In October 2026, a used set of 2021 Titleist T100s, the forged iron Titleist builds for tour players, had a lower target than a 2022 TaylorMade Stealth game-improvement set: $493 against $522.
That gap is typical. Used iron prices move with demand and age more than with who the club was built for, and sets from two generations back have already taken most of their drop. In any kind of iron, game-improvement, players-distance or players, check the set makeup and the shafts before the badge.
The short answer
Buy a set two generations old, in the category that fits your game. For most mid-handicappers that’s a players-distance iron, and our pick is the 2021 TaylorMade P790 ($673). For the most forgiveness per dollar, the 2022 TaylorMade Stealth ($496). For a good ball-striker, the 2021 Titleist T100 ($611).
Every pick
Launch prices are each brand’s US price with steel shafts, as announced, with the set size it quoted, since that changes the number. Titleist prices by the club. The last column is our algorithm’s target price today for a typical used set, about what a buyer pays for one; each links to the set’s own page and every live listing under it. More are on our used iron sets page.
| Type | Iron set | Launched | Launch price | Used today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game-improvement | TaylorMade Stealth | 2022 | $999 for 7 | $496 |
| Game-improvement | Callaway Rogue ST Max | 2022 | $999.99 for 7 | $448 |
| Game-improvement | TaylorMade Qi | 2024 | $1,099 for 7 | $636 |
| Game-improvement | Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke | 2024 | $999.99 for 7 | $570 |
| Game-improvement | Callaway Elyte | 2025 | $900 for 6 | $616 |
| Players-distance | TaylorMade P790 | 2019 | $1,399.99 | $660 |
| Players-distance | TaylorMade P790 | 2021 | $1,299.99 for 7 | $673 |
| Players-distance | TaylorMade P790 | 2023 | $1,399.99 for 7 | $780 |
| Players-distance | Titleist T200 | 2021 | $186 a club | $645 |
| Players-distance | Callaway Apex Ai200 | 2024 | $1,400 for 7 | $834 |
| Compact players-distance | TaylorMade P770 | 2020 | $1,399 for 8 | $608 |
| Compact players-distance | TaylorMade P770 | 2023 | $1,299.99 for 7 | $638 |
| Players | Titleist T100 | 2019 | $175 a club | $499 |
| Players | Titleist T100 | 2021 | $186 a club | $611 |
| Players | Titleist T100 | 2023 | $200 a club | $734 |
Count the clubs first. A six-club set and an eight-club set of the same iron are different purchases, so check the count in every listing before you hold it up against a target or another listing.
Game-improvement irons: buy the 2022 Stealth
Game-improvement irons have wide soles, thick toplines and plenty of offset. They’re built for golfers who want height and distance and don’t find the middle of the face every time, and they’re the cheapest corner of the used market because there are so many of them.
Our pick is the TaylorMade Stealth ($496). It went on pre-order in January 2022 at $999 for a seven-club 4–PW set in steel, with KBS Max MT 85 shafts. Its successor, the 2024 Qi ($636), launched at $1,099 for seven clubs on the same stock shaft, and in our October 2026 check it cost $126 more used, mostly for being two years newer.
To spend less, look at Callaway’s Rogue ST Max ($448) reached stores on February 18, 2022, at $999.99 for seven, and had a target of $448 when we checked, the lowest of any set here. It has a forgiving head and plenty of listings: 26 at its last check.
Two Callaways need a closer look before you buy. The 2024 Paradym Ai Smoke ($570) is a good set that’s hard to find used; its page showed two live listings at its last check. The 2025 Elyte ($616) is plentiful, but Callaway priced it at $900 for a stock six-club set, $150 a club, so a stock Elyte set is one club short of a stock Stealth or Qi.
Players-distance irons: buy the 2021 P790
A players-distance iron looks like a better player’s club, with a thinner topline and less offset, and hides a hollow body and a fast face behind it. For a mid-handicapper who wants a set that looks clean at address and still forgives a thin strike, it’s the right kind of iron. TaylorMade has made the P790 since 2017, and it’s the one most golfers in this category shop for.
Buy the 2021 P790 ($673). It reached stores on September 3, 2021, at $1,299.99 for seven irons in steel, and it was the generation that filled the head with SpeedFoam Air, which Golf.com reported is 69% less dense than the original foam, behind the thinnest P790 face to that point. The 2023 set went on pre-order on August 8, 2023, at $1,399.99, and its target was $85 higher when we checked. The 2021 set has already taken its big drop, and there were 30 live listings for it at its last check.
On a tighter budget, the 2019 P790 ($660) is the cheapest way into the family. It’s harder to find: 13 live listings at its last check.
Two alternatives cost about the same. Titleist’s 2021 T200 ($645), $186 a club when it reached stores in August 2021, had a target $104 under the 2021 P790 when we checked. Callaway’s Apex Ai200 ($834) reached stores on August 23, 2024, at $1,400 for seven, and used it sits beside the 2023 P790. Take whichever fits you better; the Apex is a year newer, and a year isn’t worth paying extra for.
Players irons: buy the 2021 T100
Players irons are smaller, with thin soles and toplines. They give a good ball-striker more control over flight and much less help on a miss.
Titleist has made a new T100 every two years since 2019, and the first two generations price almost alike. In October 2026, the 2019 T100 ($499) had a target of $515 and the 2021 T100 ($611) $493. The 2023 T100 ($734), $200 a club new, was $771. Buy the 2021: it’s two years newer than the 2019 set, cost less used when we checked, and is much easier to find, with 38 live listings at its last check against 13. Spend some of what you save over a 2023 set on having the lie and length checked.
TaylorMade’s P770 is the in-between choice, a hollow-body players-distance head in a compact shape that looks like a players iron from above. The 2020 set ($608) and the 2023 set ($638) were $8 apart when we checked, so buy the 2023: it arrived on January 20, 2023, at $1,299.99 for seven. The 2024 P770 ($855) cost nearly $200 more.
Look past the badge. Ping’s G425 irons ($653) and Mizuno’s JPX 921 Hot Metal ($644) are worth checking against the picks here at the same money. Every TaylorMade set we price is on the TaylorMade page, every Titleist on the Titleist page.
Set makeup: which clubs you’re buying
Write every set as a range: 4–PW, 5–PW, 5–GW. It tells you how many clubs you get and which ones, and it’s the first thing to check, because brands quote different set sizes as standard. TaylorMade quoted the 2021 and 2023 P790 as seven-club sets, and its 2024 Qi as 5–PW plus an approach wedge; Callaway priced the 2025 Elyte as six.
| Makeup | Clubs | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 4–PW | 7 | Single-digit players who hit a long iron well |
| 5–PW | 6 | Most golfers: carry a hybrid where the 4-iron was |
| 5–GW or 5–AW | 7 | Game-improvement sets, whose strong lofts leave a gap above the pitching wedge |
| 6–PW | 5 | Slower swings that carry two hybrids |
A set with a hole in it (4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and PW, say) is worth noticeably less than a complete one, so offer less. A set that comes with its matching gap wedge is worth having, because the maker lofted that wedge to fit the set, and a wedge from another line may not fit.
If you’re pricing a whole bag and not only the irons, our guide to what a used set of clubs costs works through three budgets.
Shafts and lie: what to check
- Steel or graphite. Steel is heavier and gives most swings a lower, more controlled flight; graphite is lighter and easier on slower swings and sore joints. New, graphite costs more: TaylorMade charged $1,499.99 for the 2021 P790 in graphite, $200 more than steel.
- Weight and flex. Read the label a few inches below the grip on several clubs. Stay close to the weight you play now; a set 20 grams heavier or lighter than yours will feel like someone else’s clubs.
- Every club the same. A reshafted set is fine if every shaft matches. A set with two different shafts, or one replaced 7-iron in another flex, is a set you’ll end up reshafting again.
- Lie and length. Fitters often bend irons upright or flat for the first owner. Ping has marked lie angle with a colored dot since 1972, with black as standard, so a Ping set tells you at a glance. For other brands, a fitter can measure a set in a few minutes.
- Grips and grooves. Worn grips are a cost you’ll pay soon. The grooves on the short irons wear first, so look hard at the 9-iron and PW in the photos.
Before you buy
The same set turns up on eBay, at the big used-club stores and from private sellers on the same day at prices hundreds of dollars apart, so the store matters less than the number. ClubChecks puts every live listing for a set side by side, cheapest first with shipping included, under our target. At or under the target is a good buy. Well under it, check the photos twice. Our guides to what to pay for used golf clubs and the used-club checklist have the red flags.
Buy a set soon after its successor arrives. Each new generation pushes the one before it down a step, so when the next P790 and T100 land, the 2023 sets will start sliding toward where the 2021 sets sit now, and a mid-handicapper will be able to afford a better player’s iron from 2023.
Questions
What are the best used irons to buy in 2026?
For most golfers, a set two generations old: the 2021 TaylorMade P790 for mid-handicappers, the 2022 TaylorMade Stealth for maximum forgiveness, and the 2021 Titleist T100 for better players. Each has already taken most of its drop in value.
What are the best used irons for a mid handicapper?
A players-distance iron: a hollow body and fast face in a cleaner shape. The 2021 TaylorMade P790 is our pick. The 2021 Titleist T200 costs a little less used, and the 2024 Callaway Apex Ai200 is a newer alternative at about the price of a 2023 P790.
How much should a used iron set cost?
In October 2026, the middle half of our iron-set targets ran from about $490 to $790. A game-improvement set from a big brand two to five years old was around $450 to $650, a players-distance set $600 to $860, and the newest sets from any brand more.
Is it worth buying the newest irons used?
Usually not. In October 2026 a used 2025 TaylorMade P790 set had a target $165 above the 2021 set, and a 2025 Titleist T100 set was more than twice the 2021 one. Sets two generations old have already taken their big drop.
Should I buy a 4–PW or a 5–PW iron set?
Most golfers should buy 5–PW, or 5–GW in a game-improvement set, and carry a hybrid instead of the 4-iron. A 4–PW set only makes sense if you hit a long iron well.
Steel or graphite shafts in a used iron set?
Steel for most swings; graphite if your swing is slower or your joints are sore. Either way, stay close to the weight and flex you play now, and make sure every club in the set has the same shaft.
