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Best Used IronsFive models one to two generations old, ranked by distance, accuracy and forgiveness

Updated: Nov 2, 2026Contains affiliate links

With used irons, what should I judge by so I don't get burned?Judge by three things: distance, accuracy and forgiveness on misses. I lined up five irons from one or two generations back on those three, and the one I can recommend most is the Srixon ZX5 Mk II. It came first overall in the same comparison test in both 2023 and 2024, and first in accuracy too. Used irons have traps in the loft and the number of clubs. Know those traps ahead of time, and even buying cheap, you won't regret a bad buy and can focus on hitting your target. I average a score of 72 with a best of 68, and I'm a gear nerd who has studied how clubs are built. I praise the good points freely and call the weak ones weak.

Bottom line

Which used irons are best? Five ranked on distance, accuracy and forgiveness

I ranked on three criteria: distance, accuracy (dispersion from the target) and forgiveness. I used the rankings and scores from comparison tests run by MyGolfSpy in the US with 20 testers. The launch monitor is a GCQuad and the ball is the Pro V1. The tests used US-spec clubs.

Irons are tested separately by type. There are three tests: Player's Distance (Nos. 1, 4 and 5), Player's Irons (No. 2) and Game Improvement (No. 3). Rankings from different tests can't be compared directly. Read them as positions within the same test.

MyGolfSpy's 2024 comparison tests (US spec, 20 testers, GCQuad, Pro V1). Player's Distance was updated Aug 14, 2024, Player's Irons Jun 26 (scores out of 10) and Game Improvement Dec 17. Prices are the MSRP at launch (incl. tax), not today's selling prices. The T200's 7-iron loft is as stated in a Japanese test article.

I also list measurements from masa-golf, a personal site in Japan (GCQuad, 7-iron). The hitter's head speed differs slightly from model to model, so use them to read the direction of a difference.

• ZX5 Mk II (31°): 161.2 yards of carry at a head speed of 36.2 m/s, 21.8° launch, 47.3° descent angle
• G430 (29°): 166.4 yards of carry, 4,356 rpm of spin, 35 yards peak height, 48° descent angle
• i230: 160 yards of carry, 51.7 m/s ball speed, 36.4 yards peak height, 50.5° descent angle

Why This Order

The reasons are written only from the numbers in this article and the official specs. This is not a sales ranking.

An iron is a club you aim with, so I looked at accuracy first. After that came distance and forgiveness. Change the criteria and the order changes too. Reread it according to which criterion you look at first.

No. 1 to No. 5: praise and weak spots

No. 1: Srixon ZX5 Mk II. Its accuracy is a clear step ahead. Distance irons go far but spray it. That is the common assumption, yet the ZX5 Mk II was No. 1 for accuracy among 18 models. It was 6th for distance and 4th for forgiveness. It has no weak category. In the Japan test too, its descent angle was 47.3°. It gets enough height to stop on a green. It runs from the 4-iron through the wedges, and the 6-piece set was ¥138,600 at the time. That was the cheapest set of the five.

The underwhelming part is that it only ranks 6th for distance. For distance alone, there are longer irons in the same test. It was released in Nov 2022, so some sets with worn grooves are mixed in. When buying used, look closely at the photos of the face.

Great for you if you

• You miss greens left or right more than long or short
• You want a forged body and forgiveness too
• You are replacing irons with a 7-iron of around 31°

No. 2: PING i230. For a ball that stops, this is the best. Its 7-iron is 33°, the weakest loft of the five. The ball flies higher for it, and in the Japan test the descent angle was 50.5°. If you want to stop the ball on firm greens, the numbers are clearly on your side. In the 19-model Player's Irons test its 8.2 overall was 2nd, and its forgiveness score was 8.8. It has a better player's shape, yet it is forgiving. That is what is so good about the i230. You can buy it one club at a time, which also makes it easy to add irons on the used market.

The weak spot is distance. 160 yards with the 7-iron is 6 yards shorter than the 29° G430. Switch to an iron that doesn't go as far and your whole setup shifts. One more thing. A Japanese test article gives the loft as 31°, which conflicts with PING's official 33°. With used clubs, the previous owner may also have strengthened the lofts. Ask the shop you buy from for the measured loft.

Great for you if you

• You want your irons to stop rather than go far
• You want to add irons one club at a time

No. 3: PING G430. Long, and it doesn't stray left or right. In the Japan test it carried 166.4 yards. That was about 4 yards past the average for the same loft range (the same site's comparison). Left-right deviation was 0 yards. In the comparison test too, it was 5th of 17 models for forgiveness and 6th for accuracy. For anyone after a forgiving used iron, this is the first one I recommend.

There are two underwhelming points. In the US test it was 16th of 17 models for distance. That is the opposite of the Japan test. My reading is that the Game Improvement group has many models with even stronger lofts, and among them it ends up on the short side. The other is looks. The head is large, and a Japanese test article also says it is "hard to call good-looking". If that will bother you at address, you are better off passing.

Great for you if you

• Your iron strikes are scattered across the face
• You struggle to get the ball up
• You care about results more than looks

No. 4: Mizuno Pro 245. For distance, it beats the No. 1 ZX5 Mk II. It was 5th for distance in the same test, and 4th overall. The 4- through 8-irons are chromoly steel, and the 9-iron down are precision-forged soft carbon steel (Mizuno release). Long irons built for distance, short irons built for feel: I like that split.

The weak spots: it only ranks No. 8 for accuracy, and I could not find any numbers measured in Japan. The only backing is the US test. Its price at the time was also on the high side, from ¥151,800 for 6 clubs.

Great for you if you

• You want a Mizuno forging and distance too

No. 5: Titleist T200 (2023). 3rd for accuracy. The face is forged and the body is cast. In the same test it was 3rd of 18 models for accuracy. If you are choosing on precision, it comes right after the ZX5 Mk II.

I'll say it plainly: this part is a weak spot. It was 12th for distance. It is in the Player's Distance group, yet it sits on the short side. Its price at the time, ¥165,000 for 6 clubs, is also the highest of the five. The ZX5 Mk II is ahead on both precision and distance, so I positioned it as the pick for golfers who want an all-Titleist bag.

Great for you if you

• Your woods and wedges are Titleist and you want the set to flow

How many yards does 1° of loft change a 7-iron?

The hardest thing to put a number on in a used iron is the loft gap. I worked out the per-degree difference from the three domestic measurements in this article (GCQuad, 7-iron carry).

• G430 (29°) vs. i230 (33°): (166.4 − 160) ÷ (33 − 29) = 1.6 yards per degree
• G430 (29°) vs. ZX5 Mk II (31°): (166.4 − 161.2) ÷ (31 − 29) = 2.6 yards per degree
• ZX5 Mk II (31°) vs. i230 (33°): (161.2 − 160) ÷ (33 − 31) = 0.6 yards per degree

The three pairs range from 0.6 to 2.6 yards. These measurements use different players and different head speeds, so the honest reading is that loft alone doesn't set distance. As a rough guide, use the middle figure, 1.6 yards (the G430–i230 gap divided by 4°).

Now apply it to your own bag. All you need is the distance gap between your current 7-iron and 8-iron (your club spacing).

• Formula: loft difference (°) × 1.6 ÷ club spacing (yards) = how many clubs of change
• Example: someone moving from 33° to 29°. 4 × 1.6 = 6.4 yards. With 7-yard spacing, 6.4 ÷ 7 = about 0.9 of a club, so nearly one full club.
• Example: the same player with 10-yard spacing. 6.4 ÷ 10 = 0.64 of a club, which falls short of a full club.

The tighter your spacing, the bigger the same 4° looks in clubs. After you swap the 7-iron, run the same formula on every club to check that the gaps above and below haven't closed up. The surest way to know the loft is to ask the shop for a measured figure before you buy.

Five things to check before buying a used iron set

1. Number of clubs and which irons. Is it a 5-piece or a 6-piece set? Is the 5-iron included? What "6 clubs" contains differs by model. Decide up front, right down to which wedge will follow the PW.
2. 7-iron loft. Even among the five in this article, it spans 4°, from 29° to 33°. Four degrees is nearly one full club. Compare it with your current 7-iron.
3. Shaft model and flex. Some listings have one club in the set with a different shaft. Look at the photos and labels for every club.
4. Whether the loft and lie angles have been altered. Soft carbon steel irons can be bent to adjust them, so a previous owner may have strengthened or weakened the lofts. Choosing a shop that publishes measured figures gives you peace of mind.
5. Face grooves and sole scratches. The 7-iron and PW get used the most, so they wear first. If a listing has no photos of these two, I would pass.

I explained why lie angle matters, with numbers, in Is Your Club Causing the Duck Hook? The shorter the club, the more 1° off affects direction.

Who is better off buying new instead of used

Better off buying new

• You want length, lie angle and shaft measured and fitted before you buy (with PING you can order new irons in the lie angle you choose)
• In the price box, the gap between new previous-generation stock and used was small
• You aren't confident you can spot groove wear or mixed shafts from photos of a set

Used is fine if

• You know your current 7-iron's loft and length and can choose a model that flows from them
• You can inspect the actual clubs with your own eyes when they arrive

For new 2026 models, Best Irons and Latest Irons 2026 compare them with the 7-iron lofts lined up.

What loft was your 7-iron? Check the stamping on the sole, or the maker's page for past models.

What I learned by checking used prices and hitting

The No. 1 pick in this article, the ZX5 Mk II, is an iron I hit. I only touched the other four (PING i230 and G430, Mizuno Pro 245, Titleist T200).

The prices are what the store listed; I did not buy anything.

I had the T250 measured in October, on the shop's loft and lie machine, using the 5-iron. It was labeled 23 degrees and measured 22, one degree stronger. The shop did it as a free service, so it cost 0 yen.

I did not adjust the lie angle. The price I was quoted at a clubmaker's shop was 3,300 yen for six clubs, and it takes two days.

There are four things to check before you buy. (1) The 7-iron loft (do not buy from a store that does not list it). (2) A photo of the grooves on the face (wear on the PW and the wedges). (3) The return policy (a store that accepts returns within 7 days). (4) Whether you can hit a new club of the same model at a driving range.

If you hit first and decide afterward, you avoid the mistake of buying a 62,000-yen set and regretting that it did not suit you.

About the writer and sources

The writer has an average score of 72, plays 150 rounds a year, has a driver head speed of 46 m/s and hits a slight fade. I read the official numbers side by side, and for the gear I used I give my own numbers too.

The ZX5 Mk II and T250 I hit are covered in their own section, "What I learned by checking used prices and hitting". The subtraction and sorting of official numbers is my own work. The update date is November 2, 2026.

FAQ

Related reading

Best Used Drivers | 5 Picks by Distance and Dispersion
Five models one to two generations old, ranked on measured distance and dispersion.

Best Irons
New irons, compared by 7-iron loft.

Latest Irons 2026 | Compared by Release Date and 7-Iron Loft
A list of the 2026 new releases, lined up by official numbers.

Srixon ZXi5 vs. ZXi7
The model two generations after the ZX5 Mk II. If you are torn between used and new, look here.

Sources for this article

• MyGolfSpy: Best Player's Distance Irons of 2024 (US spec, 18 models, 20 testers; updated Aug 14, 2024)
• MyGolfSpy: Best Player's Distance Irons 2023 (15 models; ZX5 Mk II overall No. 1)
• MyGolfSpy: Best Player's Irons 2024 (19 models, 20 testers; updated Jun 26, 2024)
• MyGolfSpy: Best Game Improvement Irons of 2024 (17 models, 20 testers; updated Dec 17, 2024)
• masa-golf: Srixon ZX5 Mk II Irons test (GCQuad)
• masa-golf: PING G430 Irons test (GCQuad)
• masa-golf: PING i230 Irons test (GCQuad)
• Dunlop official: Srixon ZX5 Mk II Irons (price, loft, materials)
• PING official: i230 Irons
• PING official: G430 Irons
• Mizuno news release: Mizuno Pro 241, 243 and 245 (Aug 18, 2023)
• Titleist news release: T100, T150 and T200 (Aug 4, 2023)

Last updated: Nov 2, 2026

Specs and prices are the figures published on manufacturers' official websites and in press releases, and by media outlets (checked Oct 31, 2026). These are published figures; any numbers from my own hitting or use are given in the article body with their conditions.