"Players Irons" in combo set for beginners

I'm new.  I'm 40 years old.  Been playing about 6 months.  I'm about a 30 handicap and happy with my progress.  I should have already, but I'm going to start lessons next week.  I'm playing right now with hand-me-down Powerbilt game improvement irons, which feel like rocks.  I'm going to get fitted for new clubs.

Preface:  I can work my sand wedge -- with face open or not, half swing, full swing, etc. -- and hit straight and consistently drop balls at 20 yards, 40, 60, or 90.  Consistently.

Question: I know general wisdom says that I should be playing "game improvement" or "max game improvement" irons, but am I crazy to think that players clubs in the lower irons, maybe PW, 9, 8, would be a bad move?  If not outright blades, would game improvement clubs like Mizuno MP53's (which are supposedly for scratch to 14 handicappers) in those lower irons.  If I can work a bladed sand wedge well from the fairway, rough, bunkers, etc., I don't see why blades in the lower irons would be such a stretch.  I was wondering if someone with more experience could educate me as to if/why I'm wrong.

Thanks.

Most game improvement, and even max game improvement, irons come with more "player" irons in the short irons.

You're not wrong in your line of thinking.  Most sets are designed that way.  Or you can always piece together a set however you want.

Blade type irons are very different… Length, lie angle, shaft flex, etc… I can see where your thinking makes sense, but I wouldn't do it. A cavity back iron will really help you out. It will give you plenty of club to "grow into" as well as a club you can learn how to "work." Adams has some great iron sets, and I guarantee you they have something that will fit your swing and your game. Getting fitted is a great start. Something a lot of people overlook…

Forgiveness of cavity backs is significant.  I'd upgrade in that dept from the Powerbilt's to Cleveland, Ping, Taylormade, or Callaway.

But do you really need CB in 8,9,PW end of the clubs? I have had 735cm from beginning and I am quite sure CB wouldn't have helped me there.

The higher the loft, the less important cavity backing is. Do you see many cavity backed wedges?

I do actually. In beginner sets, ladies sets, boxed sets, and even from top OEMs in player's series (from Cleveland, PING, Wilson Staff, etc).

Other than standard PW and occasional SW I rarely see them. In any case I did say "many" and not "any"

Currently yes, 2011 is a good year to purchase blade wedges, but in recent years they've been like hen's teeth.

Ah see I've been playing for two years and 6 months in I bought my Vokeys. Since then I've not swapped the wedges out and pretty much every set of clubs I've seen have had blade-style wedges.

Either way there's bound to be a little benefit to wedges with cavity backs but not a significant one unless your swing is really really poor IMO.

I'm a beginner (started playing in July) and do exactly what you're mentioning.

I started with a set of Game Improvement irons (Wilson Staff Di11) and since then ran across a really good deal on a set of FG Tour irons.  They're essentially a forged players iron with a slight cavity back to them.  I figured I'd pick them up and eventually "grow" into them as I improve.  What I found as I practiced with them, was that I started to learn what a flush shot feels like....something I don't really feel with the Di11's.  After only about 4 sessions at the driving range with them, I found I was hitting the ball much straighter, farther, and more consistently.  Granted, this could merely be a coincidence as I've only been playing for 3 months...perhaps the light bulb just happened to go on at this time. But either way, once I started practicing with the player's irons, I began hitting the ball like I never had before.  And then after a practice session, I'd switch BACK to the GI club and hit about 10 balls just to gauge things, and found I was hitting these long and straight bombs like I never could before.

I still struggle to hit the long irons consistently, so when I'm playing a round, I replace the Player 6i-4i with the Di11 clubs (which are much easier fro me to hit), and swapped the 3 for a Hybrid.  As I improve, I will gradually replace the long irons with the forged players clubs.  I do have a bit of a loft gap in that the Di11's are highly de-lofted, whereas the FG Tours use traditional loft specs...so technically I'm missing a "6" iron lofted club, but my swing with the 6+ irons isn't predictable enough to be worrying about 20yd gaps.

Anyway, I feel like this setup gives me a best of both worlds type situation where I'm able to feel shots with my short clubs, develop a more consistent swing, and on my long clubs I have quite a bit of forgiveness.

You're going to get a lot of passionate opinions on this topic which is possibly what you want but ultimately all that matters is how you hit them.  If you go to a golf store or fitter and try out some players irons in 8-PW and hit them just as well as cavity backs then you've got your answer.  I've been serious about the sport for a little over a year, and started out with Callaway Diablo Edges (SGI) which have PW, GW and SW as part of the set.  I then purchased a set of Hogan Apex forged irons to practice with on the range.

I prefer the feel (sound) of the players irons compared with the Diablo Edges but there is a price to pay.  On a mishit with the players iron I can lose about 20-25 yards in distance where as with the Diablo Edges a mishit is usually less than a 10 yard difference.  Off a mat the mishits are less frequent but on a course they occur more often.  Everyone is different so I'd try out some different combo sets and maybe consider a compromise like the Mizuno JPX-800's or Titleist AP1.

Nice to know the forum is both active and responsive to newcomers. :-)

Yes, opinions is what I was looking for, as well as any concrete reason why players clubs in the lower few irons would be definite no-no.  I think I'm going to get a couple of forged blades and/or "players" mild cavity backs for $15-$25 a piece off of Ebay in the pw to 8 iron range and see what happens, then go from there.

Thanks much.

--Matthew

And, Sixdouble0, the comment you made about not knowing what a flush shot felt like before because you can't feel them with your GI clubs makes a lot of sense -- probably the most provocative thought of the bunch. :-)

There are an abundance of great combo sets out there, and Adams really comes to mind there with sets like the V3 irons, which go gradually from SGI hybrids in the long irons to a forged player cavity scoring iron.

Many companies like Mizuno, Titleist, Ping, etc. will also let you custom order sets built with various different heads to your specs. You are definitely not the first person with this idea, but the trick is to stage the set correctly to suit your game and skill level.

Welcome to TST!