Inside McLaren Golf’s First Real Equipment Drop

First, McLaren Golf was announced on March 2. Then their tour player and global ambassador, Justin Rose, was spotted with new irons in the bag this week at Doral. Now it’s time to dive into the details of their first real entry into the equipment space: the Series 1 and Series 3 irons.

But before we get to the tech, let me get one detail out of the way: contrary to some rumors floating around online, these irons will NOT be priced at $1,000 a club. In fact, that number isn’t even close.

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More On McLaren

As the name suggests, McLaren Golf is an offshoot of McLaren Automotive and was founded on the idea of creating and developing high-performing, precision equipment for golfers who are obsessed with details.

Behind the scenes, we challenged every part of the process from materials to construction to uphold the exacting standards and constant pursuit of excellence that define McLaren. To now introduce these irons to the world and see them in the hands of golfers is incredibly exciting.

- Neil Howie, CEO of McLaren Golf

Another key partner for McLaren Golf is 8AM Golf, the holding company that has ownership or stakes in brands such as Miura, Golf.com, Golf Magazine, True Spec Golf, Fairway Jockey, T-Squared Social, and Payntr Golf.

Additional Staff Players

Along with Justin Rose, McLaren also—not so quietly—announced Michelle Wie West and Ian Poulter as additional brand ambassadors. And, as per McLaren, we can expect both players to be using Series 1 irons for upcoming starts.

What Drives McLaren Engineering

So, off the top, I mentioned that one of the biggest design principles driving McLaren (sorry, but I'm going to keep relying on this pun for a while) is the idea of engineering without limits (but within the limits of the rules, of course).

No reliance on legacy, and building clubs without material or cost constraints—to be blunt, this sounds very similar to the founding philosophy of PXG, and they’ve done pretty well with it.

For McLaren, this led them down the path of using Metal Injection Molding or MIM for their Series 1 and Series 3 irons.

MIM is a manufacturing process that involves mixing very fine metal powders with binder materials before molding them into shape. The next step involved removing the binding material, then sintering, which heats the material up and creates a part that is completely solid. The result is components that have extremely tight tolerances.

This helps redistribute mass, precisely locate centers of gravity, and use additional materials to boost forgiveness.

Time to put on my journalist hat and deliver you the reader some hard facts.

This all sounds very cool, and it is, but I like to call proper balls and strikes, and using Metal Injection Molding isn't new in the golf space. Cobra for example has been doing it since 2020 when they launched their MIM Tour irons, and they recently just launched a line of MIM putters too.

Yes, McLaren is using this technology to bring new products and designs to market, but as far as manufacturing technology goes, this was brought to the table more than half a decade ago.

Like I said, I take my job as an actual journalist seriously, and as much as I personally believe these clubs look very cool and I'm excited to test them, I can't sit here and tell you these things are brand new if they're not (insert "shrugging" emoji).

Anyway, let's get to the actual models.

Series 1 & 3 Irons

The McLaren Series 1 irons are their take on a modern tech-infused blade.

With the help of the metal injection molding process, the designers saved a ton of weight to redistribute mass inside the head using tungsten and a dampening silicone.

The hexigonal mesh structure on the back of the head also maintains strength while creating weight savings to improve sound and feel.

The Series 1 Irons will be available in both right and left-handed from 3-PW

The Series 3 irons feature many of the same technology features of the Series 1 but in a more players distance package. This includes the structure mesh in the cavity, along with tungsten weights in the cavity and the toe of the irons to boost forgiveness.

One major design element that separates the Series 3 from the 1 is the sole design, which removes mass from deep in the heel and along the trailing edge. This helps to provide a deep center of gravity for added forgiveness and launch, while also improving turf interaction. It might not sound like a huge deal, but sole designs can make or break a golf club, and this sole should fit a lot of players who are in need of something that gets through the ground effectively.

The Series 3 Irons will be available in both right and left-handed from 3-GW

Price & Availability

The McLaren Series 1 and Series 3 irons will be available through select fitting accounts and online at McLarenGolf.com starting on April 30th. Both irons will be priced at $375 each.

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