The Golf Laboratories swing robot spent the winter hitting plenty of 7-irons. Over the last month, we’ve released data analysis from iron testing covering every category—from players and players-distance to game-improvement and super-game-improvement.

To tie a bow on iron testing, we compiled all 30 models and came up with a comprehensive list of standouts.

What follows is what the robot found, and what it says about the class of 2026. Think of it as a battle royale.

Testing Protocol

Every head recorded 36 shots across six impact zones (mid and low) at 82 mph, using a Titleist Pro V1 ball and True Temper Dynamic Gold shaft. Data was recorded using a R&D-grade Foresight GCQuad launch monitor.

Ball speed

Leader: PXG 0311XP Gen 8 (113.3 mph)

The field average is 108.7, but the 0311XP achieved a number that’s 4.5 mph faster, roughly 1.9 standard deviations above the mean. The gap to second place is just 0.39 mph, which confirms there are other fast heads out there, particularly from PXG, Ping and Callaway.

  1. PXG 0311XP Gen 8 — 113.28 (Game Improvement)
  2. PXG 0311P Gen 8 — 112.89 (Players Distance)
  3. Ping G740 — 111.44 (Game Improvement)
  4. Callaway Quantum Max OS — 111.3 (Super Game Improvement)
  5. Ping i540 — 110.96 (Players Distance)


Ball speed by category

Super Game Improvement


109.99MPH

Game Improvement


109.91MPH

Players Distance


109.78MPH


101.9
Field range (mph)
113.3

Once you leave the players bucket, ball speed averages across PD, GI and SGI are within 0.21 mph of each other. A player seeking more distance essentially has three of the four categories to choose from and won’t see meaningful separation.

Only the players category sits apart, and by roughly 3 mph. The two PXG heads at the top come from different categories with the same face technology, separated by less than a half-mile-per-hour. They’re producing the ceiling regardless of head geometry.

Longest carry

Leader: PXG 0311XP GEN8 (164.2 yards)

The same 0311XP makes it two in a row. Field averages 152.4 yards, so the leader is 11.8 yards longer, nearly two standard deviations above the mean, and enough to make a noticeable difference for those seeking to reduce what club they’re hitting into the green. But as you’ll see below, there’s a tradeoff to be made for pure distance.

  1. PXG 0311XP Gen 8 — 164.2 (Game Improvement)
  2. PXG 0311P Gen 8 — 161.5 (Players Distance)
  3. Ping i540 — 160 (Players Distance)
  4. Ping G740 — 158.8 (Game Improvement)
  5. TaylorMade P790 — 157.9 (Players Distance)


Carry distance by category

Game Improvement


155.2YDS

Players Distance


155.2YDS

Super Game Improvement


155.1YDS


136.6
Field range (yds)
164.2

You’re looking at the mirror image of the ball speed story. Three of the four categories cluster within a tenth of a yard of each other on carry average, and players models sit eight yards short of the pack.

Ping’s i540 and G740 carry the ball nearly identical yardages here, and the Quantum Max OS is within a couple of yards of both. What makes several of these players-distance models appealing is the fact that you can reap the distance benefits without going up in head size.

Lowest spin rate

Leader: PXG 0311XP Gen 8 (4,420 rpm)

The field average is 5,379 rpm, with 0311XP spinning 959 rpm below that number, nearly two standard deviations under the mean. But the gap to the Ping is only nine rpm, which is what we like to call “within the noise.”

  1. PXG 0311XP Gen 8 — 4,420 (Game Improvement)
  2. Ping i540 — 4,429 (Players Distance)
  3. Callaway Quantum Max — 4,821 (Super Game Improvement)
  4. TaylorMade P790 — 4,911 (Players Distance)
  5. PXG 0311P Gen 8 — 4,919 (Players Distance)


Spin rate by category

Players Distance


5,087RPM

Super Game Improvement


5,158RPM

Game Improvement


5,209RPM


4,420
Field range (rpm)
6,476

Three of the four categories cluster inside a 120-rpm band, and players sits 600 rpm above that cluster. This is what we’ve come to expect from players model; the weaker lofts are designed for consistent carry numbers and workability.

Highest spin rate

Leader: Wilson Staff Model CB (6,476 rpm)

The CB spins 1,096 rpm above the field average of 5,379 rpm, or 2.26 standard deviations above the mean, the most decisive leader in our dataset.

  1. Wilson Staff Model CB — 6,476 (Players)
  2. Callaway X Forged — 6,164 (Players)
  3. Mizuno Pro S-1 — 6,113 (Players)
  4. Cobra 3DP MB — 5,927 (Players)
  5. Wilson Staff Model — 5,903 (Players)


Spin rate by category

Game Improvement


5,209RPM

Super Game Improvement


5,158RPM

Players Distance


5,087RPM


4,420
Field range (rpm)
6,476

The top five is entirely players models, which tracks with what we’ve seen from better-player offerings. This is the cleanest category sweep in the dataset; no other category places a single head in the top five, and only TaylorMade’s Qi4D Max HL and Wilson’s Dynapwr crack the top 10 from another category. The CB is a coherent physics story from multiple angles: highest dynamic loft (29.3 degrees), highest spin (6,476 rpm) and tied for steepest descent (46.76 degrees). It also boasts the widest front-to-back dispersion (41.06 yards), meaning precision should be a prerequisite if you’re playing them.

Highest peak height

Leader: PXG 0311P Gen 8 (89.1 feet)

The 0311P sits five feet above the average (83.7 feet), essentially two standard deviations ahead of the pack.

  1. PXG 0311P Gen 8 — 89.11 (Players Distance)
  2. Wilson Staff Dynapwr — 87.80 (Game Improvement)
  3. PXG 0311T Gen 8 — 87.78 (Players)
  4. Mizuno Pro S-1 — 86.7 (Players)
  5. Callaway Apex Ti Fusion Forged — 86.29 (Players)


Peak height by category

Super Game Improvement


83.82FT


77.73
Field range (ft)
89.11

Here’s another category where PXG leads the category with two different models—0311P (players distance) and 0311T (players). While some PD irons tend to feature lower launch and spin profiles, the 0311P bucks the trend. It’s also worth noting that the 0311XP, which tops multiple superlatives, sits 25th on peak height at 81 feet. There’s some noticeable performance separation in the 0311 Gen 8 lineup.

Steepest descent

Leader: Wilson Staff Model CB (46.76 degrees)

Field average is 45.01 degrees, and the field is packed tighter here than on any other metric in the dataset. The standard deviation is 1.09 degrees, and the range is only 4.13. Wilson’s CB and Mizuno’s S-1 are separated by 0.01 degrees, which is smaller than the measurement’s confidence interval. They’re essentially co-leaders.

  1. Wilson Staff Model CB — 46.76 (Players)
  2. Mizuno Pro S-1 — 46.75 (Players)
  3. Callaway X Forged — 46.24 (Players)
  4. Callaway Apex Ai 150 Forged — 46.17 (Players)
  5. TaylorMade Qi4D Max HL — 45.91 (Game Improvement)


Descent angle by category

Super Game Improvement


44.84DEG

Players Distance


44.56DEG

Game Improvement


44.42DEG


42.63
Field range (deg)
46.76

The players category owns seven of the top 10. But the more useful signal is actually what’s going on at the bottom of the list. Cobra’s 3DP King (42.63), PXG’s 0311XP (42.69) and Ping’s i540 (42.80) produced the flattest landing in the test. All three are running the low-loft, low-spin distance recipe. On a 7-iron at 82 mph, descent angle behaves as a floor. Above roughly 44 degrees the differences don’t matter much for how the ball stops. Below that, the ball starts landing hot enough that stopping power becomes a real question. TaylorMade’s Qi4D Max HL at 45.91 leads the GI category and is one to watch when we write about stopping power for mid-handicappers.

Tightest 95 percent dispersion area

Leader: Callaway Quantum Max OS (85.4 square feet)

Field average is 223.1 square feet. The Quantum Max OS sits 62 percent below that, 1.8 standard deviations below the mean. The gap to second is 43.8 square feet, nearly the size of the leader itself. Unlike some of the other performance categories, this isn’t a photo finish.

  1. Callaway Quantum Max OS — 85.4 (Super Game Improvement)
  2. Callaway Quantum Max — 129.2 (Super Game Improvement)
  3. Ping i240 — 136.6 (Players)
  4. Cobra Baffler — 145.1 (Super Game Improvement)
  5. Ping i540 — 147.5 (Players Distance)


95 percent dispersion area by category

Super Game Improvement


133.1SQ FT

Players Distance


218.1SQ FT

Game Improvement


228.1SQ FT


85.4
Field range (sq ft)
372.3

This is where SGI models start to shine. Larger footprints and deeper CGs all show up in the numbers, confirming this year’s crop will produce a straight ball on command, even on mishits. Players irons struggled to keep up with their SGI counterparts, confirmation that there’s a dispersion tradeoff as you improve and transtion into a smaller head profile. This is why consistent impact is imperative.

Tightest front-to-back (95 percent depth)

Leader: Callaway Quantum Max OS (15.9 yards)

Quantum Max OS is 43 percent tighter than the field average (27.9 yards), or 2.05 standard deviations below the mean. It’s the widest separation from the average of any leader on this entire list. The gap to second (PXG 0311P Gen 8) is 2.65 yards.

  1. Callaway Quantum Max OS — 15.9 (Super Game Improvement)
  2. PXG 0311P Gen 8 — 18.54 (Players Distance)
  3. Cobra Baffler — 19.62 (Super Game Improvement)
  4. Callaway Quantum Max — 21.29 (Super Game Improvement)
  5. Mizuno Pro S-1 — 22.5 (Players)


95 percent front-to-back by category

Super Game Improvement


21.48YDS

Game Improvement


25.71YDS

Players Distance


28.61YDS


15.90
Field range (yds)
41.06

Based on what we saw play out in the 95 percent area category, these results shouldn’t be a surprise. The SGI irons are landing in a tighter carry-distance window than any other category. Players heads produce the widest carry variance in the test. That’s a full club of typical yardage spacing separating the two ends of the spectrum. And if you’re keeping track at home, Quantum Max OS is now three-for-three on consistency metrics.

Tightest side-to-side (95 percent width)

Leader: Ping i240 (4.58 yards)

The i240 is 53 percent tighter than our field average (9.85 yards), which translates to 1.75 standard deviations below the mean. The gap to second is 1.3 yards, with the Ping i540 at 5.88. Ping’s one-two in this category.

  1. Ping i240 — 4.58 (Players)
  2. Ping i540 — 5.88 (Players Distance)
  3. Mizuno Pro M-13 — 6.41 (Players)
  4. Callaway Quantum Max OS — 6.57 (Super Game Improvement)
  5. Cobra King Max — 7.25 (Super Game Improvement)


95 percent side-to-side by category

Super Game Improvement


7.57YDS

Game Improvement


10.87YDS


4.58
Field range (yds)
17.70

Ping’s two heads finish first and second, and they’re the only two irons under six yards of lateral dispersion. Whatever Ping is doing with CG placement in the i-series is producing directional control the rest of the field can’t touch. The i240 is also the sharpest illustration of a broader lesson from the test: the shape of the dispersion ellipse matters as much as its size. The i240 sits third overall in 95 percent area, but the ellipse is extraordinarily narrow left-to-right and stretched top-to-bottom, while it ranks 28th on front-to-back. That means the shots land in a tight column at wildly different yardages. Compare that to the Quantum Max OS, which is compact on both axes and rounder in shape. Two “consistent” irons, two completely different results.

What we’re seeing across the leaderboard

A few things emerge once we stack all 10 metrics together. Category labels are a good starting point when a golfer walks into the fitting bay, but they’ll steer you wrong if you stop there.

On ball speed, three of the four categories average within a mile per hour of each other. On carry, they’re inside two yards. Only players heads sit apart from the pack.

On dispersion, SGI irons are producing tighter shot patterns than every other category by a wide margin. On spin, every players head in the test spins the ball more than the average head in every other category, with no exceptions. The category system isn’t wrong, but it doesn’t tell the same story on every metric.

Two irons split the leaderboards between them. The PXG 0311XP wins all three distance metrics: ball speed, carry and lowest spin. If that package calls to you, then it’s worth further consideration. Callaway’s Quantum Max OS wins two consistency metrics: tightest dispersion area and tightest carry variance. Neither iron shows up on the other’s list, and that’s the point. If a golfer wants the most distance, they’re accepting a wider dispersion. If they want the tightest shot patterns, they’re accepting shorter carries. Nobody in this 30-iron field is doing both jobs at the same time.

And that’s the biggest takeaway. Pull down hard on one performance lever, and you generally have to be content with sacrificing in other areas. This isn’t a new concept, but it’s something to consider as you put together a list of wants and needs when it comes to a new set of irons.