Epon AF-305 Irons Review – Are They Good for High Handicappers?

“The Epon AF-305 irons straddle a fine line between game improvement and distance irons.”

The Epon AF-305 irons are very interesting.

You normally don’t see such a deep cavity back on irons that have been fully forged. But that is exactly what you get with these irons.

And while they are a good mixture of distance and forgiveness, this combination can make it hard for golfers to tell exactly who these irons work best for.

However, if you are considering picking up the Epon AF-305 irons for yourself, the following review will tell you the important details you need to know.

Epon AF-305 Irons Overview

“The Epon AF-305 irons have a slim profile for irons that can still technically be called game improvement irons.”

Compared to the pure GI irons that Epon produces, the Epon AF-305’s look sleek and slender. And that was the point.

The Epon AF-305’s were designed to look great behind the ball, be workable and provide distance boosts to the average golfer.

Still, these are single-billet forged irons. They were forged from S20C carbon steel so they have a soft and responsive feel.

On the other side, the Epon AF-305 irons also have perimeter tungsten weighting.

Epon did the best they could to marry player’s distance with game improvement performance.

And based on our testing session, we would say they came pretty damn close.

As you can imagine, the deep cavity backs make for great forgiveness and easy launch. They also have moderate top lines and soles so they don’t look like shovels at address.

What you end up with is a set of irons that can be worked to a moderate degree and still provide forgiveness on mis-hits.

Who Are the Epon AF-305 Irons for?

We think the Epon AF-305 irons would be best for mid handicap players.

That’s because mid handicappers will appreciate the soft feel of the forged carbon steel and be able to take full advantage of the slimmer profile.

Still, these are considerably forgiving irons so mid handicappers will certainly appreciate that as well.

How Forgiving Are the Epon AF-305 Irons?

“While they aren’t the most forgiving irons that Epon has produced, there is certainly enough here for 12-18 handicap players.”

Really, the only thing that detracts from the forgiveness factor of these irons is the minimal offset. There is a bit there; but it’s not enough to make you really notice it.

Other than that, these irons are very forgiving for their size class. The tungsten perimeter weighting really helps to stabilize mis-hits.

Our testers were getting ball speed readings on mis-hits that were very similar to dead-on strikes.

The flight is mid-high but it isn’t hard to loft the ball higher when you need to. Considering how deep the cavities are, it’s surprising that the soles are still of moderate size.

If you’re in the rough or semi rough, you will still have to be very precise with your swing if you’re using the Epon AF-305 irons.

However, the soles of the Epon AF-305 irons do have a stepped leading edge that does help when you find yourself in the thick rough.

Are the Epon AF-305 Irons Easy to Hit?

“It did take some of our testers a while to find the sweet spot; but once they did, the results were noticeable.”

The Epon AF-305’s are very consistent. They produce a baby draw on perfect strikes.

On mis-hits, you will get about 12 yards of divergence. However, mis-hits were few and far between in our test session.

The Epon AF-305 irons have a shallow face profile that enhances forgiveness from heel to toe.

If you pair these irons with a shaft in the 100 – 110 gram range, you will easily be able to dial in your flight and make them easier to hit with.