Master "Forged vs. Cast" or "Blade vs. Game-Improvement" Iron Thread

[youngskip40]

Go for it, if you want. A good deal is a good deal, and you can still ebay them like you said.

The 32's aren't that hard to hit, but they're far from what I'd consider forgiving.

I see a few responses that switched from whatever GI clubs they were using to the MP 57's with little problems. The only problem with that comparison is that the 57's are still a cavity back, and are pretty easy to hit.

I'm sure you occasionally mishit your irons, but depending on what clubs you are playing, you just may not be able to really tell the difference. The advantage (and disadvantage) with MP 32's is that you will notice the difference, in the feel, the ballflight, and the overall distance and performance of the shot.

Good luck, let us know how they work out for you.

[alpinejwl]

Driver -- 905R 9.5* - w/ UST Proforce V2 75g
F.W. -- Izett Golf 15* Deep Face - w/ Royal Precision Rifle Steel
Hybrid -- MD 19* - w/ Aerotech SteelFiber
Irons -- MP-60 3-6 / MP-32 7-PW - w/ Dynamic Gold
Wedges -- MP-T 53-08 & 58-10
Putter -- Circa 62 No. 3
Ball -- currently gaming TP Red


hey I see that you have the best combination (mp32 and mp60).!!!

[steve8820]

I say go for it, but just be aware of what poor contact is going to do for distance. A friend of mine, an 8 hcp, got rid of his MP-57s because of distance loss on mishits. Remember, don't make the game any harder than it already is...........

[youngskip40]

Driver -- 905R 9.5* - w/ UST Proforce V2 75g

Sometimes you can have your cake and eat it too!

[Blades4me]

Do you not have distance control and workability with a player's cavity? I don't buy that.

You do, but mb's do it better, IMO.

[NotAStick]

What on earth is 119? Its concave like a spoon!

Description

This unique club, commonly called the Walter Hagen Concave Sand Wedge, was actually designed by Edwin MacClain of Houston, Texas. In 1928 MacClain was awarded U.S. Patent 1695598 for his invention, the keys to which were, first, a thick and heavy sole separated by a cleft from the heavy back of the head, and secondly, a concave face. The Walter Hagen Golf Company located in Detroit, Michigan was controlled the L.A. Young Company. They began to produce this club with the name Walter Hagen on it as well as the L.A. Young logo and the patent number. Bobby Jones used a Hagen Concave Sand Wedge while winning the British Open at Hoylake (Royal Liverpool) in 1930, part of his Grand Slam. The British were amazed and very skeptical of this unusual club. A controversy followed across all golfdome and in 1931 the USGA declared this club illegal due to its concave face which was said to hit the ball twice. The large flanged sole remained legal and became part of all the subsequent sand wedge designs, now with flat faces. Being produced for only a few years there are not many Hagen Concaves to be had. It certainly has an interesting history and has become one of the “must have” clubs for collectors

[Prog8r]

These would be wonderful.

http://www.tourspecgolf.com/proshop/...duct_info.html

I currently have the S-59s, cant wait to upgrade.

[tatertot]

If you're going to go the blade route, I'd suggest considering getting a used set off of somewhere like ebay. You can get some great deals on very good irons and you don't need to worry about having them be perfect fits since you can get them bent to your specs at almost any local golf shop.

That's what I did. They arrived on a Tuesday, I was trading them in at Golf Galaxy on a Wednesday. LONG LIVE CAVITY BACKS!

[whip_it_out]

That's what I did. They arrived on a Tuesday, I was trading them in at Golf Galaxy on a Wednesday. LONG LIVE CAVITY BACKS!

Definitely go used for the first time, or any time. Picked up my Nike's, in pretty good shape, I'd say 4 months of previous play, for $170. Also got them right before the launch of Victory Red, so that dropped them pretty low. MAke sure to time your purchases

[alpinejwl]

Sometimes you can have your cake and eat it too!

so what did you do with the "other" set? ebay? haha

[Thaddy]

I just got back from a quick 9 with my new MP6-7's. I shot a personal best 40 on a course where I usually shoot 43-44. Never have I had this much confidence with irons, I'm seriously impressed with Mizuno. I even ordered a Bettinardi putter :)

[youngskip40]

so what did you do with the "other" set? ebay? haha

You can actually order a split set from Mizuno. Didn't have to buy a full set of both.

[shades9323]

I just got back from a quick 9 with my new MP6-7's. I shot a personal best 40 on a course where I usually shoot 43-44. Never have I had this much confidence with irons, I'm seriously impressed with Mizuno. I even ordered a Bettinardi putter :)

I am glad your CONFIDENCE helped you shoot your personal best.

It certainly wasn't the irons.

[Marinemike]

SOO...I thought I was going to get my new (to me) irons, and would just hit a hundred golf balls into the trees on the edge of the range. I was planning on using them more as a training aid at the range to clean up my ball striking and gaming my cavity backs. Not anymore though...I spent a few hours on the range and things were going really well so I roughly dialed in distances (good Nike range balls so I trust the distances), and I'm going to use them in my round tomorrow. I can hit these just as well as or better than my no-name CBs. Let's see if I can keep it up. I'm pretty sure it's because I am concentrating more and it doesn't hurt that they fit my body a lot better (+1/2" & 1* weak). A few observations:

1) The biggest penalty for most mishits was distance lost. That's the same as the CBs.

2) I can actually get a predictable shape. With the CBs, I would get some manner of fade no matter how I set up (which is predictable, but not ideal some of the times).

So this puts the blades vs cavity backs thing in perspective for me. Sure, the musclebacks aren't going to hide your faults, but they aren't monsters that rip apart and swallow up mid-cappers for lunch.

[Thaddy]

I am glad your CONFIDENCE helped you shoot your personal best.

I didn't have my best round of putting (I 3-putted three times) but my approach shots were extremely good. I know it's not

all irons, I gave myself plenty of pats on the back I will recognize the benefit I got from a new set of fitted irons though. "Fitted" being the key word

[FFemt5287]

As the title says, when should one start looking at forged blades vs cavity back? I know I'm probably far away from this point, but I'd like to have a goal to strive towards to get a set of Callaway X prototypes. I know it will probably take years with my game!

[Golfaway]

It depends on what you want to do with your game. I know that I will never play blades. My skill will never reach that level, and I do not aspire towards it anyway. I do not have that much time, effort and money to put into golf in order to become a single digit handicap and start considering blades. My goal is a handicap index in the 15ish zone. So I will just play anything that's easy to hit, forgiving and goes straight and nice.

If you are the same as me, then don't consider blades, they'll just frustrate you. If you are more aspiring (and willing to spend a lot of time, effort and money) then you will eventually feel the need of a blade when you feel you can't "work out" the ball any good with your conventional cavity backs.

[Iowa Hawkeye]

It depends on what you want. Forged irons doesn't have to mean that they are blades. There are the Titleist AP2's, Mizuno MX200's, and a few other forged cavity back irons out there. If you have time to work on your game, then make the jump to blades. If you just want to play and improve gradually, stick with a cavity back or GI for now. Blades can frustrate you and your scores will go up before they come back down.