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

[revanant]

Took my MP-4s out for a spin yesterday. Shot 48 on 9, though my iron striking was a bit of a mixed bag. Was walking and carrying in 90+ heat, so it was mostly fatigue leading to mistakes.

 

However, what I am finding is that, since my course has a lot of uneven lies even in the fairway, the MP-4 sole gives me a lot of flexibility.

 

I did, however, end with an excellent 9 iron on the final par 3. Pin was in a tricky placement, and ball flight was exactly how I drew it up—slight fade that flew directly at the pin.

 

Got another 9 in a few hours, then 18 on Monday, and then Bethpage Red during the week. Fingers crossed that I can get onto Black instead, but I hear Red is wonderful, too.

[Nard_S]

Black course is a beast, be careful what you wish for, lol. The whole Bethpage park is quite nice and has tons of acreage. Good luck.

[amir169]

Got myself a set of sweet new MP5s (although would require a different set of shafts) for cheap! Paid about 200USD for it, on the lookout for a 4 iron now.

 

[Nard_S]

Played my 2nd 18 of the year. 39/46 for 85. Front was yeah, okay but back played ugly for 5 of the holes, had 3 doubles but I figured flaw that have derailed things and was respectable for last 4. Have a huge issue of completing shoulder turn on the course but in practice, it's not a problem. Explains the caveman routine a lot more.

[Sebmour]

Love my new Cobra King forged

 

[Christen_The_Sloop]

 

> As for wedges, I tried the Ping Glide Forged, Honma TW-747s, Bridgestone XW-1s, and the Cleveland RTX4 forged. The Pings were OK but pricey; the Honmas were probably the best for most shots except full shots, but they felt a bit dead to me; the Bridegstones were nice, and the cheapest, but I think the RTX4 forged edged them out and the price difference over the Bridgestones wasn't enormous (1,000 yen a club).

>

You can also get those Cleveland forged raw for an extra 4000.

 

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

I forgot to ask them about that, but it's pretty tempting. If I buy 4 wedges, though, it's going to run the cost up to get all 4 done, so I'm only considering the raw option for the 58* and maybe/probably the 52*.

[revanant]

> @Nard_S said:

> Black course is a beast, be careful what you wish for, lol. The whole Bethpage park is quite nice and has tons of acreage. Good luck.

 

Thanks! Today’s round went well—shot 47 and ended on a birdie. Wind was heavy today, so had a few iron shots that ballooned, but I was happy with my iron play and thrilled with my putting—had 13 putts on 9.

[Sebmour]

 

[Bigmean]

i never new there were mr23 blades?

 

Soooo I just got back from Orlando with family for a little vacay, and you know I went in all the outlets for Edwin watts and pga sup store and golf galaxy retail overpriced market disguised as an outlet. Edwin watts was awesome and I picked up a little titliest bag for the balls in my Garage(those mini staff bags for range balls) and whilst there I saw a set of miura 1957 cbs with modus shafts for a cool $1500....well, I had the guy put some tape on the 8 iron just cause when would I see those again in wild.

 

Uh oh. So they felt a lot softer than I expected, maybe cause a CB?, they looked right, they felt right but not like the blades, I hit 20 balls, And aside from being a little short, they were like an amazing cb....sooooooooo, on ball number 12 or so the thought flashed across my mind “better in all respects than your onoffs” and at 20 I had to get it out of my hand and walk away.

 

Pandora’s box wide open, except I don’t want to mess with clubs anymore, I don’t want to flip sets, not enticing at all, but this time after hitting those it is more like I feel compelled to do it at some point, like work, like I don’t want to deal with this but if I am going to play golf I probably should....F$&k....

[rxk9fan]

 

Enjoyed hitting these the last few days!! I have a winner for the current starting position in my bag :-).

[Nard_S]

I'm always kind of surprised at the nature of at "learning" or "improving" the golf swing. You focus on a weakness and the very other things that were deemed "set" end up going weak. Then by chance you bounce focus to there and hold the duality of issues things get going great. But if you keeping chasing or over focus on something other, it's "Groundhog Day" all over again. Maddening. lol.

 

Went through period where it was all about arm/hand triangle, then a period where's all about body and shoulder rotation only to find I'm better on body but arm/hands went off kilter. So I straighten that out and my gosh had a stellar session of ball striking. So I'll probably go back and be like "what happened?"and go on some dopey tangent. All in all I'm hitting the ball better than ever. Feel like my ceiling and floor of play moved 5 big strokes, tested my floor this week, hit 5 GIR's, could not swing with any command (outright disaster for 5 holes) and walked off with 85. Tested ceiling a month ago going a dozen in both FIR & GIR so the confidence of getting into the 70's on a regular basis is there I just have to play a lot more than once a month.

 

Ironically, the thing I love most in the game right now is short game. I love finessing/puring wedge shots and deciphering speed and breaks of putts. My local muni has a world class greenskeeper. The ball rolls true to terrain and with a lot of speed. Real joy to play & meet their challenge. Cheers.

 

 

 

 

[Nard_S]

One more thing, if you love blades, give the MP Type 1 Driver a go if you come across it. I'm tuning in to mine and it is by far the most accurate driver I've ever hit. Great stick if you fit in the proper shaft. Also the Rose Proto's really intrigue me. On a value for dollar basis and just simply by watching JR outclass other top 10 players on the warm up area. Guy has amazing ball flight to his irons, makes Day and Rory look pedestrian. Somewhat surprised that the TW P7 gets "high ball flight" comments in overwhelming fashion. Still would like to have a go with those too.

[Bigmean]

Nard,

 

I am really Coming around to the fact that it is a perpetual chasing of your tail. I think that part of when I went off the tracks was when I strarted being concerned about what I was doing on the course and then that manifests. If before the first tee shot, you can accept that you are going to have lows a few highs and a lot of ok, then you can leave your swing thoughts in the parking lot and sorta just hit every shot just focused on the desired outcome of that shot. You may end up with an 87 or a 77 but where I used to think that was giving in to being bad, I am now thinking i can’t will a 77 every time out, or even with some consistency, I just want to have fun on course. It is still very hard to truly play a one shot at a time never be rattled entire round. So even zen approach takes a lot of discipline.

 

My putting is back on track though, spent a couple hours at the practice green and found bottom A lot in that 15-25 range (by a lot I mean often enough to feel like they all can go).

 

Hopefully I can get out and avoid crowds this weekend...

[Nard_S]

> @Bigmean said:

> Nard,

>

> I am really Coming around to the fact that it is a perpetual chasing of your tail. I think that part of when I went off the tracks was when I strarted being concerned about what I was doing on the course and then that manifests. If before the first tee shot, you can accept that you are going to have lows a few highs and a lot of ok, then you can leave your swing thoughts in the parking lot and sorta just hit every shot just focused on the desired outcome of that shot. You may end up with an 87 or a 77 but where I used to think that was giving in to being bad, I am now thinking i can’t will a 77 every time out, or even with some consistency, I just want to have fun on course. It is still very hard to truly play a one shot at a time never be rattled entire round. So even zen approach takes a lot of discipline.

>

> My putting is back on track though, spent a couple hours at the practice green and found bottom A lot in that 15-25 range (by a lot I mean often enough to feel like they all can go).

>

> Hopefully I can get out and avoid crowds this weekend...

I hear you, I'm accepting of the chasing tail aspect and the whole process feels like climbing a spiral staircase except half the steps head back down a half a tier and then ascend again.

Course attitude is as chill as I have ever been which is probably not saying much, :)

 

[PorkChopExpress]

> @Sebmour said:

>

>

>

>

 

That's awesome they made them left handed

[NSCohen17]

Not sure if this is the right thread for this post, but I’m in need of some validation and I promise to keep it short and sweet. I’m approaching my 60th birthday, and remained pretty steady at a solid 8-9 hcp for most of the last 30 years or so. I played primarily Hogan blades - Apex II, then 88 Redlines, then 92, Ft Worths and finally the ‘99 Apex, my all time favorites. Sure, I tried other things, but always came back to the Hogans. About 5 or 6 years ago, at the urging of some of my golf buddies, I started buying into the cavity back idea, thinking that, since I was getting older, a little more help from my clubs might not be a bad thing. Long story short, I’ve tried what seems like a million different sets in that time, and my hcp has ballooned to 14. Finally, I got fed up with the whole thing, traded in everything I had, used the money to buy a brand new set of clubs for my 30 year old son who’s just (finally!) getting into the game and put my 99 Apexes back in the bag. Long story short, I haven’t hit the ball this well since, well, since I took the Hogans out of the bag in the first place. I’m obviously not the best golfer in the world, and I make no claims about the relative quality of my swing, but I don’t understand how so-called game improvement clubs can actually make me play worse. Is this just a freak coincidence, or is the whole game improvement club thing just a marketing lie? Or am I altogether crazy? I know I’m going to catch a lot of crap from the guys at the club, but I intend to stick to my guns and stay with the musclebacks until I really can’t hit them any more. I’m hoping you guys can help bolster my decision, so I don’t fall to pieces the first time someone tells me I’m “not a good enough ball striker to play those clubs.”

 

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

 

NSC

[rxk9fan]

> @NSCohen17 said:

> Not sure if this is the right thread for this post, but I’m in need of some validation and I promise to keep it short and sweet. I’m approaching my 60th birthday, and remained pretty steady at a solid 8-9 hcp for most of the last 30 years or so. I played primarily Hogan blades - Apex II, then 88 Redlines, then 92, Ft Worths and finally the ‘99 Apex, my all time favorites. Sure, I tried other things, but always came back to the Hogans. About 5 or 6 years ago, at the urging of some of my golf buddies, I started buying into the cavity back idea, thinking that, since I was getting older, a little more help from my clubs might not be a bad thing. Long story short, I’ve tried what seems like a million different sets in that time, and my hcp has ballooned to 14. Finally, I got fed up with the whole thing, traded in everything I had, used the money to buy a brand new set of clubs for my 30 year old son who’s just (finally!) getting into the game and put my 99 Apexes back in the bag. Long story short, I haven’t hit the ball this well since, well, since I took the Hogans out of the bag in the first place. I’m obviously not the best golfer in the world, and I make no claims about the relative quality of my swing, but I don’t understand how so-called game improvement clubs can actually make me play worse. Is this just a freak coincidence, or is the whole game improvement club thing just a marketing lie? Or am I altogether crazy? I know I’m going to catch a lot of crap from the guys at the club, but I intend to stick to my guns and stay with the musclebacks until I really can’t hit them any more. I’m hoping you guys can help bolster my decision, so I don’t fall to pieces the first time someone tells me I’m “not a good enough ball striker to play those clubs.”

>

> Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

>

> NSC

 

I certainly can't pretend to know your answer and physics is physics when it comes to a force hitting mass. I do believe that the club head design is only part of the equation. If we all struck the ball with the exact speed, angles, etc., regardless of what was in our hand, then we could predict in what situations a CB would provide more desirable shots. I believe the issue for some (including myself) is that when you put anything outside of my comfort zone in my hand to hit with, my shots are hit with a worse delivery of club on ball. I can promise you that I will not hit the ball with the same impact with a wide sole SGI iron as I will with blades. So while the CB might help my less than perfect swings, is it a net gain if I make more poor strikes on the ball with the CB?

I believe that is why so many professionals use blades....because that is what they can make the most strikes on the ball with as intended. Only you know if that is true for you. I don't believe to play blades your skill set must be a tour quality swing. It only means that for whatever reason (looks, feel, etc.) you can hit the ball the way you need to hit it more times with a blade than with another design. I 100% don't buy into the hypothesis that almost all of non-professional golfers should be playing something besides blades to realize their potential. Instead, we are just like the pros in that we should choose the club that we can get the ball in the hole fastest with. We don't need to justify past our scorecard, as it speaks for itself and if you get lower numbers on the card with the Hogan's then play them till you don't.

Also, remind yourself that this is a fickle game just like the scores we all post. The club is never going to change that.

 

PS: 60 years old and going back to blades this weekend :-)

 

 

 

[wmblake2000]

> @Nard_S said:

> I'm always kind of surprised at the nature of at "learning" or "improving" the golf swing. You focus on a weakness and the very other things that were deemed "set" end up going weak. Then by chance you bounce focus to there and hold the duality of issues things get going great. But if you keeping chasing or over focus on something other, it's "Groundhog Day" all over again. Maddening. lol.

>

> Went through period where it was all about arm/hand triangle, then a period where's all about body and shoulder rotation only to find I'm better on body but arm/hands went off kilter. So I straighten that out and my gosh had a stellar session of ball striking.

 

Even Monte mentioned a similar thing in his game. It's like playing Whack-a-Mole. I am right now pretty settled in on just focusing on arms/shoulders/hands. Maybe if I get this to feel really solid, I might try to integrate pivot improvement. But I am playing pretty solidly now just focused on upper body.

 

[wmblake2000]

> @Bigmean said:

> Nard,

>

> I am really Coming around to the fact that it is a perpetual chasing of your tail. I think that part of when I went off the tracks was when I strarted being concerned about what I was doing on the course and then that manifests. If before the first tee shot, you can accept that you are going to have lows a few highs and a lot of ok, then you can leave your swing thoughts in the parking lot and sorta just hit every shot just focused on the desired outcome of that shot. You may end up with an 87 or a 77 but where I used to think that was giving in to being bad, I am now thinking i can’t will a 77 every time out, or even with some consistency, I just want to have fun on course. It is still very hard to truly play a one shot at a time never be rattled entire round. So even zen approach takes a lot of discipline.

>

> My putting is back on track though, spent a couple hours at the practice green and found bottom A lot in that 15-25 range (by a lot I mean often enough to feel like they all can go).

>

> Hopefully I can get out and avoid crowds this weekend...

 

Golf... aka chasing your tail. In fact, some clever person should figure out how to translate the G.O.L.F. acronym into something that means 'go chase your tail.'

 

 

[Christen_The_Sloop]

Very few people ever improve at golf. There are too many facets. There is not a lot of time to work on everything. I love the quote by Nicklaus saying that week in week out he always found himself on the range trying to find it.

 

Basically, it is always a work in progress. But, certain things we can control. Our clubs, physical fitness, course management. And, we can work on our swing. But, we often don't work on the areas that we need to.

 

Set up is very important obviously. I noticed that if turned my left foot out I didn't pull my short irons. They would go pretty well dead straight.As for the swing, I've just worked on making a full turn and turning through aggressively. But, I also try to stand tall and maintain width through my hips (if that makes any sense). It helps that I've switched to longer iron shafts. I've been more cautious off the tee - Having a 220-230 yard club that's basically automatic is so nice. I've never been so confident with a club (Mizuno CLK 22') Man. If I had to choose between it and my wife....

 

Just got a new old 52' to play with too. An old Tourstage TW01. Really like the look of it. And for $10.. We'll see how it plays.

 

 

 

 

[revanant]

> @Nard_S said:

> > @Bigmean said:

> > Nard,

> >

> > I am really Coming around to the fact that it is a perpetual chasing of your tail. I think that part of when I went off the tracks was when I strarted being concerned about what I was doing on the course and then that manifests. If before the first tee shot, you can accept that you are going to have lows a few highs and a lot of ok, then you can leave your swing thoughts in the parking lot and sorta just hit every shot just focused on the desired outcome of that shot. You may end up with an 87 or a 77 but where I used to think that was giving in to being bad, I am now thinking i can’t will a 77 every time out, or even with some consistency, I just want to have fun on course. It is still very hard to truly play a one shot at a time never be rattled entire round. So even zen approach takes a lot of discipline.

> >

> > My putting is back on track though, spent a couple hours at the practice green and found bottom A lot in that 15-25 range (by a lot I mean often enough to feel like they all can go).

> >

> > Hopefully I can get out and avoid crowds this weekend...

> I hear you, I'm accepting of the chasing tail aspect and the whole process feels like climbing a spiral staircase except half the steps head back down a half a tier and then ascend again.

> Course attitude is as chill as I have ever been which is probably not saying much, :)

>

For what it’s worth, it’s not like the pros aren’t constantly hitting the range and putting green to keep their game in good shape. Or aren’t getting major range time before and after each day of play + the benefit of a few practice rounds earlier in the week. If we took a step back and looked at just how much time pros really put into prep and training to stay shop, we probably wouldn’t feel so bad about our weekend flubs. : )

 

Separately, @NSCohen17 I don’t think you’re crazy at all. I’m about half your age, but only 3 years into golf, and I’ve found blades to be a really good learning tool and great at building mental confidence. I put a bit of practice in each week, and the feedback I get from blades helps me dial into center strikes.

 

I’ve also got a set of 1988 Redlines. They are remarkably easy to launch and hit similar distances to my stronger lofted irons. So there’s something to be said for good iron design, regardless of cavity back vs blade. (There’s also probably something to be said for box-cut grooves : ) )

 

Plus, you can manipulate the blades in an important way. I played Bethpage Black yesterday. I was in a random foursome. All 4 of us had a forged player’s cavity or blade in the bag—Miura MC501, Miura CB57, MP 62, and my MP-4s. All of us struggled with our irons at times, but getting out of the crazy rough was made easier by having a small head that could track and cut through the rough easier. Even so, the rough required me to take two clubs stronger to get my expected flight and carry, and to hover my iron like hitting out of sand. I can’t imagine playing that course with a large iron, regardless of the moi features.

[Bigmean]

Cohen, not crazy at all, or welcome to the loony bin, however you want to see it ?.

 

And CLS making me feel oddly good about not improving??? (I wish that it happened when I was playing better but meh)

 

I think the big mental hurdle is once you get to a sub 10, you have so many quality shots you feel like you have it in you to go low, but throughout 78-82 strokes, it is soooo easy to have 5 stinkers, and another 5 that just don’t translate to the card, like a chip to 10 ft instead of 5 and missed putt bogie, or an ok iron that ends up missing in a bad place, and hell I pride myself in putting but you are going to 3 putt once a round for sure, it just depends on what drops. I mean How many putts a round miss by a ball or less? That is at least 3+ shots there. So you mentally feel close, but the total of the sum all is quite insurmountable round in and out. Then throw in the great rounds we all have out of nowhere with little practice or bad on range first and logic is completely distorted...this is why despite only breaking 80 once this summer I feel like I am in a great place, I am just having fun and not paying back price for it (I also am down from 212 to 184 since March and I can’t stress how that with what I believe is a small help of graphite, is really working for me.)

 

So in true me fashion, I bought a 5-pw set of miura 57 heads. The deal was there, and my fear to put the roddios in my BB (why mess with best thing I have had). Was too much to pass on. I feel like a crack head, but i couldn’t ignore what I felt hitting that 8 in the store. Visually it is great and I also have the option to combo with my BB although I doubt I will.

 

I am going to implement a #4 utility type iron

With my remaining shaft. Any recommendations? Srixon has one that looked iron like?

[deejaid]

I guess it is a mid life crisis I’m going though. > @Nard_S said:

> > @deejaid said:

>

> > Maybe this is my mid life crisis set.

>

> Hah, so guilty of this. Half my sets qualify.

>

 

Yeah, now I’m sure it’s a midlife crisis. I’m loving the Mac’s but I was cruising eBay and spotted another set of classic forged irons from the early 1990’s that I always liked. Cobra Greg Norman Signatures. Brand new in storage for 20 years. Couldn’t help myself, had to snag them.

 

 

[PReardon]

> @NSCohen17 said:

> Not sure if this is the right thread for this post, but I’m in need of some validation and I promise to keep it short and sweet. I’m approaching my 60th birthday, and remained pretty steady at a solid 8-9 hcp for most of the last 30 years or so. I played primarily Hogan blades - Apex II, then 88 Redlines, then 92, Ft Worths and finally the ‘99 Apex, my all time favorites. Sure, I tried other things, but always came back to the Hogans. About 5 or 6 years ago, at the urging of some of my golf buddies, I started buying into the cavity back idea, thinking that, since I was getting older, a little more help from my clubs might not be a bad thing. Long story short, I’ve tried what seems like a million different sets in that time, and my hcp has ballooned to 14. Finally, I got fed up with the whole thing, traded in everything I had, used the money to buy a brand new set of clubs for my 30 year old son who’s just (finally!) getting into the game and put my 99 Apexes back in the bag. Long story short, I haven’t hit the ball this well since, well, since I took the Hogans out of the bag in the first place. I’m obviously not the best golfer in the world, and I make no claims about the relative quality of my swing, but I don’t understand how so-called game improvement clubs can actually make me play worse. Is this just a freak coincidence, or is the whole game improvement club thing just a marketing lie? Or am I altogether crazy? I know I’m going to catch a lot of crap from the guys at the club, but I intend to stick to my guns and stay with the musclebacks until I really can’t hit them any more. I’m hoping you guys can help bolster my decision, so I don’t fall to pieces the first time someone tells me I’m “not a good enough ball striker to play those clubs.”

>

> Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

>

> NSC

 

I wouldn’t listen to the other guys at the club giving you crap, I play on a high school team and showed up to tryouts with mx23 irons with rust spots so dark the sweet spot looked blacked and the grooves were bent in all directions but I went out and shot 39,41,43 and made the team. A few days later I was at my local pro shop and found the mp18 mmc for $250 5-pw and so I traded in my old mizunos to get the new ones and at first the ball looks a little bigger than the club but I showed up to practice the next day guys gave me crap saying I couldn’t play blades or that my parents got me new clubs as a reward for making a sports team. ( side note: I caddy every weekend for $20 a bag and bought the clubs myself) but I said whatever and sure enough my first round with somewhat “blades” i shot a 36 or on this course one over par and then of course I got the cheating allegations but compared to the game improvement irons I would take blades 10/10 times because your punished for bad shots and rewarded for good shots and you can get a lot more control with blades. Just my opinion though.

 

 

[gambit]

> @PReardon said:

> > @NSCohen17 said:

> > Not sure if this is the right thread for this post, but I’m in need of some validation and I promise to keep it short and sweet. I’m approaching my 60th birthday, and remained pretty steady at a solid 8-9 hcp for most of the last 30 years or so. I played primarily Hogan blades - Apex II, then 88 Redlines, then 92, Ft Worths and finally the ‘99 Apex, my all time favorites. Sure, I tried other things, but always came back to the Hogans. About 5 or 6 years ago, at the urging of some of my golf buddies, I started buying into the cavity back idea, thinking that, since I was getting older, a little more help from my clubs might not be a bad thing. Long story short, I’ve tried what seems like a million different sets in that time, and my hcp has ballooned to 14. Finally, I got fed up with the whole thing, traded in everything I had, used the money to buy a brand new set of clubs for my 30 year old son who’s just (finally!) getting into the game and put my 99 Apexes back in the bag. Long story short, I haven’t hit the ball this well since, well, since I took the Hogans out of the bag in the first place. I’m obviously not the best golfer in the world, and I make no claims about the relative quality of my swing, but I don’t understand how so-called game improvement clubs can actually make me play worse. Is this just a freak coincidence, or is the whole game improvement club thing just a marketing lie? Or am I altogether crazy? I know I’m going to catch a lot of crap from the guys at the club, but I intend to stick to my guns and stay with the musclebacks until I really can’t hit them any more. I’m hoping you guys can help bolster my decision, so I don’t fall to pieces the first time someone tells me I’m “not a good enough ball striker to play those clubs.”

> >

> > Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

> >

> > NSC

>

> I wouldn’t listen to the other guys at the club giving you crap, I play on a high school team and showed up to tryouts with mx23 irons with rust spots so dark the sweet spot looked blacked and the grooves were bent in all directions but I went out and shot 39,41,43 and made the team. A few days later I was at my local pro shop and found the mp18 mmc for $250 5-pw and so I traded in my old mizunos to get the new ones and at first the ball looks a little bigger than the club but I showed up to practice the next day guys gave me crap saying I couldn’t play blades or that my parents got me new clubs as a reward for making a sports team. ( side note: I caddy every weekend for $20 a bag and bought the clubs myself) but I said whatever and sure enough my first round with somewhat “blades” i shot a 36 or on this course one over par and then of course I got the cheating allegations but compared to the game improvement irons I would take blades 10/10 times because your punished for bad shots and rewarded for good shots and you can get a lot more control with blades. Just my opinion though.

>

>

 

I agree. If you want to play blades and you play them better than a CB then go for it. The turf interaction probably suits you better than a big wide sole and confidence is so important. I've tried GI irons and couldn't get the ball in the air. I've since been playing "player" CB irons and hit them so much better. I tried P730s because I got such a good price on them I couldn't pass up on them. No problem hitting them at all. Even a few rounds on the course I've had playing partners say they've never seen me so accurate with my irons. Then I bought into the idea of them not being for me because of my HC (I'm terrible off the tee box...literally 3 off the tee with any wood lol). Just recently picked up a set of Blueprints for a song. Looking at a blade I just think I'm hitting a wedge vs looking at a huge head thinking how am I going to get this in the air. Offset makes me think of shanks too lol.

[Nard_S]

 

> I guess it is a mid life crisis I’m going though. > @Nard_S said:

> > > @deejaid said:

> >

> > > Maybe this is my mid life crisis set.

> >

> > Hah, so guilty of this. Half my sets qualify.

> >

>

> Yeah, now I’m sure it’s a midlife crisis. I’m loving the Mac’s but I was cruising eBay and spotted another set of classic forged irons from the early 1990’s that I always liked. Cobra Greg Norman Signatures. Brand new in storage for 20 years. Couldn’t help myself, had to snag them.

>

>

>

 

Yes sir!

 

Mac-Cobra's! Love them , that's a great acquisition, congrats.

[Nard_S]

RE: "Improvement"

 

I'm of mind that true progress of game is measured in years of effort and that it is on a different wave from what your current index adheres to. Index is a 5 day weather forecast, true skill improvement is more like observing global cyclical weather patterns over eons. Long term the two are relatable but since they both have their own direction and momentum, they may actually be going opposite of one another at anytime. You could be lowering your index but your swing can be cementing bad habits too or you can have a flat or degrading index but you're doing things that will pay dividends in the future. So, these days I'm more demanding of how and to what effort I practice than I am of play & score. On the course, my big goal is to improve between the ears, one neuron at a time if need be but I've gotten past the impulse to expect my "new move" will translate to more birdies the following Sunday. Try to measure progress of skill, in the thousands of strikes, in months and even seasons instead of tenths on index. Overtime scores reflect that progress but index is also heavily influenced by maturation of mental game. So compass is set to make practice a lot more demanding and only demand that play is done in smarter fashion. I've gotten this mentality going for roughly 1 year and I have not regret a round or practice session since. Oddly, practice and play mentality seem more symbiotic and less diametrically opposed as they once were. More balance of the intuitive and technical in both spheres where once one was all too of one or the wrong one at the wrong time.

 

[Nard_S]

> @wmblake2000 said:

> > @Nard_S said:

> > I'm always kind of surprised at the nature of at "learning" or "improving" the golf swing. You focus on a weakness and the very other things that were deemed "set" end up going weak. Then by chance you bounce focus to there and hold the duality of issues things get going great. But if you keeping chasing or over focus on something other, it's "Groundhog Day" all over again. Maddening. lol.

> >

> > Went through period where it was all about arm/hand triangle, then a period where's all about body and shoulder rotation only to find I'm better on body but arm/hands went off kilter. So I straighten that out and my gosh had a stellar session of ball striking.

>

> Even Monte mentioned a similar thing in his game. It's like playing Whack-a-Mole. I am right now pretty settled in on just focusing on arms/shoulders/hands. Maybe if I get this to feel really solid, I might try to integrate pivot improvement. But I am playing pretty solidly now just focused on upper body.

>

Yeah, whack-a-mole is right. Highlights the need to be mentally flexible and to tack efforts or step back, assess things and alter direction at times in prudent fashion. Don't chase rabbits but don't stick head in same empty hole either.

[Nard_S]

> @NSCohen17 said:

> Not sure if this is the right thread for this post, but I’m in need of some validation and I promise to keep it short and sweet. I’m approaching my 60th birthday, and remained pretty steady at a solid 8-9 hcp for most of the last 30 years or so. I played primarily Hogan blades - Apex II, then 88 Redlines, then 92, Ft Worths and finally the ‘99 Apex, my all time favorites. Sure, I tried other things, but always came back to the Hogans. About 5 or 6 years ago, at the urging of some of my golf buddies, I started buying into the cavity back idea, thinking that, since I was getting older, a little more help from my clubs might not be a bad thing. Long story short, I’ve tried what seems like a million different sets in that time, and my hcp has ballooned to 14. Finally, I got fed up with the whole thing, traded in everything I had, used the money to buy a brand new set of clubs for my 30 year old son who’s just (finally!) getting into the game and put my 99 Apexes back in the bag. Long story short, I haven’t hit the ball this well since, well, since I took the Hogans out of the bag in the first place. I’m obviously not the best golfer in the world, and I make no claims about the relative quality of my swing, but I don’t understand how so-called game improvement clubs can actually make me play worse. Is this just a freak coincidence, or is the whole game improvement club thing just a marketing lie? Or am I altogether crazy? I know I’m going to catch a lot of crap from the guys at the club, but I intend to stick to my guns and stay with the musclebacks until I really can’t hit them any more. I’m hoping you guys can help bolster my decision, so I don’t fall to pieces the first time someone tells me I’m “not a good enough ball striker to play those clubs.”

>

> Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

>

> NSC

 

The 99's are some of the best ambassadors of blade glory around. At a short par 3 offer your buddies an iron, the club will likely close the mouths.