Cleveland TA3 Forged Irons

[jonathand257]

Hi All, 

Relatively new to the world of golf (Played a few social rounds with mates whilst in the UK, golfing in Manchester never appealed to me funnily enough!) but have since relocated to Kenya and have taken up the sport. 1600m above sea level really helps your length off the tee plus the weather helps! 

So I've played approx 5 rounds so far over the past 6 weeks using the pro's Cleveland TA3 Forged Irons. I have heard so much about high handicappers shouldnt start using blade / cavity back clubs but I love the feel you get off these clubs when you hit it right.......its just the times when you don't where the issue falls down. 

Now I have been offered to buy these irons 3-PW for around $100 which seems pretty reasonable as buying modern equipment out here is so expensive and I dont want to spunk loads of money on new GI technology in my first year. 

Question to you guys - How many of you guys started out as beginners using more advanced clubs and did it make you a better player in the long run? I really want to master this game and part of the enjoyment I have been getting in seeing how much control / accuracy I can get with these blades. 

To put it into perspective I am giving myself 26 shots on each round and last time out I shot -2 under my handicap. I'm a 30 year old lad who played cricket and hockey at a decent level so have an understanding on the principles of impact....however inside 100 yards I am awful! 

My goal for the end of the year is bogey golf with one or two blow up holes to be expected. 

Thanks in advance!

[1badbadger]

I am very familiar with the Cleveland TA3 irons.  That was a top-shelf club in the day, so that price is pretty reasonable.

When I took up the game in the late 1970s you could choose any type of club that you wanted...as long as it was a muscleback blade.  There was no such thing as game improvement irons at that time, so I had to learn with traditional gear, and so did everybody else.  It's very difficult to say if it made me a better player than if I had started with more forgiving clubs.  I can tell you that I've always used blades or "player's cavity backs" similar to the TA3, but may have been more comfortable with oversized irons if that's what I grew up with.

Having said that, with my experience in golf retail and as an equipment tech, I can't think of a situation where I would recommend that a beginner learn to play with a set of blades.  I just think there are better options now that make more sense.  However, in your situation with where you live and the lack of equipment options, I won't try to talk you out of it either.

[lastings]

I don't know that I would talk you out of it either..   but, I imagine it would do 1 or 2 things pretty quickly.  

A) learn to become a pretty solid ball striker pretty quickly

or

B) give up the game of golf..  

 

 

[jonathand257]

8 hours ago, lastings said:

I don't know that I would talk you out of it either..   but, I imagine it would do 1 or 2 things pretty quickly.  

A) learn to become a pretty solid ball striker pretty quickly

or

B) give up the game of golf..  

 

 

Thanks for the advice - It's definitely not going to be option B) as I said I am really enjoying getting into the sport plus I'm one of those people that doesn't quit easily.

I think I will get these clubs for now and I have a trip back home to the UK planned in August where I should be able to pick up some modern irons as I also need to get a Driver / Woods as they aren't part of the set. 

Like I said over the past few weeks I have been scoring around 45/47 on the front 9 of my local course (Par35). When I get hold of the thing its so straight and consistent with grouping, only issue is the bad shots. Finding striking the 3/4 iron off the deck really hard work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lastings]

5 hours ago, jonathand257 said:

 Finding striking the 3/4 iron off the deck really hard work.

You and me both, brother. 

[MarvChamp]

If you can find them, TA5 or TA6 cast irons would be a better buy, I think. Shot my lowest scores ever with the TA5's. See Maltby Playability factor for these clubs compared to the TA3's. On the other hand, I play Mizuno cavity-back forged clubs most of the time nowadays. Not the best MPF rating either, but we love the feel of forged, don't we? Good luck in your search and in golf. -Marv

[jonathand257]

1 hour ago, MarvChamp said:

If you can find them, TA5 or TA6 cast irons would be a better buy, I think. Shot my lowest scores ever with the TA5's. See Maltby Playability factor for these clubs compared to the TA3's. On the other hand, I play Mizuno cavity-back forged clubs most of the time nowadays. Not the best MPF rating either, but we love the feel of forged, don't we? Good luck in your search and in golf. -Marv

 

Thanks so much for this Marv - I'd never heard of MPF before today, really interesting stuff. TA3 comes in at 394 which is classic.

My interest in golf was reignited when I sponsored the Irish Society golf tournament over here and invited a few potential clients to play, no wonder they gave me odd looks when I rock up with a set of these and no driver!

I'm away to play 18 this morning and will probably decide this weekend whether to pull the trigger. There is something beautiful about blades though when you line them up behind the ball as a apposed to some of the awful looking modern clubs out there (I have been away from the sport 5 years or so) 

I might try and located some TA5/6's on my next trip back to the UK or even SA. 

Enjoy your golf gents. 

[Shorty]

Wi

1 hour ago, jonathand257 said:

 

There is something beautiful about blades though when you line them up behind the ball as a apposed to some of the awful looking modern clubs

Without wanting to sound like a dick, Cleveland TA3s are far from being blades. They are "compact" perimeter weighted irons, which is the antithesis of a blade.

[jonathand257]

Not at all - Like I said I am a newb to this sport and 4 weeks ago I didn't even know what a blade was....however without getting bogged down in semantics its fair to say they aren't a beginners club. 

Shot 43 on the front 9 (par 35) and 51 on the back 9 (par 35 also) which I am pretty happy with as no 8's in the round and plenty of the doubles could have been converted to bogeys if my putting wasn't so gash (using a Callaway Tuttle putter which I love!!)

Thanks for all your advice, I have bought them for $100 and will see how they see me through until August time. 

Happy golfing over the Easter weekend! 

 

 

[MarvChamp]

9 hours ago, jonathand257 said:

Thanks so much for this Marv - I'd never heard of MPF before today, really interesting stuff. TA3 comes in at 394 which is classic.

Yes, it is a good tool, but really it is just that. At the end of the day, how you personally relate to a club is what matters. For example, I do hit my Mizuno MX200's as well as or better than I did my TA6's, maybe due to the shafts. And, as was said, TA3's are not blades. All the older TA line were cavity back, perimeter weighted clubs, some with a wider sole than others, if I recall. You seem to be playing the TA3's just fine. The search for clubs that make you soar is one of the great enjoyments in golf. Best wishes in all aspects of this great game. -Marv

[WUTiger]

On 4/13/2017 at 5:22 PM, 1badbadger said:

When I took up the game in the late 1970s you could choose any type of club that you wanted...as long as it was a muscleback blade.  There was no such thing as game improvement irons at that time, so I had to learn with traditional gear, and so did everybody else. ...

I was in the same boat... played MacGregor MT irons from 1974 to 1994. Even broke 80 a couple of times.

Here's what I noticed: In seasons when I could play 18 six times a month, a generally shot in the mid- to upper-80s. In seasons when I played only twice a month, I was inconsistent with my irons and seldom broke 90. The Mb/blade/Players irons require you to have a stable swing and keep it in tune in order to do well with them.

As per a very good teaching pro I know, "Get clubs for the swing you have today, not for the swing you hope to have next year."