WR

With staff player Henrik Stenson's triumph last week at the so-called 'fifth Major', Srixon's stock has never been higher. The Swede used the company's forged irons to great effect at Sawgrass, cruising to victory in the Players Championship with a final-round 66 on a course that is famed as a graveyard of dashed hopes and broken dreams.

The fact that he was joined in the Top-10 by fellow staff players Jim Furyk and Tim Clark only serves to underline the great strides Srixon has made in recent years.

The company has bolstered its 2009 irons line-up with a new mid-handicap iron that is clearly derived from the i-701 iron used by Stenson. The Srixon WR irons share the same stunning looks as the Srixon i-701s and although not forged, the finish and feel are exactly what you'd expect of a top of the range iron.

But this is no show pony. Cloaked within that sleek brushed satin finish is technology designed to give the average player a gentle nudge in the right direction.

The most significant technology is the inclusion of a 90-gram 'Power Ring' that has been wrapped around the rear cavity to ensure that golf's most important variables are present in the correct proportions.

And as we are constantly told by research and development gurus, when Centre of Gravity is low and Moment of Inertia is high, good things can happen. They're right, by the way. The WR irons perform just as well as they look.

At address the appearance is clean and uncluttered, with a nice square leading edge and reassuring top line giving a positive first impression. They might not be forged but the finish makes you think that they will feel soft. Pleasingly, that is exactly the case, especially with the shorter irons.

Although officially fairly standard, the lofts do feel quite weak, but in the pursuit of high-flying, soft landing approaches that is no bad thing, especially given propensity of most amateurs to de-loft the clubhead at impact.

Thankfully, the set has been engineered so that the mid and long irons can be given a rip and these clubs certainly feel more powerful. At times you feel you might have caught a flier! They are also easy to get in the air, again helping the player with a slower swing speed. The graphite shaft option - with more flex towards the tip - is just one more way that Srixon helps you get the ball airborne a little easier.

Summary

Another quality offering from Srixon. In a price-bracket that is hugely competitive, the WR irons represent a lot of bang for the buck. If you like clean-looking irons that are easy to hit, try these. If you've never even hit a Srixon club, it's time to give it a go.