So you wanna' be a good ol' boy and move up to playing muscle back irons? At the same time, you're not entirely interested in playing military golf (left, right, left...), which is often the case for those playing blade-style irons who should in fact be playing more forgiving cavity backs.

     At first glance, Prairie Golf's new irons may look like a happy medium between the old and new. Generally, for what it's worth, they strike me as an improvement and advancement on the old-style irons rather than a new iron trying to be traditional (say Levis vs. Old Navy). This humble and sensible approach to design and technology is to be commended. Why reinvent the wheel when you can simply make it better?

     These irons have a blade-like, thin top line but also the modern copper tungsten heel/toe inserts, which are intended to balance the club head weight. The feel at impact is very much like that of a forged club. The forgiveness is not nearly as forgiving as my favorite priest, but a few Hail Mary's and several buckets into hitting these irons, I found them to be more forgiving than my old Fluid Feel Wilson Staffs (incidentally, the first clubs I owned). They are not, however, as forgiving as such standard cavity back irons--even smaller-headed models--such as the original Ping Eye 2's or the T.A. 845's.

     Unlike many blades/muscle backs, these clubs have a noticeable progressive offset, which I think is a must for the average golfer. The slightly oversized club heads appear to be a hybrid between blades, muscle backs, and cavity backs. In sum, I found that the blade/muscle back design features over-powered the cavity back aspect of the clubs. I don't think these are beginner clubs, nor do I think they are necessarily the best choice for the weekend hack and/or duffer. They are simply not forgiving enough. But, they are more accurate, provide better distance and alignment accuracy, and are light years ahead of most cavity backs in feel and feedback.

     The cambered sole is very narrow and will taking some learning if you play the fat soled heads so common from the last decade. The narrow sole allows for an easier glide through the rough. In fact, I think these clubs are very good from the rough, with the caveat of having to grip firmly. But the narrow sole also creates a sharper edge and on bent grass fairways or loose, wet lies, you have to beware of Mr. Fat Shot. These clubs seem to be designed for those golfers that like to nip the ball--you know, that difficult task of actually controlling ball-flight through proper impact instead of just whacking through the point of impact (wherever it is) toward your target line.

     The swing weight of all but the shortest iron felt a little too light to me. The club head seems fairly heavy but the overall club weight is heavy enough to counterbalance the typical feeling of a "rock on a stick" to which I'm accustomed. I just couldn't feel the head enough during my downswing. The Golden Bear used a heavy head and added back weight to his grip; maybe the Pathfinder's light feel makes use of a similar design. This is nothing, however, a little lead tape can't fix, which I may try soon and will of course give you an update on.

     Absolutely no complaints about the Harrison stepless (riflesque) shafts, which I ordered in Stiff flex. They are great. The feedback is above average and the torque is low.

     One of best features about these irons was their almost surgical feel around the green. They are some of the best chipping irons (6-8 irons) I've ever used. The second best is their windmill & arrow logos, very likeable to this Midwesterner. One of the worst features was the long iron toe slice. If you hit these on the toe, you'll know. (The heel shot, on the other hand, was not nearly as severe as it was on the toe.)

     In sum, the irons are obviously built with a very high standard of workmanship. They are a reasonably priced alternative to the much more expensive forged irons and slightly more forgiving. In the end, despite the cavity back and tungsten inserts, they are still very workable, sometimes perhaps even more workable than an average golfer might want.

     When I read all of the clubs' listed features and then try to put the multitude of somewhat competing features into play, I wonder sometimes if Prairie Golf tried to put too many good things into this set of clubs. Would two alternative sets of irons have been better? I don't know. Regardless, I have no doubt that Prairie Golf is on to something good here and you should give their irons a practice round before you buy your next set of muscle backs or blades.