GolfSpy_BEN

Correct as I have said many times before there is no one etched in stone way to properly swing or play this game. The swing gurus don't want to hear it but it is the truth. Growing up with my old man running a course and being around the game all my life I have seen some swings. To add to your great example look back at Allen Doyle and Jim Thorpe. Both unconventional but they got results

A quick study in contrast:
This past Saturday I played 18 holes at Majestic Springs Golf Course. It is a lovely course located near Wilmington, Ohio. Approximately 45 minutes northeast of Cincinnati. The forecast leading up to the day called for a mild day in the low 50’s, what we got was the high 40’s and the occasional 25 mph gust. At one point, I was shivering harder than a drunk three days dry and went so far as to try on the available outerwear in the pro shop, at the turn. My kingdom for a XXL pullover, but I digress. We teed off at 2:21 pm and completed our round in a brisk 5 hours and 28 minutes. As you can imagine, we waited on every tee box and fairway for the foursome in front of us, who were in turn waiting for the foursome in front of them who in turn…ad infinitum. Despite the weather and the waiting, I carded an 80. I had a chance at breaking 80 with a 12’ par putt on 18 that turned to the right at the last second, leaving me a tap-in to finish. I say all of this, to emphasize that pace of play be damned, I still enjoyed every last minute of that 5 hours and 28 minutes and would gladly sacrifice my time in a similar manner every day until I am on the other side of the dirt. Amen.
 
I suppose it bears mentioning that my long-suffering wife, with the patience of a saint, does not share my views on the liberal use of free time to pursue such passions, but she keeps me around because, in the right moment, I can be quite charming. Which leads me to other side of this contrast.
 
This afternoon I met my erstwhile golf league partner at the Southwest Golf Ranch. It is veritable golfer’s one stop. There are 2 grass tee areas, separated by the pro shop and covered hitting bays, a large green complex, and a chipping green, as well as a covered fitting studio and lesson area. Throw in the minigolf out front and it is fun for the whole family. A couple of years back they added Top Tracer Range to the covered bays, which for the uninitiated, means that each bay has its own launch monitor. In the beginning, there was an additional charge to use the service, but since then the range has worked it into the price of a bucket and 15 bucks for 100 balls isn’t hateful. All of this to say, one of the options afforded to their patrons is a version of virtual golf. How it works is after one has procured their regular (65 balls), large (85 balls), or jumbo (100 balls) buckets, one selects an open bay and is confronted with a choice. You can play as a guest or use the top tracer phone app to log in. The advantage of the phone app is the archive one can build of shot data. Once logged in, you are given the following options: warm up, my practice, virtual golf, driving challenge, long drive, approach challenge, closest to pin, points game, go fish, and top tracer 30. Each is a unique and wonderful way to get your practice in, without mindlessly bashing balls into oblivion.

 

We hit 10-15 balls a piece using the warm up screen. This is nice because it gives real time feedback on carry and total distance, among other metrics. Kind of a check up to confirm your 7i is still carrying what you thought it was. We then played 18 holes of golf using a virtual layout of Bethpage Black from the white tees. In the interest of full disclosure, by necessity, putting is completely removed in this version of virtual golf. For example, on the opening hole (a 429-yard par 4) we each hit a drive out onto the range. The top tracer launch monitor takes the distance of that drive and applies to the monitor in your bay. The monitor then shows your remaining distance to the hole, and you hit an appropriate approach shot. Once you get within 30 yards of the pin, it becomes a closest to the pin shot to determine the outcome of the hole. That closest to the pin has three targets to choose from 60 yds, 100 yds, and 130 yds. Around each of these pins are circles of varying diameters for birdie, par, bogey. Your proximity to the pin on approach determines how large each of those circles are, e.g if you are on the green in two and 5 feet away from the pin your birdie circle will be considerably larger than if you are 25 feet away. If it takes you 3 shots to get within 30 yards of the pin, then the best you can shoot for is a par and so on.


It took us about an hour and a half to play those eighteen holes. We had balls left over so we finished up with a couple of closest to pin contests for modest wagers and went our separate ways in just under 2 hours. The long-suffering wife suffers a little less on the occasions that we play a round at the range and agrees, that while golf will always be a part of the equation that makes up our family, range rounds are tantamount to a compromise.
 
All of this to say, I absolutely love the direction our grand game is heading. There have never been more ways to play golf. More specifically, there have never been more relatively inexpensive ways to play golf. I have no good answers when it comes to solving pace of play, far better and brighter than me have been perplexed by it since time out of mind, but having more options can’t be a bad thing.

The best answer that I know to the pace of play issue is to join a private club. But even at those it’s gotten crowded enough that a sub 4 round keeps to 445 on busy days in season.
 
Nice write up - looks like a fun alternative to a 5 plus hour slog. Thanks for sharing these experiences and your thoughts. 

A quick study in contrast:
This past Saturday I played 18 holes at Majestic Springs Golf Course. It is a lovely course located near Wilmington, Ohio. Approximately 45 minutes northeast of Cincinnati. The forecast leading up to the day called for a mild day in the low 50’s, what we got was the high 40’s and the occasional 25 mph gust. At one point, I was shivering harder than a drunk three days dry and went so far as to try on the available outerwear in the pro shop, at the turn. My kingdom for a XXL pullover, but I digress. We teed off at 2:21 pm and completed our round in a brisk 5 hours and 28 minutes. As you can imagine, we waited on every tee box and fairway for the foursome in front of us, who were in turn waiting for the foursome in front of them who in turn…ad infinitum. Despite the weather and the waiting, I carded an 80. I had a chance at breaking 80 with a 12’ par putt on 18 that turned to the right at the last second, leaving me a tap-in to finish. I say all of this, to emphasize that pace of play be damned, I still enjoyed every last minute of that 5 hours and 28 minutes and would gladly sacrifice my time in a similar manner every day until I am on the other side of the dirt. Amen.
 
I suppose it bears mentioning that my long-suffering wife, with the patience of a saint, does not share my views on the liberal use of free time to pursue such passions, but she keeps me around because, in the right moment, I can be quite charming. Which leads me to other side of this contrast.
 
This afternoon I met my erstwhile golf league partner at the Southwest Golf Ranch. It is veritable golfer’s one stop. There are 2 grass tee areas, separated by the pro shop and covered hitting bays, a large green complex, and a chipping green, as well as a covered fitting studio and lesson area. Throw in the minigolf out front and it is fun for the whole family. A couple of years back they added Top Tracer Range to the covered bays, which for the uninitiated, means that each bay has its own launch monitor. In the beginning, there was an additional charge to use the service, but since then the range has worked it into the price of a bucket and 15 bucks for 100 balls isn’t hateful. All of this to say, one of the options afforded to their patrons is a version of virtual golf. How it works is after one has procured their regular (65 balls), large (85 balls), or jumbo (100 balls) buckets, one selects an open bay and is confronted with a choice. You can play as a guest or use the top tracer phone app to log in. The advantage of the phone app is the archive one can build of shot data. Once logged in, you are given the following options: warm up, my practice, virtual golf, driving challenge, long drive, approach challenge, closest to pin, points game, go fish, and top tracer 30. Each is a unique and wonderful way to get your practice in, without mindlessly bashing balls into oblivion.

 

We hit 10-15 balls a piece using the warm up screen. This is nice because it gives real time feedback on carry and total distance, among other metrics. Kind of a check up to confirm your 7i is still carrying what you thought it was. We then played 18 holes of golf using a virtual layout of Bethpage Black from the white tees. In the interest of full disclosure, by necessity, putting is completely removed in this version of virtual golf. For example, on the opening hole (a 429-yard par 4) we each hit a drive out onto the range. The top tracer launch monitor takes the distance of that drive and applies to the monitor in your bay. The monitor then shows your remaining distance to the hole, and you hit an appropriate approach shot. Once you get within 30 yards of the pin, it becomes a closest to the pin shot to determine the outcome of the hole. That closest to the pin has three targets to choose from 60 yds, 100 yds, and 130 yds. Around each of these pins are circles of varying diameters for birdie, par, bogey. Your proximity to the pin on approach determines how large each of those circles are, e.g if you are on the green in two and 5 feet away from the pin your birdie circle will be considerably larger than if you are 25 feet away. If it takes you 3 shots to get within 30 yards of the pin, then the best you can shoot for is a par and so on.


It took us about an hour and a half to play those eighteen holes. We had balls left over so we finished up with a couple of closest to pin contests for modest wagers and went our separate ways in just under 2 hours. The long-suffering wife suffers a little less on the occasions that we play a round at the range and agrees, that while golf will always be a part of the equation that makes up our family, range rounds are tantamount to a compromise.
 
All of this to say, I absolutely love the direction our grand game is heading. There have never been more ways to play golf. More specifically, there have never been more relatively inexpensive ways to play golf. I have no good answers when it comes to solving pace of play, far better and brighter than me have been perplexed by it since time out of mind, but having more options can’t be a bad thing.

Majestic Springs does not get near enough love, I think most people in Cincinnati (and Columbus) don't know it exists, since it's rather remote. A long time ago on a different forum we had a forum get together there that drew people from as far as New Yark and Tennessee. Everybody praised the course.

A quick study in contrast:
This past Saturday I played 18 holes at Majestic Springs Golf Course. It is a lovely course located near Wilmington, Ohio. Approximately 45 minutes northeast of Cincinnati. The forecast leading up to the day called for a mild day in the low 50’s, what we got was the high 40’s and the occasional 25 mph gust. At one point, I was shivering harder than a drunk three days dry and went so far as to try on the available outerwear in the pro shop, at the turn. My kingdom for a XXL pullover, but I digress. We teed off at 2:21 pm and completed our round in a brisk 5 hours and 28 minutes. As you can imagine, we waited on every tee box and fairway for the foursome in front of us, who were in turn waiting for the foursome in front of them who in turn…ad infinitum. Despite the weather and the waiting, I carded an 80. I had a chance at breaking 80 with a 12’ par putt on 18 that turned to the right at the last second, leaving me a tap-in to finish. I say all of this, to emphasize that pace of play be damned, I still enjoyed every last minute of that 5 hours and 28 minutes and would gladly sacrifice my time in a similar manner every day until I am on the other side of the dirt. Amen.
 
I suppose it bears mentioning that my long-suffering wife, with the patience of a saint, does not share my views on the liberal use of free time to pursue such passions, but she keeps me around because, in the right moment, I can be quite charming. Which leads me to other side of this contrast.
 
This afternoon I met my erstwhile golf league partner at the Southwest Golf Ranch. It is veritable golfer’s one stop. There are 2 grass tee areas, separated by the pro shop and covered hitting bays, a large green complex, and a chipping green, as well as a covered fitting studio and lesson area. Throw in the minigolf out front and it is fun for the whole family. A couple of years back they added Top Tracer Range to the covered bays, which for the uninitiated, means that each bay has its own launch monitor. In the beginning, there was an additional charge to use the service, but since then the range has worked it into the price of a bucket and 15 bucks for 100 balls isn’t hateful. All of this to say, one of the options afforded to their patrons is a version of virtual golf. How it works is after one has procured their regular (65 balls), large (85 balls), or jumbo (100 balls) buckets, one selects an open bay and is confronted with a choice. You can play as a guest or use the top tracer phone app to log in. The advantage of the phone app is the archive one can build of shot data. Once logged in, you are given the following options: warm up, my practice, virtual golf, driving challenge, long drive, approach challenge, closest to pin, points game, go fish, and top tracer 30. Each is a unique and wonderful way to get your practice in, without mindlessly bashing balls into oblivion.

 

We hit 10-15 balls a piece using the warm up screen. This is nice because it gives real time feedback on carry and total distance, among other metrics. Kind of a check up to confirm your 7i is still carrying what you thought it was. We then played 18 holes of golf using a virtual layout of Bethpage Black from the white tees. In the interest of full disclosure, by necessity, putting is completely removed in this version of virtual golf. For example, on the opening hole (a 429-yard par 4) we each hit a drive out onto the range. The top tracer launch monitor takes the distance of that drive and applies to the monitor in your bay. The monitor then shows your remaining distance to the hole, and you hit an appropriate approach shot. Once you get within 30 yards of the pin, it becomes a closest to the pin shot to determine the outcome of the hole. That closest to the pin has three targets to choose from 60 yds, 100 yds, and 130 yds. Around each of these pins are circles of varying diameters for birdie, par, bogey. Your proximity to the pin on approach determines how large each of those circles are, e.g if you are on the green in two and 5 feet away from the pin your birdie circle will be considerably larger than if you are 25 feet away. If it takes you 3 shots to get within 30 yards of the pin, then the best you can shoot for is a par and so on.


It took us about an hour and a half to play those eighteen holes. We had balls left over so we finished up with a couple of closest to pin contests for modest wagers and went our separate ways in just under 2 hours. The long-suffering wife suffers a little less on the occasions that we play a round at the range and agrees, that while golf will always be a part of the equation that makes up our family, range rounds are tantamount to a compromise.
 
All of this to say, I absolutely love the direction our grand game is heading. There have never been more ways to play golf. More specifically, there have never been more relatively inexpensive ways to play golf. I have no good answers when it comes to solving pace of play, far better and brighter than me have been perplexed by it since time out of mind, but having more options can’t be a bad thing.

Good morning and happy Friday everyone! It's back to the real world for me today. After a fun day off yesterday, its back to work. 
Jamie, I hope your day has improved and the ice is starting to get back to where it needs to be.
I'm sitting here at work enjoying my coffee and riding the high of the fitting yesterday. I'm going to go home later, grab my wife's phone, and send myself the videos she took so I can watch them. 
I hope y'all have a good day!

A quick study in contrast:
This past Saturday I played 18 holes at Majestic Springs Golf Course. It is a lovely course located near Wilmington, Ohio. Approximately 45 minutes northeast of Cincinnati. The forecast leading up to the day called for a mild day in the low 50’s, what we got was the high 40’s and the occasional 25 mph gust. At one point, I was shivering harder than a drunk three days dry and went so far as to try on the available outerwear in the pro shop, at the turn. My kingdom for a XXL pullover, but I digress. We teed off at 2:21 pm and completed our round in a brisk 5 hours and 28 minutes. As you can imagine, we waited on every tee box and fairway for the foursome in front of us, who were in turn waiting for the foursome in front of them who in turn…ad infinitum. Despite the weather and the waiting, I carded an 80. I had a chance at breaking 80 with a 12’ par putt on 18 that turned to the right at the last second, leaving me a tap-in to finish. I say all of this, to emphasize that pace of play be damned, I still enjoyed every last minute of that 5 hours and 28 minutes and would gladly sacrifice my time in a similar manner every day until I am on the other side of the dirt. Amen.
 
I suppose it bears mentioning that my long-suffering wife, with the patience of a saint, does not share my views on the liberal use of free time to pursue such passions, but she keeps me around because, in the right moment, I can be quite charming. Which leads me to other side of this contrast.
 
This afternoon I met my erstwhile golf league partner at the Southwest Golf Ranch. It is veritable golfer’s one stop. There are 2 grass tee areas, separated by the pro shop and covered hitting bays, a large green complex, and a chipping green, as well as a covered fitting studio and lesson area. Throw in the minigolf out front and it is fun for the whole family. A couple of years back they added Top Tracer Range to the covered bays, which for the uninitiated, means that each bay has its own launch monitor. In the beginning, there was an additional charge to use the service, but since then the range has worked it into the price of a bucket and 15 bucks for 100 balls isn’t hateful. All of this to say, one of the options afforded to their patrons is a version of virtual golf. How it works is after one has procured their regular (65 balls), large (85 balls), or jumbo (100 balls) buckets, one selects an open bay and is confronted with a choice. You can play as a guest or use the top tracer phone app to log in. The advantage of the phone app is the archive one can build of shot data. Once logged in, you are given the following options: warm up, my practice, virtual golf, driving challenge, long drive, approach challenge, closest to pin, points game, go fish, and top tracer 30. Each is a unique and wonderful way to get your practice in, without mindlessly bashing balls into oblivion.

 

We hit 10-15 balls a piece using the warm up screen. This is nice because it gives real time feedback on carry and total distance, among other metrics. Kind of a check up to confirm your 7i is still carrying what you thought it was. We then played 18 holes of golf using a virtual layout of Bethpage Black from the white tees. In the interest of full disclosure, by necessity, putting is completely removed in this version of virtual golf. For example, on the opening hole (a 429-yard par 4) we each hit a drive out onto the range. The top tracer launch monitor takes the distance of that drive and applies to the monitor in your bay. The monitor then shows your remaining distance to the hole, and you hit an appropriate approach shot. Once you get within 30 yards of the pin, it becomes a closest to the pin shot to determine the outcome of the hole. That closest to the pin has three targets to choose from 60 yds, 100 yds, and 130 yds. Around each of these pins are circles of varying diameters for birdie, par, bogey. Your proximity to the pin on approach determines how large each of those circles are, e.g if you are on the green in two and 5 feet away from the pin your birdie circle will be considerably larger than if you are 25 feet away. If it takes you 3 shots to get within 30 yards of the pin, then the best you can shoot for is a par and so on.


It took us about an hour and a half to play those eighteen holes. We had balls left over so we finished up with a couple of closest to pin contests for modest wagers and went our separate ways in just under 2 hours. The long-suffering wife suffers a little less on the occasions that we play a round at the range and agrees, that while golf will always be a part of the equation that makes up our family, range rounds are tantamount to a compromise.
 
All of this to say, I absolutely love the direction our grand game is heading. There have never been more ways to play golf. More specifically, there have never been more relatively inexpensive ways to play golf. I have no good answers when it comes to solving pace of play, far better and brighter than me have been perplexed by it since time out of mind, but having more options can’t be a bad thing.

My dreams lately consist of days on the course, where the temps are well above 50 degrees and there isn’t an ever present 20mph wind to negotiate. 
 
Early season golf in Ohio is not for the timid or faint of heart

most definitely !!  I had a set of mp 32s that taught me that. 😄
at the end of the day I think everyone should try everything and there aren't any clubs you should be 'afraid' of using. 

I agree, I have dabbled with blades, and when you are striking the ball well blades perform like any club that you hit in the center of the face.  While you lose something with misses, that's true of any club.  I think the feedback you actually feel in your hands from good and bad shots is the most stark difference.  If you don't hit a blade well you certainly know it.  

Let me clarify this question, not who should play an MB iron or who can play a MB iron, but who looks at a well-crafted muscle back iron and says, “Nah.”
 
Golfer thy name is Hubris…
 
The conventional wisdom suggests the answer would be anyone who has tried to hit one and failed but leave that defeatist talk for the pessimists and the practical. In this golfing kingdom, we trade in the fantastical and visions of glorious, crisply hit irons that soar through air with a subtle draw and land as softly as a mother’s touch.
 
Now for a bit of back story, as to what prompted this question to begin with: I was perusing Callaway Pre-owned and noticed they were running a sale on Apex irons. I am always on the lookout for bargains on equipment, as most of us are. Through shear serendipity, I stumbled across the Apex MB 18 single irons for sale and noticed a 7 iron with a Project X 6.0 shaft could be had for what it might cost to feed the family at McDonalds. Throughout my golfing life, I have played cavity backs, game improvement, and players distance irons, but never a muscle back. To this point, price rather than fear or experience has been the determinant, so armed with delusions of grandeur, I clicked Add to Cart.

 
Yesterday afternoon I arrived home to the sight that every golfer has come to know and love, an oblong rectangular cardboard box waiting for me on the front porch. That moment (really, anytime golf clubs arrive in the mail) for me, is as close as I’ll ever get to recapturing the joy I felt as a child on Christmas morning. I’ve added photos below of the unboxing. Once I had club in hand, two thoughts occurred to me: 1) This must be how King Arthur felt holding Excalibur for the first time and 2) I’m going to need to swap this standard grip for a jumbo for comparison purposes
Armed with my current 7i and the new MB 7i, my Rapsodo MLM, and after further examination and consideration of the lofts of these clubs, my current 8i which is lofted one degree less than the MB 7i at 33 degrees, I set off for the driving range. Confidence, at this point, was running high and dreams of glory and the love & admiration of my peers danced through my head.  On my way there and all the way up to the first swing with this mighty stick, I developed and repeated the mantra: Do not fall in love with a golf club, do not fall in love with a golf club, do not fall in love with a golf club… And then I took my first swing.

IMG_0539.MOV    
Too late…
 
For those of you that have come this far, let’s dig a little deeper into the range session. I hit 12 ball with my current 7i, a Mizuno JPX 923 Hot Metal Pro with a KBS tour 120 stiff shaft. Here are the dispersion and averages
And now the 12 balls I hit with the Callaway Apex MB 18 7i with a Project X 6.0 stiff shaft

Overall, with the Callaway I  gained 4 yards of carry and a significantly tighter dispersion. Beyond the intrinsic value, the muscle back iron just felt better. Try as I might, there is no better way to explain it. 
 
My first foray into player’s irons have left me a little giddy and debating if I should replace the 7 iron in my bag for my next round. To avoid the pitfalls of confirmation bias, I need to hit this club in actual playing conditions. Obviously hitting off the mat is a controlled environment, but the initial results are encouraging. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to decide which kidney I’m going to sell to finance a set of mb irons…

My dreams lately consist of days on the course, where the temps are well above 50 degrees and there isn’t an ever present 20mph wind to negotiate. 
 
Early season golf in Ohio is not for the timid or faint of heart

Welcome! Always glad to have more Ohio spies. 

Wish I knew the answer to those questions; so i could hit them better.   Heard somewhere that the fitting club is a 7 because that is a breaking point for most golfers regarding quality of strike.   
 
Maybe it is because I don’t get a good distance gapping as I move up the set and try too hard and end up with terrible face control and bad launch conditions.  Maybe the shaft profile starts to make more difference in the 5 iron for me.  Maybe it is the head profile that results on poor strikes. Maybe my swing flaws start showing up more here.  
 
most likely lots of mental issues about hitting that club. 

Could be.  I’ll get to work on that; any exercise recommendations?  

Let me clarify this question, not who should play an MB iron or who can play a MB iron, but who looks at a well-crafted muscle back iron and says, “Nah.”
 
Golfer thy name is Hubris…
 
The conventional wisdom suggests the answer would be anyone who has tried to hit one and failed but leave that defeatist talk for the pessimists and the practical. In this golfing kingdom, we trade in the fantastical and visions of glorious, crisply hit irons that soar through air with a subtle draw and land as softly as a mother’s touch.
 
Now for a bit of back story, as to what prompted this question to begin with: I was perusing Callaway Pre-owned and noticed they were running a sale on Apex irons. I am always on the lookout for bargains on equipment, as most of us are. Through shear serendipity, I stumbled across the Apex MB 18 single irons for sale and noticed a 7 iron with a Project X 6.0 shaft could be had for what it might cost to feed the family at McDonalds. Throughout my golfing life, I have played cavity backs, game improvement, and players distance irons, but never a muscle back. To this point, price rather than fear or experience has been the determinant, so armed with delusions of grandeur, I clicked Add to Cart.

 
Yesterday afternoon I arrived home to the sight that every golfer has come to know and love, an oblong rectangular cardboard box waiting for me on the front porch. That moment (really, anytime golf clubs arrive in the mail) for me, is as close as I’ll ever get to recapturing the joy I felt as a child on Christmas morning. I’ve added photos below of the unboxing. Once I had club in hand, two thoughts occurred to me: 1) This must be how King Arthur felt holding Excalibur for the first time and 2) I’m going to need to swap this standard grip for a jumbo for comparison purposes
Armed with my current 7i and the new MB 7i, my Rapsodo MLM, and after further examination and consideration of the lofts of these clubs, my current 8i which is lofted one degree less than the MB 7i at 33 degrees, I set off for the driving range. Confidence, at this point, was running high and dreams of glory and the love & admiration of my peers danced through my head.  On my way there and all the way up to the first swing with this mighty stick, I developed and repeated the mantra: Do not fall in love with a golf club, do not fall in love with a golf club, do not fall in love with a golf club… And then I took my first swing.

IMG_0539.MOV    
Too late…
 
For those of you that have come this far, let’s dig a little deeper into the range session. I hit 12 ball with my current 7i, a Mizuno JPX 923 Hot Metal Pro with a KBS tour 120 stiff shaft. Here are the dispersion and averages
And now the 12 balls I hit with the Callaway Apex MB 18 7i with a Project X 6.0 stiff shaft

Overall, with the Callaway I  gained 4 yards of carry and a significantly tighter dispersion. Beyond the intrinsic value, the muscle back iron just felt better. Try as I might, there is no better way to explain it. 
 
My first foray into player’s irons have left me a little giddy and debating if I should replace the 7 iron in my bag for my next round. To avoid the pitfalls of confirmation bias, I need to hit this club in actual playing conditions. Obviously hitting off the mat is a controlled environment, but the initial results are encouraging. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to decide which kidney I’m going to sell to finance a set of mb irons…

if you can get close to the center of the face regularly there's no iron that you cannot play. my experience with clubs like this is that it's the loss of distance on your misses. I play mp54 and they're kind of muscle back like but not blades.
you certainly have a way with words and I enjoyed your prose as you describe your adventure. looking forward to chapter 2 when you try the 4 iron !! 🙂
 

Great write up. I think MBs have been built up as unobtainably hard to play over the last few years, and I don't think they deserve the reputation. 

I started out playing MBs as a kid, and it wasn't til I got another set as a teenager that I really even knew the difference. My dad didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up, so he'd got a 2nd hand set of Ram Aries blades of a mate of his and had them cut down, and I played with those from when I was 7 til when I was 16, and had only got them extended and regripped inbetween.

I'd won a full set of PowerBilt Grand Slams in a junior tournament and started using those for a few years, and while they were more forgiving and longer, they always felt and looked like swinging a shovel to me. Good, bad, all the hits felt the same, and it was so much harder to work the ball.

Had a pretty long break from golf from my mid 20's to early 30's, and when I came back I just couldn't bring myself to the big GI irons any more. Most of the old Ram irons have been lost/broken over the years, but I've still got my 4i, and hitting that flush is still just about the best damn feeling in the world. 

Let me clarify this question, not who should play an MB iron or who can play a MB iron, but who looks at a well-crafted muscle back iron and says, “Nah.”
 
Golfer thy name is Hubris…
 
The conventional wisdom suggests the answer would be anyone who has tried to hit one and failed but leave that defeatist talk for the pessimists and the practical. In this golfing kingdom, we trade in the fantastical and visions of glorious, crisply hit irons that soar through air with a subtle draw and land as softly as a mother’s touch.
 
Now for a bit of back story, as to what prompted this question to begin with: I was perusing Callaway Pre-owned and noticed they were running a sale on Apex irons. I am always on the lookout for bargains on equipment, as most of us are. Through shear serendipity, I stumbled across the Apex MB 18 single irons for sale and noticed a 7 iron with a Project X 6.0 shaft could be had for what it might cost to feed the family at McDonalds. Throughout my golfing life, I have played cavity backs, game improvement, and players distance irons, but never a muscle back. To this point, price rather than fear or experience has been the determinant, so armed with delusions of grandeur, I clicked Add to Cart.

 
Yesterday afternoon I arrived home to the sight that every golfer has come to know and love, an oblong rectangular cardboard box waiting for me on the front porch. That moment (really, anytime golf clubs arrive in the mail) for me, is as close as I’ll ever get to recapturing the joy I felt as a child on Christmas morning. I’ve added photos below of the unboxing. Once I had club in hand, two thoughts occurred to me: 1) This must be how King Arthur felt holding Excalibur for the first time and 2) I’m going to need to swap this standard grip for a jumbo for comparison purposes
Armed with my current 7i and the new MB 7i, my Rapsodo MLM, and after further examination and consideration of the lofts of these clubs, my current 8i which is lofted one degree less than the MB 7i at 33 degrees, I set off for the driving range. Confidence, at this point, was running high and dreams of glory and the love & admiration of my peers danced through my head.  On my way there and all the way up to the first swing with this mighty stick, I developed and repeated the mantra: Do not fall in love with a golf club, do not fall in love with a golf club, do not fall in love with a golf club… And then I took my first swing.

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Too late…
 
For those of you that have come this far, let’s dig a little deeper into the range session. I hit 12 ball with my current 7i, a Mizuno JPX 923 Hot Metal Pro with a KBS tour 120 stiff shaft. Here are the dispersion and averages
And now the 12 balls I hit with the Callaway Apex MB 18 7i with a Project X 6.0 stiff shaft

Overall, with the Callaway I  gained 4 yards of carry and a significantly tighter dispersion. Beyond the intrinsic value, the muscle back iron just felt better. Try as I might, there is no better way to explain it. 
 
My first foray into player’s irons have left me a little giddy and debating if I should replace the 7 iron in my bag for my next round. To avoid the pitfalls of confirmation bias, I need to hit this club in actual playing conditions. Obviously hitting off the mat is a controlled environment, but the initial results are encouraging. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to decide which kidney I’m going to sell to finance a set of mb irons…

Shot of the day yesterday was a short wedge shot from 56 yards out. Currently the worst area of my game. Put it to 11 feet and sunk the birdie putt. Had to scramble after a bit so great drive, luckily being a par 5 helped. 
 

Fun write up.  I'm surprised that Mizuno wasn't flying farther at your club head speed.  Maybe muscle backs are the clubs for you.  I love looking at muscle backs and I have a set that I occasionally play, but my ball striking stinks so I am better off with GI clubs.

Just finished walking the back 9... Some miscues but no big blunders. On 18 par 5, hit a decent drive, followed it up with a solid 3 wood, then PW from 92 yards out to about 2 inches, tap in birdie. Closest to an eagle I've ever come. 1 birdie, 1 par, 4 bogeys, 3 doubles: 45 with 17 putts.
Front nine yesterday: 44
Back nine today: 45
Now to just put that together during a full 18 round for my break 90! 

The Taylor Made BRNR mini driver. Can’t say for certain that it is anything more than nostalgia for Burner driver with the ti bubble shaft I played as a teenager. Something about it is definitely intriguing though

Well I’m still loving the autoflex shaft I’m gaming but today while doing some heating and cooling installation at my local guys spot, he mentions to me that autoflex is now available in black and yellow instead of pink. It isn’t any different than mine except color but well you know…
Making this post now since I’m sure sometime soon it will be moved over to the “what have you bought thread”.