Ram Golf EZ3 Mens Right Hand Iron Set Review: budget irons that do the job for beginners

I used this Ram Golf EZ3 iron set as my main clubs for a couple of weeks, including a full weekend of 36 holes and a few trips to the range. I’m not a pro, I’m a mid–high handicap who just wants something that works without spending half a paycheck on Ping or Callaway. I went in with pretty low expectations because of the price and the unknown brand, but I wanted to see if a £100-ish set could actually hold up for real play, not just the driving range.

First thing: these are clearly aimed at beginners or casual golfers. If you already play off single digits, you’ll probably find them a bit basic and a bit dead in terms of feel. But if you’re starting out or coming back to golf after a long break, they make sense. The cavity back design and the included 4 hybrid are clearly there to make life easier, not to give you tour-level control.

Over my rounds, I hit a lot of thin and off-centre shots (as usual), so I got a good idea of how forgiving they are. The short version: they’re more forgiving than the old random second-hand blades I had before, but they’re not miracle workers. A bad swing is still a bad swing, but the ball stays more or less on line and doesn’t punish you as hard. For the price, that’s really what you want.

So overall, my first impression is: pretty solid starter set. Nothing fancy, nothing that will impress anyone at the club house, but if your budget is tight and you just want something decent to learn with, they get the job done. You just have to accept a few compromises on feel, long-term durability and brand prestige.

This is where the Ram EZ3 set actually makes a lot of sense. For around £100-ish, you’re getting a full basic iron lineup plus a 4 hybrid. Compared to big-name brands where a single iron can cost close to that, the value is pretty clear. If you’re just starting golf or kitting out a teenager who may or may not stick with it, dropping several hundred on a premium set doesn’t feel smart. Here, the risk is low: if you give up golf after a season, you haven’t burned a huge amount of money.

Looking at the Amazon rating (about 4.2/5 from close to a hundred reviews), most buyers seem to agree that value for money is the strong point. People mention beginners using them for entire weekends, kids hacking around courses, and the clubs surviving that kind of use. That matches my experience: for casual play and learning the basics, they perform well enough, and the flaws (feel, finish, long-term durability) are acceptable at this price.

Where the value drops is if you’re already semi-serious about your game. If you’re paying green fees regularly, taking lessons, and aiming to lower your handicap, you’ll probably outgrow these fairly quickly and end up buying a better set within a year or two. In that case, it might be smarter to look for used irons from a big brand instead – often you can find older Ping/Callaway/TaylorMade sets for not much more than this, and they’ll usually offer better feel and durability.

So, value is strong for beginners, budget-conscious players, and juniors, but less convincing for golfers who know they’re in it for the long haul. As a starter or backup set, they make sense. As your only set for the next five years if you’re serious about improving, they’re more of a temporary solution than a long-term investment.

Design-wise, these clubs are clearly built with forgiveness in mind, not looks. The irons have a big cavity back, a fairly thick top line, and a wide sole. If you’re used to slim, players-style irons, these will look bulky and a bit clumsy behind the ball. But if you’re new to golf, that larger head can actually be reassuring. It feels like there’s more clubface to hit the ball with, even if that’s mostly psychological.

The colour scheme is basic: black, blue and silver, with a pretty generic Ram logo. Nothing about them screams premium or high-end, but they don’t look cheap to the point of embarrassment either. On the course, nobody commented on them – which is honestly a good sign. They just look like standard cavity back irons. The hybrid has a slightly more modern look, with a compact head, but again, it’s nothing special visually.

At address, the irons sit reasonably square. I didn’t notice any weird offsets or shapes that made me uncomfortable. The sole is quite wide, which helps reduce digging into the turf, especially for fat shots. On several chunked shots, the club still slid through the grass better than my old narrow-soled irons, so the design does help in practice. That said, the thick topline might bother you if you care about a clean, slim look at address.

In short, the design is functional, not pretty. These are clearly aimed at people who want forgiveness and confidence at address rather than something that looks like what the pros play on TV. If looks and brand are important to you, you’ll probably find them a bit bland and cheap-looking. If you just want to hit the ball more consistently, the chunky design is actually a plus.

In terms of comfort, these irons are easy enough to swing, especially for someone who isn’t super technical about their golf. The regular flex steel shafts feel pretty middle-of-the-road. I didn’t feel they were too stiff or too whippy. If you swing reasonably hard, they keep up. If you have a slower swing, they still load ok. Over 18 holes, I didn’t feel extra fatigue in my wrists or elbows compared to other steel-shafted irons I’ve used.

Where you really feel the budget side is on impact feel and feedback. Centre strikes are fine – you get a solid, slightly muted thud, the ball goes, and it feels okay. But mishits, especially low on the face or out on the toe, feel a bit harsh. The cavity back design definitely helps compared to blades, but you still get a bit of sting in the hands when you catch it thin, especially in colder weather. It’s not painful, just not very pleasant. If you’re used to more expensive irons, you’ll notice the difference in softness right away.

The slightly longer length (in the 1 inch longer version) took me a couple of range sessions to get used to. At first I felt a bit too upright and started hitting a few shots off the toe. Once I adjusted my posture and moved a bit closer to the ball, it was fine. So if you’re not particularly tall and you get the longer version, expect a short adjustment period. Taller players will probably find them quite comfortable from the start.

Overall, comfort is decent but not special. The clubs are playable for a full round without feeling like you’re swinging a sledgehammer, but don’t expect that soft, buttery feel on contact you might get from pricier forged irons. For beginners, that’s acceptable – the main thing is they’re not too heavy, and they give enough feedback to know when you’ve struck it badly without killing your hands.

The clubs use stainless steel heads and alloy steel shafts, with standard rubber grips. That’s a pretty typical combo for budget irons. Nothing exotic like graphite or fancy multi-material heads. In the hand, they feel reasonably solid and the weight is what you’d expect from cavity back irons – not super heavy, but definitely not light either. For beginners, that weight can actually help you feel the clubhead during the swing.

On the positive side, the finish on my set was clean: no obvious machining marks, no paint flaking out of the box. After a few rounds and range sessions, the usual face wear marks appeared, but nothing out of the ordinary. The soles did pick up scratches quickly when I played on a course with a lot of small stones and sand, but that’s normal for stainless heads at this price. I didn’t see any rust or serious cosmetic damage after a couple of weeks.

The weak point for me is long-term durability and quality control. One Amazon review mentions a 6-iron head coming off after only five rounds. I didn’t have anything that dramatic happen, but I did notice that one of my ferrules (the little plastic ring between shaft and head) started to creep up slightly after a few hard shots out of rough. It didn’t affect performance, but it doesn’t give huge confidence in the glue job or assembly quality. On a premium set, you don’t usually see that so quickly.

The grips are basic rubber, standard size, with a fairly firm feel. They’re fine when new, but I can see them getting shiny and slippery after a season or two, especially if you play a lot or sweat a lot. So, materials are decent for the price, but if you’re planning to use these heavily for several years, you should expect to regrip them at some point and accept that the build quality isn’t at the level of big brands.

After a couple of weeks of use and a handful of rounds, my set still looked and played fine. No heads flying off, no shafts bending, no grips tearing. Normal wear on the faces and soles, but nothing alarming. For that short period, durability felt acceptable. However, based on my experience plus some of the Amazon reviews, I wouldn’t call these bulletproof either.

One reviewer mentioned a 6-iron head coming off after just five rounds. That points more to quality control issues than a design flaw, but it’s still something to keep in mind. On a more expensive brand, that kind of failure is rarer. On my set, like I said earlier, a ferrule started to slide a bit, which isn’t catastrophic but does suggest that the finishing and glue work aren’t top-notch. If you play a lot (multiple times a week) and hit a lot of range balls, I’d keep an eye on the hosel areas and grips over time.

The finish on the heads seems average. Scratches and small dings showed up fairly quickly on the soles, especially from bunker shots and from hitting off less-than-perfect mats. That’s normal wear, but if you care a lot about your clubs staying pristine, these will show their age faster than a premium set with harder plating or better finishing. The grips, again, are basic – they’ll probably last a season or two of casual weekend golf before needing replacement.

So in terms of durability, I’d say: good enough for beginners and occasional players, but if you’re planning to grind hard, practice a lot, and keep the same set for several years, you might run into some issues. They’re not fragile toys, but they also don’t feel like they’re built for heavy, long-term abuse. That’s the trade-off at this price point.

Performance-wise, these irons do what they’re supposed to: they help beginners get the ball in the air and roughly on line. The cavity back and wide sole really do make a difference if you’re coming from old blades or random second-hand clubs. On my usual miss (slightly towards the toe), the ball still carried a decent distance and didn’t hook or slice off the planet. You lose distance, sure, but not as brutally as with less forgiving clubs.

Distances were pretty standard for me: for example, I was hitting the 7-iron around my usual 140–145 yards when struck reasonably well. No extra distance magic, but also no weirdly short shots. Gapping between clubs felt consistent enough: each iron gave me about 8–10 yards difference, which is what you want. The pitching wedge is perfectly usable for approach shots inside 110 yards, although it’s more of a basic approach club than a precise scoring weapon.

The 4 hybrid was the standout in this set. On short par 4s, I used it off the tee and got reliable, straight-ish shots around 170–190 yards with my swing. Even when I didn’t catch it perfectly, it still went forward and stayed in play. That’s a big win for high handicappers who just want a safe option instead of fighting with a 3 or 4 iron. Off the fairway, it was a bit trickier for me, but still more forgiving than a long iron would be.

Where these clubs lag behind more expensive sets is on workability and precise control. If you try to shape shots (fade, draw, low punches), they don’t respond as cleanly. You can do it a bit, but they feel more like they want to go straight and high no matter what. For a beginner, that’s actually fine. For someone trying to refine their game, it becomes a limitation. So, performance is good enough for learning and casual rounds, but if your handicap starts dropping, you’ll probably outgrow them.

The set is pretty straightforward: you get irons 5-6-7-8-9 plus a pitching wedge, and a 4 hybrid thrown in. No long irons, no sand wedge, no fancy extras. For a starter, that’s actually a decent lineup because most beginners struggle with 3 and 4 irons anyway. The hybrid is supposed to replace those and be easier to hit. Out of the box, everything comes plastic-wrapped, grips covered, and heads with basic covers for shipping (nothing premium, just enough to stop scratches).

All the clubs in this set have steel shafts with regular flex, which is fine for most average male beginners. If you have a very slow swing speed or physical issues, you might struggle a bit, but for a typical new golfer it’s acceptable. The set I had was the version that’s about 1 inch longer, so taller players (around 6 ft and up) will probably feel more comfortable. If you’re shorter, that extra length might feel awkward and encourage topping the ball if you don’t adjust your posture.

The 4 hybrid is probably the most interesting part of the package. On the course, I used it off the tee on short par 4s and on long par 3s. It’s not the sweetest feeling hybrid I’ve tried, but it’s clearly easier to launch than a long iron. Ball gets up in the air with a half-decent swing, and even mishits still travel a reasonable distance. For a club that’s basically a free extra, it’s one of the more useful pieces in this set.

So, in terms of what you get for the money: it’s a complete basic iron setup that lets you play full rounds without needing to add much more, apart from a driver, a sand wedge and a putter. For a beginner kit, that’s not bad. Just don’t expect any fancy tech, adjustability, or custom fitting – this is very much a one-size-fits-most package.