Kevin Na vs WRX

[Bad9]

I guess like a few others I have been lucky. In my 35yrs playing the game I have never experienced a "flier" that was due to the design of the club. And you can't dispute my sense of feel because I can absolutely tell when I hit several families of G series irons towards the toe as readily as the I series and even S55's and Wilson Staff blades.

[DavePelz4]

We haven't golfed in IL for a while so things might have changed, but isn't the objective of the game to shoot the lowest score?

[Golfingfanatic]

Am I the only one who thinks it is a little funny that he says he does not see the point in blades yet is perfectly content with his low MOI Toulon Blade putter?

[MK7Golf21]

you don't see them much because better players usually get fit for their clubs and nowadays fitters will not fit anyone into a blade unless you play on the pga tour and I would think even a pga tour player would have to suggest it to them. That's how trained fitters are nowadays away from blades. Regarding fliers, the difference between a players cavity and a blade is very minimal so there isn't much a difference for fliers, either will work fine. Saying that, I have definitely hit many fliers with my iblades and ap2's in the past.

[MtlJeff]

I'd probably agree with you there, i've only watched a few real fittings other than my own but i could definitely see that.

Oh i'm not saying fliers don't exist , just want to clarify that. If you get a weird lie in the rough the ball can jump out. But i just mean as you say, that can happen with a G410 as easily as that can happen with an Iblade.

What i don't agree with are the posts where guys make it sound as if one 7 iron will go 150 and the next one 170 with the same swing , same circumstances. Like it's the club that is performing that erratically. That just hasn't been my experience. I've used most types of clubs over the years from S59 and Mp32's all the way to G15's and G410s, and a lot of stuff in between!

[wobgon]

And just like that we have another blade or no blade thread. For those who say NA is good because of his short game and is not a "high swing speed player" what do you think his swing speed is with say, a 6 iron?

[Sean2]

At the end of the day, golf is a game. People should be allowed to play it and enjoy it as they see fit without people saying or suggesting how they should play it.

[Titleist_PT23]

How many people think they could take Na? Asking both straight up and playing a scramble with themselves.

[MK7Golf21]

Na has the Swing Speed and skill to play blades, he just doesn't prefer them. It's that simple really.

[GoGoErky]

Just looking at titleist staffers shows this isn’t anything earth shattering.

[Bad9]

I'd say bout 50% because they hit it further than he does.

[DFS PFD]

If all unoriginal topics (blades v cb, etc. ) are gonna end up closed, WRX may be tough to sustain traffic considering the already extremely limited scope of discussion that they want moderate into an even smaller subset of topics we're "allowed" to discuss....

 

And yes, I realize this thread is still open. For now

[braincramp52]

I think blades are pretty. ?

[Dan Drake]

I'm as long, or slightly longer than Mr. Na. So, given that advantage that I would have over him, I would need to play at MINIMUM a 3 person scramble by myself to be able to compete with him. I think with 4 attempts at each shot I would be able to take him and with only 2 attempts he would beat me.

Just a guess, #IplayCB's, and all in good fun, of course!

[Jc0]

You also have to remember what he wants from forgiveness and what a normal player want are very different. A normal player mishits it, it goes 2 yards further right with a blade, and they now have a 6ft longer put. Na hits a blade, it goes 2 yards farther right, ball ends up rolling down a ridge or ends up a bunker. At the pro level the goal is limiting mistakes and he doesn't want his equipment to be a factor.

[Shilgy]

Well duh!!! Like the 4 cap vs the LPGA player if the wrx’r can get Na on a long course Na would have no chance lol.

[WristySwing]

A normal person mishitting a blade is typically them fatting the heck out of it, shanking it, topping it, or having zero sense of face control and hitting a wild pull or push. A normal player who ended up 2 yards of where they were aiming likely felt absolutely nothing different in the strike than if they hit the exact shot they envisioned. Also 2 yards offline for a tour pro ending up in a ravine or a bunker wasn't a smart shot to begin with. The reason pros score so well is they typically eliminate the stupid shots and know when to just get their par and run to the next tee. Amateurs have a really, really bad time with this. Most see a pin and fire at it no matter what, or pull that hybrid/fairway waiting for the well-protected green to clear instead of just hitting a 9i-SW into the green close, taking their guaranteed bogey and getting out of there. Instead they bring the danger into play because they think that one birdie, or even more improbable eagle, is the ticket to turning their bad game around into something memorable. Then they hit the shot well into the junk either due to a severe ego problem vs. actual distance or a poor strike and now they are praying for a bogey but will likely walk off with worse. And repeat.

Using the data from Arccos, they found that even very good low handicap players (0-5) are still on average 40+ feet (13 yards) away from the pin standing at least 60 yards away, this increases to 62 feet (21 yards) for your highest handicaps. At 100-120 yards this increases incrementally for the good players to 48 feet (16 yards) and shifts to 83 feet (27 yards) for your 20+ handicaps. That's right, a 20 handicap player will likely still only cover ~75% of the distance from the hole standing at 100 yards. Or worse, they will cover that yardage, but it is still such a poor contact shot that they end up 27 yards offline of target. This is averages of course, but it still lends itself to imagine most of these shots are likely far, far worse and the amount of better shots (10ft, etc.) are fewer and far between.

These are the types of players who argue that they have the face control and ball striking prowess to play blades. Just check the handicap tag on most threads, there are a heck of a lot of double digit handicaps that vouch for blades when the data clearly shows that these types of players average at least 55 feet away from the pin at 120 and in. Those are some real solid ball strikers, for sure https://www.arccosgolf.com/blogs/community/course-management-101-what-layup-yardage-is-your-sweet-spot

[jons1]

Play the bag that fits the course and game you play.

There are pros and cons with everything. Do what works for you.

Most good amateurs can play blades well because they play courses that are 6500 or less with little rough. They have 7 iron or less into most greens. You don’t have to be a pro to get a short iron blade into a receptive green. Start playing 7500 yard course and hitting 4 irons into greens, and you’d be silly to play blades if you do it for any other reason than it makes you happy.

It’s all relative. I’ve played blades, CBs, GIs... really didn’t make much of a difference. I found the closer to a blade, the better the short irons would be. The closer to game improvement, the better the long irons would be. So for most people a mixed bag makes the most sense. Best of both worlds.

[dcfas]

Yeah, I think they were the Srixon ZT-X irons. I recall seeing a picture of the four iron and thought no way.

[kcsf]

If I made my living through playing, I'd probably use cavity back irons too. But I don't, so I don't.

Play what makes you happy.

[tbowles411]

No argument from me. In our shop we've fit a lot of blades, but we've taken more blades out of bags than anything at all levels. Many single digits take the blades out when they want the forgiveness and distance a cavity back brings. When a guy who sings for his supper week in and week out figures it out, it's progress and another reminder the golf is hard enough. We should be making the game easier and more people participating in it.

[bubbagump]

His logic makes sense but still comes down to who gives a F lol, play whatever you want.

Though I will say, this reminds me of one of the more classic Golfwrx'ier things I have always loved. The concept of dudes using blades on the range to "hone in ball striking", then go out and play with SGI clubs in the rounds. Always made me chuckle when that was put out there.

[braincramp52]

This^

[Sensationals]

I get it Na, why give yourself a disadvantage especially if youre playing for money. But damn those blades do sure look good in my bag!

[wobgon]

[Nels55]

I am one who has practiced with more difficult to hit clubs in order to try to improve my ball striking. I actually think that it can help but there are blades like 50's clubs that have the sweet spot rather close to the hosel and there are modern blades with the sweet spot more out in the middle. Practicing with the really old blades can be counter productive because I will end up hitting my gamers too close to the heel after such practice. Anyway it is more of a mental thing than anything else. For instance if I try hitting a persimmon driver for a while and then switch to a modern driver it will feel like hitting good shots is so easy that it is cheating. LOL of course that feeling goes away pretty quickly...

[vman]

On a recent podcast here with Rocco Mediate, he stated that he had a set of Blueprints built to practise with but never had any intention of playing a tournament with them. Anyway it's an interesting listen, he along with Monty are 2 who love a friendly GI iron.

[mahonie]

Didn’t Na shoot 16 on a par 4? I’ve never shot 16 on a par 4...on a par 3 yes, but never on a par 4...just sayin’.

[ode1]

I wish we didn't have to social distance, cuz I'd buy you a beer ?!

[Myherobobhope]

I've been thinking a lot about golf in my downtime (i miss you, golf! Do you miss me?)... One of my biggest takeaways is:

80% of amateur golfers aren't working to improve their games, and of the 20% left, 80% aren't working productively to improve their game... I'm currently working very hard to get better at golf. Gear is a consideration, but not much of one... Strategy, learning my strengths and weaknesses, and exploiting one while whittling away at the other... that's what is going to chip away at my handicap. Personally, I need to roll better putts, and significantly improve my performance on shots 150 yards and in to improve.

Blades vs GI is an after round argument that gets people engaged and ultimately doesn't matter. The great part about golf is you are responsible for your own score, especially at the amateur level.

Your results may vary, but for me, playing blades doesn't make any sense... I don't work the ball that often, and wish I pured irons more. My goal is to minimize mistakes during my round, so it doesn't make sense to play blades.