Ai SMOKE & Qi IRONS REVIEW // Testing 2024's Game Improvement Irons from Callaway & TaylorMade 

80 year old, 12 ‘cap, buying new irons this season. Love your tests & discussions. Would like to see test comparing Cobra Darkspeed vs Callaway & TaylorMade.

No, I don’t look at the labeling of irons.(game improvement, players, etc.) I just play completely inappropriate irons for me( blades), purely based on looks.

You mention it in the video but I don’t think OEMs do nearly enough communication on the stronger static lofts targeting the segment of golfers who deliver insufficient shaft lean for more traditionally lofted irons. It’s intended to help this group of players deliver dynamic loft more similar to those with more ideal shaft lean. This is the strongest argument for stronger lofts in this segment of clubs, yet you never hear it from the OEMs.

I just had a club champion fit and landed on these, it didnt even seem like my fitter thought of these as GI irons as I was testing non GI irons. I hit these and T200’s the best and chose these. Cant wait for them to arrive!

I was playing the wrong skill irons for a decade till I looked at the GI category in a set of Srixon 565 fitted at Chicago location. Thanks Austin!

I am getting my AI smoke irons tomorrow and I am really excited to put them in the bag. I've been playing Mizuno and I worry a bit that I'll miss the feel of them, but after putting the AI Smoke driver in play I have high hopes that the irons will be as forgiving as the driver. The driver is amazing and I think the irons will be too.

I would love to see the High launch options head to head

Just tested the two of these today, really liked the Callaway for me.

Great test, I am one of the people that shy away from the "game and super game improvement Irons," as I age and what to hold onto performance those categories are a hard thing to deal with. like Mike said they are doing themselves a disservice marketing by the current system, especially since it's got all the new technology I think there should have a number system that reflects, forgiveness ,distance at swing speeds, etc. maybe 0-5 , 0-10. Also many Irons bridge a few categories now. Thank you

I would like to see Wilson dynapro forged vs some of the other players distance irons. Maybe start with 790s or t200. Your driver bracket testing is pretty interesting how about a similar test with irons. I suspect it's a lot of work but I'm sure your viewers appreciate all your efforts.

I love the look of blades, but at 13 HDC can't imagine playing them. Changing my swing some too - and can hit it off the toe - so longer blade is welcomed on those shots

I see that you guys are using both GSPro and the Foresight software in the review. Watching the driver bracket yesterday (GSPro driving range) and then this video (foresight). Any reason for this such as one is more accurate on different shots or easier to show comparison of shots, etc? Thanks

Picked up a set of Ai smoke HL’s with the Cypher 2.0 shafts and have 3 rounds under my belt with them now. They are absolute weapons on the course. I would absolutely recommend people go get fitted and give these irons a chance.

I picked up my fitted Qi irons on Monday, so early days. As a 21 hcap & 60 y/o the speed off the face is just what i needed. My swing speed is down to 80-85 mph with age and to again have the feeling that irons "stay struck" was worth the outlay. Looking to get that hcap down this year and i now have tools that are going to help.

I do pay attention to the category somewhat, but I don’t let that rule my mind. I would never play a blade, however I never thought I was good enough to play a moderate size head but I did make a switch two years ago from Taylormade MCGB to Mizuno JPX-921 Hot Metals and greatly improved my game…with a smaller head not so chunky. The difference was phenomenal. I played the best golf of my life in 2023. I like the badging on the QI irons, but at address, not so, Ai Smoke is lovely. How about a comparison between Ai Smoke, new Titleist T-350 and Wilson Dynapower Forged? We have way too much to choose from! And it’s all good… Keep the great videos coming and I love Mikey‘s smile 😃

I stopped playing for 10 years and just started back up last September. My clubs before I stopped playing were the original TM RBZ. I play P790 now and feel more confident with them and hit them better than any “game improvement iron” and I’m a 15-18 handicapper. My handicap is high because I have such an issue with my driver. My iron/wedge/putting game is what saves me. When I hit a drive 280 down the fairway, I’m almost always going to get a par or at worst a bogey. It’s those 220 yard snap hooks or slices into the trees that cause me to scramble and even then I can still scrounge a par or bogey.

Stripe show from the Young Maestro!!!! 6 iron dispersion 👀👀👀

Just got fitted last week. I told the Fitter that I was brand agnostic as well as "model" (game improvement, player) agnostic. I wanted a club that would be good for me and help with dispersion. I ended up with the AI Smoke. He never showed me or told me what I was hitting. We looked at numbers, direction, and feel. I get the clubs this week, hopefully. I really enjoy your videos and find them very helpful.

Nice one lads.... while not the iron(s) for me, its interesting to get Mikeys take on this category of iron. Funny enough, while iron lofts get stronger, even with my age now at the big 5-0, I find myself enjoying sets with 46-47 PW,s and 34-35 7i. I haven't lost all that much speed so a 165 carry 7i and 125 carry PW in traditional lofts are still in play for me..... with the added bonus of spin and a lower window (which I need here in windy Western Alberta).

Would love to see more about the ball change. I got fit for the ai smoke irons, typically play a harder ball for driver distance and feel.

look at clubs like improvement irons as they must be easier to hit, i'm going to get fitted into new irons within the next month or so. I'd like to see what you would reccommend, i'm currently playing a set of taylormade m2 irons with steel reg flex high launch shafts that don't suit me at all. My luanch angle from my 7 iron is mid 20's which i am working on getting down, should i be gong into a stiffer shaft etc...

What was the average peak height on both irons after the ball switch? Thank you.

I really liked this review. Got fitted last week for the AI Smoke. Can't wait to get them!

Just bought the smokes. Didnt have my clubs with me for a recent round so had to get a set of rental irons which were smokes. Had zero interest in new irons but hit the smokes and completely gobsmacked by sound, feel and distance. Surreal feel.

I use shaft lean and have lessons it’s the club face path which leads to me opening the face and adding loft.

Any chance you guys can test out cobra dark speed vs srixon in the game improvement category..thanks

Went to get fitted for Titleist T200 ended up going home with Ai Smoke, I had to work much harder with the T200 to get similar results. Being that the Ai head is heavier I ended up with a lightweight graphite Project X Cypher shaft to get the swing weight dialed and it worked out perfect. Dropped 5 strokes 1st time out with them.

I just got my fitted AI smoke irons last week and what a change they have made for me. easily 20 yards longer and far tighter dispersion that my previous irons

I am definitely in that group wondering what irons I should be looking at as far as game improvement or players distance irons

I’m a 7 handicap and got fitted from Joe last year into Paradym irons and just love them. They look very compact at address and feel great and I don’t consider them in the game improvement category. Got to get fitted for what works for you best and not on what you think you should play. 🤙

Wow first one to comment from the PH. Love your videos guys. Keep it up

I try not to pay attention to labels of the category of iron. My only requirement is forged and not much offset. I think my handicap (8) matches players distance but my speed matches players irons. It's why I went with t200, 150, 100 combo so I could get that bit of extra forgiveness in the longer irons and precision in the shorter stuff. I do think Ping does the best with their loft specs for people like me that want that forgiveness but not the strong lofts. A "players forgiveness" category would make the most sense for players like me.

Is there a fitter certification we should look for when contemplating signing up for a fitting? I finally got fitted a couple years ago and had I known then what I know now, I would have directed the process more myself. I was very disappointed with the fitting in terms of the process, the “fitting” itself, and the pickup of the equipment. Which brings me to my next question and I don’t think I’ve seen this on your channel, when the clubs arrive at your store, what happens next? The customer was fitted based on a couple clubs, now the whole set arrives. Do they just take them home? Do they hit a couple balls? Do they go through a gap fitting? Do you verify all the ordering specs made it to the final product? I think that would be an interesting video.

The biggest issue I hate about these irons in the game improvement category is that they come with 2 gap wedges , for example the Callaway 42 degree pitching wedge because of that there is a 46 degree gap and a 51 degree gap wedge and this causes problems like Mikey not being able to launch a 6 iron high enough without switching balls which should never happen at a 6 iron with his speed no matter what his delivery is.

If I tested irons and hit them like Mike just did, I would play them!

The year-to-year change in these irons to match the driver puts me off more than the GI designation. Somehow the Ping G4x or ZX4 or JPX HM seem more legitimate.

I’ve watched other vids and people are loving the TM Qi, basically each to their own…….anything to help the higher handicap golfer. I believe pricing has to come into it at some point to with the callaway being more expensive. Great ball striking by the way 😃

I actually bought a set of XXIO X irons 5 to PW game improvement irons. I play off 2 and they are just cheat sticks. Bit chunky, like Callaway X14s, however I went to ZX5s

Callaway just came through my home town in New Zealand, so i had a fitting session with the irons and they fell amazing compared to my Nickent beginner golf clubs that ive been learning on. Started playing golf in June 2023 so very new to the game. I have been offered a $3000 package of 6-pw plus a 5 hywrid and to wedges. Is this good or do i need to try all of the other brands?

What course is this on foresight? hole number?

Just got a fitting through club champion and bought the AI Smoke irons. Can't wait to get out on the course and play with them.

For 70 year old 7 hdcp that’s been playing 2018 P790’s, does the Ai Smoke make sense? Looking for a bit more forgiveness and a few extra yards wouldn’t hurt.

It always seems like they spread out the lofts too much on the short irons, then close the gaps too much on the long irons. 16yds difference on the Callaway between the 8 and 6 iron.

Looking at irons it depends. At a 10 handicap I still want to feel comfortable standing over an iron. Standing over a blade I don’t feel confident. Standing over a player distance iron or game improvement I do. But also don’t want the iron to be as chunky as a hybrid - there’s a fine line in there somewhere

Would like to test Ping G730

I add a lot of dynamic loft so need stronger lofted clubs which puts me in the Game improvement category. I would like to play a smaller club but the lofts are too weak for me.

I'd love a fitting from Club Champion, they just seem so detailed, explain everything in a simple way while instilling confidence for the golfer being fitted. 100% trusting

It would be helpful for us seniors who have slower swing speeds to have you give the decent angle. If you hit the 7 160 with a 40 decent angle your not holding a green

Other than eliminating blade irons from the discussion, I find that the other categories muddy the waters a little. I’m doing a fitting with you guys in about two weeks and looking at clubs, reading about them and looking at clubs here in Florida while on vacation, I’m getting confused. Strong long irons have me spooked but Cobra Forged Tec X with 65 gm of tungsten low in the head has got to be game improvement, but maybe they’re not. The Ai irons in Mikes hands are game improvement but probably not for me. Thank goodness for fitting because the marketplace is very confusing.

Callaway Vs Mizuno 923 Pro ?

I do consider the type of clubs I look at based on what they’re categorized as. I would more likely look into something with the “game improvement” tag or anything for the worse player for sure.

I will say this, Callaway did do away with "what handicap fits these". They used swing data and based that off of who should be playing each iron for the new lineup which i loved. Its more about the data in the swing than the score on the course and the tech will back that up to help them

So I usually shoot low 80’s. Was it a good option to get these clubs?

In the shop i work in, this year, absolutely noone has asked me about new irons. Its been the new drivers every time. A shame, because these irons are great

just ordered AI smoke set of irons, fitted up against QI and i preferred Calloway even though i am a bit of a TM fanboy.

I agree with Mikey, I wouldn’t look at a game improvement iron. Ai smoke sound more player’s distance iron.

I definitely feel like the labels make it very easy to put yourself in the wrong set of clubs. My brother and I bicker about which club is less game improvee because it makes us better than the other.

I would pay attention to the labels but I don’t know what they mean and so it’s confusing. Low, medium, high handicap labels would be more straightforward but people probably aren’t honest with themselves and don’t want to be seen with high handicap clubs. My problem is that game improvement partially means high hitting. I hit too high as it is so I don’t know where to go.

Do you guys ever have trouble with people swinging the club differently inside? The only fit I've ever seen, the guy I saw was swinging slower and had more mishits than usual. He said he felt handcuffed in the indoor environment.

i immediately eliminate player anything as i'm a hack. Love the calloway ai smoke had it been labeled that i probably wouldn't have tried it.

If I got these irons I might start with 7 iron because I would have to carry so many wedges.

I think that if you go to be fitted at a professional outlet, they will try a range of clubs, and the labels tend to be irrelevant.

To answer your question, Yes, I let my ego determine what kind of clubs I play, like most golfers 😂

Qi10’s looked terrible imo when I saw them in person. Smoke looks good

His pw numbers aren’t that far off my 7 iron numbers lmao

Explain why pros don’t use game improvement clubs, is it distance inconsistency, too high ball trajectory…

Think taylormade has more options for irons than Callaway. So they made a traditional game improvement.

Only 15 yards betwwen 8 iron and 6 iron

It can't be just me, but I'm 10x more interested in what $500-700 irons do vs $1500 irons. We don't grow the game by ignoring the budget clubs. We do continue the elitist image of golf by constantly focusing on these two brands though.

I'll never understand the obsession with iron categories. If it works, play it. It's simple as that.

Sorry irons that don’t spin are for beginners only. Gotta hold greens

A thought while I was watching this .... When you're talking about the looks of a club, how about showing the club on screen so we can see what you're talking about...🫣