THE PARTS OF AN IRON HEAD
Understanding the parts of an iron head is a crucial step in understanding how the club head works through the golf swing. It may seem like very basic terminology, but as you discover other topics on the site these terms will become more and more used, so having a concrete understanding of what the terms are referring to will make the more complicated topics easier to understand. Let’s dive right in with some help from our sponsor Edel Golf and their new SMS Pro irons.
THE FACE
The face of the golf club is where your grooves are going to be located and is hopefully going to be where on the club head you are hitting the golf ball. The face and the technology behind it have a large impact on the forgiveness of your off-center shots, as well as the speed you are able to generate. As you get closer to the center of the face the club is going to have stronger properties with increased ball speed, forgiveness, and launch.
THE SOLE
The sole of the club head is located on the bottom. This area of the club is the connection from the face of the club to the back cavity of the club. There are a couple parts within the shape of the sole as well. The leading edge is the edge that connects the face to the sole, and the trailing edge is the edge that connects the sole to the rear cavity. How this section of the club is shaped is what is called the grind of the club, and will have a large affect on how the club enters and exits the turf, which will have a direct correlation with your ability to hit the center of the face.
THE TOP LINE
The top line of your club is the exact opposite of the location of the sole at the top of the face. While this is primarily going to be an aesthetic thing that concerns golfers who are very particular about the look of their irons, there can be advantages and disadvantages to the shape. The larger the top line is, the more technology is packed in that part of the club which usually means increased forgiveness. With more player’s preferred clubs that have smaller top lines the clubs can appear a little bit smaller and “easier” to manipulate. There’s also a variable CG trend for wedge sets that has meatier top lines depending on the loft of the club.
BACK CAVITY
The back cavity of the club is behind the face, and is going to vary in size and shape depending on the style of club that you are using. Today’s market also has options like the Edel SMS Family with some added technology in their adjustable weight ports. A larger cavity will lower the center of gravity of the club head and promote a higher ball flight. You’ll notice on smaller “player’s” clubs the cavity is going to get smaller, and then as you move into more traditional blade shapes the cavity is going to be nearly non-existent. The thinner this cavity gets the thinner the sole is going to be as well, which can result in a better ability to hit more down on the ball and take an easier divot, as there is less club that has to travel through the ground.
THE HOSEL
The hosel of the golf club, also sometimes incorrectly called the neck, is the area on the club where the shaft installs into the head and creates a transition from the shaft into the face of the iron. The way this shape flows into the leading edge of the face has a large bearing on the offset of the golf club, which is how far the face is away from the center of the hosel. The further forward the hosel is, the more offset that club head has, and will typically be more forgiving and useful for players who have a more shallow attack, and need help keeping the face behind the golf ball during impact. The hosel is also the position on the club head that gets bent. If you need to adjust lofts or lie angles of a club, the hosel takes the brunt of that adjustment, leaving the face and sole clean.
Thanks to our sponsor Edel Golf for supplying us with the product used to demonstrate this topic. For more information on all Edel Golf products or to find an authorized fitting center near you visit edelgolf.com
