Question for Blade Players

[Andrew Bond of Glencoe]

I have a mixed set of cavity back and muscle back irons...4-6 irons are AP2s and the 7-PW are Titleist MBs.
Here was my thinking buying the set. 4-6 irons my goal is to get on the green. Anything less I am pin hunting.

The real game changer for me is 3/4 and punch shots. For these shots a blade is simply better because cavity back clubs tend to have a bit more pop to them.

I doubt I will ever buy another set that isn't a mixed combo.

[thug the bunny]

[quote name='PeanutsDaddy' timestamp='1440215883' post='12187266']
Here's the reality I'm most recently faced with . . .

I can shank just about anything.

I'm going to put into play the clubs that give me the greatest confidence.
[/quote]

That would have to be the VIPs PD. How have you been hitting them?

I think one aspect where GI and blades differ drastically, and which can have a significant effect on shot making, is the offset. I used to love the feel and look (top line) of my TA 845 Silver Scotts, but after two years of hooking 3i - 7i off the map, I went for a different set. I had no idea about blade vs. GI at the time, and got a set of RAM FX Tour blades because they looked really cool and were on closeout sale. Didn't hook my long/mid irons any more and it made me go, hmm.......and the feel was unreal when I hit the ball right in front of that little scooped out muscle bulge...

[thug the bunny]

[quote name='PeanutsDaddy' timestamp='1440215883' post='12187266']
Here's the reality I'm most recently faced with . . .

I can shank just about anything.

I'm going to put into play the clubs that give me the greatest confidence.
[/quote]

That would have to be the VIPs PD. How have you been hitting them?

I think one aspect where GI and blades differ drastically, and which can have a significant effect on shot making, is the offset. I used to love the feel and look (top line) of my TA 845 Silver Scotts, but after two years of hooking 3i - 7i off the map, I went for a different set. I had no idea about blade vs. GI at the time, and got a set of RAM FX Tour blades because they looked really cool and were on closeout sale. Didn't hook my long/mid irons any more and it made me go, hmm.......and the feel was unreal when I hit the ball right in front of that little scooped out muscle bulge...

[tap in birdie]

I find that the extreme amount of bounce and the thick sole grind on sgi and gi clubs mess up my impact. Turf interaction just doesn't seem right. If I was a digger then maybe it's a different story I wouldn't know. I'm a picker and a puller so my minimal offset clubs and thin soles help me glide under and through the ball. At least that's what I tell myself. In all truthfulness I'm worse with the gi clubs I've tried and rented.

Bottom line: when I get to pulling that golf ball, ain't no rocketballz, bladez, psi or anything else saving that ball. When I miss its usually a significant miss and when I strike a good shot its usually pretty damn near the sweet spot. No fliers, no cranked up 9 irons with 3 wood faces. For me nothing will mess up my great shots and nothing will save my poor ones. So why not play something I like looking at?

[thug the bunny]

Two things. sole and offset, I can't address score or stats because I have never done a head to head comparison, but when I get over a 5i, I want to clip that ball perfectly, and a big wide sole and lots of offset in my mind just interfere with that goal....

[mwmgolfx]

[quote name='T.Beau' timestamp='1440424646' post='12198244']
[quote name='BMC' timestamp='1440380342' post='12196334']
Blades and GI both have pluses and minuses. I rarely have to an iron above a 6.
To me, blades are a surgical instrument. If I want to hit a low 7 iron 130 yards right at the pin on a soft green, I feel I can do that with a blade, but not with a GI iron.
[/quote]

problem is that most of the so called advantages of blades are glorified, mystical, mythical, and contrived or just perceived reality which most usually does not match real world reality.

it's been proven that the advantage of playing blades is for the POSSIBLE 3 feet better dispersion from 160 yards side to side and the POSSIBLE 6 feet better dispersion front to back BUT ONLY on a perfect strike which is exceedingly rare for almost all golfers.

everything else is BIG advantage GI, other than ball flight which is a wash and workability which is a wash assuming the blade is struck as well as the GI iron (which is unlikely)..if not perfectly struck, then once again, big advantage GI

i think that irons that are easier to flush hit are easier to flush hit and that it is better to flush hit than miss hit. i also dont claim to be smarter than the manufacturers who think that irons designed for very advanced ball strikers are best used by advanced ball strikers. but realize that some wrxers /think they are/ smarter than manufacturers and industry experts.

have a nice day
[/quote]d

Actually here I would slightly disagree in my case. About 6 years ago i was shopping for new clubs and had a very very long fitting session using trackman where I hit several different sets of clubs (all cavities of various styles). When we had pretty much settled on the correct set (Miura 201s - players cavity backs), I asked if i could try the Miura blades. I had grown up playing blades and had switched to cavity backs only later. I didn't think they would be good for me since i was in my upper 60s then and couldn't see a 60ishs player using blades. well, the blades were head and shoulders better than anything else. Better dispersion, higher spin, longer, mishits better, you name it. And it wasn't just a little bit it was seriously better. enough to be major eye-opener.

So I went with Blades, but chickened out and went with them only for the 7-pw and not the 4-6. I've wished since then that I had gotten the 4-6 and have thought about getting them now.

One major difference between mine and most people's is that I went with graphite shafts that are pretty light (85 gram) and the shafts are soft-stepped stiff rather than full stiff. But I can definitely tell the difference between the Miura Blades and most GI clubs to say the least. Now several years later, I'm thinking strongly of reshafting them with a softer flex (i'm over 70 now and just don't swing as fast and hard). I can still hit them ok but don't get the distance that I think i should be getting.

So Blades did make a difference and its not mythical as T.Beau indicates. it was real and measurable on Trackman. Surprised the fitter as well. Neither of us expected that result at all. Really was a significant and noticeable difference for me.

I like the feel and look as well. Hit some Callaway XRs recently during a round and also some TM RS2s. Neither looked good and i had trouble making good contact. Sole seemed too large to me. I like the narrow sole and digging power of the Miura although i know of a number of people that don't. but then, I'm basically a sweeper versus a digger.

[Sun Devil]

I played the Mizuno MP33 blades for 6-7 years. I loved them. But I also was playing 2-3X/wk. Typically shot in the low 70's. As my life got busier ... I recently switched to fitted Ping I25s. I now shoot in the low 80's. I honestly played better with the blades. The reason for this is that I played more often and especially ... I believe I concentrated more intensely to make a good golf swing with the blades.

 

But look at the PGA pros. Most of them are moving to irons that are less blade-like.

[Usedtobezylem]

This has been an interesting read. I play blades.(mp33) and would not trade them for anything. I do think it's a mental thing with me. I grew up learning the game using my Dad's old tour RAM blades. Now everything else looks off at address. My iron game is the best part of my game in and I love the feedback blades give. I know exactly what I did to cause a bad shot and can fix it. I have tried a few different sets of GI irons mostly out of jealousy for what's available now for budding golfer. I can say they are nice and if I had my set up in them and could get over the address I would probably play the same. But I like my irons and I'm not looking to change them...my driver on the other hand....

 

 

[Jude]

I started out as a 10 yr old playing older blades in the early 90's. My fathers logic was if you can play with these you can play with anything. So growing up playing them I learned how to find the middle of the club face. If not then sting city. I mean who doesn't love looking at a butter knife behind the golf ball.

[birdiemachine85]

If you were to switch out your blades for a set of GI irons (i.e. RSi1s) with the exact same fitting specs would you shoot a higher score? Would you shoot the same? I assume that you wouldn't shoot better. Or would you?

 

I have the RSi1s and am wondering if a change would really help me. I went from GI to Ping i30 to Ping Anser Forged. My game peaked with the i30's and got worse with the Anser's. So I decided to go staight GI and now my hdc is the lowest it's ever been at 11.7. Mostly due to the work I put in but equipment is somewhere in the equation. I'm just trying to figure out how much difference equipment actually makes.

lol I will say that switching from blades to CB full time is a lot easier than going the other way, but as far as score is concerned I doubt you'll notice much of a difference. One thing is depending on your blade specs, you very well might need to club down. You also might notice instead of coming up 10 yards short of the green on a mishit that you'll be closer to the distance you were trying to hit, so if you're chipping isn't good you might shave a few strokes lol

[jslane57]

I will add something. If you have wrist troubles, GI irons can be easier on joints. They typically have lighter shafts and forgiving heads. If you play a low spin ball, GI irons can go straighter, higher, and farther. These can make a difference. If you choose blades and a spin ball, and you don't have the talent, you are costing yourself strokes. Where is this line? To answer the OP, I'd say If you're above a 5 hcp, you switch to GI clubs, and don't fight them, your score very well could benefit.

[mashedtaters]

I would shoot the same

[mwmgolfx]

i am a high handicapper, and i recently found a set of older blades (mizuno mp-32), and decided to pull the trigger. I've had them in the bag for a few rounds now and I feel myself getting better. I'm very inconsistent to begin with but I like how they look at address and when I hit the ball correctly they blow my GI irons out of the water (callaway x-22).

 

i like the thin look and soft feel, and I believe that if i finish this season playing them and hit them at the range over the winter I will be able to significantly lower my handicap

 

I play blades (Miura full sized) for a very simple reason. When i was looking for new clubs a few years ago, I had a very long fitting session at a fitter with trackman and an outdoor range. Went thru about 4 different manufactures and several different models of each. Had just about settled on CB - players when i said i used to play blades and i'd like to try the Miura blades. So I tried them. Guess what, the numbers were off the chart. Better distance, more spin, less side spin, better everything on mishits, everything was not just a little bit but eye-opening better. Fitter was absolutely amazed at this. Really really better contact. And understand i was in my mid-late 60s at the time and fully did not figure blades were an option. I was still partially chicken and get just 7-pw and got 4-6 in CB. (wish now I'd gotten those as well). I have now been hitting them for 5-6 years and still even in my 70s like them a lot.

 

I've had the opportunity in the last couple of years to be able to test TM, Titleist and Callaway irons, several different models. And I've found that I don't hit them quite as good as I do the blades. Of course, the CBs could be because when i rented, I always good standard Steel shafts and I have graphite shafts. Started with Fujikora 80 gram and just switch this year to Aerotech steel-fible 70 gram. So i'm playing Blades that have significantly lighter shafts than most people. But the clubs still have a D8-E8 swing weight so they feel heavy. And they are about 1.5 inches longer than standard.

 

But i chose the blades not because of any feel, look issue but because based upon raw numbers they were delivering more performance and were significantly better from trackman fitting. Had a PGA head pro tell me nobody should be playiing Blades, he didn't and no one should, but was very quiet when I told him trackman numbers were significantly better for the blades in the fitting and why shouldn't I play them if they fit me better and added performance. No answer to that.

 

Personally I feel one should be using whatever provides the best performance for that individual and its different for everyone. Shafts, length, weight all make a major difference on the iron as well as the standard flex, loft, lie, etc.

[EKELLY]

You either hit the sweet spot or you don't!....It's still all driver, wedges, and putter.......

[the.batman]

I know some will say the Nike Vapor Pro are not blades but I'll lay down my 2 pennies anyway. A couple years ball I tried a friend's full GI clubs on the range. They felt great and every shot was high and straight. So I bought a set. First round with them the wind was up. Couldn't flight them lower no matter what I did. They went back the next day. Thank goodness for 90 day returns! Even SGI clubs I struggle with so no more. Hope I've learned the lesson-for me. Ymmv

I agree completely. Was playing Ram Tour Grinds and decided to try a couple rounds with my Dad's Callaway CBs. Had exact same experience- hit ball high and pretty straight, but couldn't discern good from bad ball strike. Everything felt the same and ranges never varied much. Never the less, pretty much every swat produced a half way decent shoot for a clear, zero wind day. Soon realized I couldn't hit a draw, fade or a knock down. Just high, straight, dead feeling shots. Had to go back to a blade so I could work the ball again.

[DartBrigade]

I'd prob shoot better if I switched to GI clubs b/c I love shaping shots, often when it's not needed and those would force me to play a smarter game. I played a buddy's set a few months back and actually shot 1 over for 9 (I'm a ~10 handicap). Scoring wise it was awesome but I had no feel and less fun and that's why I play. I went right back to the blades, I'm ok giving away a few shots a round to be able to better tinker w/ my swing and have fun trying to hit the perfect shot. I play VR TW's and tried to switch to 714 AP2's but I couldn't ever get a rhythm, constant battle between fat and thin. I've been fitted for z745/945s and will probably move to a combo set of those now that I'm not playing as much and I'm starting to give away more shots due to slight mishits that would be forgiven by less demanding clubs.

[thug the bunny]

I can hit the shot I envision with blades. With cb's all swings go high which makes distance control more difficult in the short irons (easier to visualize distances by a difference in height). Blades also give more awareness of the clubhead throughout the swing which in turn gives me more confidence to find the sweetspot. Don't listen to people who say this is impossible because the speed of neural conduction is slower than a golfswing, they don't understand the capacity of the human brain to learn and anticipate.

 

Ah, anticipation. I try to envision what my clubhead does after impact, and yet i have argued with people who say what your club does after impact has no effect on the shot, and then I say but it is the intent (anticipation) of what it is going to do that has an effect, and it goes nowhere...

[garf0404]

I've been playing blades for a while now and it's solely because I love the feel/look of blades. I've tried cbs and Gi iron sets but can't get used to the feel or work the ball as much as I want. So I tend to play much better with the blades and will continue to stick with them. I think it's really about what is comfortable to yourself especially with how much easier blades are getting to hit.

[ghost5]

My miss when I'm playing poorly is fat irons. Wouldn't make a difference what club was in my hand then. I find the biggest issue for me personally with GI irons is the offset.

[MYounginer]

Everyone's swing has a different likelihood of being able to repeatedly make clean contact with blades. Some can take advantage of it, others can put up the same scores with cb's