It’s been almost a year since I first wrote about the performance of blade irons versus cavity backs, and those are still the most commented on posts I’ve ever done – they pull reader feedback even today. So, I thought I would dive into that subject a little deeper.
I was having a conversation about this with a golfer last week, and they asked me “why ?”
“ Terry, why and how can you say that a more muscle-back design produces better results than a cavity back design, when the entire industry has spent millions and millions of dollars developing these high-tech irons ? ”
My answer started out simple – “ Because it’s true. ”
Compare hitting a golf ball with driving a nail. If I started three large framing nails into a board, and gave you first a framing hammer, then a small sledge hammer, then a 12” cast iron fry pan, which would drive its respective nail with the least amount of blows ?
The sledge, right ?
Followed by the framing hammer, and trailing poorly would be the frying pan. Even though the frying pan may weigh as much or more than the hammers, it does not transfer force nearly as efficiently, because all of its mass is around the perimeter.
By the same measure, a more compact iron head, with the mass more centered, will be a more efficient golf ball striking tool than an oversize head with most of the mass spread as far away from the impact point as possible.
I told you, and I’ll tell you again. If you want to really learn something, borrow the 8-9- and PW from one of your friends or pros who plays a modern blade.
Even if the shafts are too stiff, and they don’t fit you, you’ll quickly see how much more accurate and consistent those short irons are than the perimeter-weighted clubs you currently play.
It’s not just me saying so – read the nearly 100 comments on the posts I wrote last spring !
24 responses so far ↓
1 Mike // Apr 4, 2008 at 8:19 am
Hey Terry,
I just bought a set of Reid Lockhart irons off eBay and I’m looking forward to that increased efficiency.
Most of my 74 to 78 shots are wit the short irons and putter anyway, so increasing my efficiency in that area will renew my love of the game.
2 Keith // Apr 4, 2008 at 11:37 am
I’m relatively new to the game having taken it up a year and a half ago at the age of 53. I started playing with “game improvement irons and noticed that the offset would negatively affect my shots. I decided this year to start practicing with some MP-32s and have noticed a marked improvement in my dispersion and accuracy. The downside is that I have lost about 10 yards in distance but expect that improvements in my ball striking will take of this as well. Cheers.
3 Tim // Apr 4, 2008 at 12:04 pm
After reading your articles earlier this winter I have made the switch from Ping Eye 2’s to MP-32’s. I am a 10 handicap and look forward dropping it into the 5’s by the end of 2008.
I’ve had the chance to hit them about 1-2 times a month at an indoor range here up north and I can say that without a doubt they have helped my game already. The first thing I noticed with the decrease in forgiveness is that I was hitting out near the toe. I didn’t really notice this too much with the cavity back Eye 2’s. I am now acieving the same distance with less effort and more accuracy and I have a much easier time controlling the trajectory. I look forward to reporting back the actual on course improvements throughout the season which is finally here in Cleveland, OH!
4 duffy // Apr 4, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Terry,
I don’t understand why so many PGA players use cavity backs if blades are better for scoring. I understand that they have endorsement deals, but they don’t get those deals unless they are competitive. And with so many good golfers out there trying to get on the tour it seems like any advantage or disadvantage would make the difference between being on the tour and not. Further, at that level it seems like it’d be evident to a player if he scores better with blades (in other words, true empirical evidence, on the tour it’s not opinions but scores that count).
5 Wayne // Apr 4, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I do not agree because when I switch to the Ping I 2 back in the early eighties my high rounds drop 4 shots and my good rounds remained the same. Most amutures need an Iron that is forgiveing and it is a proven fact that blades, muscle back Irons are not. There is no comparison between where a pro hits the sweet spot and where amutures hit the face of Iron.
6 duffy // Apr 4, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Regarding my previous comment, I feel it comes off kind of snarky. I did not intend it to be, am just curious about the topic.
BTW - I own (and love using) an Eidolon 60 deg.
7 doug baldwin // Apr 4, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Terry
I took your advice to heart - but in baby steps.
I purchased some forged blades and use them on the range but still using my TM 300’s on the course.
This has improved my ball striking but on the course allows for the forgiveness of the CB until I’m ready for the blades in competition.
8 John K // Apr 4, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Terry,
I have pondered this since you first wrote your article last year on MB irons vs. Cavity (Game Improvement) irons. I missed my powerbuilt Citation irons, but thought that going the GI route was the way to go. So, I have played with those for years and my game just seemed to stagnate.
I recently bought Mizuno MP 57s to replace the MX 25s I have, and even though I have only hit them on the range - Wow, what a difference. My dispersion on what I believe to be well struck shots looks to be much tighter than with the MX 25s.
I really appreciate your candid opinion, and enjoy it when you write about golf equipment and how it can effect the game.
Keep up the good work,
JK
9 Steve Wozeniak PGA // Apr 4, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Can’t wait to get my muscle back Callaway’s they will be in shortly. I have had eye 2’s for 20 years. I now am fitting around 10 handicap or better players in all blades first and letting them know why! Thanks Terry, and your wedges are great.
http://www.stevewozeniak.com
10 Kiwi // Apr 7, 2008 at 1:35 am
I play Purefit MBs and I cant agree more. Cavitys are good the guy that plays twice a year. If you good feedback. Learn to truly groove a swing thats why I use them
11 Terry Koehler // Apr 7, 2008 at 7:42 am
Thanks for all the comments, readers. This subject is worth lots of dialog and sharing. As for your comment, Duffy, I didn’t take it as “snarky” (good one) at all, but legitimate. What I can offer is this — the endorsement contracts are not that good if you want to play a blade, and most of todays’ players are not “ball strikers” but merely hit it to their distance as often as they can. That’s why golfers like Woods, Mickelson, etc., who have learned to work the ball both directions, up and down, rule out there. Most professionals appear to play their game, make big checks and maybe get a win somewhere. And to that mentality, the endorsement dollars rule.
12 duffy // Apr 7, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Thanks for the reply Terry.
“Most professionals appear to play their game, make big checks and maybe get a win somewhere. And to that mentality, the endorsement dollars rule.”
I don’t know what everyone on the tour plays, but Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson (for example) seem like golfers who are serious about golf and work very hard at their games. They both play cavity backs. I find it very hard to believe Titleist would not endorse them to play blades if they chose play them instead of cavity backs. No?
Seriously, I find it very difficult to believe anyone could play and stay on the professional tour if they were not obsessed with playing golf well as they possibly could. And this obsession necessarily includes obsessing over playing the best possible equipment.
13 Worth // Apr 8, 2008 at 9:07 am
Interesting discussion. I am playing Mizuno T-Zoid ProForged irons. They are perimiter weighted with the musscle bulge behind the sweetspot to promote that blade feel. I have been hitting some demo blade 6- irons and am finding that my ball stiking is much better with those clubs. Perhaps it is due to the smaller head which is easier to align. I have found that my misshits on these newest generation of blades is much more forgiving that those club sets that are 10 or 20 years old.
14 Greg // Apr 8, 2008 at 2:53 pm
I went to Bridgestone J33 combos after playing the game for just 18 months. I meet players that have been playing for years and tell me they don’t have the game for blades.
Take Terry’s advice - hit a forged blade for a bucket. Learning comes from feedback and forged blades deliver that feedback.
15 Terry Koehler // Apr 9, 2008 at 7:00 am
Guys, this is all good dialog. Let me address Duffy’s comments, as he appears to be a little skeptical, in spite of all you others who are sharing your experiences. I respect that, Duff.
I can’t speak for all the players out there, and there are no doubt some very good ones who choose to play cavity back irons, Stricker and Johnson, to wit. All I’ve said in this entire string of dialog is that machine testing proves that blade style irons are more accurate on dead center hits — this is not an opinion, but fact. That said, so many of the young players have grown up with cavity back irons they are totally sold on them. Their approach to the game is built around them. And there is a lot of raw talent out there, but the very best players, the ones who know how to shape the ball, and get good scores even when they are striking the ball poorly (for them), seem to gravitate to blade designs. To each his own, but the readers are sounding off pretty convincingly that my advice to at least give blades a try has some merit.
Keep it up, readers. We’re all learning here, I’m sure.
16 Mike // Apr 9, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Hey Terry,
I just got a set of Reid Lockhart RL Blades today and went straight to the range.
Even though it was the first balls I had hit since last October, I had no problem with the blades.
I peppered the yardage signs with the 6 iron through wedge and after a couple more buckets fully expect to be fine with the 4 and 5 iron.
The feedback on toe hits made me go thru my setup routine and pay attention to my next swing, as opposed to my Ping i3’s which let me swing, swing, swing with very little feedback.
Do you think that hitting one on the toe and having it “tell” you about it is as big a benefit as I do ?
17 Mike // Apr 12, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I notice that those who play Nike golf clubs, like the #1 player on the planet, are using blades.
Could it be that Tiger doesn’t have to bow down to a marketing machine like some players will do for money ? You dang right.
Could it be that Nike only cares about their players having irons that they can play their best with ? Maybe so.
Could it be an accident ? Probably not.
18 duffy // Apr 17, 2008 at 5:24 pm
“I notice that those who play Nike golf clubs, like the #1 player on the planet, are using blades.”
Yeah, Tiger Woods would probably be an average player if weren’t for those Nike blades.
19 Mike // Apr 17, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Um, didn’t the guy who won play Nike.
Actually several of those in the last 5 groups played blades.
The point is, the guys who can choose, choose blades. Mostly.
Those that get dictated to, play whatever the marketing department says they need to play and they never improve their ball striking and they don’t get any closer to the #1 player in the world.
Chasing dollars by playing the next new club has ruined more golfers than it has helped.
Case closed..
20 duffy // Apr 17, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Immelman plays cavity backs.
21 John // Apr 20, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Guys, I know that we will all have our disagreements. let me throw out another spin on it. Perhaps the tour players are such good ballstrikers that they then choose their irons to dial in a certain characteristic? Perhaps Trevor Immelman has a lower ballflight, and wants to bring it up a bit. The one constant that any good player has is good ballstriking, and getting that ball-turf impact. Once you have that, then you can play whatever the heck you want. Watch Immelman’s shot from the divot on 18.
I’m an 8, and played a lot with Callaway irons, Pings, everything under the sun, but my ballstriking fell off quite a bit last year. Too much bounce. I went back to practicing with blades, and am working on taking a good divot and compressing the ball. You can get good results with a cavity back, but I don’t want to cover up a bad swing. All good players know how to hit the ball, know what good impact feels like. We have to learn it. Callaway makes good clubs, and has super customer service. Most of the game improvement irons, while making it enjoyable for the casual golfer, really are more about covering up for poor swings…turning a miss into an better miss. If I hit one fat, or miss it thin, or hit one on the toe, I’m still going to miss the green. As one of Terry’s previous posts said, ‘perimeter weighting doesn’t make up for bad swings’. The pros all hit the ball well. They have repeatable swings. The cavity might help them with the tiny miss. Where we go wrong, is we expect to hit it ‘on the chrome’ and have it work out. And we have jacked up lofts so that it can make up for all of the sole weight. Kind of like trying to even up the legs of a table by sawing them off! Lastly, we don’t know what the pros have done to the clubs to modify them. Sole grinds, changed lofts, different weighting, changed offsets…often the only resemblence the club the pro has to what we see in the shop is cosmetic! Have fun, and practice!
22 garrett // Apr 21, 2008 at 11:14 am
Well said John. The feel and feedback offered by higher end irons isn’t really that useful unless the golfer is tuned in enough to understand and process it.
I’m amazed at how much more sensitive I am now compared to when I started learning the game. It took a few long talks with my teacher and a lot of time at the range to really understand what a huge difference a tiny fraction of an inch or a couple of degrees at impact can make.
23 William Marshall // Apr 22, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Would it not be interesting to watch who on tour would excel if they all were required to play blades with the old “V” grooves and a the twenty year old ball technology. I see a lot of tour players who appear to be playing “game improvement” clubs which mask a lot of sins. All of the tour players are excellent ball strikers but the courses do not call for “working” the ball as much as “gun and gouge” so why not equip for that style.
24 Bob weseen // Apr 26, 2008 at 9:51 am
I have a set of forged blades, as well as forged cavity backs, as well as a deeper forged cavity back.
I really like my blades in the 8iron - wedge, but on the long irons I never really liked the trajectory. When I started using the deeper cavity back on my 5 and 6 irons, I started hitting the ball higher and stopping it faster. That being said, this year I am playing my deep cavity’s in the 4,5,6,and 7 irons. I am playing my blades in the 8 and 9 irons, and Eidolon wedges for my 48, 52, 56, and 60 degree wedges.
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