Alpha C1 Pro Forged Irons

Alpha Reaction Golf is best-known for its drivers, such as the C830.2. Alpha drivers are among the most popular on the Long Drive circuit, where the golfers don't just demand performance but also reliability - craftsmanship that produces heads capable of withstanding great punishment. It's a point of pride with Alpha that no C830.2 head has ever broken in an long-drive competition.

But Alpha Reaction is about more than just drivers. Alpha also offers a couple sets of irons, a couple putters and a wedge set.

And as much buzz as Alpha drivers get from golf gearheads, so, too, are the company's Alpha C1 Pro Forged Irons on the radar screens of equipment aficionados.

Jim Yeh, Alpha Reaction's chief engineer and president, describes the C1 Pro Forged Irons as being "designed for extremely high performance." But, Yeh adds, Alpha also designed "real perimeter-weighting enhancements and deep forged-cavity forgiveness which many players appreciate."

After spending some time with Alpha's C1 Pro Forged Irons, we've come to think of them as player's clubs with greater playability.

Back in the day, forged irons would never be recommended for higher-handicappers and rarely for mid-handicappers. Forged was for the better players, cast was for the weekend golfers.

That line is not so distinct anymore, and the C1 Pro Forged Irons are a good example of why. While the soft forged 1020 carbon steel, CNC-milled U-grooves, and small progressive offset provide plenty of workability for better players, Alpha worked to broaden the appeal of these irons with, as Yeh pointed out, several nods toward the rest of us.

Alpha slightly enlarged the head size on the C1 Pro Forged Irons for more forgiveness. Then they widened the topline (don't worry, traditional blade fans - the topline is certainly not thick, it's just not too thin to scare off mid-handicappers) and slightly widened the sole. And to top it off, Alpha gave these forged irons a cavity back. Nothing extreme; no undercut cavity that would scream "game-improvement clubs," but a cavity that, combined with the slightly thicker topline and slightly wider sole provide enough perimeter-weighting benefits to make these irons truly playable for many more golfers.

Alpha calls the design "perfect for allowing average players to enjoy true playability and the feel of forged carbon steel." And boy, does the forged carbon steel of the Alpha C1 Pro Forged Irons feel great.

Yes, these irons truly did appeal to the best players and to mid-handicappers in whose hands we placed them. Since these irons do not fall into the game-improvement category (they just put a toe over the line), many higher-handicappers found they felt off-center hits a little more than they are accustomed to with their current extreme-forgiveness sets.

But low-handicappers and mid-handicappers were hard-pressed to find anything to complain about.

One thing that everyone commented on was the attractive head design. No glaring graphics or odd looking back, just a very clean, understated eye-appeal.

The clubs we were using were outfitted with Alpha Platinum graphite shafts, 360-degree frequency calibrated. A stepless Alpha Iron shaft is also an option. (But with Alpha, there are many options: visit your friendly neighborhood club builder and he can order the clubheads and put any shaft you want into them.)

The standard set is 3-PW with a 2-iron also available.

The Alpha C1 Pro Forged Irons are great looking and feeling clubs. They truly are players clubs with greater playability.