Top rated utility irons for your money

Utility irons are continuing to grow in popularity each year. Golfers realize that the utility iron can be the perfect solution when hybrids and long irons aren’t the right fit. Utility irons are easier to hit than long irons but allow for more workability than a hybrid golf club.

If you have been looking for a utility iron in 2023, we have you covered with some of the best technology on the market. There are a wide range of options on our list for all players and playing styles.

Best utility iron – Review

Cobra King Utility Iron

The Cobra King Utility iron is the best overall golf utility iron on the market in 2023. The thing we love most about the Cobra King is that it was designed with the average golfers in mind. Although this may look like a players style forged type golf club, the Cobra King Utility iron has both forgiveness and long-distance built in.

The Pwrshell Face is a forged face that allows for a higher launch and a large sweet spot. Essentially this is one of the more forgiving utility irons on the market. When you mix that forgiving face with a hollow construction and tungsten weighting, the results are truly impressive.

With a utility iron, the center of gravity positioning is quite important, and the Cobra King Utility keeps things low and in the middle. If you want to adjust the weights in the Cobra King, you can play around a bit with the overall launch characteristic, but however you use this club, you will see why it moved to the top of our list.

Pros

• It comes with Cobra Connect technology
• MyFly loft settings for launch and spin
• Higher ball speeds than previous models
• Durable alloy steel stock shaft
• Adjustable hosel for penetrating distance

Cons

• Not the best driving and utility irons for slower swing speeds

Srixon ZX Utility Iron

Whether you are looking for an iron replacement or a utility iron, the Srixon ZX Utility Iron is a great option. The Srixon ZX Utility iron is a multi piece construction utility iron that includes tungsten weighting for higher launch. Srixon is a company that is not afraid to test out some new technologies to see what will work to bring exceptional distance and high club head speed.

One of the things that stand out about the Srixon ZX is the higher ball speed and increased distance. Having accuracy and workability is excellent, but this ZX Utility iron brings some impressive distance. The forged SUP10 face and the 1020 Carbon steel body seem to be the perfect combination to increase ball speed.

Pros

• Very high ball speeds
• Tungsten weight for increased MOI
• Forgiving club on missed shots
• Works for low handicap and mid handicap golfers
• Perfect for long approach shots

Cons

• Soft feel may not feel fast enough for some players

TaylorMade P790 UDI

One of the most popular utility irons is the TaylorMade P790 UDI. For those golfers that like the TaylorMade P790 irons, this UDI is a seamless transition into the irons. The TaylorMade P790 UDI features many of the same characteristics as the irons with its hollow body design.

Inside that hollow body is the state of the art speed foam technology designed to help eliminate almost all vibration at impact. With a traditional long iron, the club will vibrate at impact, especially after a poor hit. The P790 will instead stay very stable and offer a more pure feel.

Pros

• Internal tungsten weights
• Piercing ball flight
• Extra forgiveness that works for all golfers

Cons

• It can be a bit expensive

Wilson Staff Utility Iron

The Wilson Staff golf clubs are, therefore, the better players that want a true driving iron type feel from their utility iron. With the Wilson Staff golf iron in your hand, you get a forgiving and easy to hit club with higher launch angles and impressive overall distance.

The Wilson Staff golf clubs are also some of the more affordable on the market. When you consider the ball speed and performance that this club offers, the pricing will seem even fairer than you initially expected. If you have been on the fence about whether or not to invest in a utility iron, the Wilson Staff is the best choice.

Pros

• High strength steel C300 face
• Improved launch angle
• Impressive feel
• Fair value

Cons

• Not the most forgiving from the rough

Cleveland UHX Utility Iron

The Cleveland UHX utility iron is an excellent mix of performance and value. Cleveland always puts out impressive golf iron opinions for players, and they know how to deliver excellent ball speed. The thing that helps the Cleveland UHX stand out from the crowd is the V-Shaped Sole that improves turf interaction.

With better turf interaction and a hollow design, golfers can get the performance that they need even from the rough. We love the clean and traditional look of the Cleveland UHX Utility iron that helps ensure there is additional player confidence with the club in hand.

Although Cleveland may not be the longest golf utility iron on the market, the HT1770M Steel face allows for some of the more impressive ball speeds we have seen from this brand.

Pros

• High ball speeds
• Hollow head construction
• Plenty of forgiveness

Cons

• Not the longest distance utility iron on the market
• Not a forged UT iron

Callaway X Forged Utility Iron

The Callaway X Forged UT is one of the better feeling and higher performing utility irons on the market. The club went through a triple forgiving process to ensure that when you make contact, the feel is about as pure as it gets.

For everyday golfers that worry about turf interaction with their utility iron, the X Forged is prepared for rough, fairway, and even sand traps. In addition, the grooves on this club allow players to get incredible spin rates, meaning you can stop this ball anywhere you want on the green. For a classic-looking golf shot and performance gains for a high swing speed player, the Callaway X forged UT is the best overall choice.

Pros

• Impressive forging process
• Excellent spin
• Impressive workability
• Clean and pure feel at impact
• High strength steel face for enhanced forgiveness

Cons

• Not as forgiving on off center hits

MacGregor Mac Tec X

The MacGregor Mac Tec X is a very affordable utility iron for the golfer that is not sure whether or not a utility iron will be a good fit for their game. If you are nervous about spending hundreds of dollars to see if this technology is for you, give the MacGregor Mac Tec X a try.

The face on the Mac Tec X is engineered to be extremely thin and helps to increase ball speed and distance. For golfers that prefer long irons, the Mac Tec X happens to look quite a bit like a traditional long iron. In addition, the lightweight graphite shaft helps players that need some extra swing speed to get a utility iron up in the air.

Pros

• Premium components
• Built-in forgiveness
• Lower center of gravity

Cons

• Feel is not as good as most utility irons

TaylorMade SIM Max DHY

The TaylorMade SIM Max DHY is a unique utility iron that almost looks like a mix between a hybrid and a utility. The idea behind the unique clubhead shape is to give players more playability in various conditions. If you happen to need a utility iron out of the rough, this could be a good club choice to go with.

The SIM Max DHY features a Forged C300 face and the SpeedFoam technology in the club head. With a Thru Slot Speed Pocket, golfers are going to be able to maximize their ball speed and get some extreme forgiveness from the club head.

This club is lighter than most utility irons and will provide a slightly different type of performance. If you have some off-center hits and can’t decide between a hybrid and a utility, the SIM Max DHY is the way to go.

Pros

• Versatile club head
• Lightweight face
• Speed pocket technology
• Wide sole for all conditions
• Inverted Cone Technology for straighter ball flight

Cons

• Not great for the golfers that prefer long irons or a cleaner-looking top-down design

The best utility iron is…

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Purchasing guide

When choosing a utility iron, there are some very specific decisions that you need to make. In addition to the brand, the shaft, and the loft, you also need to consider how this golf utility iron will fit in with the rest of the clubs in your golf bag. The proper loft gapping with the long irons, fairway woods, and hybrids is essential.

Driving iron or utility iron ?

You will see many of these utility irons advertised as driving irons. This is quite common because a driving iron and a utility iron are essentially the same things. These clubs perform like a long iron with some extra built-in forgiveness.

The best utility irons on the market offer a penetrating ball flight that will perform very much like a driver; therefore, the name driving iron has come into play. Most of the new utility-type irons are hollow body construction and offer a better feel and overall performance for golfers with mid to high handicaps.

Shaft

As you have probably noticed, most of the shafts in the utility irons are graphite shafts. A graphite shaft is the best driving or utility iron shaft because it is lighter and easier to swing. Golfers that want to get a higher launch and a bit of an easier time from a bad lie will enjoy using a golf shaft that is graphite.

Steel shafted utility irons are harder to find and are designed only for faster swing speeds.

Loft

A utility iron comes in several different lofts that are typically going to coincide with a 2, 3, and 4 iron. The lower the loft of your utility iron, the harder it is to hit. Lower lofted utility irons can be difficult to launch, but they often give golfers quite a bit of added distance.

If you struggle with getting a golf ball in the air, be sure that you are careful as to the loft you choose on your utility iron.

Matching irons

Many golfers are concerned about the utility irons matching the iron set. Do the best utility irons on the market need to match the rest of your golf irons? The great news is that golf clubs can have a mix of technology and still be a perfect fit for players.

If you choose a utility iron brand that does not match the rest of your irons, you won’t have to worry about the overall performance of your set.

Frequently asked questions

Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions about the best golf utility irons on the market. This is not something that players will invest in as commonly as a hybrid or a fairway wood, so now is a good time to ask questions and get the details you need.

What is the easiest utility iron to hit?

The easiest utility iron to hit is typically a utility iron built to replace your five iron. The fact that there is typically over 20 degrees of loft and plenty of flexibility in the golf shaft helps golfers that struggle with the long iron. Utility irons are known for being more forgiving than long irons but not relatively as easy to hit as a hybrid.

Which utility iron is best?

The best utility iron on the market is the Cobra King Utility iron. This is a great-looking golf club with the ability to give players long distances, the right amount of spin, and plenty of consistency from the tee. Golfers that play with the Cobra King Utility will also have plenty of forgiveness on those off-center strikes.

Should I buy utility irons or a hybrid?

Both utility irons and a hybrid can be a good choice. If you find that you play really well with your fairway woods, then a hybrid club is a perfect choice. If you are a golfer that does well with irons and you have a swing that hits the ball with more of a descending blow, then the utility iron is the better choice.

It’s key to make this consideration because while a 3-utility and a 3-hybrid might have the same loft, they perform differently. Mainly because of the difference in internal geometry that affects a club’s performance.