I tested Maxfli’s first forged irons in nearly 30 years. Here’s what I learned
The Maxfli XC2 and XC3 irons are the first Maxfli forgings since the 1990s.
Jack Hirsh/GOLF
Maxfli made waves last year when it signed Lexi Thompson to play its golf ball and even saw action on the PGA Tour, when Ben Griffin put it in play. But it’s likely no one saw the new Maxfli forged irons coming.
Starting today, Maxfli is back making clubs again with the XC2 and XC3 forged irons.
Back in February, Maxfli offered a sneak peek to several gear scribes, including me, of their first new forged irons since the 1990s at PGA National during the Cognizant Classic.
Admittedly, having not been around during the heyday of the Maxfli Australia blades, I was a little skeptical of what the company might have to offer with a new modern forging. But it’s safe to say I was impressed with the final product.
First impressions
Many saw the first images of the XC2 and XC3 from the USGA conforming list in early February, but seeing them in person, I thought they looked wildly different.
The XC2 is billed as the players distance iron and was perfectly described to me by a colleague as looking like a cross between the Titleist T150 and Ping Blueprint S irons. The XC2s (and XC3s for that matter) have a nice silver satin finish that makes them look premium for a set of irons that are just $143/club.
At address, the new Maxflis do have some offset, but nothing that is too off-putting for this single-digit handicapper, although admittedly I’ve never been too bothered by offset except on super game improvement irons.
You can also see a screw and some sort of port that one would assume is either for weighting or injection into the cavity. More on that in a bit.
The XC3s, for the most part, looks a lot like the XC2s — they have the same lofts and lies, with slightly thicker toplines, soles and a hair more offset. But the XC3s are aimed at more game improvement players and have extra forgiveness thanks to a unique weight distribution. The similarities allow them to be blended easily and seamlessly.
When I was first looking at the long irons in each set, I had a difficult time distinguishing them.
What’s under the hood
To find out what went into the XC2s and XC3s, I spoke with Quinn Sliker, a business developement associate focusing on golf brands for Dick’s Sporting Goods, which owns Maxfli.
The idea to bring the XC2 and XC3 irons first originated about five years ago when Maxfli’s line of golf balls started performing better in the market, ultimately leading to them being used at the professional level once again in 2024.
Before Dick’s acquired Maxfli in 2008, the history of the brand wasn’t well kept, but they now believe the XC2 and XC3 irons are the first forged irons from the brand since the final Australia Blades in 1997. But they want more people to be able to experience them than the Aussie blades.
“We really wanted to create something that was good for a wide range of people,” Sliker said. “The Aussie blades as cool as they are, I don’t think they’re the friendliest golf club for the masses.”
The irons are fully forged from 1025 carbon steel and, to help improve the forgiveness, both the XC2 and XC3 utilize a unique ceramic and tungsten weighting to optimize the centers of gravity.
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Yes! Ceramic! You read that right. And in case you’re wondering if these new irons will shatter as soon as you hit them, don’t worry.
“The ceramic perfectly fills the hole that is bored for it, and then it’s obviously got the carbon steel placed over top of that, so there’s really no concern about it being damaged,” Sliker said.
The choice of a ceramic filling as opposed to a hollow-body or foam-filled design was made in consultation with GolfWorks, the club-building component company founded by Ralph Maltby and now under the Dick’s umbrella too.
“They work closely with this factory that we’re using and that’s just the technology that they have used for years,” said Sliker, “and they really believe in it and we trust them for everything when it comes to golf club engineering.”
How do they perform
Given the tournament was going on and the range was closed, I put the XC2s into play cold, without having hit them at all before.
Maxfli customized them to the same specs as my gamers:
Project X 6.5 shafts
60.5-degree lie angle on the 7-iron (2 degrees flat for them)
37.5-inch 7-iron length (+.5 inches)
But I used the stock lofts — 43-degree pitching wedge and 30.5-degree 7-iron — which are pretty typical for today’s players distance irons.
What I found was these irons were HOT. The first swing I made with them, I flew an 8-iron about 15 yards past a pin at 172, which is WAYYYY farther than I typically play an 8-iron. That was confirmed later when I got on a launch monitor and saw my average ball speed was up to 131.5 mph. In other words, nearly a full club longer than my gamer 7-iron.
The irons also had a solid feel that I really hadn’t felt before with other players distance irons. Sure, they are a little bigger than what I am typically used to looking at, but the forgiveness boost is always welcome.
And while the lofts are about three or four degrees stronger than what I typically play, I still found the XC2s easy to hit high in the air and hold greens. Although, as someone who struggles to spin the ball, I wonder if it would have been sustainable in firmer conditions as my spin rates hovered around 6,000 for a 7-iron.
While it may be a little bigger and hotter than the irons I would typically play, one does have to wonder what happened to the XC1? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Bottom line
At just $999 for a seven-piece, fully forged iron set, Maxfli is signaling its return to the club market, while also offering a very premium option at a more attractive price point.
Maxfli XC2 Irons
Maxfli XC3 Irons
The Maxfli XC2 and XC3 are available starting today, April 17, exclusively at Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy. The XC2s come stock in a 4-PW set makeup with two options for shaft choice (True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid steel or UST Mamiya Recoil Dart HDC graphite), while the XC3 comes stock in a 5-AW setup with the same shaft options.
Both can be fully customized either in-store or online.
Want to overhaul your bag for 2025? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
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