Vice Golf’s journey in the golf club business has been fascinating to watch.
The German company that can stake a legitimate claim to revolutionize the direct-to-consumer golf ball business jumped into the fray two years ago. It started with wedges, fairways and two sets of irons, all created by his design team. Last year, Vice added metal woods.
For the year 2026, Vice is bringing another iron to the fold, one might be the most interesting of the bunch. The Vice VG103 is a one-piece forged blade that the company says is only playable to an eight to 10 handicapper.
I don’t care who you are; this is it an attention getter.
Vice Golf and his long day trip to the golf clubs
Vice started in late 2012. Founders Ingo Duellmann and Rainer Stoekl opened their doors with a website, a small Bavarian warehouse and 60,000 golf balls to sell. Since then, it invented the DTC golf ball business, survived a patent lawsuit from Titleist, merged with Munich-based fitting specialist HIO and, in 2024, launched its first set of irons.
Those irons, the VGI01 and VGI102, were designed based on years of HIO club fit data. The goal, according to Vice, was to create clubs specifically for typical golf enthusiast (this is German for “typical golf enthusiast”, my friends) rather than a Tour pro. They are built to be easier to release, easier to swing and more forgiving overall.
Vice succeeded. A kind.
In MyGolfSpy’s 2025 testing, the VGI02 game improvement iron showed impressive distance. However, it posted relatively low scores in accuracy and forgiveness. Of the 17 iron sets tested, the Vice VGI02 technically finished last. However, his overall score was only 5/10th one point south of the winner, Callaway Elyte HL. Considering the ties, you could say he finished tied for fifth overall.
There were no real dogs in that fight.
We tested the VGI01 in the player’s iron category, but it probably should have been in the player’s distance category. It rated the tips for distance, but was average in accuracy and forgiveness. Overall, she finished seventh in a test where Srixon ZXi7 shot in the field.
For perspective, VGI01 only finished 1/10th one point behind two industry powerhouses, the Mizuno Pro S3 and the Titleist T-100.
This, my love Favorite peopleit is the world in which the new, forged blade, VGI03, is born.
What do we know about Vice Golf VGI03?
According to ViceThe VGI03 is a one-piece forged made from 1020 mild carbon steel. If you weren’t a fan of the look of the VGI01 or 02 or the Vice metalwoods, I don’t think you’ll have a problem with these. Vice went Euro-minimalist with the VGI103. The clean and simple vibe is about as clean a look as you can get.
While using all the right blade words like workability, soft feeling AND extraordinary reactionsVice is throwing us a curve, too, with something called face alignment design.
I will get engaged. I had no idea what it meant.
Actually, the name is pretty descriptive. It’s what it says it is: a design that features a flat face and an even cross-section from heel to toe. This gives you a wider strike zone than you would reasonably expect in a blade. This, in turn, allows for more girth weight than you would reasonably expect in a blade.
This results in more stability and more forgiveness than you would reasonably expect in a blade.
The goal, Vice says, is to provide maximum workability (for those who can actually work the ball on command) while offering modern playability.
“Traditionally, one-piece forged irons are less fake because of their smaller face size,” says Vice Golf CEO Marco Burger. “But our innovative face extension design overcomes this challenge. It increases the effective strike area without compromising workability.”
Can a blade really be “forgiving?”
That, friends, is all relative. If you’re a poor or inconsistent hitter of the ball, you don’t need workability. You need forgiveness skills. Strategic perimeter weighting, courtesy of the face extension, should in theory provide enough stability and forgiveness without compromising feel, response and, for those in the know, workability.
However, Vice it seems certain that an ambitious or improving eight- to 10-handicapper who is a good ball-striker can have success with the VG103 irons. I think a less-than-good putter with a decent short game in the same handicap range might experience a little less joy.
The whole idea of ​​a “playable blade” is sort of a mini-trend in the industry. There are subtle ways to make a one-piece forged blade more forgiving. The flatness of the face and its accompanying girth weight certainly help. The Vice Golf VGI03 won’t be as forgiving as, say, a golfer’s distance iron. However, it will be more forgiving than the butter knife blades of yesteryear, and there are a growing number of top players who love that baller-like look.
The fact that Vice can do this while keeping the clubhead relatively compact and clean is definitely worthy of a tip cap.
Vice Golf VGI03 Cuff: Specs, Price and Availability
Vice says the VGI103 irons are fully customizable for shaft and grip, so there’s no true “stock” setup. While Vice’s proprietary shafts are designed for the lighter and more forgiving VGI101 and 102, the company will likely offer a range of shafts aimed at top players. Some, no doubt, will be on the rise.
The loft structure offered by Vice doesn’t exactly scream “traditional,” so it has a built-in interior.
The Vice Golf VGI03 irons will start at $999 for a set of seven 4-PW pieces. Custom fitting in the US is available through Club Champion.
For more information, visit Vice Golf website.
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