3 of the best new iron sets under £500
Three brand-new 5-PW iron sets sitting under £500 right now from TaylorMade, Cobra and Callaway, each with its CaddyIndex score and the player it suits.
New iron sets have slowed down the same way drivers have. Heads are still cast or forged from the same metals, lofts have stopped getting stronger as the limit is reached, and the AI-face thing is everywhere now (btw, that just means they used machine learning to find the best face properties during manufacturing). The price still moves though. A 5-SW set lands at £900-£1,200 in year one, drifts to £700-£800 once the next generation gets announced, and by year three it's down to ~£500 and there's plenty of deals to be had.
That year-three pricing is where the value sits. We've found three brand-new sets you can buy today for under £500. All three sealed, all three the real 5-PW lineup, not the 7-PW partials some retailers dress up to look like the same deal. Each card shows its CaddyIndex (our 0-100 rating, distilled from credible reviews and lab tests) so you can see how the three compare at a glance.
Defined modern game-improvement when it landed in 2021. Easiest to launch of the three, biggest sweet spot, slightly chunky topline at address.
The newest design here, 2024. Variable-thickness face on every iron, thinner topline than the SIM2, touch more ball speed too.
Tungsten weight in the long irons, AI face across the set. Cleaner feel than the SIM2; a touch shy of the Darkspeed on outright speed.
Why these three iron sets
TaylorMade SIM2 Max - most forgiving of the bunch. The 2021 set that more or less defined the modern game-improvement iron. The Cap Back design (a hollow back-cavity bridge replacing the usual badge) drops weight low and back, which gets the ball up easily and softens off-centre strikes. If your iron club speed sits below 80 mph, or you've ever struggled to launch a 5-iron, this is the one to look at. The downside is the topline at address.. thicker than the other two, looks more like a training iron. Some golfers find that reassuring, others find it ugly.
Cobra Darkspeed, newest tech, and our pick. Only one of these you could really call newish-gen. The PWRSHELL (no not the windows terminal, for you techies) face uses variable thickness across every iron in the set, not just the long ones. Topline is thinner than the SIM2's so it looks better behind the ball, and it's a touch faster on centred strikes than the other two as well. Honestly surprising to see this design here at ~£469 brand-new - that's why it's our CaddyCompare pick rather than the older two. We think it looks by far the best as well.
Callaway Rogue ST Max - the all-rounder. Tungsten Speed Cartridge in the long irons concentrates weight low for easier launch, and the AI-designed face holds ball speed better off the toe and heel than a traditionally milled one. The SIM2 is more forgiving and the Darkspeed is faster on flush strikes, but the feel of these is the cleanest of the bunch by a clear margin. Worth a look if you swing somewhere between 85 and 95 mph.
Buying a new iron set at clearance: what to actually check
"New" at a clearance price almost always means previous-year stock, same head spec, the launch hype has just moved on. Two things to actually check before you click Buy. The shaft matters more than the head: older sets ship with whatever stock shaft the manufacturer specced (Dynamic Gold S300, KBS Tour, Recoil ESX), and if that's wrong for your swing the head choice won't save you. The set composition matters too, confirm it's 5-PW (six irons), not 7-PW (four irons). Some retailers might have cheaper prices, but you could be getting 1 or 2 less clubs! Click the card on this page, you'll land on the actual listing.
The other thing worth knowing is that the strong lofts on a modern game-improvement set push every distance up by a club's worth. A 7-iron that says 28 degrees on the bottom will fly close to what a traditional 6-iron does, which sounds great until you realise your wedges still ladder down from a pitching wedge that's now 43 or 44 degrees. Re-gap after a set change. Our club gapping calculator takes care of the maths, or read the game improvement iron explainer if you want the broader category context first.
Frequently asked questions
Are new iron sets under £500 really worth buying?
Yes, especially if you're moving from a decade-old set or your first beginner set. Year-three pricing on a modern game-improvement set buys you 95% of the latest-release tech for half the launch price, sealed and with a full retailer warranty. The trade-offs are stock shaft choice (you may need to upgrade) and the set composition (always confirm 5-PW, not 7-PW). Beyond that, the heads themselves do as much as new-release ones for almost every amateur swing.
What's the difference between a 5-PW and 7-PW iron set?
Six irons vs four. A 5-PW set includes the 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and pitching wedge, the full ladder most amateurs want. A 7-PW set drops the 5 and 6 (the harder-to-launch long irons), and many retailers dress them up to look like the same deal at a similar price. If you don't strike 5- and 6-irons cleanly, a 7-PW with a couple of hybrids on top is fine, but make sure you're choosing it deliberately, not falling into a partial set you thought was the full lineup.
Should I buy a new iron set or a used one to save money?
New under £500 wins on warranty, sealed condition, choice of stock shaft, and not having to inspect grooves for wear. Used wins on price (a comparable used set is often £250 to £350 for the same generation) and on optionality (you can find more specific shaft and grip combinations on the used market). For most amateurs a new clearance set is the easier buy; for value hunters or anyone with a specific shaft preference the used market is the move.
What is CaddyIndex and how is it calculated?
CaddyIndex is our 0-100 rating for a single club model, distilled from credible reviews, lab tests and tour-usage data across six dimensions (forgiveness, distance, workability, feel, sound, looks at address). Higher is better; tour-spec heads sit in the 85-95 band, premium game-improvement sets in the high 70s to mid 80s, super game-improvement in the low to mid 70s. Click any card here to see the full per-dimension breakdown for that iron set.
Do strong-lofted iron sets actually add distance, or is it marketing?
Both. A modern 7-iron at 28 degrees is genuinely a 6-iron of two generations ago, and you'll hit it the distance a 6-iron used to fly. The technology that's added on top (perimeter weighting, hollow bodies, faster faces) does help with off-centre strikes and consistency, but the headline distance gain is loft, not magic. Worth knowing when you re-gap the bag so the bottom end still ladders cleanly down through the wedges.
How often should I replace my iron set?
Grooves wear, faces lose a tiny amount of spin, but the structural performance of an iron set lasts well over a decade for most weekend players. Replace when something specific changes (your shaft flex no longer fits, your gapping is broken, or you've outgrown a super-game-improvement spec) rather than on the calendar. A 2021 to 2023 set bought new today is good for the next 8 to 10 years of weekly play.
Want to browse what else is out there? Have a look at every iron set in our catalog for live UK prices, or read our game improvement iron explainer if you're not sure which category you're actually shopping in.