Maxfli Is Making Clubs Again! Here’s What You Need to Know

Maxfli was founded in 1910 as a golf ball manufacturer by Robert H. Maxwell. The company, which derives its name from an amalgamation of the founder’s last name and “flight,” eventually expanded its products by introducing golf bags in the 1960s.

Maxfli took things one step further by manufacturing Australian blade golf clubs starting in 1976 up until the 1990s.

After a trio of ownership changes—Dunlop Slazenger (1996), TaylorMade-adidas (2002) and DICK’S Sporting Goods (2008)—Maxfli has triumphantly returned to the golf club space with its new XC2 and XC3 forged irons.

Available exclusively in-store and online via DICK’S and Golf Galaxy starting April 18, these two iron sets cost $999.99 for seven clubs (4-PW).

“We’ve been working hard behind the scenes for a very long time and we just weren’t ready until the product felt like the best possible version of itself,” said Sara Slagel, Maxfli Brand Manager. “Coming off the success of the tour balls the past few generations, our team felt it was time to expand the product line and reintroduce irons.”

XC2 versus XC3

Maxfli wanted to develop and offer a high-performance iron that isn’t as costly as some of the other OEMs on the market, especially with so many people getting into golf after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Looking to cater to golfers from novice to scratch, Maxfli developed two sets of forged irons.

While both are forged from 1025 carbon steel with co-forged tungsten and ceramic weighting to enhance feel, weight and balance, the XC2 line sways closer to the player’s/player’s distance category while its XC3 counterpart is in the game-improvement category.

The XC2 features a slightly thinner topline than the XC3 which has more bulk throughout including a wider sole although both sets boast a similar offset and finish. Maxfli says that, ideally, players would have a combination of the sets in their bags, potentially favoring the more forgiving XC3s at the top and the XC2s further down the bag.

Not wanting to replicate the outdated Aussie irons of yesteryear, Maxfli sought to launch a sleek-looking, high-performance iron as it reenters the golf club space after nearly 30 years.

“We wanted to pay homage to that clean aesthetic but also give something that is super playable,” said Quinn Sliker, Maxfli Product Development Associate. “So you can go out and mishit a couple and still get those shots you’re looking for even if you aren’t hitting it on the screws in every single swing.”

Brand reemergence

With more than 100 years of history, Maxfli is one of those heritage golf brands that always seems to be in the back of your mind or peripherals, until it’s right in front of you. It’s no surprise since it’s had multiple owners—and strategies/priorities—since the late ’90s and hasn’t manufactured clubs since.

Even PGA Tour ambassador Ben Griffin, who signed with the brand last May, said that showing his playing partners ahead of the 2024 Houston Open the new Tour X ball “sparked some curiosity” since “it’s a brand they likely haven’t seen in 15 or 20 years.”

While Maxfli has prioritized manufacturing golf balls in recent years—and recently released its Tour, Tour X and Tour S models—the new forged irons cement the brand’s wider return into golf, which includes signing 11-time LPGA winner Lexi Thompson in January 2024.

Maxfli also seemingly came out of nowhere in October 2024 to release a unique apparel collab with Metalwood that had our own writers exclaiming: “I’ll take ‘things I didn’t have on my 2024 bingo card for $1,000, Ken!’”

Sliker and Slagel confirmed Maxfli isn’t going to try to spread itself too thin or oversaturate the brand and market with a plethora of products but would rather rely on a strategic approach as it reintegrates into the game and culture.

The current strategy is a two-year life cycle for the XC2 and XC3 forged irons but that doesn’t mean Maxfli isn’t working on other products for the future. Given the reintroduction of irons for the first time in 30-plus years and out-of-left-field collab with Metalwood, it seems anything is possible.

“We’re always looking at how we can innovate and update,” Sliker said. “We’re always looking to see how we can elevate Maxfli to make it more premium but also be really accessible. You may see some stuff from us over the next couple of years that may fill some voids in some other categories.”

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