When interested in a golf club that can provide you with great ball speeds and is also very forgiving, hybrid irons and fairways are not necessarily the items you should be looking at. Rather than looking at these type of irons, you should be looking at driving irons.
However, just like any other product, driving irons vary in quality, so you ought to be really careful when buying one. Here are the best budget driving irons in 2023 based on our in depth research.
1. Cobra King One Length Utility Iron (2023)
Unlike most of the earlier clubs, Cobra King has an alloy steel shaft. It’s a very stiff club with synthetic rubber grips, a PowerShell face, and tungsten weighting for lower CG. The price is not unreasonable, and it also offers an adjustable sole.
Features
- Hollow construction
- 19.5⁰ loft
- PowerShell face
- Custom grips
- MyFly8 adjustability
- Stiff flex
Pros
- Long and stiff
- Low price
- Incredible feel from the forged face
- Lightweight from a hollow body
- Improves swing speeds
- True stiff steel shaft
- Consistent high launch trajectory and accurate
Cons
- Not the most workable
- Relatively high spin
Price: View on Amazon
2. TaylorMade P790 UDI Utility
It’s slightly more expensive than TaylorMade GAPR MID, but it also offers more features like custom wraps. The design has an extra-stiff flex and is more for beginners than expert golfers. Its loft is significantly smaller than you would expect at just 17⁰ while weighing a mere two pounds.
Features
- Graphite shaft
- Speed foam
- Thru slot speed pocket
- Chrome color
- Wrap grip
- Hollow body build
- Tungsten weighting
- Extra-stiff flex
Pros
- Weighting for easier swings
- Cheap
- Forgiving with high launches
- Travels straight and accurately
- Easy to hit and workable
- True driving iron
- Low spin
- Offers custom grips and Thru slot pocket
- Hollow construction makes it lightweight
Cons
- Not ideal for experts
- Tight fairway lies performance is spotty
Price: View on Amazon
4. Srixon Z Utility U65 Iron
While the shaft material is graphite, the body is pure 1020 carbon steel. It has a hollow construction which makes it weigh less than average at 0.6lbs. You will require relatively little effort to make high trajectory hits with U65 because of its lightweight. The head design also allows for more spin control and better ball accuracy.
Features
- Four utility and 23⁰ loft
- Stiff flex
- 1020 carbon steel body
- Hollow construction
- Custom grips
- Weighting
- 0.6lbs
Pros
- High initial launch
- Up to 25 yards drive increase
- Balanced with easier contact
- Reasonable price
- High spin control
- An ideal choice for amateur golfers
- Consistent and great feel
Cons
- Head is slightly overweight
- Steel shafts give better stiffness
Price: View on Amazon
5. Tour Edge Men’s HL3 Iron-Wood Graph Set
HL3 has a redesigned face that’s ultra-thin for optimum spring effect and has a heavy sole for lower CG. Due to the many innovative features in its construction, it’s a very forgiving club with a massive sweet spot.
Features
- Regular flex
- Graphite shaft
- Hollow body construction
- Variable face thickness
- Heavy sole
Pros
- High launch angle
- Cheap
- Very forgiving irons
- Massive sweet spot
- Improves swing speed using weighted sole
- Smooth design
- Ideal for all experience levels
Cons
- Low roll-out
- Lacks consistency
Price: View on Amazon
5. TaylorMade GAPR MID Golf Club
Aside from being one of the best driving iron on the market right now, it’s also relatively low priced. In its best configuration so far is 4-utility, 21⁰ loft with a stiff flex. GAPR MID from TaylorMade includes innovation to improve gapping, trajectory and accuracy. Finally, the design isn’t bad looking.
Features
- Speed foam technology
- Loft sleeve
- Mid-width sole
- Flight Control technology
- Speed pocket
- Graphite shaft
- Weighting
Pros
- Versatility in play
- Has optimized CG
- Perfect gapping and accuracy
- Extreme distance
- High trajectory with a straight flight path
- Easy alignment due to mid-width sole
Cons
- Doesn’t come with adjustment tools
Price: View on Amazon
6. Fourteen Golf HI 877 Hybrid Golf Club
While the Tour Edge HL3 Hot Launch Iron-Wood is our most affordable product, the Fourteen Golf HI 877 Hybrid Golf Club is the most expensive in this article. The golf club is an item you can never go wrong with. Its appearance may not say this about it, but that is just the truth. The Fourteen Golf HI 877 Hybrid Golf Club puts up very remarkable performances, and its overall performance is also very impressive. If you are willing to spend about $500+ on a good product, you should consider the Fourteen Golf HI 877 Hybrid Golf Club.
- Vibrant yellow body highlights
- High-intensity am355p steel
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Good trajectory control
- Well-designed sole
- Good distance
Cons
- Very forgiving
7. Mizuno MP-18 MMC Fli Hi Iron
The Mizuno MP-18 MMC Fli Hi Iron has nothing really special to offer, but we included the product for people who would love more options to consider. With so many 5-star ratings from owners of this product, we doubt you would ever consider the golf club a waste of money. In fact, we have seen a good number of professionals play around with the Mizuno MP-18 MMC Fli Hi Iron.
- Long iron replacement
- Optimized weighting
- Chrome finish
- Hollow body
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Easy to hit off the deck
- Consistent trajectory
- Good forgiveness
Cons
- Tough to flight down
8. Thomas Golf Hollow Head Driving Iron
The Thomas Golf Hollow Head Driving Iron sells at about the same price as the Mizuno MP-18 MMC Fli Hi Iron, and it is also another product worthwhile of spending some minutes to look into.
The Thomas Golf Hollow Head Driving Iron has very good forgiveness. In other words, beginners would find it fun playing golf with the Thomas Golf Hollow Head Driving Iron. We also find the Thomas Golf Hollow Head Driving Iron to be a great product for high handicappers.
- Shorter shaft and compact head
- Over-sized hollow-head
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Great for high handicappers
- Very forgiving
Con
- Distance is lacking
- Not very workable