Player Cavity Backs

[Gibby]

Was wondering if any of youguys out there had experience with any of these clubs and could give some feedback. It would be especially helpful if you have hit more than one of these irons and could give me a comparison.

Callaway X-Forged
Nike Victory Red Split Cavities
Titleist AP2s
Titleist CB 710s
Cobra Pro CB Forged
Mizuno MP-57s
Mizuno MP-58s

Obviously I plan on going out and hitting these myself, but it might be nice if I could narrow down my choices. I'm going to move up from my SGI Nike Ignites and I feel like i'm ready for a little more feedback and the ability to work the ball more. Even more so I just love the look and feel of these clubs more than a clunky shovel like cavity back. And I think confidence is more important than any technology out there. So what do you guys say? Any of these clubs in particular that I should/should not look at? How do they compare forgiveness-wise and feel-wise? Thanks for any input guys, it's very much appreciated.

-Gibby

[Shanks A Million]

Those are all great clubs. The real difference will be look and ballflight. The Titleist AP-2 and X-Forged will be toward the more forgiving end of the spectrum, while the Nikes and Mizunos are more toward the harder to hit end.

Maltby, always a good source of info, has them rated as follows:

MPF: (higher number means more forgiving).

Callaway X-Forged - 636
Nike Victory Red Split Cavities - 328
Titleist AP2s - 551
Titleist CB 710s - 517
Cobra Pro CB Forged - 494
Mizuno MP-57s - 411
Mizuno MP-58s - 388

Those numbers are always interesting to look at. The Nike and Mizunos generally feel the softest to me. I like Titleist and Cobras too. Callaways are easy to hit, and have a great feel. To be honest, that's a great list, and it would be hard to pick a bad club from it. Go with what you feel the best with at address.

[Ben]

I play the first generation X-Forged. I remember the first time I used them, it was a tournament too. Just great performance and looks. I went from Hogan Apex blades to these, so that might have had a little something to do with why I hit them so well. Definitely forgiving comparatively speaking. That being said, I have found that they have not lost their appeal to me. I am only changing clubs because I have to get conforming grooves. Staying with X-Forged [in the long irons].

The MP 58. We have a few demo 6 irons in the shop. I've yet to try them, but wow, they sure look nice!

A club not on your list, but that I have hit, are the Ping S58s. Oooh, they are sweet.

[Shanks A Million]

A club not on your list, but that I have hit, are the Ping S58s. Oooh, they are sweet.

Ditto on that. 57, 58, and 59 are suprisingly good. For 17-4 stainless steel, they feel as soft as any forged iron out there, and they are super easy to hit. At address, they look like butterknives, but they really play well.

[Ben]

Ditto on that. 57, 58, and 59 are suprisingly good. For 17-4 stainless steel, they feel as soft as any forged iron out there, and they are super easy to hit. At address, they look like butterknives, but they really play well.

For sure, Ping really has something in those clubs!

[Shanks A Million]

For sure, Ping really has something in those clubs!

Yeah, how do they do that? I notice a gel back in that thing. You know, when I was first getting back into golf in mid 1999 (I played as a young child, then from 99-01, then from 08-now.) Ping got a bad rap with me. I noticed all the modern, ugly clubs (I was playing persimmon and blades at the time) were Ping. I even had a Ping wood, a driver made from steel. I just associated Ping with these ugly, weak feeling, weird sounding clubs.

And Ben, you need a course with a higher slope! Come to Florida and we'll hook you up with a nice little 140ish beast.

[Ben]

And Ben, you need a course with a higher slope! Come to Florida and we'll hook you up with a nice little 140ish beast.

And its only 6090 yards! But the numbers are a bit deceptive. Duffy Waldorf is a member at our club. He's said that its the toughest short course he's played. I'd imagine he's played a fair share of tough courses. Extremely limited roll with the kikuya fairways and rough. The Par 3s have real bite too. Yeah, I'd like to have a tougher (by the numbers) course as my home course. That's where being in the golf business comes in handy. I can play practically wherever I'd like. I love hard courses.

[mattttt25]

Not to highjack, but Shanks- you mentioned Maltby in one of my threads and I checked out the rankings (thanks for the info). I was set on the X-22 tours and just concerned they may be a bit tough for me. Then I see the X-forged are supposedly a bit more forgiving per Maltby. Obviously, Callaway's website doesn't agree. How legit are these rankings? I don't want to make a foolish decision and buy the X-forged, but if the numbers are true an they feel and look good to me...

[CrazyXGolfer]

You should def have a look at all these but make sure you hit the Cobra ones! They are one of they best irons i have ever hit!
Titleist AP2s
Titleist CB 710s
Cobra Pro CB Forged

[Bump-n-MI]

Hit these the other day....bad azz clubs...definitely some of the best I have ever hit! Give the little guys a shot too.

[Steve Keeler]

All the irons you listed are great sticks. Just hit em and figure out which feels and looks the best. Plan on going to a bunch of demo days and be sure to get fit! Wilson and Bridgestone have some sweet new clubs as well.

[Gibby]

Wow thanks for all the input guys, i'll be sure to take all of it into account. Tha Maltby ratings are particularly interesting, I would have never expected the X-Forged to be the most forgiving out of that bunch. Just by looks, I really like the Titleist CB 710s and X-Forged, but I'm definitely going to give most of them a hit to see.

-Gibby

[ET-Taylor]

the MPF says the r9(non tour) is about 5 times harder to hit than just about any of the ones listed so it is exactly accurate

[Shindig]

About two years ago, I went from SGIs to MP-57s. Unless you're needing every ounce of forgiveness, you will be able to do just fine with a Players' Cavity. If I were in the market for new irons, I'd be considering the Mizuno MP-5*, Nike VR Split Cavity, and the Callaways that Ben plays. Just be sure to get fit for them and allocate some time on the range before playing to get used to them - it's a big adjustment at first, but after about 100 shots, you'll wonder if you can ever go back.

[andef]

I play the Titleist 710 AP2 but have not hit the other irons you mentioned. I love my AP2s because they're forgiving enough but still workable and I'm confident with firing at pins with these.
The only problem will be taking fliers into account when I'm hitting shots from wet rough.

[Shanks A Million]

Not to highjack, but Shanks- you mentioned Maltby in one of my threads and I checked out the rankings (thanks for the info). I was set on the X-22 tours and just concerned they may be a bit tough for me. Then I see the X-forged are supposedly a bit more forgiving per Maltby. Obviously, Callaway's website doesn't agree. How legit are these rankings? I don't want to make a foolish decision and buy the X-forged, but if the numbers are true an they feel and look good to me...

Maltby's rating system is a pretty good one, it's totally scientific, there's no opinion. The clubs are given points based on their physical specifications. Center of gravity lower than the midpoint of the club will score positive points, for example, but a center of gravity higher than the center loses points. Higher MOI gains points, etc. The system isn't perfect, but it's damn scary how accurate it is. I've owned many clubs from the list, and can say it was almost 100% accurate. The easiest to hit club I ever owned was a Callaway Big Bertha, and not surprisingly, it had the highest MPF.

the MPF says the r9(non tour) is about 5 times harder to hit than just about any of the ones listed so it is exactly accurate

Totally. Some of the TM clubs just fell flat. The Burner Tour? Those things are like bricks on a stick.

Hit these the other day....bad azz clubs...definitely some of the best I have ever hit! Give the little guys a shot too.

Great great clubs there. But Srixon is not a "little guy." The Sumitomo rubber company is huge, and owns Srixon, Cleveland, and Never Compromise. They're one of the largest golf companies in the world.

[Gibby]

I also thought it was interesting that the Maltby system had the Victory Red Blades as easier to hit than both the Split AND Full Cavities. Anyhow, I guess in the end I'll just have to go hit them myself. Just got back from Golf Galaxy and hit the X-Forged and Titleist CB 710s. Both beautiful clubs, and seemed pretty similar. I don't know how much of a difference I could tell with taped irons hitting off mats though, especially since I don't know how accurate the ball flight is on those simulators. Definitely liked both those clubs though. Will probably also try the Cobra Pro CBs and AP2s.

-Gibby

[bman1313]

I am getting ready to buy a Maltby forged TE 6 iron. For about $60 I can get one w/ a flighted Rifle shaft and I get to see how I like them before I plunge for the whole set.