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

[B-Con]

FWIW, I started with SGI irons and have recently moved to GI irons that are slightly on the less forgiving side. Frankly, I like the less forgiving irons a lot more and I'd never play irons that were more forgiving than these again. I can swing, keep my head down after the swing, never see the ball and tell purely based on the impact feel what type of shot I hit. With SGI clubs, you can miss the center by an inch and never know. Also, SGI clubs actually feel slightly harder to control for me, since their MOI is higher they resist turning on the downswing and feel more "clunky". I like getting the feedback on mishits while still getting a decent amount of the performance out of them. It's a great middle-ground, IMO. I have a lone muscle-back forged iron that I use as a practice club. I love the way it feels during the swing, because it rotates effortlessly and I can almost "feel" the center of the club during the downswing (for lack of better words). But mishits lose a lot of distance and it's hard to get high enough in the air consistently, so I don't think it would actually benefit me to play very much. I get sufficient feedback from the less-forgiving end of the GI clubs.

[jd4vt1998]

I'm sure this has been hashed out a million times on here, but if you were to have the option, of your perfect set of blades, or your perfect set of super high tech brand new game improvement rocket amping irons, that you had to play with for the rest of your life, which would it be, which do you think is better, and why?

For me it would be a brand new set of MP-14s if I could find them.  My dad has 3 of them I hit on the range sometimes and nothing feels better than solidly hitting a nice straight shot with those.(this is coming from an avid AP1 player too.)

[Bullitt5339]

I would say neither. I prefer a muscleback or cut cavity design.  They have a nice thinner topline, but won't beat me up on an off day too bad.  I can't play a modern game-improvement type iron with a lot of offset, so those are out, plus I don't like the look of most of them when looking down at them.

[ajst22]

I like a little bit of a cross...I play forged (I like forged feel) and I used to have a set of TaylorMade rac LT irons and they are skinny (features like blade) but yet they had a little cavity. They had a great feel when struck well. Right now I am playing a set of Ping i3 O-Size which I got from my uncle and they are more of a cavity back. The Ping's are more forgiving

[jd4vt1998]

Quote:

I like a little bit of a cross...I play forged (I like forged feel) and I used to have a set of TaylorMade rac LT irons and they are skinny (features like blade) but yet they had a little cavity. They had a great feel when struck well. Right now I am playing a set of Ping i3 O-Size which I got from my uncle and they are more of a cavity back. The Ping's are more forgiving

Yeah that's about how my dad feels about his cleveland Ta2's.  Which are the clubs he used when he quit using Mp14s.

[xmanhockey7]

I love my AP2 irons. Thin but pretty forgiving.

[The Tin Man]

I always play blades except when I use cavity backs. For me it's not either/or - I like a mixed set.

1-3 blades.

4-7 CB

7-wedges - super game improvement.

ok....the 4-7 part is true, and hitting a blade 8 iron is no big deal.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by ajst22

I like a little bit of a cross...I play forged (I like forged feel)

No such thing. Sorry.

[pixel5]

Originally Posted by jd4vt1998

I'm sure this has been hashed out a million times on here, but if you were to have the option, of your perfect set of blades, or your perfect set of super high tech brand new game improvement rocket amping irons, that you had to play with for the rest of your life, which would it be, which do you think is better, and why?

For me it would be a brand new set of MP-14s if I could find them.  My dad has 3 of them I hit on the range sometimes and nothing feels better than solidly hitting a nice straight shot with those.(this is coming from an avid AP1 player too.)

Well, not brand new, but close.

[NM Golf]

It's funny I used to argue with people on here years ago about why would anyone want to play blades. Then I tried them. My answer would be blades of course.

[Dave2512]

Like many I learned how to golf with blades back in the day. Later when options became limitless I went with what felt good and that led me to Ping. Currently playing G2's but have played most of the older Ping offerings at one time or another. Currently on the hunt for a nice set of copper Eye 2+. I also have a couple of sets of 845 Silver Scots. Kind of funny people consider Ping to be more forgiving now. Always been a game improvement club but certainly not for everybody. A lot of golfers I've encountered consider Ping's tough to hit and don't like the feel.

[Yukari]

Always used blades and always will.  I just like the look and feel of it better than cavity backs.

[pixel5]

Originally Posted by Dave2512

Like many I learned how to golf with blades back in the day. Later when options became limitless I went with what felt good and that led me to Ping. Currently playing G2's but have played most of the older Ping offerings at one time or another. Currently on the hunt for a nice set of copper Eye 2+. I also have a couple of sets of 845 Silver Scots. Kind of funny people consider Ping to be more forgiving now. Always been a game improvement club but certainly not for everybody. A lot of golfers I've encountered consider Ping's tough to hit and don't like the feel.

Interesting you say that. I played a set of Ping i3's for a long time, high school until now. I always heard from people about how they felt terrible to hit, mainly because they are all cast rather than forged. I never experienced that. They always felt fine to me. Then I contacted ping about the specs on my irons so that I could sell them on ebay and they said they were the JZ stiff shafts with Cushion insert . This apparently dampens the vibrations upon impact. Knowing that, I probably would hate a set of pings that didn't have such an insert.

[dak4n6]

By blades, I guess you mean MBs? Because I think a blade is any thin player's club (thin sole and thin top line), whether it's a CB or MB or somewhere in between.

Anyways, I have progressed through many sets of GI irons, but my last 3 sets were MB blades, and I will never play anything else.  After many years of playing both, I think that the forgiveness of GI clubs is overrated. Most hackers miss the ball thin or fat, or have really big swing plane and timing issues, and no amount of perimeter weighting or MOI BS is going to cure those ills. Also, I suspect that too much offset can actually encourage flipping. On the other hand, the responsiveness, feel, and feedback of blades cannot be approached by GI clubs. IMO, blades are the real game improvement clubs because they actually encourage you to strike the ball better.

Meet my current hotties (OMG do they feel sweet - right now I'm dreaming of this Fri when we are going to have a passionate afternoon together):

[colin007]

i have MP 52s and MP 57s - so a nice smallish CB iron.

[Mr3Wiggle]

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/2011-08/golf-johnson-equipment-0815

Pretty good article on blades vs. cavity backs.  65% - 75% of PGA Tour players (on a given week) use cavity backs.  I've played blades and I've played cavity backs.  No way you'd ever get me to go back to a blade.  Why make the game harder on yourself than it needs to be?

[moparman426]

Originally Posted by Mr3Wiggle

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/2011-08/golf-johnson-equipment-0815

Pretty good article on blades vs. cavity backs.  65% - 75% of PGA Tour players (on a given week) use cavity backs.  I've played blades and I've played cavity backs.  No way you'd ever get me to go back to a blade.  Why make the game harder on yourself than it needs to be?

Is this implying that since most of the tour players are using cavity backs, lesser non-tour players should all be following suit?

[dak4n6]

Originally Posted by Mr3Wiggle

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/2011-08/golf-johnson-equipment-0815

Pretty good article on blades vs. cavity backs.  65% - 75% of PGA Tour players (on a given week) use cavity backs.  I've played blades and I've played cavity backs.  No way you'd ever get me to go back to a blade.  Why make the game harder on yourself than it needs to be?

Most of those CB irons that pros use are still 'blades'. I define blades as thin top line, thin sole, minimal to no offset, and small heads. Once you have a club that fits these criteria, it doesn't make much difference if you have a little metal scooped out of the back or not.

As for making the game harder on yourself, let me use a fishing analogy: Most fishermen use spinning equipment because it's easier. I have used spinning all my life. However, 2 yrs ago I got my first conventional casting reel. Conventitonal casting reels are looked upon as difficult equipment for 'serious' fishermen. Nonesense. It tool a little dedication and work, but now that I have become adept at using casting reels, I will never go back because the sensitivity and control are unmatched by spinning.

In the same way, blades require a little more work and dedication, but in the end you are rewarded with better technique, and you will have the feedback necessary to know when you're a little off.