Blades

[BillyG]

Hey all! So far I've seen a couple of posts where someone says they are moving up to blades, or just blades in general. Is this a style of irons? Or what?

Thanks.

[geezer]

Blade is just the commonly used expression for a muscleback iron. As opposed to a cavity back.

[BillyG]

I see. Is there any advantage, or difference between the two?

[geezer]

I'm sure theres a helluva lotta other threads on this
But, to cut a long story short;

Musclebacks are a slimmer (generally more asthetically pleasing) blade. That is less forgiving than a cavity back. That is, an off center strike will be punished indiscriminately. They do, however offer greater playability and feedback. Generally aimed at skilled golfers.

A cavity back is generally bigger and offers higher MOI (moment of inertia) which means you get less distance loss for an imperfect strike. Usually aimed at beginner-aspiring golfers

[bigoak]

cavity back is like putting training wheels on your motorcycle.

blades may be muscle back or not.

blades are accurate.

cavity backs; you hit greens
blades; you knock down pins.

[HXCarib56]

  bigoak said:

cavity back is like putting training wheels on your motorcycle.

Let's not be misleading, here. Plenty of the best (PGA Tour included) use cavity backs. Solid shots hit greens, great shots knock down pins. For the average golfer (I see you're a 14, so that includes you), cavity backs make more sense (9 times out of 10....the 1 being if you grew up on blades...and EVEN THEN, you'd probably benefit from cavity backs). The average golfer does not hit the sweet spot enough to warrant the control benefits of a blade. Furthermore, there's really no reason to go with a blade, if you're an average golfer, b/c the benefits (workability, response) just do not apply. Effectiveness of the average golfer, is largely related to the ability to manage your mis-hit. Something much easier, with most cavity backs. For the improving golfer, on his way to blades, a set of progressive irons is a good idea. Lower irons (tougher to hit, 3,4,5) are more cavity back...and higher irons (easier to hit, more precision needed) are more muscle-backed.