Blade users thread (NO DEBATING CLUBHEADS! NO Buy Sell Trade!)

[bobbyclampett!!]

Just went out to take a few practice swings ahead of my tee time today. Another point to consider: when you bend over, the s curve in your lower back goes away a bit. Obviously if you bend over and touch your toes at some point that s curve in your lower back goes away altogether. In other words, it's slightly more natural to have a flat back when bending slightly than it is when you are standing h*** erectus style. Also, I've been trying to note whether the pros' backs are flat, and it seems a lot of them are quite flat.

 

Anyway, your point is well taken DeNins and I understand the role a flat back would play. It's a means to an end (stable rotational center in between shoulder sockets), which is itself a means to an end, and, since everyone seems to be enjoying the physics talk on Christmas morning, I'll take it to the next level (that being the spiritual, of course), and say that even hitting the ball well and straight is a means to an end, and that there may be many more levels than that, and there may even not be an end, but all a means, and that may be the fundamental reason why we all love this game so much.

 

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

 

Bobby

[Bigmean]

I am contemplating trespassing on a Really private course that is only closed one day a year.......yup, xmas. I will report back if I do it or not. I haven't done it in my 30s and my lifetime xmas record is probably 40% of time police had been called......thinking about the visiting relatives excuse but DL quickly destroys that....

[Sir Slicealot]

I am contemplating trespassing on a Really private course that is only closed one day a year.......yup, xmas. I will report back if I do it or not. I haven't done it in my 30s and my lifetime xmas record is probably 40% of time police had been called......thinking about the visiting relatives excuse but DL quickly destroys that....

 

Haaaave you heard of speed golf? Hahaha! Bet you don't take those Miuras on this run! Hahaha! Good luck brother! I enjoy pseudo legal play where I am an undocumented golfer on a private course. Golf cart screaming around on a hybrid tour of everything not near the club house!

[Sir Slicealot]

I'd straight up take six clubs and run like hell when the first person is observed holding a phone staring my way for too long.

[3_Jack_Par]

Sir Slicealot I liked it. Especially the colors part. And I totally got it. But then again, I like mind altering experiences... ;)

 

DeNins, I totally feel you and I knew you'd deliver with some thoughtful analysis. I think your post illustrates why working out and training has helped, as increased core strength helps both a) make the rotational center more solid and b) helps make the rotational center straighter, as the ab muscles play an important role in naturally flattening the spine. When I try to flatten my spine, I have the sensation of compressing my abs back up against it. The opposite would be a big gut that is hanging down, pulling that part of the rotational center (which is far away from the center pivot point of between the shoulder blades) down towards the ground as the shoulders try to rotate back and away from the ball. No bueno.

 

So the point is: yes, the spine is not perfectly flat, and that is one of the things that makes golf challenging, and one should not force the spine unnaturally or uncomfortably into a flat position at the expense of being mobile and fluid. BUT if you work out and eat healthy and have a strong core that doesn't hang down towards the ground, but rather naturally and comfortably compresses against the lower spine to make it flatter, then you don't have to compromise mobility and fluidity to more closely approach the geometrical ideal.

 

Even shorter point: being in good shape helps the athletic endeavor of hitting a golf ball far and straight.

 

Final final takeaway: duh.

 

Merry Christmas everyone. Wishing you flatter abs (for all sorts of reasons, but golf clearly being the most important) and a flatter spine in the New Year!

 

So to me the ultimate simple goal is to keep that center of the swing point to remain as stable as possible in order to maintain a repeatable swing action. If that center keeps moving, then so will the clubface position at impact. So a core physics foundation of a good swing is to have a very stable center.

 

And to make the action even more simple, I stopped trying to dictate whether or not one needs a perfectly flat spine and instead look at it as the simple goal of rotating the shoulders on a level and stable plane. Meaning, at whatever axis of rotation that they are on, they simply must stay on that same axis of rotation as much as possible throughout the downswing. Again, this is in support of maintaining that stable swing center. Also this is per your statement earlier about simple hinges in the swing. The shoulders have two simple functions in the downswing: 1) rotate on a consistent axis or plane and 2) rotate while maintaining the position of the center of the swing. And since swinging with a straight spine supports both of these functions, then it is in alignment with the proper swing physics, but at the same time it is not a requirement.

 

Happy Holidays to you too, my blade brother, bobby! And also to all WRXers!

I'm a simpleton when it comes to most of the geometry/physics here, but I have been working on something of a rebuild of my swing for about a month now, and I've found that a lot of my inconsistency is due to changes that occur to the various radii of the circles involved in the swing (shoulder turn, movement of the arms, and the club head). One of the first issues we addressed was in my setup, where my left arm was bent a little bit. That meant I had to make an immediate correction as soon as I started. The other big issue is that I stop turning my shoulders in the downswing, requiring that I stand up, and allowing centrifugal force to take over and throw the clubhead at the ball in a way that requires the use of my arms/wrists/hands to adgust to square the face. I'm effectively changing the center of the circle (which we consider to be the C7 vertebra (the one that sticks out at the base of the neck) , which means lots of adjustments to hit it solidly. Honestly, looking at it on video, it's amazing I hit it at all, let alone as solidly as I do. Still a ways to go, but I'm hoping to see serious improvement by the end of the winter.

 

Happy holidays to my blade-loving brothers and sisters out there!

[DeNinny]

So to me the ultimate simple goal is to keep that center of the swing point to remain as stable as possible in order to maintain a repeatable swing action. If that center keeps moving, then so will the clubface position at impact. So a core physics foundation of a good swing is to have a very stable center.

 

And to make the action even more simple, I stopped trying to dictate whether or not one needs a perfectly flat spine and instead look at it as the simple goal of rotating the shoulders on a level and stable plane. Meaning, at whatever axis of rotation that they are on, they simply must stay on that same axis of rotation as much as possible throughout the downswing. Again, this is in support of maintaining that stable swing center. Also this is per your statement earlier about simple hinges in the swing. The shoulders have two simple functions in the downswing: 1) rotate on a consistent axis or plane and 2) rotate while maintaining the position of the center of the swing. And since swinging with a straight spine supports both of these functions, then it is in alignment with the proper swing physics, but at the same time it is not a requirement.

 

Happy Holidays to you too, my blade brother, bobby! And also to all WRXers!

I'm a simpleton when it comes to most of the geometry/physics here, but I have been working on something of a rebuild of my swing for about a month now, and I've found that a lot of my inconsistency is due to changes that occur to the various radii of the circles involved in the swing (shoulder turn, movement of the arms, and the club head). One of the first issues we addressed was in my setup, where my left arm was bent a little bit. That meant I had to make an immediate correction as soon as I started. The other big issue is that I stop turning my shoulders in the downswing, requiring that I stand up, and allowing centrifugal force to take over and throw the clubhead at the ball in a way that requires the use of my arms/wrists/hands to adgust to square the face. I'm effectively changing the center of the circle (which we consider to be the C7 vertebra (the one that sticks out at the base of the neck) , which means lots of adjustments to hit it solidly. Honestly, looking at it on video, it's amazing I hit it at all, let alone as solidly as I do. Still a ways to go, but I'm hoping to see serious improvement by the end of the winter.

 

Happy holidays to my blade-loving brothers and sisters out there!

 

Good stuff here 3 Jack Frost. So yes absolutely the simple mindset is aligned with the physics. Simple swing motions equates to motions with the least potential for error. The most elegant engineered designs are often the most simple. The swing is no different. It starts with viewing it as a simple rotational model around that center that we are discussing. Like all planetary orbits that rotate around the Sun on a FLAT PLANE or like a hammer thrower winding up to throw that hammer, so should the overall mass of the swing rotate around that center. And by overall mass of the swing I mean the entire club and arms and hands as they rotate. And by swing center again that is the point directly between the shoulder sockets. The overall big picture, simple goal is to get that clubhead mass swinging at the highest velocity possible going into impact. And per Newton's laws of rotational motion, that overall mass, ideally, should rotate on a single and flat plane around its center because that rotation is the most efficient in terms of work and energy use. To NOT rotate on plane would require additional force to change that rotational motion. And to generate that force would then require the golfer to expend energy. This is inefficient, so again the ideal motion for the overall mass of the swing is a flat orbit around the point between the shoulder sockets. So ultimately it is imperative that that point return to the same exact point as the clubhead is going into impact.

 

And what you point out about multiple rotations amidst this single ideal is where the complication and potential for error arises because again it is complicating physics. There is a little more complexity than this but what you have essentially is two centrifugal motions occurring later in the swing and because they occur on differing planes, their forces are going to always be at odds with each other and so they will pull the mass of the swing at odds with itself, creating error or at least the potential for it, unless the conflicting forces are actually working IN UNISON with each other.

 

And by conflicting centrifugal motions I mean 1) that of the clubhead as it rotates around the wrists hinge and 2) that of the overall mass of the swing (the combination of arms, hands, and club) as it rotates around the swing center (as defined previously). Going into impact, both of these motions are occurring and again both will generate separate pulling centrifugal forces in different directions on both the golfer and clubhead as they occur. And so if a golfer does not balance these properly as he swings, he is going to have to waste energy trying to balance them and then that wasted energy is also going to create error.

 

And so the simple engineered solution to balancing these forces goes back to simple motions again: shoulders and hips turning on their own level planes so that they don't change their own momentum, arms raising and dropping in unison in the swing in straight arcing motions so again their momentum is along simple arcs, and then finally the wrists unhinge and trail elbow unhinge in simple straight arcing hinge actions. If all these motions were more complicated, then the swing would simply have more wasted motions than needed.

 

And to your point about letting centrifugal motion take over your swing, that is a good thing! But you are correct in that it is a flaw to stall your shoulders turn to allow it to happen. Again, stalling your shoulders or any part of your turn is NOT good from a pure physics perspective. Stalling causes the swing mass and overall momentum to change. Ideally, you want the overall swing mass and momentum to be in a constant acceleration going into impact. The clubhead should be accelerating as much and as smoothly as possible and this should be occurring as the overall mass of the swing is on a simple FLAT PLANE. But again, at the later part of the swing there is going to be that second plane of the clubhead pulling at the wrists as they are unhinging the clubhead into impact. But in this case this is where centrifugal force can be your friend if you balance it right. As you allow centrifugal force to pull that clubhead away from your body as you are turning with high and smooth acceleration, it will naturally occur on a plane because this is the ideal path from a physics perspective. This is the elegant beauty and simplicity of the physic behind a well engineered swing As you are making the initial downswing, you should simply drag the clubhead directly behind the hands as you turn. At this point the club is tucked close to the body so that you can turn the mass of the swing with low MOI. So initially you simply turn with this mass pointed just at the ball or slightly below the ball and the hands dragging the clubhead behind it as you turn. And then as you accelerate the clubhead this way the centrifugal force builds upon it and then towards the later part of the downswing you are simply extending your arms and unhinging your wrists such that you reach full extension to a point PAST impact and all the while the power of this was generated by allowing centrifugal force to efficiently generate clubhead speed.

 

This is as simple as I can make the physics of an ideal swing. The whole goal is learning how to balance those two centrifugal forces. It is where all the complications in the math behind the physics will arise and it will be where the majority of error in the swing will arise.

[bladehunter]

Something very interesting on auction now. Has anyone ever heard of this?

 

Titliest 712 blades, circle T Scotty Cameron edition, 1 of 3 sets made? They have a circle t cherry dot in flange, and a hand weld along the outline of the muscle, presumably done by Scotty. They are at a pretty high price, but this seems like something Cameron nuts would pay $5k+ for easy? Anyone ever heard of such a set?

 

 

Probably Donald's personal set. He always has played a Titleist blade . Some of his past sets have been beyond gorgeous.

[3_Jack_Par]

Yeah, I did a bad job of explaining my point--basically what I do is slow my shoulders down, but the club continues its momentum forward, causing a flippy release. It makes sense, because I'm longer than most with my driver and fairways where it's less of a disadvantage to release like that, but there are a lot of guys who I hit it past off the tee who hit less club than me into par 3s. Jacked lofts have a little to do with that, but it's mostly that at impact, my hands are about even with the ball). To give you an example, I hit my 8 iron (40* loft) about 160, and I can hit my driver in the neighborhood of 300 yards on a good strike. As hard as I swing, I should probably be about 10 yards longer with my irons. I don't really care about hitting it farther, as long as I consistently hit it the same distance (which I do with my SB-1s better than with any irons I've ever played), but if that's an ancillary benefit of what I'm working on, I won't complain.

[Kathy Marie]

Here's hoping all my Blade Lovin' Peeps had Happy Holidays today, whatever flavor you celebrate!!

 

:wave:

 

 

Kathy

[Sir Slicealot]

So if I am hitting my irons like a boss at what point does this long distance no longer become a good thing? At some point we expect small spheroid to land on green blob rolling toward recessed drain screen. There is a point where I am going with ego getting in the way of scoring. If my bloody 9 iron requires me to carry four wedges because of its loft then how wonderful is it really? At some point are we going to end up inside of all of our clubs range and have the delicate task of a partial shot with something long. Therefore why do I care that my 7 iron goes 160 vs. 150? If my 8 iron went 160 I'd be pretty annoyed. It strikes me that life is a lot easier if the club is shorter as far as scoring irons go. I feel like I am more precise at the winning end of the bag as opposed to having all long clubs and I am then stuck with a top heavy bag. Besides the necessity for many wedges really cramps my 1, 2, 3, iron totage and that is what really matters to me. I don't want to beat you. I want to make you envious of my long irons and find any excuse to play the 1-3i.

[3_Jack_Par]

So if I am hitting my irons like a boss at what point does this long distance no longer become a good thing? At some point we expect small spheroid to land on green blob rolling toward recessed drain screen. There is a point where I am going with ego getting in the way of scoring. If my bloody 9 iron requires me to carry four wedges because of its loft then how wonderful is it really? At some point are we going to end up inside of all of our clubs range and have the delicate task of a partial shot with something long. Therefore why do I care that my 7 iron goes 160 vs. 150? If my 8 iron went 160 I'd be pretty annoyed. It strikes me that life is a lot easier if the club is shorter as far as scoring irons go. I feel like I am more precise at the winning end of the bag as opposed to having all long clubs and I am then stuck with a top heavy bag. Besides the necessity for many wedges really cramps my 1, 2, 3, iron totage and that is what really matters to me. I don't want to beat you. I want to make you envious of my long irons and find any excuse to play the 1-3i.

Guys tend to obsess over distance, but assuming you can strike the ball somewhat effectively and consistently, the number on the bottom of the club doesn't matter, as long as you can hit it the distance you want when you want. Even a lot of the really good players I play with basically swing 100% on every iron shot. I'm a bit of a throwback in that I tend to swing less than full, and try to control distance with a little more feel and by controlling trajectory to keep it out of the wind. I've managed to put my ego in check a bit over the last few years, and I'm content to hit an extra club compared to what other guys are hitting.

If you turn into a ball striking machine who hits it a mile, you'll probably add an extra wedge or two, but that doesn't mean you have to drop the long irons. Nothing says "player" like a bag with only one headcover (maybe a second one for the putter)...as long as you have the game to back it up. Roll up to the first tee, pull 1 iron, stripe it 260 down the middle (this is WRX, so maybe more like 280), and just watch your playing partners hand you their wallets right there. Just be careful that you don't get hurt by all of their wives rushing you simultaneously and throwing themselves at you. :)

[Sir Slicealot]

So if I am hitting my irons like a boss at what point does this long distance no longer become a good thing? At some point we expect small spheroid to land on green blob rolling toward recessed drain screen. There is a point where I am going with ego getting in the way of scoring. If my bloody 9 iron requires me to carry four wedges because of its loft then how wonderful is it really? At some point are we going to end up inside of all of our clubs range and have the delicate task of a partial shot with something long. Therefore why do I care that my 7 iron goes 160 vs. 150? If my 8 iron went 160 I'd be pretty annoyed. It strikes me that life is a lot easier if the club is shorter as far as scoring irons go. I feel like I am more precise at the winning end of the bag as opposed to having all long clubs and I am then stuck with a top heavy bag. Besides the necessity for many wedges really cramps my 1, 2, 3, iron totage and that is what really matters to me. I don't want to beat you. I want to make you envious of my long irons and find any excuse to play the 1-3i.

Guys tend to obsess over distance, but assuming you can strike the ball somewhat effectively and consistently, the number on the bottom of the club doesn't matter, as long as you can hit it the distance you want when you want. Even a lot of the really good players I play with basically swing 100% on every iron shot. I'm a bit of a throwback in that I tend to swing less than full, and try to control distance with a little more feel and by controlling trajectory to keep it out of the wind. I've managed to put my ego in check a bit over the last few years, and I'm content to hit an extra club compared to what other guys are hitting.

If you turn into a ball striking machine who hits it a mile, you'll probably add an extra wedge or two, but that doesn't mean you have to drop the long irons. Nothing says "player" like a bag with only one headcover (maybe a second one for the putter)...as long as you have the game to back it up. Roll up to the first tee, pull 1 iron, stripe it 260 down the middle (this is WRX, so maybe more like 280), and just watch your playing partners hand you their wallets right there. Just be careful that you don't get hurt by all of their wives rushing you simultaneously and throwing themselves at you. :)

Thank you for this post. I laughed very hard. :cheesy:

I'm not a guy with a player bag. I'm a guy who plays the clubs I like the ball flight of and look nice. I try to do this golf game business in a way that works for me in the moment and then read about how the big dogs do it and try to work on that. I don't have a strong wood game especially off the deck, my hybrid is my security blankie, I prefer to hit my irons off the deck at the tee box and I will roar like a viking when I nut the long irons. Besides I like being that guy that hits the one iron a country mile riiiight after someone tells me NO effing WAY bro...big motivator. I need to channel that focus consistently and get those irons dialed in.

[Kathy Marie]

Nothing says "player" like a bag with only one headcover (maybe a second one for the putter)...as long as you have the game to back it up. Roll up to the first tee, pull 1 iron, stripe it 260 down the middle (this is WRX, so maybe more like 280), and just watch your playing partners hand you their wallets right there. Just be careful that you don't get hurt by all of their wives rushing you simultaneously and throwing themselves at you. :)

 

So Jack, assuming you're speaking from experience here and trying to be, ahhhh, a bit delicate....

 

WHAT INJURIES did you sustain??

 

 

;)

 

 

KM

PS :air_kiss:

[3_Jack_Par]

Nothing says "player" like a bag with only one headcover (maybe a second one for the putter)...as long as you have the game to back it up. Roll up to the first tee, pull 1 iron, stripe it 260 down the middle (this is WRX, so maybe more like 280), and just watch your playing partners hand you their wallets right there. Just be careful that you don't get hurt by all of their wives rushing you simultaneously and throwing themselves at you. :)

 

So Jack, assuming you're speaking from experience here and trying to be, ahhhh, a bit delicate....

 

WHAT INJURIES did you sustain??

 

 

;)

 

 

KM

PS :air_kiss:

A gentleman never tells...

:swoon:

[Kathy Marie]

A gentleman never tells...

:swoon:

 

Jack,

 

Would that more golfers were Gentlemen like you...

 

Well Played, Sir, Well Played Indeed!! :good:

 

I'm TOOLed right now, but will like your post as soon as I can,

 

 

:wave:

 

 

Kathy

[bobbyclampett!!]

I also make inappropriately loud noises of jubilation when I nut a bullet 3 iron off the tee that screams off the middle of the MB straight down the fairway. Especially early in the season when they are much rarer and there are lots of failures in between the good ones. A couple months ago my buddy and I were paired up with a nice young couple and on about the 8th hole I hit a dream shot with 3i and I yelled "Oh my God I want to have s** with that shot!" That was probably a bit much.

 

Finished up the Tucson trip. 81 holes in 4 days. I'm discovering there is a very small window between when you finally get warmed up and when you run out of steam. My window lasted about 11 holes where I was even par (holes 63-74), then I was worn out and wheels came off. Still awesome to get out. Far ahead of where I was last year on my Tucson trip and that was in February. It's going to be a good year.

[3woodvt]

Back into blades after a 10 year absence and all I can say is what was I thinking. Played match today with 12 of us in 45* weather. a +4.4 and a +2.3 and 4 others 0-1 hcp.

Won 2 closest to the pins with 8 iron to 12 feet and a 5 iron with baby draw to 7 feet. Throw in 2 skins and with 4 birdies on a 6550 course playing like it was 7000 (all carry wet from 2 days of rain and cold). Yeah loving my new blades. Driver's get all the attention but it's the iron game and the putter that wins.

[3woodvt]

So if I am hitting my irons like a boss at what point does this long distance no longer become a good thing? At some point we expect small spheroid to land on green blob rolling toward recessed drain screen. There is a point where I am going with ego getting in the way of scoring. If my bloody 9 iron requires me to carry four wedges because of its loft then how wonderful is it really? At some point are we going to end up inside of all of our clubs range and have the delicate task of a partial shot with something long. Therefore why do I care that my 7 iron goes 160 vs. 150? If my 8 iron went 160 I'd be pretty annoyed. It strikes me that life is a lot easier if the club is shorter as far as scoring irons go. I feel like I am more precise at the winning end of the bag as opposed to having all long clubs and I am then stuck with a top heavy bag. Besides the necessity for many wedges really cramps my 1, 2, 3, iron totage and that is what really matters to me. I don't want to beat you. I want to make you envious of my long irons and find any excuse to play the 1-3i.

Guys tend to obsess over distance, but assuming you can strike the ball somewhat effectively and consistently, the number on the bottom of the club doesn't matter, as long as you can hit it the distance you want when you want. Even a lot of the really good players I play with basically swing 100% on every iron shot. I'm a bit of a throwback in that I tend to swing less than full, and try to control distance with a little more feel and by controlling trajectory to keep it out of the wind. I've managed to put my ego in check a bit over the last few years, and I'm content to hit an extra club compared to what other guys are hitting.

If you turn into a ball striking machine who hits it a mile, you'll probably add an extra wedge or two, but that doesn't mean you have to drop the long irons. Nothing says "player" like a bag with only one headcover (maybe a second one for the putter)...as long as you have the game to back it up. Roll up to the first tee, pull 1 iron, stripe it 260 down the middle (this is WRX, so maybe more like 280), and just watch your playing partners hand you their wallets right there. Just be careful that you don't get hurt by all of their wives rushing you simultaneously and throwing themselves at you. :)

You had me till the wives part....Nice post.

[Rocuronium]

Does anyone here have skytrak? I am going to ask in another area, and I have literally read everything google has to offer, but I trust this groups opinions. From what I can gather it is legit. I WILL have a simulator in my next house, and from what I can tell, this unit should be just fine to practice with meaning. What really sold me is a dude on wrx from Tampa who is like a +3 and he really found it productive. Balancing life and family and all that, I really don't have a problem hitting off a mat at home as long as my data is close enough. I can feel most shots, but I lose it at low irons and woods, and I don't want to develop net flaws, but not paying for range time ever again and being able to hit 50 balls a day I think would go a long way. Anyway, just throwing it out, as I can swing skytrak, and can probably swing a used GC2 from the go,fsmnith going under by me, but I don't want to fall into an expensive trap with this, if skytrak is 95% of gc2, I can have anew skytrack and eventual simulator in garage for as much as a heavily used gc2 from a box store....

 

I am content hitting into a Net with iPad results, for practice, it I will do the projector and screen in next house with simulator software because at that point it is a badass video game for a little effort and another $1500.

 

Any thoughts from the crew?

 

I know you asked this a while back, but I have a SkyTrak and I think it's great. I would consider it quite accurate.

Oh, and this thread has me thinking about picking up a set of blades.

 

Does anyone here have skytrak? I am going to ask in another area, and I have literally read everything google has to offer, but I trust this groups opinions. From what I can gather it is legit. I WILL have a simulator in my next house, and from what I can tell, this unit should be just fine to practice with meaning. What really sold me is a dude on wrx from Tampa who is like a +3 and he really found it productive. Balancing life and family and all that, I really don't have a problem hitting off a mat at home as long as my data is close enough. I can feel most shots, but I lose it at low irons and woods, and I don't want to develop net flaws, but not paying for range time ever again and being able to hit 50 balls a day I think would go a long way. Anyway, just throwing it out, as I can swing skytrak, and can probably swing a used GC2 from the go,fsmnith going under by me, but I don't want to fall into an expensive trap with this, if skytrak is 95% of gc2, I can have anew skytrack and eventual simulator in garage for as much as a heavily used gc2 from a box store....

 

I am content hitting into a Net with iPad results, for practice, it I will do the projector and screen in next house with simulator software because at that point it is a badass video game for a little effort and another $1500.

 

Any thoughts from the crew?

 

I know you asked this a while back, but I have a SkyTrak and I think it's great. I would consider it quite accurate.

Oh, and this thread has me thinking about picking up a set of blades.

[bobbyclampett!!]

Back into blades after a 10 year absence and all I can say is what was I thinking. Played match today with 12 of us in 45* weather. a +4.4 and a +2.3 and 4 others 0-1 hcp.

Won 2 closest to the pins with 8 iron to 12 feet and a 5 iron with baby draw to 7 feet. Throw in 2 skins and with 4 birdies on a 6550 course playing like it was 7000 (all carry wet from 2 days of rain and cold). Yeah loving my new blades. Driver's get all the attention but it's the iron game and the putter that wins.

 

Sweet. Sounds fun. What blades were you using?

[3woodvt]

Back into blades after a 10 year absence and all I can say is what was I thinking. Played match today with 12 of us in 45* weather. a +4.4 and a +2.3 and 4 others 0-1 hcp.

Won 2 closest to the pins with 8 iron to 12 feet and a 5 iron with baby draw to 7 feet. Throw in 2 skins and with 4 birdies on a 6550 course playing like it was 7000 (all carry wet from 2 days of rain and cold). Yeah loving my new blades. Driver's get all the attention but it's the iron game and the putter that wins.

 

Sweet. Sounds fun. What blades were you using?

Picked up a set of Srixon Z945's w KBS120's about 2 weeks ago at a good price and had em bent and off we go. In truth a buddy of mine we played in a shootout captains choice deal had some Callaway Apex MB's with Nippon 130's in them and I hit his 8 iron one time and knew I had to come home.

[Sir Slicealot]

I also make inappropriately loud noises of jubilation when I nut a bullet 3 iron off the tee that screams off the middle of the MB straight down the fairway. Especially early in the season when they are much rarer and there are lots of failures in between the good ones. A couple months ago my buddy and I were paired up with a nice young couple and on about the 8th hole I hit a dream shot with 3i and I yelled "Oh my God I want to have s** with that shot!" That was probably a bit much.

 

 

21 degrees vs. 15 degrees...for me it's much more difficult to achieve zen shot with the 1 than the 3. I really need to amp up my swing speed to overcome lie limitations where I might as well have swung a four iron.

[3woodvt]

What's the thoughts in here with the Mizuno MP-H5 driving irons the 16* 1 iron and 18* 2 iron? I know they not blades but I'm a little chicken to go lower than the 4 right now being a recent returnee to blades or is it blade 1-2-3 and the heck with the crossovers. Hope to not get drilled to bad on this string for going off topic. I purchased a U45 20* to replace an aging A12 hybrid as I'm experiencing a renewed love for the iron game currently, again a little scared of keep going down w blades and to keep set matching.

[bobbyclampett!!]

What's the thoughts in here with the Mizuno MP-H5 driving irons the 16* 1 iron and 18* 2 iron? I know they not blades but I'm a little chicken to go lower than the 4 right now being a recent returnee to blades or is it blade 1-2-3 and the heck with the crossovers. Hope to not get drilled to bad on this string for going off topic. I purchased a U45 20* to replace an aging A12 hybrid as I'm experiencing a renewed love for the iron game currently, again a little scared of keep going down w blades and to keep set matching.

 

Haha no worries on going off topic. Nothing is OB here if it's done with respect, humility, and a genuine sense of curiosity. At least, I hope this is true, especially in this regard, as a few 20 pages ago, I brought up this exact question. I was searching for the ultimate low bullet driving iron, and everyone here was extremely helpful. I tried everything from the Mizuno Fli-Hi to 1960s 1 irons.

 

Although I was initially tempted by the Fli-Hi, thinking it was easier to hit and more forgiving, it didn't have that solid thwack, and when the honeymoon period ended after a couple rounds, I realized it wasn't more forgiving, and the dispersion was wildly worse than dispersion with MB (see any of DeNinny's posts as to why this is).

 

So I ended up with a pure MB Cobra ACP (and Fly Z Pro) 3 iron. I also took a lesson, and it was pointed out that I was hanging back on my right side with my irons, and launching the ball up into the air, creating a ballooning, weak ball flight. My instructor got me more on my left side earlier in the down swing, with my upper center above my left heel at impact. This has created a much lower, more penetrating ball flight, and 3i at 21 degrees is plenty low if you are striking it right, IMHO. I think that's why you don't see many pros with MB 2 or 1 irons.

 

Anyway, it always leads back to MB, and the satisfaction of that solid thwack. You will not get that with Fli-Hi, and although it might be easier to trampoline it out there (maybe?), that trampoline is going to put you all over the course (trees, OB, deep rough). A mishit with an MB will just go a little shorter, and you might have a 4 iron into the green instead of that 7-8-9 iron you were hoping for, but hey, you found it, and you can hit it, and now you get to hit an MB 4 iron into the green, which if you pull off will be spectacular, and if you fail you will just be somewhere up by the green with a fun pitch or chip shot. You get up and down, nice par. You don't, bogey and move on. So much more fun that blasting your ball off the planet, reloading, looking for it all day, writing down an X or a made up score, ruining your round with a triple bogey, etc., all things that happen to me when I use a trampoline for a golf club.

 

Just my .02. Good luck!

[DeNinny]

The first step in getting over your fear of the long iron blade is to understand that the very same science that justifies playing a blade short iron applies equally to the long ones. The second step is realizing that your own confirmation bias is hurting you when you stand over a blade long iron thinking that you can't hit it due to some ill conceived notion that there is some sort of negative physics at play. Again there is only the same beneficial science as there is with blade short irons.

[Sir Slicealot]

The Fli-Hi II loves the right shaft. Get the wrong one and welcome to sprayville.

[Sir edward of putternut]

Its the game show, "is it a blade!",

 

One of these are not blades....make it fun, dont zoom in and try to look for any reflective detail. For an additional prize (honor), see if u can name the clubs too...font should maje company obvious.

[3woodvt]

middle one is an imposter.

[3woodvt]

What's the thoughts in here with the Mizuno MP-H5 driving irons the 16* 1 iron and 18* 2 iron? I know they not blades but I'm a little chicken to go lower than the 4 right now being a recent returnee to blades or is it blade 1-2-3 and the heck with the crossovers. Hope to not get drilled to bad on this string for going off topic. I purchased a U45 20* to replace an aging A12 hybrid as I'm experiencing a renewed love for the iron game currently, again a little scared of keep going down w blades and to keep set matching.

 

Haha no worries on going off topic. Nothing is OB here if it's done with respect, humility, and a genuine sense of curiosity. At least, I hope this is true, especially in this regard, as a few 20 pages ago, I brought up this exact question. I was searching for the ultimate low bullet driving iron, and everyone here was extremely helpful. I tried everything from the Mizuno Fli-Hi to 1960s 1 irons.

 

Although I was initially tempted by the Fli-Hi, thinking it was easier to hit and more forgiving, it didn't have that solid thwack, and when the honeymoon period ended after a couple rounds, I realized it wasn't more forgiving, and the dispersion was wildly worse than dispersion with MB (see any of DeNinny's posts as to why this is).

 

So I ended up with a pure MB Cobra ACP (and Fly Z Pro) 3 iron. I also took a lesson, and it was pointed out that I was hanging back on my right side with my irons, and launching the ball up into the air, creating a ballooning, weak ball flight. My instructor got me more on my left side earlier in the down swing, with my upper center above my left heel at impact. This has created a much lower, more penetrating ball flight, and 3i at 21 degrees is plenty low if you are striking it right, IMHO. I think that's why you don't see many pros with MB 2 or 1 irons.

 

Anyway, it always leads back to MB, and the satisfaction of that solid thwack. You will not get that with Fli-Hi, and although it might be easier to trampoline it out there (maybe?), that trampoline is going to put you all over the course (trees, OB, deep rough). A mishit with an MB will just go a little shorter, and you might have a 4 iron into the green instead of that 7-8-9 iron you were hoping for, but hey, you found it, and you can hit it, and now you get to hit an MB 4 iron into the green, which if you pull off will be spectacular, and if you fail you will just be somewhere up by the green with a fun pitch or chip shot. You get up and down, nice par. You don't, bogey and move on. So much more fun that blasting your ball off the planet, reloading, looking for it all day, writing down an X or a made up score, ruining your round with a triple bogey, etc., all things that happen to me when I use a trampoline for a golf club.

 

Just my .02. Good luck!

thanks for the opinions as I will probably be testing to figure it out. I play pretty 'hilly' golf courses where the delofting and adding lofting can be significant sometimes. Flat lies which are usually only on the tee box make it pretty easy to feel a little more confident but with those down hill lies it can sometimes get a little tricky.

[3woodvt]

The first step in getting over your fear of the long iron blade is to understand that the very same science that justifies playing a blade short iron applies equally to the long ones. The second step is realizing that your own confirmation bias is hurting you when you stand over a blade long iron thinking that you can't hit it due to some ill conceived notion that there is some sort of negative physics at play. Again there is only the same beneficial science as there is with blade short irons.

I see myself at the range only hitting low lofted irons in the near future. Thank you. I've found I've been very successful in a short time with my 4 and 5 irons so maybe it's mental as you mention.