Muscle Back "Blade" Irons --- History and Future?

[BiggErn]

Dam between Biggern and pinestreet, 2 guys that dont play blades, they sure spend alot of time in a blade thread. Makes you wonder why they put so much energy into something they have no skin in. I don't play clubs with hickory shafts, yet some people do. I don't go in their thread to get my post count up and tell them they are wrong.

 

You noticed that too ? Like a 12 year old girl telling us where babies come from.

 

 

Lol. That coin has 2 sides bud. All you have to do is say “to get the performance benefit of a blade you need to be a superior ball striker and hit the middle of the face every time”. 100% true btw. That quote will be directed at no particular person yet someone will always jump in and demand validation why they play blades yet aren’t good ball strikers. Here we go dismissing actual physics and making absurd claims and by the end it’s deflection and this. All you have to do is read the blade users thread, that everyone respectfully doesn’t comment in, and see what it’s all about. I have never had to read a book by Bob Rotella or any other “Love Guru” book. It’s odd too that very few really good golfers (scratch or better) really ever comment in their defense of not having to be a good ball striker to benefit from them. I can say I very rarely see a guy playing blades and have only known a couple that did. Both those guys were awesome golfers and when they bought new irons it wasn’t to collect sets it was because the middle of the faces of their clubs were beat all to heck, way past the point where I’d question the clubs performance integrity. I’ve hit blades as I’m sure everyone who has played golf any length of time has. Cool clubs but since I don’t flush every shot with my CBs I know I’m gonna get zero benefit from a blade regardless of how much I focus or concentrate.

[Nard_S]

Dam between Biggern and pinestreet, 2 guys that dont play blades, they sure spend alot of time in a blade thread. Makes you wonder why they put so much energy into something they have no skin in. I don't play clubs with hickory shafts, yet some people do. I don't go in their thread to get my post count up and tell them they are wrong.

 

You noticed that too ? Like a 12 year old girl telling us where babies come from.

 

 

Lol. That coin has 2 sides bud. All you have to do is say “to get the performance benefit of a blade you need to be a superior ball striker and hit the middle of the face every time”. 100% true btw. That quote will be directed at no particular person yet someone will always jump in and demand validation why they play blades yet aren’t good ball strikers. Here we go dismissing actual physics and making absurd claims and by the end it’s deflection and this. All you have to do is read the blade users thread, that everyone respectfully doesn’t comment in, and see what it’s all about. I have never had to read a book by Bob Rotella or any other “Love Guru” book. It’s odd too that very few really good golfers (scratch or better) really ever comment in their defense of not having to be a good ball striker to benefit from them. I can say I very rarely see a guy playing blades and have only known a couple that did. Both those guys were awesome golfers and when they bought new irons it wasn’t to collect sets it was because the middle of the faces of their clubs were beat all to heck, way past the point where I’d question the clubs performance integrity. I’ve hit blades as I’m sure everyone who has played golf any length of time has. Cool clubs but since I don’t flush every shot with my CBs I know I’m gonna get zero benefit from a blade regardless of how much I focus or concentrate.

 

Your ball striking might benefit and pov might carry more weight if you actually delved into how the clubs & tech you play work never mind sticks you know even less about.Fat chance on that. In a year it will latest & greatest bling in the bag a myriad of posts about 'how hard the game is". Play to your passion but please leave the whine in the bottle.

[rgk5]

Our store where I am a fitter certified by Ping, Callaway, Mizuno, Titleist and Taylor Made has yearly sales north of $6 million, about 40% in hard goods. I've been there for 16 years. Muscle backed blades make up less than two percent of our iron sales and that has remained static for all those years.

 

There are valid reasons for that and anyone with a shred of common sense can list them.

[BiggErn]

Dam between Biggern and pinestreet, 2 guys that dont play blades, they sure spend alot of time in a blade thread. Makes you wonder why they put so much energy into something they have no skin in. I don't play clubs with hickory shafts, yet some people do. I don't go in their thread to get my post count up and tell them they are wrong.

 

You noticed that too ? Like a 12 year old girl telling us where babies come from.

 

 

Lol. That coin has 2 sides bud. All you have to do is say “to get the performance benefit of a blade you need to be a superior ball striker and hit the middle of the face every time”. 100% true btw. That quote will be directed at no particular person yet someone will always jump in and demand validation why they play blades yet aren’t good ball strikers. Here we go dismissing actual physics and making absurd claims and by the end it’s deflection and this. All you have to do is read the blade users thread, that everyone respectfully doesn’t comment in, and see what it’s all about. I have never had to read a book by Bob Rotella or any other “Love Guru” book. It’s odd too that very few really good golfers (scratch or better) really ever comment in their defense of not having to be a good ball striker to benefit from them. I can say I very rarely see a guy playing blades and have only known a couple that did. Both those guys were awesome golfers and when they bought new irons it wasn’t to collect sets it was because the middle of the faces of their clubs were beat all to heck, way past the point where I’d question the clubs performance integrity. I’ve hit blades as I’m sure everyone who has played golf any length of time has. Cool clubs but since I don’t flush every shot with my CBs I know I’m gonna get zero benefit from a blade regardless of how much I focus or concentrate.

 

Your ball striking might benefit and pov might carry more weight if you actually delved into how the clubs & tech you play work never mind sticks you know even less about.Fat chance on that. In a year it will latest & greatest bling in the bag a myriad of posts about 'how hard the game is". Play to your passion but please leave the whine in the bottle.

 

Typical absurdity. Nothing you just said makes sense. It’s not about the latest and greatest anything it’s about what is as tech and various club performances have been discussed to no end. Nothing I say can cure someone’s denial. My ball striking is fine with an occasional miss, strike pattern closer to a quarter than a dime. I’m wise enough to know even those slight misses benefit more from a CB (or something more forgiving than a MB).

[pinestreetgolf]

Our store where I am a fitter certified by Ping, Callaway, Mizuno, Titleist and Taylor Made has yearly sales north of $6 million, about 40% in hard goods. I've been there for 16 years. Muscle backed blades make up less than two percent of our iron sales and that has remained static for all those years.

 

There are valid reasons for that and anyone with a shred of common sense can list them.

 

We have a winner.

 

The rogue pro irons your bagging are fantastic btw. A former euro tour player who is at my club plays them and says their the best clubs he has ever hit. He was out there for 20+ years, most of the time with an all-Ping bag, but he *loves* his new rogue pros. I hit them a few times. They're the best of all worlds IMO... except price!

[BiggErn]

Our store where I am a fitter certified by Ping, Callaway, Mizuno, Titleist and Taylor Made has yearly sales north of $6 million, about 40% in hard goods. I've been there for 16 years. Muscle backed blades make up less than two percent of our iron sales and that has remained static for all those years.

 

There are valid reasons for that and anyone with a shred of common sense can list them.

 

We have a winner.

 

The rogue pro irons your bagging are fantastic btw. A former euro tour player who is at my club plays them and says their the best clubs he has ever hit. He was out there for 20+ years, most of the time with an all-Ping bag, but he *loves* his new rogue pros. I hit them a few times. They're the best of all worlds IMO... except price!

 

 

I saw a set on the used rack at my local golf shop the other day when I went to get my new irons that I ended up not getting due to both sets they had lacked the set GW. It was the black version and they looked sweet. Started to hit them but didn’t want to add to my iron picking dilemma.

[Jordan Speeth]

We hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur last week and I noticed a glaring change in equipment preferences of elite D1 players in one generation (4 years) of players. 4 years ago you saw mostly Apex Pros, AP2s, iBlades, Titleist CBs...definitely a majority of CB type irons. This year, nearly every bag I saw held a fresh set of blades. PXGs were the closest thing to a CB I saw, with only a few AP2s still hanging around. They also had some pretty exotic stuff indicating how closely the OEMs now work with the college players. I saw several sets of Miuras, raw Callaway Apex MBs, PXGs, Honma, etc. that you don't even see much on Tour. It was a change I saw coming but never expected it to take over so quickly. I'm interested to see how it will affect the market for recreational golfers when these college kids hit the Tour. It's going to be a big change when every WITB turns blade-y.

[rawdog]

When tungsten weighting gets introduced, does that taint the MB strain of purity?

[rawdog]

We hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur last week and I noticed a glaring change in equipment preferences of elite D1 players in one generation (4 years) of players. 4 years ago you saw mostly Apex Pros, AP2s, iBlades, Titleist CBs...definitely a majority of CB type irons. This year, nearly every bag I saw held a fresh set of blades. PXGs were the closest thing to a CB I saw, with only a few AP2s still hanging around. They also had some pretty exotic stuff indicating how closely the OEMs now work with the college players. I saw several sets of Miuras, raw Callaway Apex MBs, PXGs, Honma, etc. that you don't even see much on Tour. It was a change I saw coming but never expected it to take over so quickly. I'm interested to see how it will affect the market for recreational golfers when these college kids hit the Tour. It's going to be a big change when every WITB turns blade-y.

 

Not every.

 

The majority of people on this site (though a small subset) are smart enough to know what is good for someone else is unlikely to be what is beneficial to them.

[pinestreetgolf]

We hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur last week and I noticed a glaring change in equipment preferences of elite D1 players in one generation (4 years) of players. 4 years ago you saw mostly Apex Pros, AP2s, iBlades, Titleist CBs...definitely a majority of CB type irons. This year, nearly every bag I saw held a fresh set of blades. PXGs were the closest thing to a CB I saw, with only a few AP2s still hanging around. They also had some pretty exotic stuff indicating how closely the OEMs now work with the college players. I saw several sets of Miuras, raw Callaway Apex MBs, PXGs, Honma, etc. that you don't even see much on Tour. It was a change I saw coming but never expected it to take over so quickly. I'm interested to see how it will affect the market for recreational golfers when these college kids hit the Tour. It's going to be a big change when every WITB turns blade-y.

 

Not every.

 

The majority of people on this site (though a small subset) are smart enough to know what is good for someone else is unlikely to be what is beneficial to them.

 

I totally agree with this guy. What better way to determine the future of golf equipment then randomly looking in bags at the Pacific Coast Amateur but not actually writing anything down?

 

I think staff / tour bags are going away too. Nobody at the Pacific Coast Amateur was using them.

 

I'm a member at a TPC course in the South where a few D1 schools practice. I'm not sure I've seen one set of blades outside of a Apex MB / Apex Pro combo set that splits at the 7 iron (which is incredibly popular).

[bodhi555]

We hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur last week and I noticed a glaring change in equipment preferences of elite D1 players in one generation (4 years) of players. 4 years ago you saw mostly Apex Pros, AP2s, iBlades, Titleist CBs...definitely a majority of CB type irons. This year, nearly every bag I saw held a fresh set of blades. PXGs were the closest thing to a CB I saw, with only a few AP2s still hanging around. They also had some pretty exotic stuff indicating how closely the OEMs now work with the college players. I saw several sets of Miuras, raw Callaway Apex MBs, PXGs, Honma, etc. that you don't even see much on Tour. It was a change I saw coming but never expected it to take over so quickly. I'm interested to see how it will affect the market for recreational golfers when these college kids hit the Tour. It's going to be a big change when every WITB turns blade-y.

 

Not every.

 

The majority of people on this site (though a small subset) are smart enough to know what is good for someone else is unlikely to be what is beneficial to them.

 

I totally agree with this guy. What better way to determine the future of golf equipment then randomly looking in bags at the Pacific Coast Amateur but not actually writing anything down?

 

I think staff / tour bags are going away too. Nobody at the Pacific Coast Amateur was using them.

 

I'm a member at a TPC course in the South where a few D1 schools practice. I'm not sure I've seen one set of blades outside of a Apex MB / Apex Pro combo set that splits at the 7 iron (which is incredibly popular).

 

Interestingly one course I play at is home to the Under 16 Staffordshire Boys Champion, and another is home to the Under-18 Champion. Both play a full set of blades.

 

Does my random anecdote trump yours?

[pinestreetgolf]

We hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur last week and I noticed a glaring change in equipment preferences of elite D1 players in one generation (4 years) of players. 4 years ago you saw mostly Apex Pros, AP2s, iBlades, Titleist CBs...definitely a majority of CB type irons. This year, nearly every bag I saw held a fresh set of blades. PXGs were the closest thing to a CB I saw, with only a few AP2s still hanging around. They also had some pretty exotic stuff indicating how closely the OEMs now work with the college players. I saw several sets of Miuras, raw Callaway Apex MBs, PXGs, Honma, etc. that you don't even see much on Tour. It was a change I saw coming but never expected it to take over so quickly. I'm interested to see how it will affect the market for recreational golfers when these college kids hit the Tour. It's going to be a big change when every WITB turns blade-y.

 

Not every.

 

The majority of people on this site (though a small subset) are smart enough to know what is good for someone else is unlikely to be what is beneficial to them.

 

I totally agree with this guy. What better way to determine the future of golf equipment then randomly looking in bags at the Pacific Coast Amateur but not actually writing anything down?

 

I think staff / tour bags are going away too. Nobody at the Pacific Coast Amateur was using them.

 

I'm a member at a TPC course in the South where a few D1 schools practice. I'm not sure I've seen one set of blades outside of a Apex MB / Apex Pro combo set that splits at the 7 iron (which is incredibly popular).

 

Interestingly one course I play at is home to the Under 16 Staffordshire Boys Champion, and another is home to the Under-18 Champion. Both play a full set of blades.

 

Does my random anecdote trump yours?

 

No random anecdote trumps any other. That was the point of my post.

[rawdog]

We hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur last week and I noticed a glaring change in equipment preferences of elite D1 players in one generation (4 years) of players. 4 years ago you saw mostly Apex Pros, AP2s, iBlades, Titleist CBs...definitely a majority of CB type irons. This year, nearly every bag I saw held a fresh set of blades. PXGs were the closest thing to a CB I saw, with only a few AP2s still hanging around. They also had some pretty exotic stuff indicating how closely the OEMs now work with the college players. I saw several sets of Miuras, raw Callaway Apex MBs, PXGs, Honma, etc. that you don't even see much on Tour. It was a change I saw coming but never expected it to take over so quickly. I'm interested to see how it will affect the market for recreational golfers when these college kids hit the Tour. It's going to be a big change when every WITB turns blade-y.

 

Not every.

 

The majority of people on this site (though a small subset) are smart enough to know what is good for someone else is unlikely to be what is beneficial to them.

 

I totally agree with this guy. What better way to determine the future of golf equipment then randomly looking in bags at the Pacific Coast Amateur but not actually writing anything down?

 

I think staff / tour bags are going away too. Nobody at the Pacific Coast Amateur was using them.

 

I'm a member at a TPC course in the South where a few D1 schools practice. I'm not sure I've seen one set of blades outside of a Apex MB / Apex Pro combo set that splits at the 7 iron (which is incredibly popular).

 

Seems like a robust sample size to me. This data is a good counter to the post above from a poster who tracked actual iron sales over the years and noted MBs to be around 2% of total iron sales.

 

EDIT: The real question is whether or not these are "stock" clubs so we can contribute this data over to that thread. The only sensible conclusion to make here is that the best players are gravitating toward stock MBs.

 

"Looking at the bags of the top players at my club - most of them play stock clubs."

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1621156-most-of-the-top-players-at-my-course-play-stock/

[pinestreetgolf]

We hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur last week and I noticed a glaring change in equipment preferences of elite D1 players in one generation (4 years) of players. 4 years ago you saw mostly Apex Pros, AP2s, iBlades, Titleist CBs...definitely a majority of CB type irons. This year, nearly every bag I saw held a fresh set of blades. PXGs were the closest thing to a CB I saw, with only a few AP2s still hanging around. They also had some pretty exotic stuff indicating how closely the OEMs now work with the college players. I saw several sets of Miuras, raw Callaway Apex MBs, PXGs, Honma, etc. that you don't even see much on Tour. It was a change I saw coming but never expected it to take over so quickly. I'm interested to see how it will affect the market for recreational golfers when these college kids hit the Tour. It's going to be a big change when every WITB turns blade-y.

 

Not every.

 

The majority of people on this site (though a small subset) are smart enough to know what is good for someone else is unlikely to be what is beneficial to them.

 

I totally agree with this guy. What better way to determine the future of golf equipment then randomly looking in bags at the Pacific Coast Amateur but not actually writing anything down?

 

I think staff / tour bags are going away too. Nobody at the Pacific Coast Amateur was using them.

 

I'm a member at a TPC course in the South where a few D1 schools practice. I'm not sure I've seen one set of blades outside of a Apex MB / Apex Pro combo set that splits at the 7 iron (which is incredibly popular).

 

Seems like a robust sample size to me. This data is a good counter to the post above from a poster who tracked actual iron sales over the years and noted MBs to be around 2% of total iron sales.

 

Dude, didn't you read the post above? They were all over the Western Am. Only a matter of time until they take over the tour. Most of the young players are also driving stuff like Honda Accords. The Mercedes courtesy car business is up sh*t creek if these Western Amateur stats are correct.

[bodhi555]

We hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur last week and I noticed a glaring change in equipment preferences of elite D1 players in one generation (4 years) of players. 4 years ago you saw mostly Apex Pros, AP2s, iBlades, Titleist CBs...definitely a majority of CB type irons. This year, nearly every bag I saw held a fresh set of blades. PXGs were the closest thing to a CB I saw, with only a few AP2s still hanging around. They also had some pretty exotic stuff indicating how closely the OEMs now work with the college players. I saw several sets of Miuras, raw Callaway Apex MBs, PXGs, Honma, etc. that you don't even see much on Tour. It was a change I saw coming but never expected it to take over so quickly. I'm interested to see how it will affect the market for recreational golfers when these college kids hit the Tour. It's going to be a big change when every WITB turns blade-y.

 

Not every.

 

The majority of people on this site (though a small subset) are smart enough to know what is good for someone else is unlikely to be what is beneficial to them.

 

I totally agree with this guy. What better way to determine the future of golf equipment then randomly looking in bags at the Pacific Coast Amateur but not actually writing anything down?

 

I think staff / tour bags are going away too. Nobody at the Pacific Coast Amateur was using them.

 

I'm a member at a TPC course in the South where a few D1 schools practice. I'm not sure I've seen one set of blades outside of a Apex MB / Apex Pro combo set that splits at the 7 iron (which is incredibly popular).

 

Interestingly one course I play at is home to the Under 16 Staffordshire Boys Champion, and another is home to the Under-18 Champion. Both play a full set of blades.

 

Does my random anecdote trump yours?

 

No random anecdote trumps any other. That was the point of my post.

 

There was a point to your post? News to me...

 

Anyway I'm glad you feel your point is made by data from a single golf store. I could quote one near me that sees the percentage of blades going out at closer to 40%, but then he does specialise in them. Given that he's operating in a dying market, it's interesting how long it takes to get an appointment with him (3 weeks +).

 

So, as ever, the answer is in the middle somewhere. Are blades ever going to take over again? No, as there are too many people who can't use them. Are they going away any time soon? No, as there are plenty of us chumps who can use them and get the benefits they offer.

[rawdog]

We hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur last week and I noticed a glaring change in equipment preferences of elite D1 players in one generation (4 years) of players. 4 years ago you saw mostly Apex Pros, AP2s, iBlades, Titleist CBs...definitely a majority of CB type irons. This year, nearly every bag I saw held a fresh set of blades. PXGs were the closest thing to a CB I saw, with only a few AP2s still hanging around. They also had some pretty exotic stuff indicating how closely the OEMs now work with the college players. I saw several sets of Miuras, raw Callaway Apex MBs, PXGs, Honma, etc. that you don't even see much on Tour. It was a change I saw coming but never expected it to take over so quickly. I'm interested to see how it will affect the market for recreational golfers when these college kids hit the Tour. It's going to be a big change when every WITB turns blade-y.

 

Not every.

 

The majority of people on this site (though a small subset) are smart enough to know what is good for someone else is unlikely to be what is beneficial to them.

 

I totally agree with this guy. What better way to determine the future of golf equipment then randomly looking in bags at the Pacific Coast Amateur but not actually writing anything down?

 

I think staff / tour bags are going away too. Nobody at the Pacific Coast Amateur was using them.

 

I'm a member at a TPC course in the South where a few D1 schools practice. I'm not sure I've seen one set of blades outside of a Apex MB / Apex Pro combo set that splits at the 7 iron (which is incredibly popular).

 

Seems like a robust sample size to me. This data is a good counter to the post above from a poster who tracked actual iron sales over the years and noted MBs to be around 2% of total iron sales.

 

Dude, didn't you read the post above? They were all over the Western Am. Only a matter of time until they take over the tour. Most of the young players are also driving stuff like Honda Accords. The Mercedes courtesy car business is up sh*t creek if these Western Amateur stats are correct.

 

Well, I found a WITB for the guy who was #1 ranked coming into the Pacific Am (Braden Thornberry) and he was playing AP2s according to a golfwrx WITB.

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...erry-witb-2017/

 

The guy who won (Isaiah Salinda), appeared to be playing CBs as of last August.

 

I dunno, if there is anything to take away from the Pacific Am, maybe it's that we shouldn't be playing MBs?

[bodhi555]

Not sure what a 2017 WITB post has to do with a tourney held last week?

[puttingmatt]

If the guy in the above photo, wants to be in full Tiger mode, he better get some TM Blades

[BiggErn]

Not sure what a 2017 WITB post has to do with a tourney held last week?

 

Ask the guy who brought it up originally and was touting all the ams with their blades. The guy pictured won. He didn’t have blades in his last available WITB

[bodhi555]

Not sure what a 2017 WITB post has to do with a tourney held last week?

 

Ask the guy who brought it up originally and was touting all the ams with their blades. The guy pictured won. He didn’t have blades in his last available WITB

 

His WITB from 2017?

 

You are aware it's 2018?

[BiggErn]

Not sure what a 2017 WITB post has to do with a tourney held last week?

 

Ask the guy who brought it up originally and was touting all the ams with their blades. The guy pictured won. He didnt have blades in his last available WITB

 

His WITB from 2017?

 

You are aware it's 2018?

 

 

If you can find his 2018 WITB then post it. At least it’s tangible evidence of what a guy plays vs “I saw what kids had in their bag but can’t prove it”.

[mahonie]

We hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur last week and I noticed a glaring change in equipment preferences of elite D1 players in one generation (4 years) of players. 4 years ago you saw mostly Apex Pros, AP2s, iBlades, Titleist CBs...definitely a majority of CB type irons. This year, nearly every bag I saw held a fresh set of blades. PXGs were the closest thing to a CB I saw, with only a few AP2s still hanging around. They also had some pretty exotic stuff indicating how closely the OEMs now work with the college players. I saw several sets of Miuras, raw Callaway Apex MBs, PXGs, Honma, etc. that you don't even see much on Tour. It was a change I saw coming but never expected it to take over so quickly. I'm interested to see how it will affect the market for recreational golfers when these college kids hit the Tour. It's going to be a big change when every WITB turns blade-y.

 

Not every.

 

The majority of people on this site (though a small subset) are smart enough to know what is good for someone else is unlikely to be what is beneficial to them.

 

I totally agree with this guy. What better way to determine the future of golf equipment then randomly looking in bags at the Pacific Coast Amateur but not actually writing anything down?

 

I think staff / tour bags are going away too. Nobody at the Pacific Coast Amateur was using them.

 

I'm a member at a TPC course in the South where a few D1 schools practice. I'm not sure I've seen one set of blades outside of a Apex MB / Apex Pro combo set that splits at the 7 iron (which is incredibly popular).

 

Interestingly one course I play at is home to the Under 16 Staffordshire Boys Champion, and another is home to the Under-18 Champion. Both play a full set of blades.

 

Does my random anecdote trump yours?

 

Interestingly, our current club chumpion is a former winner of the Under 16 and Under 18s Chumpionship...I think he won both in the same year when he was 15. He just broke our course record playing his Srixon 945s. He really is the Ace of Clubs...does that trump everything? ;-)

[rawdog]

We hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur last week and I noticed a glaring change in equipment preferences of elite D1 players in one generation (4 years) of players. 4 years ago you saw mostly Apex Pros, AP2s, iBlades, Titleist CBs...definitely a majority of CB type irons. This year, nearly every bag I saw held a fresh set of blades. PXGs were the closest thing to a CB I saw, with only a few AP2s still hanging around. They also had some pretty exotic stuff indicating how closely the OEMs now work with the college players. I saw several sets of Miuras, raw Callaway Apex MBs, PXGs, Honma, etc. that you don't even see much on Tour. It was a change I saw coming but never expected it to take over so quickly. I'm interested to see how it will affect the market for recreational golfers when these college kids hit the Tour. It's going to be a big change when every WITB turns blade-y.

 

Not every.

 

The majority of people on this site (though a small subset) are smart enough to know what is good for someone else is unlikely to be what is beneficial to them.

 

I totally agree with this guy. What better way to determine the future of golf equipment then randomly looking in bags at the Pacific Coast Amateur but not actually writing anything down?

 

I think staff / tour bags are going away too. Nobody at the Pacific Coast Amateur was using them.

 

I'm a member at a TPC course in the South where a few D1 schools practice. I'm not sure I've seen one set of blades outside of a Apex MB / Apex Pro combo set that splits at the 7 iron (which is incredibly popular).

 

Interestingly one course I play at is home to the Under 16 Staffordshire Boys Champion, and another is home to the Under-18 Champion. Both play a full set of blades.

 

Does my random anecdote trump yours?

 

Interestingly, our current club chumpion is a former winner of the Under 16 and Under 18s Chumpionship...I think he won both in the same year when he was 15. He just broke our course record playing his Srixon 945s. He really is the Ace of Clubs...does that trump everything? ;-)

 

Not everything. Not sure if you guys ever got Nip/Tuck across the pond, and pardon the vulgarity, but you reminded me of a great scene.

 

I realize your post is in jest (and excellent pun), but sometimes WRX really is a wonderful pissing match lol.

 

[chippa13]

 

 

Not every.

 

The majority of people on this site (though a small subset) are smart enough to know what is good for someone else is unlikely to be what is beneficial to them.

 

I totally agree with this guy. What better way to determine the future of golf equipment then randomly looking in bags at the Pacific Coast Amateur but not actually writing anything down?

 

I think staff / tour bags are going away too. Nobody at the Pacific Coast Amateur was using them.

 

I'm a member at a TPC course in the South where a few D1 schools practice. I'm not sure I've seen one set of blades outside of a Apex MB / Apex Pro combo set that splits at the 7 iron (which is incredibly popular).

 

Interestingly one course I play at is home to the Under 16 Staffordshire Boys Champion, and another is home to the Under-18 Champion. Both play a full set of blades.

 

Does my random anecdote trump yours?

 

No random anecdote trumps any other. That was the point of my post.

 

There was a point to your post? News to me...

 

Anyway I'm glad you feel your point is made by data from a single golf store. I could quote one near me that sees the percentage of blades going out at closer to 40%, but then he does specialise in them. Given that he's operating in a dying market, it's interesting how long it takes to get an appointment with him (3 weeks +).

 

So, as ever, the answer is in the middle somewhere. Are blades ever going to take over again? No, as there are too many people who can't use them. Are they going away any time soon? No, as there are plenty of us chumps who can use them and get the benefits they offer.

 

So the guy specializing in blades is still moving everything else at an over 60% clip. Maybe the wait time is just because he has a good reputation for all clubs he deals in since the majority are still not the ones he "specializes" in.

[chippa13]

By the way, there is an exotic car shop in the area that specializes in Ferraris and is close to 40% in Ferrari sales. The weird thing, in the dying market of supercars it still takes 3 weeks to get an appointment in the shop. I guess it will be a Ferrari in every garage and a chicken in every pot soon.

[rawdog]

By the way, there is an exotic car shop in the area that specializes in Ferraris and is close to 40% in Ferrari sales. The weird thing, in the dying market of supercars it still takes 3 weeks to get an appointment in the shop. I guess it will be a Ferrari in every garage and a chicken in every pot soon.

 

Wages, dividends, progress and prosperity say, "Vote for blades."

[Titleist-Golfer]

Seems people are getting a bit off topic.

 

No one cares what a specific unknown amateur plays ... blade, CB, GI, or waffle iron.

 

I think we can probably close this thread down - the consensus is that blades are here to stay, but will most likely be in the bags of good ball strikers, those that aspire to be good ball strikers, or posers. That group of people make up a small % of the golfing world, so blade sales will continue to be small, but professionals will continue to demand them, so they will continue to be manufactured and sold in small quantities to the public.

 

We can now go back to liking each other ... Geez!

[Jordan Speeth]

I'd say that we have more top Am's playing our course than anywhere on the West coast day-to-day, because we support them and promote it. Every day, there are dozens of college players there and not always the same kids and I'm here to tell you that the trend is definitely going toward blade irons. I do make it a habit to check out as many bags as possible I don't need to write it down to know what I'm seeing...not that old yet. I'd say there are more blades in play in D1 now than on Tour percentage wise. I was also at the Ellie Mae Qualifier on Monday and saw the same thing in play. It's just a trend, not chiseled in stone or permanent...just the trend right now. Kids these days are very likely to do what their peers do regardless of its benefits (or not), even this group of very talented young people. Five years ago, you'd have had a very hard time finding any blades in play in college.

 

BTW, these aren't random kids, but rather the top amateurs in the country.

[buzlin]

When tungsten weighting gets introduced, does that taint the MB strain of purity?

Your question is on topic, so I hesitated to answer it. :)

 

I think from a pure standpoint, it does. The supposed pure feel of an MB comes not only from it's shape, but the vibration from a single material forging, and that is has no bias/correction/help in the design (ie, offset, cavity, weights, and face flex). You get out what you put in.

 

What is the purpose of adding tungsten in an MB? Is it to simulate perimeter weighting which in theory should increase the MOI?

 

I would think adding tungsten to the rear of the sole, low and around the toe, would in theory give you the same benefit of a players CB (higher moi, lower and rear cg), while maintaining the slim sole and shape of an MB? So what you're creating is a club that plays like a CB, but looks like an MB. Don't have any idea how the pure "feel" would be impacted. blah blah blah.

 

Interesting question.

 

Before anyone bashes me, I caveat, that I really have no idea what I'm talking about. Just verbalizing thoughts.

[sdandrea]

When tungsten weighting gets introduced, does that taint the MB strain of purity?

Your question is on topic, so I hesitated to answer it. :)

 

Before anyone bashes me, I caveat, that I really have no idea what I'm talking about. Just verbalizing thoughts.

 

Best post in this entire thread!