Best Driving Irons (Update 2025)

Driving irons are the most obscure clubs on the golf market. If you have some zip in your golf swing, then read on. This one is for all you great ball strikers out there. More than a decade’s worth informs it of experience at Golf Irons Review, the leading independent golf club-testing company.

Specifically, it’s the 2025 Driving Iron Test, in which we deeply dive into some of golf’s hottest names. This year’s test includes 16 driving iron models from the biggest names in golf and a few smaller brands hoping to win your attention and dollars.

Our team of testers logged over 100 hours gathering and analyzing data from a test pool of 20 passionate golfers like you. In finding the best driving irons, we look at accuracy, distance and forgiveness metrics.

The results of this test are an invaluable road map for the off-the-rack buyer or  anyone wanting a little extra insight before your next fitting. Mirroring whatever you’re after from your next driving iron, you’ll find it here.

That is, until now, before meeting these most excellent driving irons of 2025.

Our Top Best Driving Irons  (Updated for 2025)

• TaylorMade Stealth UDI Driving Iron
• Ping iCrossover driving iron
• Srixon ZX MKII Utility iron
• Wilson Staff Model Driving Iron
• Cobra King Tec utility iron
• Callaway X Forged Utility Iron
• Titleist U-505 Utility Iron

Reviews Of Our Best Driving Irons 2025 & Best Driving Iron for High Handicappers

1. TaylorMade Stealth UDI Driving Iron

That’s gotta be the best-looking driving iron on the market. There isn’t a ton of offset, the profile is short from heel to toe, and most of the club isn’t visible behind the face. That said, make no mistake: the TaylorMade Stealth UDI was designed with a good player in mind.

With a head this compact, you know there can only be so much head mass, and the centre of gravity will be relatively high and nearer the clubface than in larger driving irons or hybrids. This translates to lower trajectory, powerful flight, and plenty of roll when the ball meets the grass.

The first thing I love about the Stealth UDI is its small size. Many of the driving irons I’ve tested this year are oversized, with a significant offset that doesn’t work for my eye. The UDI is a shape and traditional look behind the ball that doesn’t make me feel like I will hook it left.

So, if you are in the market for a new driving iron this summer as we head into the dry months ahead, at this price, you owe it to yourself to get one in your hands and see for yourself.

PROS

• Looks great behind the ball
• Brilliant out of the middle
• Feels like a forged iron

CONS

• The head is relatively small so that inconsistent ball strikers might have a tough time.

2. Ping iCrossover driving iron

The Ping iCrossover is (almost) too beautiful to hit. The black head and contrasting grey face sit beautifully behind the ball, and you’d nearly prefer to have it on display in your home than risk catching one slightly out of the toe and marking the head up. I’m certain one is going straight into the bags of Ping’s tour players, as it looks terrific and performs well.

The iCrossover’s central feature is its adjustability, as removing the head allows you to adjust both the loft and lie angle of the club. The adjustable loft seems reasonable to everyone since it will enable you to adjust the flight according to your swing and face that day. The massive thing for golfers that people won’t appreciate is being able to change the lie angle.

You can also flatter the ball for a right-handed golfer who hooks it to have it go right. If you, like one of the many golfers I teach, slice the ball, you might find you could set the iCrossover to be more upright so the ball doesn’t curve so far right. This has opened the market for golfers who would never put a driving iron in the bag, and it is a masterstroke from Ping.

The iCrossover has already gone directly into my bag and will stay there for some time. At this point, I would stop carrying a driving iron for most of the year, but since it is adjustable, I only need to loft it up to match the lesser roll I will get on the soft fairways. Make sure to try this as soon as you can!

PROS

• A wonderful club
• Great ball speed
• Low launch & low spin, solid in the wind

CONS

• The trimmer head can be intimidating to some players
• Not the most forgiving driving iron

3. Srixon ZX MKII Utility iron

Aesthetically, the ZX MKII Utility ticks all the boxes. Its straightforward head shape, slight offset, thin top line, and not too-chunky sole certainly look the part, and I hope I can hit it…

Srixon ZX MKII Utility: The best-feeling utility iron I’ve tossed around in a long time. The head has a forged 1020 carbon steel body with a steel-forged SUP10 face. The multi-material construction causes the ball to rock off the face, but the feedback onto your hands is soft as hell.

Hit the sweet spot, and the numbers are off the charts, all thanks to Srixon’s MainFrame design. Essentially, it is the same variable thickness approach as we see in drivers. For an iron to exceed 141 ball speed is phenomenal for me.

On the soggy and blustery January afternoon, I tried the ZX MKII Utility iron; I could hit shots that carried up to 230 yards, which would run out to 260 yards+ in summer conditions.

It’s a shame that the ZX MKII doesn’t have an adjustable version. Being able to tweak loft and lie would make the club even more appealing to golfers, as they could dial in their flight more precisely. But it is quite a reasonably priced utility iron, which  is the trade-off.

PROS

• Beautiful head
• Centred hits sound fantastic
• Long

CONS

• Not adjustable

4. Wilson Staff Model Driving Iron

The KBS Tour Hybrid is Wilson’s stock shaft. It features a Golf Pride Tour Velvet grip logo below, so there’s something very stealthy about the build, too. I would be happy to put it in my bag.

It will mostly be a tee-shot club because I am generally a low-launch player. With this type of club, my shots run forever, which is not my kind of shot for the approaches. On the other hand, I am all too pleased when my first centre strike with the staff model flies relatively high with a healthy amount of spin.

The sole weighting of the Wilson Staff Model driving iron lowers the CoG in this hollow head to increase forgiveness and produce optimized launch angles. I’ve never gotten one of these clubs up in the air very high, so I’m very impressed.

Knowing it would come out low, fast, and usually on my intended start line, I could stand over the ball. The ball flight is unbelievable , and I was renting off as many tees as possible, as the fairways are lovely places to be right now.

If you need a new driving iron for the new dry summer months, at this price, you must have one of these in your hands and hit it.

PROS

• Very forgiving
• Long on bouncy fairways
• Great ball flight

CONS

• From Data (Trained on data as of October 2023)

5. Cobra King Tec utility iron

It hasn’t rained for a while. The fairways are brown, and the ball bounces and runs a little. It’s the time of year when golfers start needing to decide whether to hit the driver and try to carry the bunkers or pull out the utility iron and run it up short. I love this type of golf.

The Cobra King Tec utility iron perfectly complements the entire King iron line. It’s a player-shaped utility iron made for the better player seeking a higher launch in the upper end of their bag. It’s gorgeous behind the ball.

Cobra has pushed a heavy tungsten weight to the toe of the club to position the centre of gravity centrally so that the impact in the centre feels lovely. A foam-filled hollow-built head, which I like.

This may find a spot in my golf bag for 2023. It needs more testing on a breezy day to determine if the spin holds in the wind, but it has a decent chance of becoming a long-term addition. I am a fan of the head shape; it’s not as oversized as other driving irons, so it suits my eye nicely.

PROS

• Very forgiving
• Long on bouncy fairways
• Great ball flight

CONS

• If you play slowly, it may not be for you

6. Callaway X Forged Utility Iron

I like how this club sits behind the ball; I can’t see the back of it at the address, and for me, that’s a vast green tick, and I’m encouraged by the tungsten weight that’s screwed onto the back of the head as I understand that’s supposed to give me more distance and forgiveness.

I ordered a 21-degree head with a graphite shaft per the instructions. This is a replacement club for the 3-iron and gaps well with the 4-iron I currently play. I usually gravitate towards extra loft because I tend to hit the ball too low and with pace, but this club was unbelievable to get up in the air after the very first hit.

Callaway built the X-forged UT utility iron with forged 1025 mild carbon steel and hollow body construction coupled with urethane microspheres on the face to deliver a pure feel. While the ball speeds from the face are fast, the strike is still softer-feeling, which I appreciate.

Callaway uses external MIM-d tungsten weighting to position the CG exactly where optimal trajectory and launch will be produced, adding to the club’s performance. The shots I was hitting on the range and the golf course were high and mighty, so Callaway has nailed their colours to the mast.

This club could be an excellent option for players at all levels. This Callaway X Forged UT is straightforward to use and has steel shafts or graphite and loft options. If you are in the market for a long iron replacement club, definitely check out this club.

PROS

• Looks great behind the ball
• Super simple to get up in the air
• Feels like a forged iron

CONS

• None!

7. Titleist U-505 Utility Iron

Say what you will about the general bell curve of golf club design over the years, but the new 2023 Titleist U505 utility iron checks all the boxes for me in its latest redesign. A bit of tour feedback translated into a much cleaner back of the club and a shorter front-to-back head. You’ll want this club in your bag and will show off with pride.

The sole of the U505 is considerably more expensive than the T200 utility iron. However, this year, Titleist  refined the ‘Variable Bounce Sole’ by softening the trailing edge to allow the club to flow through the turf quicker, even post-impact. This gives you more chances out of the semi and the rough, which benefits you greatly.”

The chip pack has 3 shaft choices: either of Titleist’s premium graphite shafts (Graphite Design) costs you slightly more, and the standard shaft (Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX) options with a lower price.

They also offer several lofts in 1,2,3,4 long iron replacement heads. That said, not only fast swingers looking for a driving iron to use for tee shots should pick these clubs up. They are easy to hit, and for high-launch golfers who want a shot of their dull, long iron, these should be given a serious try.

It’s the most forgiving, high-launching driving iron on the market, and you should buy one.

PROS

• Incredibly powerful
• Assuming you are up to October 2023.
• More visually appealing than the prior U505 utility iron

CONS

• There are no cons to this club

What Makes a Driving Iron Exceptional?

When I first started testing driving irons, I quickly learned that, much like woods and hybrid, some were better than others. Four irons that get their act together — the best driving irons have a unique niche of traits that separate them from standard irons and hybrids. At first, they should provide an excellent ball rate. Most contemporary driving irons employ a hollow-body construction and thin forged faces to promote distance. A driving iron must also be forgiving, which is not something long irons have necessarily been known for. This classification’s most forgiving golf irons use tungsten and perimeter weighting to streamline off-centre strikes. Launch angle is also critical. A well-garde drive iron delivers a mid-to-low flight with plenty of spins to keep it on fairways but not so much to balloon into the wind.

How Driving Irons Differ from Hybrids and Fairway Woods

I’ve often been asked why I prefer driving iron instead of hybrid or fairway wood. The reason relates to control and versatility. Hybrids are brilliant for players who don’t find long irons easy, with a higher launch and increased forgiveness. But they can be finicky in the wind and occasionally create too much spin. Fairway Woods is good off the deck but not as trustworthy when you need accuracy. Best driving irons, on the other hand, I can hit penetrating shots with a controlled flight. They help me feel secure in manipulating shots, whether a low stinger under the wind or a gentle draw into my best landing zone.

Top Driving Irons for Distance and Forgiveness

I’ve had the opportunity to test and find a few driver’s irons that stand out. While specific models are designed to appeal to elite ball strikers, others are geared towards those who want the most forgiving golf irons. Some of the best driving irons are designed with futuristic materials and designs by manufacturers like TaylorMade, Callaway, and Titleist. Take the TaylorMade P790 UDI, for example. Its explosive distance, overwhelming forgiveness, and forged feel make it a no-brainer for the aggressive player. The Callaway X Forged Utility has also become an ideal transition from long irons to a good workability and forgiveness balance. One of my other favourites is the Titleist U505, a club that combines ball speed and playability for mid-handicappers to have a fighting chance at the driving iron.

The Importance of Shaft Selection for Driving Irons

In my early years, one of the more significant mistakes I made from my driving iron setup was ignoring the shaft. A worthy performance is only as good as the right shaft. An extra stout, low-launching shaft is usually necessary for a driving iron over traditional irons. Steel shafts offer steadiness and precision, while the graphite choices add more speed and forgiveness. I would rather have a mid-stiff graphite shaft for my driving iron to get a reasonable distance while maintaining control. Shaft Flex, Weight, and Material: Knowing the proper combination of these characteristics ensures your driving iron works best for your swing speed and desired ball flight.

When to Use a Driving Iron on the Course

Driving irons are an absolute weapon in certain situations, and knowing when to use them can be a game-changer. On a firm, fast-running course, a driving iron is my tee weapon of choice. It lets me chase the ball down the fairway without spinning in excess. On windy days (a feature of this time of year), the best driving irons fly low and piercing and stay on course, unlike a driver or hybrid that could balloon. They’re also ideal for long par-3s and tight par-4s, where accuracy matters more than sheer distance. It takes practice to master a driving iron, but once you work it into your bag strategy, it becomes an indispensable tool.

Final Thoughts: Elevate Your Game with the Right Driving Iron

The best driving iron might be a bit of a quest-worthy journey for you, as it all hinges on your skill level, swing style, and the condition of your playing course. The trick is to find the balance between distance, forgiveness and control. If you are looking for an alternative to a driver or a hybrid, purchasing an excellent driving iron can reevaluate your long game. The most forgiving golf irons in this category are even in mid-handicappers‘ hands, and more advanced players can work the ball with assurance. In my experience, it’s not just about tech; it’s about trust: the right driving iron can earn it. Your game reaches new heights when you walk up to the ball and know your club will deliver.