Pros and cons

[Chieflongtee]

Cavity back irons versus Blades. Pros and cons! Anybody?

[natgolfer]

If you hit most of your shots off the centre of the club face, it does not matter, although blades feel better, and if you are a better player, the ability to manouever the ball is easier with the blades.

If you tend to hit the ball off the heel of the head, you should definitely use cavity backs. If you hit off the toe, the cavities may be slightly better, but IMO, not by very much. (Torque = Force X Length of Lever Arm)

Lastly, if you can afford them, forged heads are infinitely nicer to hit than cast clubs. There is no nicer feeling in golf than a square hit with a forged blade, long iron. Except maybe holing a 50 foot putt for an eagle.

[jimrobin]

It all depends on the individual and how they hit the ball.

- Cavity backs have a larger sweet spot & are more forgiving on off-centre hits. Blades have a lot smaller sweet spot but are more workable.

- Blades are for the better golfer, C.Backs are for the rest of us.

[fireice]

C.Backs are for the rest of us. In full agreement here Jim.

[natgolfer]

The marketers of golf clubs tell us that their club has a larger sweet spot, and therefore is better that their competitors'.

This fact is NOT true. Each golf club head has only one, infinitelty small sweet spot, or Centre of Percussion. Whether it's a 120 cc head or a 500 cc head, there is only ONE, small C of P, and it's not the size of a quarter.

However, the important point is how much the club head twists when the ball contacts the face away from the CP. If a golfer contacts the face 1" from the CP with club "A" versus 1" from the CP with club "B", club "A" may be more forgiving, because of the size and the weight distribution.

Any ball/face contact that is not on the true, infinitely small sweet spot, will diminish both distance and accuracy somewhat, regardless of the size of the head, but mainly distance.

Frankly, I get irritated by the "larger sweet spot" comments, not because jimrobin said it above, but because the manufacturers deliberatly lie to us, to increase their sales.

[jimrobin]

Natgolfer:
The point I was trying to make was, because of the club head size and the perimeter weighting of Cavity Backs the clubs are more forgiving on off-centre hits, thus the concept that sweet spot is larger is portrayed.

But technically speaking, you are correct when you say the size of the sweet spot is actually the same. The sweet spot is the centre of the weight the club head (or as you put it, the Centre of Percussion) and yes it is very, very, small (infinite actually).

My point is, CBacks should be in 80-85% of all golfers bags, probably even higher.

[Chieflongtee]

Maneuvering the ball is easier with muscle/blades backs. I've heard that claim many many many times. How is that so? It only seems logical that the friction between the club face and the ball causes the ball to move sideways not the design. Any studies conducted to verify that claim?

[big easy]

In my view, it is not a question of sweet spot. It is more a matter of material and the way these clubs are built. First, a forged iron will give more consistency (distance) than a cast model. I have played several clubs in my life and forged clubs are really more consistent and will respond better. I have noticed a huge difference especially around the greens.

Second, most of the forged irons will have less or no offset. It is much more easier to work the ball. You would be able to work the ball with a cast iron as well if it has less offset.

Third, working the ball is not only a matter of left-right or right-left shots. In my view, working the ball includes also working on the trajectory. It is much more easier to make a knock-down shot (I mean intentionaly!!!) with a club with less offset. Also, most of cast clubs will have the weight located under the sole of the club to help players to hit higher shots. Look at the desing of a "true" blade muscle back and you will see that the weight distribution is really different from a huge cast iron (Callaway for instance). But, with all the models actually on the market (Titleist "B" series 962B and 990B models for instance), it is possible to work the ball really easily even if they are not forged blades. These clubs have less offset, the weight distribution is slightly different from a muscle back and are cast irons.

But, if I had more time to practice (like when I was a student!!!), I would definitely play forged and muscle back clubs again because the feeling is amazing. Nirvana!!!



André: I was not aware that "Redskins" were living in Zimbabwe!!!(see your avatar...)

[jimrobin]

Andre:
It is in the design along with many other things.

With cavity backs a majority of the clubhead's weight is around the perimeter of it so this does 2 things:
1. Makes it harder to put spin on the ball,
2. Easier to hit a solid shot.

With blades the weight is more evenly distributed so where the ball makes contact with the clubface has more effect i.e. open or closed clubface, off-centre hits, etc.

What workability really means is it, is easier to slice, fade, push or hook the ball. Golfers use this term, when they are trying to do this on purpose (supposabily).

Really what a it comes down to is;

A club that is harder to hit solid or straight, is a more workable club. Kinda like - Is your glass half-full or half-empty?

P.S. Big easy:
I think that's Florida State not Washington that Andre has. I thought it was the Redskins at first also.

[Chieflongtee]

Big easy. This is the actual Florida State Football web site.

http://seminoles.ocsn.com/sports/m-f...otbl-body.html

Go seminoles.