forgiveness and MOI receive a much-needed boost.

Like their other recent irons, this iron also uses the Speed Pocket technology. Remember, that this tech allows the face to flex better during impact, so the ball speed is quickened even for off-center hits.

Unlike other clubs in this guide, this iron does not feature a cavity back design where the recessed area is particularly quite modest. In this way, the P790 manages to boast a professional and premium look – one that can appeal to many mid-handicappers.

Interestingly, considering the average clubs, the blade size is considerably thicker. Still, these irons make up for a nice view.

And guess what.... 

The blade’s length is precisely 79mm, hence the name ‘P790’ 🙂

5. Cleveland Golf Launcher CBX Iron Set

Cleveland holds a strong reputation for producing top-of-the-line wedges that cater to low and mid handicappers.

However, with this club set, Cleveland targeted mid handicappers specifically so they can not only boost their distance but can also take advantage from a significant amount of forgiveness.

This set combines the best features of both worlds, allowing mid-handicappers to easily drive longer and gain improved control with the shorter clubs.

The premium club is considerably bulky while the longer irons’ offset seems minimal, creating an extremely professional look. The club features a sole that is shaped like a V; you can move it through the turf and hit solid hits, even if you are known for struggling with mishits.

You can also find a noticeably bigger cavity back in these irons that offer a massive sweet spot, along with higher forgiveness. Majority of the golfers have commented that they found a substantial distance boost when they went from a half a club to a full club, perhaps due to the more powerful lofts.

Each club sole comes with an engraved loft degree.

Guide to Buying the Right Irons For A 20 Handicap

An iron set is one of your principal investments, regardless of your handicap. If you want to pick the best iron for yourself, you can take advantage of the following information.

Iron Styles

Mainly, there are two types of styles: muscle back and cavity blades.

The cavity back design is formed from a hollow that originates off the rear of the club-head. The muscle back does not contain any hollow channel and boasts a full back on its rear.

The cavity back design allows low and mid handicappers perimeter weighting so they can use greater forgiveness for their mishits. Conversely, the muscle back design is predominantly seen in the hands of advanced players with low handicaps.

The shot-shaping ability and enhanced performance of the muscle back design make it trickier equipment for the inexperienced golfers.

Meanwhile, hybrid clubs are increasingly becoming well known for both low and mid handicappers and have been swiftly replacing 3, 4, and 5-irons.

These clubs are also referred to as rescue clubs and are created with a bigger profile due to which it is easy to go for straighter shots and elevate the ball – thanks to the enhanced forgiveness.

What Comes with the Set?

A usual iron set can feature 3 to 9 irons and a pitching wedge. In hybrid sets, hybrid clubs replace long irons.

Sometimes, golfers buy flop, gap, and lob wedges or other clubs separately.

The Distance, Length, and Loft

Irons are split into three categories:

• Short irons – include 8 and 9-irons
• Mid irons – include 5, 6, and 7-irons
• Long irons – include 2, 3, and 4-irons

Golfers use short irons for generating a higher loft while the shorter loft is used with long irons to maximize distance.

When you manage your iron set, make sure that all clubs are distinguished with a 4-degree loft, they sequentially increase from the 3-iron to the rest of the clubs.

Flex and Shaft Types

The flex and shaft type directly impacts the feel of your club. It also affects how much distance your iron can generate and what swing speeds can you produce continuously.

If your target is to enhance your swing speed, pick an iron that is made of lightweight graphite material; it can deliver fast swing speeds.

Similarly, if you are generating good enough swing speed and would like to work more on your control, a heftier steel shaft maybe help in acquiring the required balance.

Flex refers to the twisting and turning of the shaft when you swing your iron – it primarily relies on your gameplay along with your ability to strike the ball. Flex is split into five categories.

• Ladies – It uses a 3-iron club.
• Senior – It uses a 4-iron club.
• Regular – It uses a 5- or 6-iron club.
• Stiff – It uses a 6- or 7-iron club.
• X-Stiff – It uses an 8- or 9-iron club.

Frequently Asked Questions

While dealing with iron clubs, the following questions and answers can help you in improving your knowledge and gameplay.

1. What Amount of Forgiveness Do You Need?

This aspect relies on different factors, starting from your skill to swing behaviors. For those who cannot always find their face’s middle, extreme forgiveness is the key.

It can assist in optimizing your mishits, which can ensure that your poor shots end near the green.

Today, head designs allow for improved perimeter-weighted forgiveness while you can also take advantage of the additional sole weight. Add the face’s weight as well, and you can ensure that the ball can go up high in the air without much effort.

Go for a customization session, and experiment your hits with multiple models to assess forgiveness in terms of distance generation. The worse your hitting is, the more gain you can extract from a forgiving design.

2. How Crucial Are Workability and Feel?

Usually, although not necessarily, golfers who search for workability and feel will depend on the latter to determine how nicely they are hitting the ball when compared with a design offering better forgiveness.

Irons which generate extreme forgiveness are notorious for struggling with workability and feel. However, shallow cavity irons are created to offer it quite reliably, without sacrificing much of the forgiveness.

Thinner soles do provide that crispy contact via the turf.

However, the shallow cavity irons remain an ideal option.

3. Should My Irons Be Custom-Fit?

Yes, this is highly crucial. Properly-fitted irons assist golfers in performance optimization. Professional fitter often focuses on lie length and angle, to ensure that irons are placed well at the address and can operate efficiently with the turf via impact. Another important factor is the shaft flex.

If the shaft is either too hard or too soft, then it may affect accuracy and consistency.

Similarly, fitters can recommend on how to switch to woods or hybrids and also towards the specialized wedges of the short end.

4. How Good Is Your Long Iron Game?

Most of the golfers depend on the launch and forgiveness on offer while using a long iron with a large head.

This includes producing a combination set wherein various models can help control with the short irons and flight with the long irons.

A lot of iron sets provide added assistance for the long irons, still today; you have a lot of flexibility when you switch different models.

You can go for semi-blades or blades for the short irons while for the longer end, you can prefer more on head designs with greater forgiveness.

This is something that the best in the business use to their advantage when they are in a spot of bother.

5. How Should My Club Look At Address?

This is one of those things in which personal preference counts a lot. For instance, some like a clean and thin topline while others are looking more at something wider to build up their confidence.

Here, we are back to the workability and feel versus debate. This is because the irons with better forgiveness contain a larger topline while the workable ones provide a thinner and cleaner design.

In the end, it all boils down to your preference where you must fight the right balance between practicality and aspiration. Remember, what seems good behind the ball should also seem inspiring when you compete with your fellow golfers.

6. When to Go From the Irons to the Hybrids?

Personal preference and ability are major considerations here. Usually, slow swingers struggle to hit with longer irons. Therefore you may have to think about switching earlier.

There are also those players who give up their longer irons and prefer forgiving and versatile clubs. Ultimately, you can make this decision, depending upon your golf course.

If you are aware that you may have to deal with lots of long approaches, and you might struggle with your fairways, then hybrids provide excellent versatility due to their rounded and wide soles.

In comparison to long irons, they may not snag as much through impact.

On the other hand, if you mostly play on links courses, longer irons may appeal more to you since they can maintain the ball well during windy days. However, if we go trend-wise, then players go to hybrids a lot sooner.

This is because these clubs make it easy to adjust ball flight from a long-range, stopping the ball easily and helping you in managing front hazards.

Final Words

As you can see, there is quite a jungle out there.

There are a lot of reputable brands that are trying their best to release golf irons with innovative and futuristic technology. Some of them are even quite similar in their basic designs.

If you are mid-handicapper, then you fall into an exciting golfer category. While you are not an expert, you are also not a total rookie.

By now, you must know what your strengths are and which irons can address your faults.

All the irons that are mentioned above can offer you much-needed accuracy and distance. Some can provide an extremely forgiving club, taking your games to newer heights.

If you are interested in buying a golf iron, make sure that they do have the cavity back design – just look at the club-head.

Remember, other designs don’t suit mid handicappers. Additionally, keep the above-mentioned buying tips and considerations in mind so you can get an iron that can fulfill your needs perfectly.

Also, stay away from those irons that provide too much promise!