Difference in irons.....?

[chriskzoo]

Cue the Mizuno die-hards - LOL, j/k.

Look at the guys on tour now - very few of them are playing pure blades now (maybe 20% or less), so I have to laugh at anybody claiming the superiority of blades over some sort of cavity back.

Being a bogey golfer, chances are you are good enough to avoid clubs that are pure game enhancement (PING Rapture, e.g.) and I would look at some of the clubs more geared toward better players. I would recommend looking at clubs along the lines of these:

-Taylor Made Tour Preferred
-Ping S58
-Ping i15
-Mizuno MP58
-Cleveland CG7/CG7 Tour
-Nike Victory Red Froged Cavity

There's no telling which one will feel best to you, but I would try at least 5-8 sets of clubs and see which ones you like best. There's no reason to rush into a decision, make sure you'll be happy with them.

[shades9323]

Varsity, some folks say blades are too hard for new golfers to hit well. But I say go try them and see if they work for you. If you are taking regular lessons there is no reason why you couldn't play blades. I'm no pro but I love the feel of a blade(learned to play with them), I tried cavity backs last year and immediately went back to blades. Don't let others sense of difficulty limit your possibilities without exploring it for yourself. Develop a good swing and go for it.

Where is your game faltering?

[double_j]

I'm all about the fact that hitting a blade pure is one of the best feelings going. The only problem is that it happens so rarely (and I'm a fairly good ballstriker!).

That said, the newer cavity backs aimed at mid to low handicappers provide just as much feel without all of the punishment. I actually prefer the feel of my AP2s or Taylor Made R7 TPs (2006) to my old Mizuno MP14s (about as old school blade-y as an iron can get) and there's not one shot that I can execute with the blades that I couldn't do with my cavity backs.

Of course, I also believe that the difficulty of playing blades is slightly overrated. A bad shot will still be a bad shot with either type of club, it'll just look a little bit different (you might have one shot out of 100 that would have played terribly different had you been using a forged cavity back instead of a blade).

There is a pretty critical distinction between different types of cavity backs though. Game improvement clubs are nice starter sets and are good for those people that play golf a couple of times a year at most (they wouldn't know good feel if it hit them in the face). If you're at all serious about golf, you owe it to yourself to get some "players" clubs (aimed at mid to low handicappers), cavity backs or otherwise.

[WUTiger]

"Workability" is probably the most overused and overrated word in golf in regards to blade irons. ...

Workability is the degree to which you can intentionally alter the curve and the height of the golf ball from shot to shot.

If you know how the golf swing works, you can "work" a basic fade or draw with any set of irons. Blades are more "workable' in that they have smaller heads, and are less likely to hand up in the turf when you hit the ball. That said, UGI clubs are more forgiving, in that if you don't hit the sweet spot, your shot won't go as far off line as with blades. With cavity-back clubs, what you sacrifice is some of your ability to keep the ball low when you want to, since cavities tend to pop the ball up more. BUT, you could limit this somewhat if you had a shaft with a higher flexpoint (kickpoint), which would keep the ball lower. Or, if you had a ball with a lower trajectory. Some world-class players play blades, but it's a myth that you can't be world-class without blades. Check out the "What's in the Bag" of the different pros. * Lee Westwood plays I10 irons, which are a GI iron with MPF = 560. * Brian Gay plays Mizuno mix: forgiving MX-200s in 3i and 4i, forged cavity MP-60s in 5i-8i, and MP-32 blades in 9i and PW.

[shades9323]

Workability is the degree to which you can intentionally alter the curve and the height of the golf ball from shot to shot.

Rocco Mediate plays x22's

Kenny Perry plays r7's Kj Choi plays G15 and i15

[double_j]

Workability is the degree to which you can intentionally alter the curve and the height of the golf ball from shot to shot.

Remember to make the distinction between 'players' cavity backs and 'game improvement' cavity backs. I wouldn't argue with what you said for the 'game improvement' types of clubs, but your statements are absolutely not true for those cavity backs aimed at the mid to lower handicapper.

If you haven't hit any clubs in the latter category yet, I highly recommend giving them a shot - you may find yourself putting the blades into storage!

[nuck81]

Workability is the degree to which you can intentionally alter the curve and the height of the golf ball from shot to shot.

I'd give you + rep but this site and my Mac are currently not getting along.

Great Post. Folks that think you can't work a cavity back left and right are fooling themselves. Really all a Cavity does is lower the MOI, and make the sweet spot larger, so the ball gets up in the air. It has nothing to do with draws or fades since that is accomplished with the swing, not the club...

[goblue107501]

Just make sure you get the right shaft. That is the most important part. Most any clubhead will get the job done, the shaft is where you start seeing the differences.

[max power]

Workability is the degree to which you can intentionally alter the curve and the height of the golf ball from shot to shot.

Completely agree-this is why workability is overused in regards to blades. The golfer who can't hit a fade, draw, or knockdown on command with cavity backs (GI or player's) won't be able to magically start "working" the ball with blades. They do offer a

slightly enhanced ability to shape shots, and some enhanced feedback, but this doesn't make them a good choice for 20, 30, and 40 handicaps because they offer "workability". The higher ball flight with cavity backs is also related to their intended market. Most all clubs have an increasingly lower CoG, which makes it easier to hit the ball higher. Blades, being targeted at better golfers, often have a higher CoG. But there are player's cavities out there that offer cavity back forgiveness combined with a higher CoG.

[max power]

I'd give you + rep but this site and my Mac are currently not getting along.

A cavity

increases the MOI-by pushing weight to the edges and making the clubhead more resistant to twisting.

[Radford Wooly]

Hit all types and the make your pick. Choose the one you like, not what everyone else likes!

[WUTiger]

Rocco Mediate plays x22's

Thanks for the ID on Rocco's set. I had heard he played X-something.