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

[braincramp52]

Ok, don't do it ! Fixed.

[3_Jack_Par]

Lol, good point!

[DeNinny]

If it helps...

I'm not really a fan of complex blade designs like the Icons which have the look of a blade on top of a blade on top of a blade. The three tiers of the head design are a unique look but do nothing for the performance as compared to the more traditional design of the SB-1s. Personally you already have an awesome set that cannot really be improved upon much with the SB-1s. And now with Scratch Golf being gone, you have a rare set with them.

The other issue is that when you have that wider loft gap from club to club you might struggle more and find yourself in the predicament more often where you are stuck between clubs. In order to get around this you better be able to hit the in between shots with a higher degree of consistency than with a set with tighter loft gaps.

...just some technical food for thought. ?

[NRJyzr]

Feel obliged to chime in on the 4* lofts in the new Ben Hogan irons. I'm a big fan, not being fond of the 3* gaps we see so often in iron sets. Those 3* gaps are a result of loft creep; in times of yore, the 2-PW were in even 4* gaps, until they started moving the PW stronger than the 52* it was back in the late 60s, perhaps even early 70s.

Having even gaps in the long irons isn't important IMHO, as one is usually just trying to hit the green from that distance, and not trying for the level of precision you might seek in short irons. I much prefer having a fuller range of distances covered throughout the bag.

Which is why my Golden Ram 80 Tour Grinds and TW282 are set with 4* even gaps, from 20* to 52* and 19* to 51*, respectively.

Such is my take.

[DeNinny]

I agree. I think the right gapping is where there's no overlap in the distance you get for irons right next to each other. But also not so widely gapped that there's 5 yards of in between distance that you can't hit consistently. For example my strong 6i shot is still going to end up shorter than my weak 5i shot, but not so much that there's 5 yards in between that takes more skill to hit right.

And yeah loft jacking by "forgiving" club manufacturers has tightened the gap at the long end such that the long irons overlap more. This helps them, though in selling more clubs like hybrids to ignorant golfers that then start to think they can't hit their longer irons that well. But in reality they've been loft jacked into thinking that way.

[DeNinny]

Continuing the loft jacking discussion, I just checked out the TaylorMade site and compared the 4i and 5i lofts between the P7TW blades and the Sim Max OS SGIs...

P7TW 4i is 24*

P7TW 5i is 27*

Sim Max OS 4i is 18*

Sim Max OS 5i is 20*

LMFAO the SGIs are so loft jacked that there's only 2* gap now! ?

And the SGI 4i is now as lofted as my BB 2i!!! ???

The urban myth is true, too much jacking loft has made TaylorMade go blind! ???

(Edit: I post this not for debate but rather as statements of fact and sarcasm.)

[3_Jack_Par]

Yeah, I have a similar thought process. I currently carry 3-PW, which range from 22-48* in loft, and then I usually have a 52 & 58* wedge in the bag, as well. From 3-8, I have about 10 yard gaps between clubs, which widen to about 15 yards thereafter. I am comfortable hitting less than full shots with shorter irons to deal with in-between yardages, so that’s not really a problem. I could get my current long irons bent a little and drop one to make room for the extra wedge, but I don’t know if the effect on the bounce might mess with turf interaction a bit. I probably won’t end up getting the Icons, because I can always continue doing what I have been and take out my 3w, Driving Iron or 3/4 iron to make room for the wedge when I feel like I need it for a particular course, but shiny new toys are always so tempting.

[Duffman57]

Yeah I definitely plan on giving them a shot. I hit them pretty well at the range and was figuring them out but I played HORRIBLY out on the course yesterday (it wasn’t the irons fault I just played like trash). I’ll keep trying to play them, and hopefully I’ll be able to figure them out at some point.

[Jonesy]

I finally did it, I got a new set of irons...

Still waiting for them to be delivered but the deal is done, Callaway Apex MB 2017 models.

Can't seem to get away from Callaway blades

[DeNinny]

??

That's awesome that you are going about it with an open mind enough to keep trying. That's more than what most blade-o-phobes would do.

And please note that the thing about playing horribly is that the technical benefits and superiority of blades still applies! Meaning, you'll still play horribly with them, but relatively speaking it will just be LESS horrible.

To help understand this, you should simply closely examine the soles of your MP-32s and X-14s on an equivalent club basis. First hold both clubs up so that the leading edge front corners of each face are side by side and at the same height. This is basically the lowest point of clean contact with the ball with the idea being that in order to cleanly hit the ball, you have to contact it with the flat face of the club. Once those leading edge corners are side by side and on the same horizontal level, next compare how much sole literally hangs below that point. The club with more sole below the leading edge corner of the face is unequivocally the harder club to make clean contact with the ball because all that extra sole can contact the ground and disrupt the shot well before the face contacts the ball. This is why with SGI clubs with huge soles and high bounce are more difficult to hit with as compared to blades. That supposedly "forgiving" sole actually has more potential for hitting the ground before the face hits the ball than the "unforgiving" blade sole which is thinner and has less bounce. The ABSENCE of the blade sole makes it EASIER to hit! ?

And this beneficial physics is universal. When you are hitting horribly it still helps and when you are hitting it well it still helps. ?

All this is in my professional opinion and personal experience only. ?

[bortass]

Keep at it and you'll be fine unless there's something way off in the club setup. My experience years ago was that blades vs GI had no real impact on my score. Now all I do is play blades since coming back and I shot my PB 41 for 9 with them a couple months ago. Sure a 27 index isn't supposed to game blades but it's what i want to play and I'm getting better over time. The biggest think for me is the mishit off the toe which is always a weak push fade it seems. Catch one pure though and it's a thing of beauty.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

We'll need to pictures, just to be sure.

Is there anything left of those Callaway Protos, or are they pretty much worn away to iron filings by now?

[Jonesy]

Will definitely put pictures up when I get them, the weekend is getting in the way but I should have them on Monday.

There are still grooves on the Proto's believe it or not! But I definitely wouldn't get much for them if I sold them...

[Jonesy]

The new irons arrived!

PW

PW face which has the most wear out of all the clubs

7 iron

 

4 to PW in great condition, some bag chatter but seriously nothing bad. Really stoked with these! Just need to see if I'll swap out the shafts, they currently have C-taper 130X in them...

What I do want to do is put a satin finish on these guys, so that's this weeks plan...

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Wow, they look to be in great condition.

Didn't you have ProjectX in your Protos?

[Jonesy]

Thanks No Catchy!

I do, but they are PXi's. Will be interesting to see the difference between the two

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

I've PXi 6.0 in some reshafted RAM Pro Tour Camber Soles. They're actually extended about half an inch (maybe three quarters, I forget), but they a tad softer in my opinion to PX6.0s.

I reckon those C-taper 130Xs would be fairly close to PX7.0, but possibly even stiffer.

 

[Jonesy]

The PXi are definitely softer than the PX, I miss the PX feel. The new LS shafts are on the radar...

These C-Tapers seem to be about half an inch longer than standard so that should soften them a bit but at the end of the round swinging a 130g 6.5 flex (at best) doesn't sound too appealing... but we'll see, maybe these are a perfect fit, I've never actually been properly fit for iron shafts

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

This shaft chart might be useful, but the PXi shafts aren't listed: https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/496072/new-and-improved-shaft-chart/p1 (link is in the first post)

From the chart, it appears that the C-Taper 130X isn't that much stiffer than the PX6.5, but it is 5g heavier uncut.

[Jonesy]

Thanks No Catchy, I was actually looking for this! This should be fun, I'll play a round or 2 with them and see how they go, otherwise the PXi's will go into these

[Christen_The_Sloop]

The thing to do with heavier shafts is hit less shots. When I hit less shots, I don't get tired. So, that's what I recommend. Nice pick up!

 

Course sure looked nice yesterday. Would have been fun to see everyone have to play in the storm (if lightning wasn't present). Back in the day, Thomas and the other guy who's name I can't spell that starts with F, might have teed it up for the championship...

Had a fun week cleaning up sticks - lucked out with my two iron set purchases, as they are both in better shape than I expected. The Walter Hagens have that familiar Wilson chrome discoloration in the wedges, but otherwise they are minty. Actually really like the feel of the Crenshaw grind SW. (why am i not outside hitting chip shots with it).

Since Corona I've stopped commuting into work by train. I ride my bicycle the 10 or so km into town and then back (it takes basically the same amount of time). I think the odd bump, is causing some pain in my left wrist that I really feel when I start swinging. It mostly goes away after I hit 4 or 5 balls, but it's getting a little concerning as the pain has persisted through the spring. Joys of getting old I guess.

It's funny, or lucky, wife didn't notice 4 big boxes coming in this past week and now I'm pulling all of these clubs out like I've had them forever. If she only knew. I might be sleeping outside.

So, a couple pics - The Crenshaws. What a solid feeling club. They feel like money. The Hogan. I do not know yet. Sure it's nice. The founders, I know quite well, or so I thought. This one is shiny chrome, but the others I have are satin with the grooves painted black. One is more workmanlike, the other more elegant. And I think there is slightly more offset in the satin model. I don't know which one I like more, to be honest. I do like with the mirror chrome the toe doesn't feel quite as long. I could do one practice session this week, but it wasn't nearly enough. I am still waiting to hit the Hogan 50th deuce. (pics not in any order, unfortunately).

[Jonesy]

Christen I think you've hit the nail on the head there

Those founders club look awesome!

[Simp]

I pulled the trigger on a set of Hogan Icons and absolutely love them. There's nothing I would change about them if I could. Coming from MP18 SC's I didn't think I could do better, but the Icons are. #butter

[cugolf14]

Juming in simply to say I love this thread. Been debating on going back to blades after taking about 10 years off from them. This thread certainly doesn't help!

[NRJyzr]

 

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

[cugolf14]

Hahahahaha!!

[DeNinny]

I'm here to talk you off the cliff of "forgiveness".

What blades are you considering?

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

I can't picture the Borg as blade users. They don't strike me as the sort of blokes who would appreciate the clean, unfussy look of a classic blade. Now, the Klingons, I could totally see them as being into blades. "There is no honour in SGi clubs!".

The Vulcans, on the other, I can't see playing golf at all as the whole game is illogical.

 

[DeNinny]

But Vulcans would totally choose blades as the most logical choice for playing golf.

[3_Jack_Par]

How is it possible that this thread just got even nerdier??