Edel Golf SMS and SMS Pro Irons Review - PGAPappas 12 Days of Christmas Winner Guest Review

Here's an absolutely fantastic and thorough review from a winner in my PGAPappas 12 Days of Christmas Golf Giveaway.  This one comes from Kyle (@Just_Peebs on X) on his new custom built Edel Golf SMS and SMS Pro irons.

Kyle is a certified golf nut, an equipment junkie, and always looking to take that next step in his game.  And it sounds like he has done just that with his new SMS and SMS Pro irons.  Kyle says he's "hit some of the straightest and most consistently long irons of my life" and the "distance control with these irons, especially the pro model, is unreal."

In how own words, here's Kyle's review of his new Edel Golf SMS and SMS Pro Irons.

First, I want to thank Pete and Edel for teaming up on such an amazing giveaway prize!  This is a massive prize and I count myself lucky to win this contest and have a chance to play tour quality equipment.

I am 38 and currently play off a 9.4 index.  I have been as low as 6 and last year, I was at 7.7, so my game has been trending in the wrong direction.  With two kids under 6 and a demanding professional life, I do not have the time I would like to get out to the course and work on my game.

My ball striking with my irons is typically strong and my driving accuracy is the strongest part of my game.  I lose a lot of strokes on the green and approach shots from 150 – 175, according to my ARCCOS data.

I am a certified gear junkie and I do a lot of my club work so when I found out about winning the set of Edel SMS irons I was pumped to dive into the tech and customization.  The Edel’s had a tough task as I have been testing shaft weights and different iron configurations for the last several years and I had found a combination that allowed me to be extremely confident on the course.  I was gaming a combo set of the OG TaylorMade P790s 4-7 iron and OG P770s 8-pw paired with Dynamic Gold 105 s300 shafts.

When Pete contacted me about winning the contest we immediately started to try and line up a fitting through Edel so that I could have the best possible setup for me and give these a chance to be my gamers.  It ended up that there was not an Edel fitter near me, so I opted to pay for my fitting through Club Champion.

I set up my fitting appointment with Leif Erickson at the Creve Coeur, Missouri location and started to research the different shaft and head options available on Edel’s website.  If anyone is in this area and needs a fitting, Leif was great to work with and knows his stuff.  I was limited to the shafts that Edel offers so I wanted to have a basic understanding of the profiles that were offered.  I am glad that I opted for a fitting because I came away with a shaft that I would not have picked for myself.

Now on to the fitting process itself.  I have only been fit once before for a driver, so I had some basic understanding of the process, but I put my full faith in Leif to do whatever he needed to get the desired results.  We started by going through my current setup and talking about my game and my desired ball flight and trajectory.  I did mention at the start that of the shafts available I had tried the SteelFiber 95-gram stiff flex and liked the performance.

My fitting was done in late December in the Midwest, so I was not exactly in form.  I started off getting loose and then went into hitting my 6 iron, as that is what Club Champion uses to fit with.  After about 10 shots we got a good enough data set to work with and started with the SMS standard head and the SteelFiber 95 shaft.  I laid down some decent shots, but it was clear that this configuration was a little too low launching and not enough spin.

Leif then put in the KBS Tour Lite 95-gram shaft in regular flex.  The feel at contact instantly felt better and I gained some confidence and started to swing a little faster.  The ball speed was lower than what Leif wanted, and I was missing shots too far left.  He bent the club one degree stronger, and one degree flatter and I started flushing them.  The change in sound at contact was instantly noticeable and I had a significant jump in ball speed, spin and height.

We knew that this combo was working but Leif wanted to test some other shafts to be certain.  We moved in the KBS Tour Lite 100-gram stiff, and it was clear after a few swings that it was not as good.  One swing back into the KBS 95 and it was instantly clear it was the winner.  I forgot to take note of the Trackman numbers, but I gained ball speed, spin, height and some distance compared to my gamers and my dispersion was tighter as well.

Leif was confident that the heavy weight in the center would be my best bet, but we messed around with the configuration anyway.  It is amazing how changing the weights around changes the feel of the club throughout the swing.

We started with the heavy weight in the toe, and it instantly felt like a different club, and I lost ball speed and distance.  The dispersion was not bad, but it was clear that this was not for me. The heavy weight in the heel felt much better but again the ball speeds and dispersion were not ideal.

With the SMS weighting system figured out, I then hit about 8 shots with the SMS Pro head also bent one degree strong and one degree flat.  It felt great but I did lose dispersion and distance on off-center hits compared to the SMS standard head.

Leif and I discussed set makeup and we decided to match my gamer set and go SMS standard 4-7 and SMS Pro 8-PW with Golf Pride MCC Edel Red/Grey and the Red and Black BB&F Co. ferrules at a D0 swing weight.

Pete sent my build sheet off to Edel to get started crafting my clubs and their customer service was great at informing me that they received the information and were getting to work.  I did have to wait a while to get the clubs as the SMS Pro head was on backorder for some time which again, it was winter in the Midwest, so no golf was happening anyway.

When I finally got them, I couldn’t wait to get them on the course, but with the premium packaging and the unmatched craftsmanship, they looked so amazing that I didn’t want to ruin them ha.  My first round with them was at Illini Country Club in my hometown of Springfield, IL, thanks to my buddy who is a member.  I could not have chosen a tougher test for their maiden voyage.

Illini is over 100 years old, and every hole is lined with massive trees.  This country club also hosts U.S. Open qualifying going on 50 years so the rough is not for the faint of heart and the greens are usually very fast.

This was in April and the range was not open yet, so I didn’t even get to have any practice swings with the new irons.  In over 3 years I have not shot in the 90’s but I did on this day, although I can hardly blame the irons as I was 5 over through 3 holes and I had not even touched any of the Edel’s.

One thing I did take away from that round was that I hit some absolute lasers with the long irons.  Over the last few years, I had abandoned 4 and 5 iron for a 4 hybrid and a 5 iron that was more of a thick driving iron.  To see those shots with the Edel SMS standard 4, 5and 6 irons was very encouraging and a very pleasant surprise.

The Edel SMS irons feel extremely solid, and the ball flight is strong.  It took me longer than I thought to get into a groove with the irons, but I attribute that to my swing being off to start the golf season.  After a few range sessions and some time out on the course only using irons, I have been able to hit some quality shots.  One thing that has stood out to me so far is the consistency in distance control.

I have hit a lot of shots pin high and the exact distance I wanted to hit.  I think this is the calling card of the Edel irons.  Everyone wants more distance to be sure but being able to hit your shots and know that with a well-struck ball, it's going to go the distance you need it to, every time.  For me this is a far more important feature of an iron than anything else if you want to play your best golf.

The soles on both models get in and out of the turf extremely fast.  I am a picker and do not take very big divots, kind of like Tiger when I am flushing it, I don’t take divots ha.  The sole on the SMS standard has some trail edge relief and plays a lot narrower than it looks.

The soles on the SMS pro are truly one of the most unique designs I have ever seen.  They are similar to Srixon’s V sole but appear to be even more defined and if you add in the CNC milling, I think these irons could suit any swing style.

The offset on the SMS standard model seems to be progressive and the 4 and 5 irons have a little more than I was previously using but it is certainly not offensive or putting and the top line is on the thick side, but they have done a great job of making them look more compact.  The SMS pro is smaller overall with less offset, the toe is more pointed and they look outstanding behind the ball.

As I stated before it has taken me some time to dial this in but I have been pleasantly surprised by the overall performance.  This may sound over the top, but I have hit some of the straightest and most consistently long irons of my life with the SMS standard 4, 5, and 6 irons and this has impressed me the most.

The 7 iron was a bit strange for me as it is typically my favorite club in a setup to hit but I was struggling with it and flaring every shot right and short. I started messing around with the weights on the 7 iron only and once I hit some shots with the heavy weight in the toe it was clear this was the answer.  The short right flares turned into the tight draw I am used to seeing.

I know the SMS weight system is not billed as correcting issues with flight but moving more weight to the toe has helped me deliver the 7 iron better and moved contact closer to the center.  The standard model is also very forgiving, I have hit some shots and instantly been upset at myself only to watch the ball still land on the green.

The SMS pros are some of the softest forgings I have ever experienced. The feel off the face is so buttery smooth yet extremely solid, it’s an interesting feeling at first but it feels very stable when they are struck well.

I touched on it earlier but the distance control with these irons, especially the pro model, is unreal.  The spin is extremely consistent, offering a level of confidence knowing they are going to do what you expect them to do.

Finally, these are some of the best-looking irons I have ever seen.  The craftsmanship and attention to detail are, in my opinion, unmatched in the golf industry.

Offering BB&F Co. ferrules and being able to color match your grips with no upcharge sets Edel apart from OEMs.  I would have put on BB&F ferrules myself, so I appreciate this finishing work.  They add an Edel shaft band, which seems insignificant, but all these little details add up to create a curated experience fit for a tour pro.

Edel knocked these out of the park!  Everyone curious about these needs to go out and try them, it will truly change the way you experience golf and will likely lead to better play.  These will be in my bag all season and likely for the foreseeable future.  They are show stoppers and everyone at the range and your local club will asking all sorts of questions about what in the heck you have in the bag.

Phenomenal review Kyle!  I'm pumped to hear how well you're hitting your new Edel SMS and SMS Pro Irons.  And sounds like your index will be trending back down in the right direction this year!

Guest reviews will continue all year round.  Anytime any of you want to write a guest review about something you've won, just shoot me a DM or email and I'll get you up and published.

And want to say again love everything about your guest reviews and know everyone else does as well.  We're making it all even more fun and interesting and informative and I'm here for it baby!