Golf irons are used by golfers for playing different types of shots and no wonder that there are different types of golf irons in a golf iron set. In a standard golf iron set there are nine numbered irons and four golf wedges. The golf iron numbered 1 is used for playing shots to the green and the wedges are used to play specific shots and to overcome hazards. The 1- golf iron is the longest iron in the golf club set and the 9-iron is the shortest. In terms of the golf club length there are three types of golf irons – the long irons (from 1-Iron to 4-Iron), the mid irons (from 5-Iron to 7-Irons) and the small irons (8-Iron and 9-Iron). Apart from these types of golf irons there are four types of wedges – lob wedge, sand wedge, pitching wedge, and gap wedge.
Besides the length of the golf iron shaft, irons are further classified into two types of golf irons based on the design of the golf iron head. They are cavity back irons and the muscle back irons.
The cavity back irons have blade like heads made with the shallow cavity back design. These irons have narrow sweet spot, thin topline and narrow soles. The weight of the head in these golf irons are evenly distributed through the edge of the head and the centre of gravity is located right at the back of the sweet spot. These irons are suitable for maximum accuracy but as they have narrow sweet spot these irons have least forgiveness. So if you are confident about your swing and can hit the ball with the middle of the head you can get maximum accuracy with the cavity back irons. But if you are an amateur and still in the process of perfecting your shot these are not suitable iron for you.
The muscle back irons are the oversized irons that are suitable for beginners and players with low handicap. These muscle back irons have a bulge of mass at the back of the golf iron head and this extra bit of mass helps to create a greater impact to the ball. The weight of these club heads is distributed in such a manner that the centre of gravity is located at the deeper and hence while hitting the ball with these irons the ball can be launched higher with ease. As these muscle back irons have larger sweet spot in comparison with the cavity back design, these irons have greater forgiveness and hence you get a fairly good shot even if you slightly hit the ball off the centre of the face.
Apart from these basic types of golf irons, irons are further classified depending on the material of the shaft and the flex. Generally irons come fitted with either steel shaft or graphite shaft. Steel shafts are stiffer and require greater swing speed for a better hit. While the graphite shafts are light in weight, have more flex and can give you better carry even if you have a low swing speed.
