Difference Between Blades Vs Muscle Back And Cavity Back Irons

 What is a blade in golf? 

Bladed golf clubs are irons that are made with a flatter face that has sharper leading and trailing edges, which are the sides of the irons. These more pronounced edges give golfers better alignment at address and makes hitting the ball easier.

The concept of blade irons first originated in the late 1920s with Bobby Jones, a professional golfer. While working on his golf swing, he noticed that as he moved around to different points on the ball, and used a variety of clubs, the clubface was always square to the target; it never changed at all no matter where he hit the ball. He then found a way to put a flatter face on his irons, which he called the "playing blade."

This design became increasingly popular throughout golfing history, with some of the leading players using them in tournaments today. 

Blades vs muscle backs

Blades are more commonly known as having a face that is flat and can be struck off any part of the club head.

Muscle backs have an arc to them, which allow for hitting up and out of golf balls. These are becoming less desirable in the golfing world because they create less surface area on the ball, causing inconsistent contact when hitting because the blade irons do not have any curvature to them, it allows for more control over where you hit the ball. 

Blades vs cavity-backs

While there are many differences between blades and cavity-backs, the biggest one that separates them is their shape. Cavity backs have a u-shape to them, giving the illusion of looking like a "u" in cross section. These clubs tend to be more forgiving on miss hits than blade irons due to their curvature.  This shape helps increase the distance of your shots by lowering your center of gravity (more on this later)

Cavity backs also have a higher trajectory, which allows for carrying farther than blade irons. These clubs are easier to hit off target, especially when looking to slice or hook the ball into different directions due to their curvature. The cavity backs allow for more contact points on the face as compared to blades. This means that you can have more consistent contact because it is easier to control the distance of your shots, even if you miss-hit them.  

Blades today

Blades are used throughout the professional golf world today by some of the best players in history and modern day legends of the game. These famous golfers include, but are not limited to:

Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead

These iconic players have all had great success with using blades in their careers.

Although they are considered as obsolete to some, these types of irons are still used throughout the golfing world today. They can also be seen on professional tours around the world, such as the PGA Tour, the Web.com Tour (formerly Nationwide Tour), and the European Tour. 

Although some players use blades on the PGA tour, most professionals and beginning golfers find that using a set of irons with cavities are more desirable as they allow for a higher ball flight when compared to the flat faced blades.  Properly used, blades can produce great results for even the most novice golfer.

Benefits

There are many benefits to using blade irons when compared to other types of golf club heads.

The biggest and most notable of these benefits is a higher shot trajectory, which helps with increasing distance and control over where you want your ball to end up landing.

Another benefit of the blade is that they are easy to hit across the golf ball, especially when looking to land your shot left to right.  The flatter face offers better control over where you contact the ball and allows for more options at address than cavity-backs or muscle-back irons.

Many golfers find it easier to work the ball with a flat faced club head, especially into the wind and on tight lies.

Final Thought

Blades can be difficult to master, especially for beginners who are just beginning their adventures into the game of golf. 

Through proper practice and execution, they can be used by anyone in any situation on the golf course.  These clubs have helped some of the greatest players to ever grace a green and if properly learned, they can help you elevate your game to levels you never thought possible.

Are you a golfer or do you have someone in your family that is and they are looking for the next set of irons to buy, I would consider one of these clubs as it has changed my game since I started using them 2 years ago.  I went from shooting 85-90 to shooting around the 75-80 range which is a huge difference as I have only played golf for 7 years (I'm in my 50's).  

Hope you enjoyed this!

 

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