M685. Not a club name one is likely to remember, like the 'Titan" or "Killer Tornado." But you should. These are advertised as "aimed at the low to mid-handicapper who want a forged iron with forgiveness." That's right on the money. First of all, if you have never hit a good forged iron, you owe yourself the experience. Hit on the sweet spot, it is truly one of life's transforming experiences. Unfortunately, many forged irons have a sweet spot the size of a green pea, which is probably why they are usually intimidating and reserved for scratch golfers with repeatable swings. What the M685's do especially well is maintain the buttery, effortless feel of well struck shots, while expanding the size of the sweetpot considerably and increasing forgiveness on poorer contacts. Mine are equipped with Rifle 4.5 (regular) steel shafts which are custom made for this club, as I understand it. I should note that I took the obigatory less distance hit of about a club length on mid to long irons, compared to my graphite irons, but these feel so good I don't care. In fact, the sweetness of these irons is such that I will take them out to play with them JUST for the experience of the feel, no matter what my score. The head/shaft combo gives awesome accuracy. Two balls both hit well from the same distance landed within two feet of each other distance wise, over and over, up to 160 yards for me, but they are easily workable. I also (and I have a dozen sets of irons) have never hit long irons that were so easy to swing. Macgregor's combo of technology and player friendliness are impressive, however they did it. I also happen to like the "techie" look, which is a matter of opinion, of course, and these are not huge bulky irons that look clunky at address, either. If these irons were a car, they would be a finely crafted German touring machine, or something like that. Best of all, the original $600 MSRP ... well, I got them brand new on eBay for under $150. Ahem. Can you say "STEAL!?!" Wait a minute, is the rain stopping? Gotta go. My M685's are calling me.

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I have played many, KZG, Kasco, Maltby, etc.

these irons have great feel and the long irons are very easy to hit which surprized me bought a couple of callaway heavenwoods to replace my old long irons now have to decide what i want stay with 3 & 4 or use the heavenwoods, for some reason the 6 iron in my set has thicker topline but it doesnt take away from the playing of the set, the scoring irons 7- pw really are joy to hit now even getting backspin on the ball, the grips on these clubs are fantastic they are the golf pride duo grip with grey bottom half which also helps with the feel factor,the shaft of these are precision rifle 5.5 which hit the ball on a very strong flight maybe a bit high for some so get the loft and lie checked to really get the best out of these clubs, all in all an excellent purchase from an on-line dealer i would rec these clubs to a h-cap of 15 or lower if youve never tried macgregor i would seriously think twice before spending your hard earned money on other premium brands as these are just as good and prob about half the price .... slang'e

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callaway,titleist, wilson, mizuno

I was skeptical about anything macgregor-- Since getting these irons I have been very pleased-- Hit em high or low-- draw it or cut it-- Very good feel off the face --small profile head-- with some swing speed you can launch the long irons-- short irons very controllable-- Buy these players irons-- a steal on E-bay

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titleist CB- Cobra CB

I have never written a review on any products but felt it was needed in this case. These clubs are great. Extremly underrated and not what was expected. I demoed every club from Mizuno to Callaway to Cleveland. I was almost set on the Clevelands and The salesman said that I should check out the M685. I was a little weary. I had a set of tour blades when I was young. Handed down from my father who got them from a pro in the 70's. The were unforgiving but great lines.(wish I still had them) The talk for the last bit has been on the brands with the big bucks and the big ads. But once I hit these I was shocked. Crisp solid contact. Great feedback. I think the styling of the clubs could be better ie chrome finish, no goofy slashes. But the looks don't cut the score. Once I picked them up I was in a rush to the driving range. I was hitting Oversized cavity back Cobra before and liked the feel, but once the macs were struck the difference was amazing. Ball flight was consistant and boring. The weight and balance was impressive and controled. Played 72 holes in the next 3 days and felt better and better. Each hit made me look forward to the next. Get these clubs!!!!!!

Customer Service

No need-

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Cobra oversized ss
MacGregor tour blades
Titelist 775
Cleveland cg4
Mizuno
Callaway x20

Just upgraded from the m565 to the m685 and could not be more pleased. Easy to work the ball and as long as any iron I have played. The shaft was a mirostep vs the flighted rifle and I was suprised by there preformance. It is a mid flight 95 gram with consistent preformance. Right now they are a steal on ebay for around 200 nib.

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Macregor M685 Rifle Lite 4.5 Steel

Very nice, solid irons...played Mizuno MP-30 w/ S300 shafts and prefer the feel of the M685...For me, the M685 plays much straighter than the MP-30...I feel I am a decent consistant ball stricker but the physics of the M685 make it a much straighter club head...I actually prefer the feel of the M685 in direct comparison to MP-30...both MP-30 and M685 set up the same....same minimal offset same, topline but M685 slightly larger head size (midsize) and significantly more perimiter weighted. If you don't know RP Rifle shafts, they have a softer tip and a very stiff butt...as a result, even at 4.5(R)the long irons tend to play stiffer (about the same as S300) and the short irons tens to play softer (about the same as R300)...I can still play S300, but the 5.5 rifle lite flex too stiff for me in the long irons...thus, I went 4.5...anyway the M685 is extremely accurate and easy to control. I play Diamona 83 stiff in my driver (control over distance) and the RP 4.5 (R) is stiff enough for me...according to Eqpt Chronicles, soft stepping a rifle lite 4.5 two times equals 4.5 (R flex)on the PCS scale...if you understand what that means then you understand that a rifle lite 4.5 is really a solid shaft. Don't know how Macgregor did it, but the short irons tend to drop and stop while the long irons tend to runn forweard with what seems to be a little overspin...best of both worlds in my mind. In summary, I could not be more please with the M685...most acuurate solid, sweet feeling iron I have played including Mizuno MP-30 and most Ping models.

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Mizuno MP-30

I'm still relatively new to the game and have watched my skills improve each year. As any golfer improves, his clubs should change with his game. When I started playing I used a hand-me-down set of knock-offs with graphite shafts, graduated to used Titleist DCIs, picked up a set of Cobra 3100s, experimented with a cheap progressive set of Tommy Armour Morphs, and have now arrived at the Macgregor MacTec M685s. Holy Awesome Iron, Batman! These sticks are solid and have drastically improved my game. I'm hitting twice as many greens as before with a straight, penetrating ball flight. The stock Golf Pride Decade Multicompound grips and Royal Precision RIFLE Flighted shafts are sweet. My only warning to a potential buyer is to definitely have these clubs fitted to you. I bought them off the rack (per the sales rep at Edwin Watts) and found that I was hooking every iron in the bag. I had them bent 2* flat and now have a straight flight. These irons are very workable, and when hit in the middle are butter. The distances are extremely consistent. The long irons are constructed differently than the mid and short irons, but I can't tell a difference in the way they play. I like these irons because they have narrower soles and thinner toplines than most game-improvement irons. However, the 5-iron has a very thick sole and a very thick topline. The 3- and 4-irons have thin soles and thin toplines, so I can't figure out what the deal is with the 5-iron. Nonetheless, all of the clubs play extraordinarily well from any lie. If you carry an 8-15 handicap and are looking for an iron to shave a few strokes off your number, check these out. You can't beat them for the price and the quality!

Customer Service

The only customer service I've used in relation to these is Edwin Watts' club repair service. When I first demoed the irons I hit them beautifully. When I came back to buy them, they took my measurements and put me on a lie board. The lie board indicated that I needed the irons bent flat. We decided to wait until I had a couple rounds under my belt. After all the hooking, Edwin Watts bent the irons at no charge.

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Titleist DCI, Cobra 3100I-H, Tommy Armour Morph

Surprising would be the word. Had to check with the fellow at the proshop that the screen wasn't rigged when i was swinging with a 5 iron. I found myself averaging 210 -220 with a few in the high 230s. I thought it was a joke, then he handed me a ping rapture couldn't get it over 275 and it was spraying all over the place.
Having been an avid golfer as a youth (not bad but walked away) I haven't ventured into a proshop for the better part of 15 years. Simply believing that the swing was far more valid at improving scores than a credit card. My jaw was on the floor. I simply couldn't hit a bad 5 iron... 3 went 250 in the sim... I am still very suspect of those numbers. But what I can say is that these forged clubs felt smooth and forgiving. I can't say i care for the 80s retro styling on the backs. However maybe the 80s is fitting for me.. that's what i hit, and that's when i learned to golf.
I have since purchased the clubs and are awaiting delivery.
(i think the shaft was a good fit too... rifle 5.5) My swing speed was consistent at 89mph... not sure if the shaft is the right flex but sure as hell felt like it to me. I tried taylor made r7... nike combo and a cobra forged cavity back as well (6.0 shaft). I thought it would be more of the same wasn't at all.
I dreamt of hitting that 5 iron all weekend. Now I am planning on playing 10 20 rounds and crack 80 again.
I have only played those 4 clubs and the ping zings I have in the bag I inherited. The pings or fine but I hate offset... the Macgregors lined up like the old Penfolds I played as a kid and felt smoooooothhh like them too. Thanks macgregor all I knew of you were your Persimmon woods, but Mac you are so much more!!! and no i wasn't paid to write this.

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tested a cobra (nice looking)
taylor made r7... wasn't for me and actually much shorter (to the surprise of the salesdude)
Nike combo... very attractive... more so than the Macs... but personality counts and the macs and i get along.
Ping Zing 2 a solid club I have never thought to complain until now
Lynx Master... not that great actually for what they cost back in the day.
and my old penfolds god rest their sole...
i wonder where they are and it was a forgotten brand when i played them so almost archeological to anybody under the age of 37..