What are Tour Distance Irons or Players Distance Irons?

Tour Distance Irons, and Players Distance Irons are among our most popular irons this year. Learn more.

Players Distance Irons, and now Tour Distance Irons –

“What are they?”

“Are they suitable for me?”

These are the 2 questions we get a lot from customers coming in for new iron sets.

Most of us have heard of Distance Irons or Game Improvement Irons. But now there’s Players’ Distance Irons and Tour Distance Irons!

To answer those questions, let’s start with the Distance Irons or Game Improvement Irons.

They’re essentially the same thing.

However, they started life known as Game Improvement Irons. Essentially irons that were created to enable you to play once in a while and still enjoy the game without taking it too seriously.

Eventually, the golf industry found golfers who were a little more serious about their game, but who faced certain challenges, which there is a huge market of, a perfect target market for Game Improvement Irons. Many of these golfers wanted more distance, and that is something they could easily deliver.

Typically, this was due to having stronger lofts.

Make a 7 iron with a 5 iron loft and you will launch it lower, hit it longer, and possibly buy the irons.

We’re not kidding. In a traditional iron set, a 7 iron is around 35 degrees, and its 5 iron is around 27 degrees. In a modern Game Improvement Iron set or Distance Iron set, a 7 iron is 28 degrees, just 1 degree weaker than in a traditional iron set’s 5 iron! And the Game Improvement Iron’s 5 iron is typically 21 degrees, essentially a 3 iron in a traditional iron set!

In fact, lofts got stronger and stronger until longer irons became unusable, and had to be replaced with 7 woods, 9 woods, and hybrids.

And this is meant for people who want help with their game?

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So, what are Players’ Distance Irons or Tour Distance Irons?

Until recently, lower handicap golfers and pros on the Tour preferred lofts closer to traditional lofts instead of the stronger lofted irons.

This is because while distance makes a huge difference on Tour, what most Tour pros want from that distance is to be able to hit a shorter iron on their approach shots.

One of the reasons for this is that it’s a lot easier to stop an 8 iron on the green than it is to stop a 6 iron, and a big factor is spin and trajectory.

With a short iron, you can launch it high and land it soft.

You can’t do that if your 8 iron is lofted like a 6 iron!

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Enter the Forge & Weld construction.

If you’re not familiar with Forge & Weld, check out our last blog, we wrote about how modern forge weld construction methods enable club makers to create sealed cavity clubs and move the center of gravity where it could never be placed before.

This meant that strong lofted clubs could be launched high and still land soft, so you get the best of both worlds - the distance and the height.

We first saw these in TaylorMade’s P790 irons which took the golfing world by storm. These were followed by their P770 irons.

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A new category of clubs were created – Players’ Distance irons.

Not to be left behind, Titleist got into the sealed cavity game and launched the T100, T100S, T200, etc.

These became known by various names. Generally, to distinguish them from Titleist’s forged iron MB and CB series, these fell into the Players’ Distance irons category.

The T100 was a sealed cavity iron but was widely played on Tour. Then the strong lofted version was introduced. Titleist then started referring to the T100 as the Ultimate Tour Iron, and the T100S became known as the Tour Distance Iron.

The T200 offers a little more forgiveness, and then became their Players’ Distance Iron, since Players’ Irons traditionally offered a little more forgiveness than Tour Irons.

See how things start to get confusing?

Then there’s the T300, which is even more forgiving than the T200, and is what we think of as a typical cavity backed Game Improvement Iron, and which Titleist also refers to as a Game Improvement Iron.

And then there’s the T400, stronger lofted than the T300, but with a sealed cavity to launch it higher, which Titleist calls their Players’ Super Distance Iron.

The golf industry hasn't quite settled on what a Tour Distance Iron is yet, but in our minds the Titleist T100 and T100S, and TaylorMade P770 possibly fill that category, the Players' Distance Iron category would then be filled by the Titleist T200 and TaylorMade P790.

👉 Click here to book your club Demo (15 mins, Free)

Never buy your clubs by "categories". That's for marketing. Always try your clubs before you buy.

At Smashing Drives' Custom Shop, you'll be able to try out any club with any shaft, at our golf simulation room, as well as our full length driving range.

Smashing Fits Range or Simulator Demo

We’re also the Custom Shop for TaylorMade, Titleist, Mizuno, Srixon, and numerous other brands including a wide range of shafts.

Plus, our Smashing Fits system enables you to try any head with any shaft, so you can find the perfect clubs, perfectly fitted for you

Smashing Fits - Try any head with any shaft

Our Master Fitter, Jef, has fitted Tour Professionals and thousands of amateurs.

Tour Tested Independent Fitter

We stand by our fitting with our 12 month Distance & Direction Guarantee.

We will never try to sell you something you don't need.

When you purchase from us, you get a 12 month Distance & Direction Guarantee. Over 3 sessions, we will tune your distance and direction for you. Pushing you products is counter productive for us.

All clubs purchased from us will enjoy a full fitting reimbursement plus the 12 month Distance & Direction Guarantee free.

👉 Click here to book your club Demo (15 mins, Free)

What are Tour Distance Irons or Players Distance Irons?

Tour Distance Irons, and Players Distance Irons are among our most popular irons this year. Learn more.

To answer those questions, let’s start with the Distance Irons or Game Improvement Irons.

So, what are Players’ Distance Irons or Tour Distance Irons?

Enter the Forge & Weld construction.

A new category of clubs were created – Players’ Distance irons.

Never buy your clubs by "categories". That's for marketing. Always try your clubs before you buy.

Our Master Fitter, Jef, has fitted Tour Professionals and thousands of amateurs.

We stand by our fitting with our 12 month Distance & Direction Guarantee.

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