There aren't many better feelings in golf than striking an iron purely out of the sweetspot and then seeing the ball landing softly close to the flag to set up a good chance for a birdie. Choosing a set of irons that are built to suit your game is a crucial step to ensuring you hit the ball as efficiently as possible and reap the benefits. It's something the best players in the world take very seriously, and you should too.
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With how firm, fast and undulating the greens tend to be each week on the PGA Tour, ball striking and iron accuracy is of the utmost importance in order to score well. With some courses stretching upwards of 7,500 yards, the best iron players possess the ability to hit their long irons almost as well as their wedges and allow them access tucked pins on greens where many others would simply be happy to find the short grass.
There are many different types of iron models all designed with different golfers in mind. Even on tour there is a variety of iron designs used ranging from some of the most forgiving irons to bladed irons or compact players irons. Below we take a look into the iron models, shafts and grips the top 10 iron players on the PGA Tour use based on the Strokes Gained: Approach to the green statistic. This statistic measures how many shots it takes players from specific distances and locations and compares that to a statistical baseline to determine whether the player lost or gained strokes on that specific hole.
1. Scottie Scheffler
It's no surprise that Scottie Scheffler leads this statistic after the season he's had. The FedEx Cup champion and world number one amassed seven wins and 16 top 10 finishes on route to earning $29 million in on-course earnings alone this year. Scheffler is contracted with TaylorMade but more often than not, these big player contracts allow players to have one or two clubs that aren't from that designated manufacturer.
The American uses two Srixon ZU85 utility irons (3&4) in his setup, with the 3-iron sporting a Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Prototype 10 X shaft. Many professionals will opt for a slightly lighter graphite shaft in their longest irons to help with launch and increase ball speed. He does fall back into his customary True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shaft in the Srixon 4-iron. Both of these are also heavily strapped with lead tape, presumably to match up the swing weight or further increase ball speed. The 28 year old then moves into the TaylorMade P7TW irons in 5-iron to pitching wedge. These irons were initially made for Tiger Woods himself and later were offered to other TaylorMade staff players. Scheffler took advantage of this offer and it’s safe to say it has paid off - big time. Scheffler uses Golf Pride Tour Velvet reminder grips on all of his irons, which allows him to take his grip very deliberately every time and promote consistency.
2. Tony Finau
While not picking up a win in 2024, Finau remained fairly consistent throughout the season, claiming 5 top-10 finishes and finishing 23rd in the FedEx Cup standings. He will be hoping to get off to a fast start in the new season and impress Keegan Bradley to secure his place in the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Like the world number one, Tony Finau also uses a utility iron rather than the standard set 3-iron. The big hitting American uses a Nike Vapor Fly Pro utility iron, the same model found in Brooks Koepka’s bag. This 3-iron is powered by a Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 Hybrid X shaft. This shaft has been known as one of the best shafts for quite some time now, with players such as Tiger Woods and Hideki Matsuyma having seen success with it in the bag. The Utah native then uses the Ping Blueprint S irons (4-PW) with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 TX shafts. Upon our own testing we were really impressed with these irons and considered them some of the best irons on the market. Throughout his whole bag, Finau uses Lamkin UTx green grips - a corded grip that works really well in the hot and humid conditions the players often face on tour.
3. Corey Conners
The Canadian is known for his ball striking prowess and hitting tight draws with his irons. Conners will be hoping his superior iron-play can help the international team to a Presidents Cup win this Autumn for the first time since 2003. Conners excels when hitting from 150-175 yards, averaging just over 25ft from the hole.
Conners, like Finau is a Ping staff ambassador and plays a combo set of irons. He uses the Blueprint S in 4 and 5-irons with Project X 6.0 shafts that have been hard stepped once. Hard stepping is a way of stiffening up how a golf club plays. For example, you would place the 9-iron head on the 8-iron shaft and so on. By doing this each iron plays a little firmer and is a great way to help players hit a desired window with their ball flight. Conners then switches into the traditional blade option of the Blueprint T iron from 6-PW. He plays these with the same Project X 6.0 shafts but without the hard stepping. All of Conners irons are fitted with Golf Pride Multi Compound grips with one extra layer of tape.
4. Tom Hoge
While Hoge isn’t necessarily a household name in the golfing world, he certainly knows how to stripe an iron. Iron play was by far the best part of Tom Hoge’s game this part season and down to a lack of consistency with short game and driving he finished T-29th on the FedEx Cup standings.
Depending on the course set up for the week, Hoge opts for the use of either his TaylorMade Stealth 2 7-wood or his Titleist T200 3-iron. This iron follows the trend of players using graphite shafts in their longest iron and is fitted with a Project X HZRDUS Black 105 TX shaft. Hoge carries a Titleist T100 4-iron before moving into some of the cleanest looking blades on the market in the form of the Titleist 620 MBs. He carries these in 5-iron through to 9-iron with each one fitted with a Project X 6.5 shaft. The American chooses to use Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips which are simple yet extremely popular among players on the PGA Tour.
5. Xander Schauffele
Xander Schauffele had an outstanding season this year on the PGA Tour, picking up his first and second Major Championship titles at the PGA Championship and The Open. Schauffele also racked up three runner-up finishes and 15 top-10s. Currently ranked the second best golfer in the world, the American clearly had his game firing on all cylinders last season. When you’re one of the best in the world with your irons and with a putter in your hand, bad days on the golf course are going to be few and far between.
Schauffele carries a Mizuno MP-20 HB 3-iron - widely considered one of the best driving irons in the game and one we loved when testing. He then makes the switch into Callaway Apex TCB ‘24 irons from 4-iron through to 10-iron. Yes you read that correctly - Callaway has introduced a 10-iron and 11-iron, which is essentially just a different name for a pitching wedge and gap wedge. Xander uses a True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid X100 shaft in his driving iron before moving into a slightly firmer True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shaft from 4-PW.
6. Keith Mitchell
Otherwise known as ‘Cashmere Keith’, Keith Mitchell is a fan favorite on the PGA Tour due to his slick dress sense and the fact he’s a serious ball-striker. The American ranks 6th both in Strokes Gained: Approach to the green and from the tee. Unfortunately he lacked a little form on the greens last year ranking down at 145th in the Strokes Gained putting statistic.
Keith Mitchell is just one of the many players on the PGA Tour who use custom built irons. Adam Scott is a prime example of someone who is known for his custom Miura irons and more recently Bryson Dechambeau with his custom Avoda Golf irons. Mitchell uses a Mizuno Pro 225 2-iron before swapping into custom Mizuno Pro 225 ‘KM92’ irons. These irons have a custom grind on the sole in order to suit Mitchell’s swing and attack angle as well as some custom stamping on the blade for a unique aesthetic. The American uses the popular True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts and completes his iron build with some old school Golf Pride Victory Cord grips.
7. Aaron Rai
The Englishman picked up his first PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship this past season after some close calls at both the Rocket Mortgage Classic and Genesis Scottish Open. His string of consistent results was largely down to his prolific ball striking as he finished 6th in total Strokes Gained across the 2024 season.
You may have heard about Aaron Rai and his irons before due to being one of the few players on the PGA Tour who uses iron covers. He does this due to being taught to look after everything you have properly when growing up and not having the money to consistently afford new equipment. With Rai’s results and on course earnings totaling over $4.5 million this season, this isn’t such an issue but it’s refreshing to see he still lives by this principle. Like the world number one, Rai uses a set of the TaylorMade P7TW irons although his set ranges from 5-iron through to 9-iron and are finished with standard Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips.
8. Doug Ghim
The American is currently ranked 141st in the world and is known for how well he hits the ball. While he isn’t one of the longest players, Ghim is exceptionally accurate both from the tee and the fairway and ranks 11th in green in regulation percentage.
As a Titleist brand ambassador, the University of Texas alum sports a whole bag of the brand's product. He is another golfer in the top 10 iron players on tour who uses Project X 125 6.5 shafts in a set primarily made of Titleist T100 irons (5-9). Ghim, like many, then chooses to seek a little more forgiveness in his longest iron by putting a Titleist T200 4-iron in the bag. All of Ghim’s irons are fitted with Lamkin Crossline 360 cord grips.
9. Justin Thomas
Despite still struggling with the putter, Justin Thomas certainly found runs of form throughout the 2024 season on the PGA Tour. ‘JT’ is known for his creativity with an iron in hand and often pulls off remarkable shots to get himself out of trouble. While he didn’t win in 2024, it certainly seemed to be a step in the right direction after a disappointing 2023 season for Thomas.
The American, like Keith Mitchell, carries a custom set irons, specifically a set of Titleist 621.JT muscle back irons. He carries these from 6-iron through to 9-iron, then moving onto a more forgiving T100 5-iron and takes things one step further with a T200 4-iron. Originally, Thomas was testing both the 5 and 4-iron in the T100 model but due to the gapping becoming too close between the two irons, he reached out to the even more forgiving T200 and has kept things in his bag the same way ever since.
10. Shane Lowry
The Irishman gained over half a stroke on the field last season due to his exemplary iron play. He won once on tour in the 2024 season at the Zurich Classic with partner Rory McIlroy and racked up an impressive seven top-10 finishes. Shane will be hoping the good form continues into next season with the Ryder Cup in New York on the horizon.
Lowry plays a combination of three different Srixon irons in his bag. His 3-iron comes in the form of the Srixon ZX utility iron before he moves into the Srixon ZX5 MK II in the 4 and 5-iron. As he moves into the mid and short irons, Lowry seeks the slimmer profile of the Srixon ZX7 MK II irons for increased workability. Shane is one of the few players who still plays a steel shaft in his utility iron, gaming the Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X. He then moves into the heavy and stiff KBS Tour 130 X shafts in the rest of his irons. As pictures of new Srixon irons circulate on social media, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Lowry with a fresh set in the bag for the start of the 2025 PGA Tour season.
