Cavity back irons are all the rage these days, and for good reason. They make learning the game of golf a lot easier and more fun. But, are they really a good choice for someone that wants to really learn to play golf at a high level of skill? To be honest, I'm not sure it wouldn't be better for a player to start with a muscle-back iron and learn to hit good shots and develope his skills right from the beginning with an iron that forces you to make solid contact or pay the price. The truth is, you can make a fair swing and hit a good shot with a cavity back iron and not even know it wasn't that good of a swing. With a muscle-back iron, you get what you put into it. I fair swing will only give you a fair shot, nothing more, and maybe a lot less. So, how do you learn to make solid contact with the ball if you never really know when you make a bad swing and mishit the ball, if the ball flys at the target on bad swings? On the other hand, with a muscle-back iron, you make a bad swing and you get punished for it and you start to learn the difference between a good golf shot and a poor one. The point I am trying to make is this; How can you learn to play good golf if you have no idea what a good shot realy is? If the forgiveness of the club lets you get away with bad technique, how do you learn good technique? How do you raise your skill level, if you don't even know you are doing a rotten job, because the tool you are using lets you get away with it? The cavity-back irons may make learning the game easier and more fun, but do you learn the skills needed to play top quality golf, as well as the player that uses a muscle back design? Can the new clubs be hurting your game developement? What do all of you out there think? Can a club be too forgiving? What's your opinion and point of view on this matter? For the record, I'm playing a set of Callaway X-16 clones that I love. But is my golf game really as good as I think it is, or am I getting away with murder because I'm playing a cavity back design? Your input will be appreciated.

Don,
My irons 3-pw are cavity back but my wedges, 52*, 56*, 60* are muscle-back I guess (no cavity) I have wondered about "forgiveness" without really knowing what I want to be forgiven for. If its lack of sound foudamentals and a good swing then I'm not sure this forgiveness helps me to better understand the game, although my game may be better. I too would like to hear from the pros or low-handicappers on this.
Fred

It has been my experience that if you are not hitting the ball solidly then you will be found out in the wind. A pure shot is not really affected by the wind while a shot that is not pure is "eaten" up by the wind.

I have played muscle back irons for the last 8 years and while I really had to concentrate at the beginning I now would not change them for anything.

Sometimes when I go to the range with friends who play with cavity back irons they have a go with my muscle back irons and struggle to hit even one shot that goes decently. My thinking is this is because they are not used to having to find the centre of the club so when they have to...they can't.

When the wind blows hard, I only lose about 2 or 3 shots verses a still day. My cavity back friends will lose about 15 shots.

That has been my experience.

Bartman

Thanks for the feedback on your muscle back irons. I will have to make it a point to check my shots on a windy day a see what happens. Good to know. And I'm not surprized about your friends not being able to play your irons. That is about what I would expect. I bet that you on the other hand could get used to their cavity back irons in a short period of time and play quite well with them. It's like riding a bike and riding a uni-cycle. Any one that can ride a uni-cycle can ride a bike, but a bike rider that gets on a uni-cycle will soon find his butt in the dirt. I fully expect my new forged irons will force me to re-learn my game from the ground up. Thanks for your input. Don

Don,

I have a good friend here who was a 2-time small college all-American. He doesn't play as much as he used to, but still carries a 4 hdcp.

The other day we were both on the range and I noticed that the iron he was hitting wasn't his usual Ping. You guessed it - he was hitting an old MacGregor Tourney, the Arnold Schwarzeneger of old muscle-backs. Old leather wrap grip, x-stiff shafts - compared to today it's like attaching a hunk of pig iron to a steel pipe.

His reason for doing this goes straight to the heart of your post. He has a couple of tournaments coming up and wasn't happy with the consistency of contact with his mid-irons. He told me that by breaking out the MT he is forced to slow down and groove his swing. He loses distance (180/5 iron vs 190) but eventually gets to hitting a high, soft draw which is his prefered shot.

So in this instance going to a non-perimeter weighted club had a definite, sought-after benefit. BUT, this is an accomplished player. I don't know that I'd recommend anything that unforgiving to any beginner. Better to let the newbie make some good (even if a little artificial) contact for a while.

JW

I think that is about right. You don't want to scare off a guy just learning the game.

That said, I started out as a youngster hitting my gran's blades (they ony had blades in those days) and when I started I could hit a 3 wood about 90 yards, I then progressed until I could hit an 8 iron 90 yards (all with my gran's clubs). I then got my first set of clubs (age about 12 years) and these were cavity backs. I played those until I was about 20. I was playing off something like a 8 handicap when I changed to muscle backs. It took some getting used to but after a few weeks I was hitting it at least as pure as my old cavity backs and then after a month or so I felt really at home with them.

I think it may be that because I grew up playing "steak knife" blades...Jennette Budd I think was the name, that later in life I gravitated back to them.

I don't know what would have happened if I had grown up in this day and age, in those days there was only one type of iron and you just got out there and hit it. No blaming your irons as everyone had basically the same clubs.

In some ways...maybe it was easier back then.

Bartman

I read this post as it pertains to me directly. I have both. I started as a kid playing blades. Then I got a set of cavity backs I inherited from my dad. I then bought Ping i3 cavities. Now I purchased Mizuno MP-33 and I still have my Ping i3's. My experience has been this: I only went to muscle backs after I had improved my swings and handicap. I am now a 7 hndcp. I have improved from a 15 from 1 1/2 years ago with lots of practice using cavities. If my swing is struggling with the blades, generally I will go back to the Pings. A golf swing is a golf swing, regardless of the type of club you are swinging. Think about what the pros say: Your swing should be the same regardless if you have a driver or a short iron in your hands. I have read that same line over and over from Golf magazines and teaching books. I would think that would hold true regarding just irons, regardless of the "type" of iron you play. The whole point of blades is to be able to work the ball. Offset cavities help to hit the ball straight. If one struggles to hit cavities straight, I can't see much justification going to blades. They'll just make your slight pull a wicked banana hook.
The one giant benefit it have reaped from playing blades: If your swing tempo is too fast, blades are gonna show that in a matter of a couple of swings. They really do help to slow down your tempo and put a good swing on the ball.
Just don't punish yourself if the game is already throwing you for a loop!

Good input, thanks for the loan of your knowledge. I'm thinking that if I can learn to hit my new muscle-back irons pretty well, my old cavity back irons will be that much easier to hit well. Thanks again for your help.

I have a question. I am a 19 year old 1 handicap and I am currently playing adams gt irons which are cavity backs that are suppose to be extremely forgiving club. I got the irons about 6 years ago when I didnt hit quite as many solid shots as I do now. I dont have any complaints with irons, but I was wondering if a muscle back iron would help my game to get even better. I am not that interested in any particular iron but if these irons would help to improve my game then I would definelty look into them

Hi Reiny; The main reason to go to a muscle back design would be so you can work the ball easier. If your game is at the point where you want to be able to work the ball left to right or right to left, you should look into either a blade or a half blade style set of irons. The first set that comes to mind is the Mizuno MP30's or the Snake Eyes 600C irons. Both set are a half cavity design so you still get a fair amount of foregiveness at the same time being able to work the ball at will. Both sets are also forged irons. As was mentioned earlier, the blade style will force you to make good swings, and that might force you to improve your game some. If you learn to hit great shots with the blades, you should have no problems hitting great shots with the cavity back design. Once you master the muscle back irons, your short game should improve also. Better control is one of the other reasons to use this design, at least that's what they say. I hope this helps.

Reiny,
Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on your game being that your handicap is a 1. Most people aspire to get there. I'd say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you are down to a 1, you'll have to keep pretty good stats for yourself (if you don't already) to see where you can shave some strokes. I guess start there, and if you find your fairways hit are consistent, but your greens in reg are suffering, then maybe its time for different irons. Being that you just got your sweet new Cleveland 460 driver, you might be even closer to the greens now for your approaches!