Having seen a lot of reviews of Inesis equipment previously, I was looking forward to getting my hands on the new Inesis 500 Irons. On the Inesis website, it says they are aimed at “experienced players” with a handicap “between 15 and 30”, so let's find out if they sit amongst the best golf irons of 2024.
From a tech point of view, these are hollow-bodied irons that have been injected with hot melt glue to dampen noise. The main body of the club is cast, but Inesis has added a fully forged face to improve feel and increase the trampoline effect for added distance.
Out of the box, first impressions are good. They have a lovely brushed satin kind of finish similar to the Mizuno JPX923 Tour which gives off a premium aura and the rest of the detailing is nicely subdued. There is a small chrome strip on the back for contrast and the minimal branding is highlighted subtly with all black paint fill which adds to the sophistication. Good start.
Down behind the ball, the good news continues. The head shapes throughout the set are excellently proportioned and there is a nice blend of what would be considered “better player” preferences and things that higher handicappers are often looking for. For example, the blade length looks very long, which inspires a lot of confidence at address, but the top line is relatively slim which provides a nice aesthetic. There is a good amount of offset, but Inesis has taken care to disguise it optically with clever shaping, so you can reap the benefits without having to compromise on looks.
I tested the Inesis 500 iron at Saunton Golf Club using TaylorMade TP5x golf balls and my Full Swing KIT launch monitor and the results were interesting.
As an average, the numbers are strong. For context, the 7-iron sits in a pretty aggressive loft at 28˚. However, Inesis doesn’t try and disguise this at all, printing all the lofts of the sole of the club which is a nice touch. On average, the 7-iron was carrying 192 yards and spinning at 5566 rpm, which at first glance sounds pretty good. My only concern was with the consistency of these numbers. I was getting a fair amount of “jumpy” strikes where the ball would zoom off with sometimes over 1000 rpm less spin and fly 10-15 yards further than I anticipated. As you can imagine, on the golf course this could land you in a bit of trouble on the wrong hole. That said, it is important to note that these clubs were not designed with my fast swing speed in mind and I would anticipate any of these “jumpy” strikes being minimized relative to slower swing speeds.
I enjoyed the turf interaction that the ‘3-sided’ sole gave me. Essentially this is a bit of relief added to both the leading and trailing edge to help it slip in and out of the turf more easily and it most certainly works.
Inesis likes to make the selection process very simple for the consumer, so the irons are available in two sizes depending on your height and in three ‘speeds’ (slow, medium, and fast), which you can fit yourself into on the website. The 500 irons come with some good stock offerings in terms of shafts. The steel option is a Dynamic Gold True Temper XP95, while the graphite option is the UST Mamiya Recoil Dart.
Overall, and for a very digestible price point, I think Inesis has done a good job here. The slight inconsistency of yardage would concern me as a “better player” but I suspect this will be much less of a concern for the intended market.
At £499 for a 5-PW set, I think these irons represent exceptional value still, and from what I have seen of the accompanying 500 series wedges, these also look like a strong product. They are available in 52, 56, and 60 degrees to complement the iron set, so look out for a full review on golfmonthly.com soon.
