Main reason to play blades?

[justasgood]

Can't edit the post above but I had more info there.

 

 

[bonobobananas]

I find misses are worse with GI irons. Gear effect with shovels tends to accentuate a toe strike into a disaster. Also I can feel exactly where I’ve hit the ball on the face with my blades and that helps me to improve my swing. Finally, they just aren’t as hard to hit as people think ?

[justasgood]

Blades, Especially smaller blades are most consistent in distance I feel because any strike would be close to the sweet spot. It may not feel great, but I find the distance and direction to be less penal. JMHO

[golfjam]

Because they're beautiful and feel awesome. Tried everything else, cavity back or players distance irons, and my index stayed the same, around 3.

[Sweden_William]

Blades are no big deal. They're all we had to play with in the 70's when I learned to play. Nobody thought anything about it...., they were just golf clubs.

 

I go back and forth between my MP64's and MP4's, and don't notice much of a difference between the two.

 

 

 

 

[Warrior42111]

Honestly, if you have a somewhat repeatable swing there's probably not a big difference. I your swing is all over the place a CB will probably mitigate a bad shot or 2.

[tsecor]

They are just better looking and everyone I'm playing with says "daaaaaaaaaaammmmmm" you play blades? Then they are intimidated for the 1st few holes. Then I shoot 86 and they are like, " man you need some GI"s" and I'm like "no way, you shot 105 with SGI's"......

 

 

[Thats two thus far Shooter]

The gains of better turf interaction, consistency and feel far outweigh any increases in distance and forgiveness.

[TXTrapLord]

Just because you drive a Ferrari doesn't mean you need to be a racecar driver. I love anyone who is attempting to play a blade. Sure, it may be outside their game, but seeing someone light up after "feeling" every piece of the swing is awesome.

[Joe S]

“A well hit golf shot is a feeling that goes up the shaft, right through your hands and into your heart.”

― Ben Hogan

 

Mr. Hogan is obviously referring to forged blades. So basically I switched to blades for heart health.

[sphna12d]

> @"Joe S" said:

> “A well hit golf shot is a feeling that goes up the shaft, right through your hands and into your heart.”

> ― Ben Hogan

>

> Mr. Hogan is obviously referring to forged blades. So basically I switched to blades for heart health.

 

I’m not a blade guy but this might be the best response I’ve seen in one of these threads. Kudos!

[TheSphynx]

I play blades because I was told that having them in the bag would remove all these damn ads in the threads. Every 5-6 posts is ridiculous.

[Colonel_Steelhead]

> @tsecor said:

> They are just better looking and everyone I'm playing with says "daaaaaaaaaaammmmmm" you play blades? Then they are intimidated for the 1st few holes. Then I shoot 86 and they are like, " man you need some GI"s" and I'm like "no way, you shot 105 with SGI's"......

>

>

 

When I play them and hit a bad shot its "You should use game enhancement irons". When I play the game enhancers and hit the same bad shot its "You should get lessons". When we both hit bad shots its a collective "Thats why I dont play golf for a living".

[NRJyzr]

> @pingnewbie said:

> Confused here - why would blades offer more consistent yardages when misses on the face aren't as forgiving?

 

 

The answer can be found in this excerpt from a blog piece by Terry Koehler. Not going to post the entire thing, but it can be found with a google search...

 

*****

As I've spent 50 years playing this crazy game, and 25+ years in the equipment industry, I've had a number of eye-opening "epiphanies" (the dictionary defines "epiphany" as "a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something.").

 

One of those came in the mid-1990's as I was reviewing some Iron Byron results we were doing at Hogan.

 

Let me set this up by saying that I've always played blades - I like the shot control, trajectory and feel of them, not to mention the clean compact appearance behind the ball.

 

But for a few years prior to this time, I was playing Hogan Edge cavity back forgings. They felt OK, and my handicap stayed about scratch, but my game seemed different. There certainly was no question that they were forgiving.

 

Back to the research. I was looking at a chart of shot patterns of different irons we were testing, and was particularly struck by something I saw.

 

With Iron Byron set to swing a 6-iron with about 165 yards of distance, the cavity back irons we were testing were producing a pattern on dead center hits that was about 8' wide and about 15-17' long !

 

These are duplicate swings, dead center impact, and these shots are coming out 3-4' right or left of the target line, and as much as 8-9' short or long !

 

Not just with one model of iron, but with nearly every cavity back we tested. Now, realize that as we moved the impact further from the center of the face, the forgiveness factor was excellent, but I was puzzled by that "dead center" pattern.

 

Then I looked at the chart for the new Apex blade we were developing. On heel misses, it was slightly worse than the cavity back models.

 

On toe misses, the Apex was significantly worse (blades have very little mass out on the toe).

 

But on dead center hits - our shot pattern was about 1/4 the size of the cavity back pattern !In other words, the perfect shots were much better!

*****

[theanthonyv]

I play blades because, when flushed, they feel way better than GI/CB clubs. And I play mainly for that feel of a well-struck shot. My score is strictly consequential and I don’t really care if my index is 3, 5 or 8. I’m never turning pro.

[talktoafade]

Because it's fun and it feels good.

 

And because the laws of physics mean the actual sweet spot is exactly the same size (a pinhead) regardless of clubhead size or shape or addition of any and all manner of marketing-driven gimcrackery.

 

Consistently hitting a small, hard ball a desired distance and direction off bare turf is very difficult, with any implement.

 

So you might as well use the implement that gives you the most confidence and excitement and positive vibes when you stand to the ball.

[herbert7890]

> @TheSphynx said:

> I play blades because I was told that having them in the bag would remove all these **** ads in the threads. Every 5-6 posts is ridiculous.

 

Agree bro!!! And this is recent, it wasnt like that until like 2 weeks ago.

[bladehunter]

> @Itsjustagame said:

> Interesting that almost nobody answers because blades lowered their scores.

 

> @glm said:

> The wider the sole the more I dig.

> I don't need to hit a 7 iron 195 yards.

 

That’s because your brain knows you need to hit it steep to get the ball to the wide soled irons Sweet spot. You literally have to make a much more defending blow to hit them flush. The average player who hits half his shots fat doesn’t know that. Why ? The sole let’s him get away with it. But that also means he doesn’t know what a really pure strike is like either. Everything is a trade off.

[Acushnet11]

Aesthetics, playability, and feel.

1) The way an iron looks(aesthetics) is extremely important, and that extends across blades. I wouldn't consider playing half the blades that are on the market today just because I don't like certain aspects of how they look. Aesthetics inspires many things: workability, trajectory control, general shot shape, and club head entry into the ball for diverse lies, just to name a few things.

2) Playability is obviously the most important aspect, although when I'm choosing a set of irons the aesthetics will always be the starting factor for me. Blades provide superior shot shape control in all forms. Consider it this way, if you had complete control over the club head wouldn't you want to play the iron that best allows you to extract that control capability? Of course. Blades allow this.

3) Blades are typically a low durometer carbon steel and guys that routinely hit it in the middle of the club face are going to absolutely want the type of feedback you get from a softer metal. I personally don't like not knowing how bad a mishit is, which can happen with cavity backs when you don't miss the center of the club by much.

[SammyShaf]

I walked into PIAS and a set of 712MBs 4-PW was on a shelf. They were gripped with midsize white tourwraps in white with X100s. The shop gave me a generous trade in for my mp-57s with project x 5.5s and an old tour edge 3 wood that wasn't going to see the light of day. I had mp 15s in the bag with kbs tour 130x and wanted to see if I had enough game to try mbs. Every time I open the trunk and see those irons, it brings a smile to my face. They inspire confidence and keep my ego in check. I like the teeth rattling feedback on bad shots in addition to the joy of the pured shots. As far as tinkering with clubs, I can mark it off my bucket list now.

[BenHoganSlam1953]

> @NRJyzr said:

> > @pingnewbie said:

> > Confused here - why would blades offer more consistent yardages when misses on the face aren't as forgiving?

>

>

> The answer can be found in this excerpt from a blog piece by Terry Koehler. Not going to post the entire thing, but it can be found with a google search...

>

> *****

> As I've spent 50 years playing this crazy game, and 25+ years in the equipment industry, I've had a number of eye-opening "epiphanies" (the dictionary defines "epiphany" as "a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something.").

>

> One of those came in the mid-1990's as I was reviewing some Iron Byron results we were doing at Hogan.

>

> Let me set this up by saying that I've always played blades - I like the shot control, trajectory and feel of them, not to mention the clean compact appearance behind the ball.

>

> But for a few years prior to this time, I was playing Hogan Edge cavity back forgings. They felt OK, and my handicap stayed about scratch, but my game seemed different. There certainly was no question that they were forgiving.

>

> Back to the research. I was looking at a chart of shot patterns of different irons we were testing, and was particularly struck by something I saw.

>

> With Iron Byron set to swing a 6-iron with about 165 yards of distance, the cavity back irons we were testing were producing a pattern on dead center hits that was about 8' wide and about 15-17' long !

>

> These are duplicate swings, dead center impact, and these shots are coming out 3-4' right or left of the target line, and as much as 8-9' short or long !

>

> Not just with one model of iron, but with nearly every cavity back we tested. Now, realize that as we moved the impact further from the center of the face, the forgiveness factor was excellent, but I was puzzled by that "dead center" pattern.

>

> Then I looked at the chart for the new Apex blade we were developing. On heel misses, it was slightly worse than the cavity back models.

>

> On toe misses, the Apex was significantly worse (blades have very little mass out on the toe).

>

> But on dead center hits - our shot pattern was about 1/4 the size of the cavity back pattern !In other words, the perfect shots were much better!

> *****

 

That's the thing ... I may be left if I pull, or I may drift right of my target, but I know what my average and what my max yardages will be so I can eliminate any hazards; and whether 10 feet or 30 feet, I am putting for birdie more often than not ... as I am quite often pin high

[Tree Levino]

I love blades. I'm tinkering with starting to build a bit. Just epoxied up a couple Srixon z945 irons to try out.

 

Have had three shocker rounds in a row. The first one I was swinging pretty terribly for the whole first half of the round - mostly due to over swinging. I calmed down and started hitting one more club and knocking my shots down. Was hitting darts with my MBs. The best part is the spin control. Yesterday I hit a wild tee shot and was under a tree but had a bit of room to get the ball out. It was 165 with wind slightly down and off the right. Green has a mammoth bunker in front, and forest on the left. Pin is back left. I'm in the right side of the fairway. Pretty much worst case scenario given how shallow the green is. I hit a trap cut up against the wind with my 8i MB - couldn't see the shot take off because of the tree but it felt pure - duck out from behind the tree and see my ball dead stop 5 feet from the pin. No joke that shot would be nearly impossible with a CB. It was exactly what blades are made for. Shot 10 over and that one shot made the round feel good.

[1Mordrid1]

The best reason to play blades is because you want to.

 

 

[YoungJedi]

Distance control for me.

 

I hit my 8 iron 167. Why hit it further?

When I had players “distance” irons like the Mizuno Jpx 900 forged and 919 forged, I’d blast them over the green randomly. The courses I play aren’t that long, about 6600, and small greens. So it’s a lot of short irons, and precision is a must.

 

I play the blueprints, which are tiny, and they make me focus more. My ball striking has never been better. Granted I’m a scratch player, I think it just makes me focus more and strike it better.

 

Whatever makes you feel more confident.

[Troutfly]

Because it affords me the right to respond to the "you should try _______ irons" people with "appreciated, but I didn't ask for your bleeping advice". In addition, I can't look down at a GI and honestly say this ugly sob is improving my iron game.

[robdalky]

As a lowly 6 cap I have learned a couple of things with respect to my MP20s vs my old i25s that I was fitted for as a ~15.

 

Distance control with the blades is amazing. No fliers. If I hit it, it goes the number. No less, no more. On it.

 

Second, they give me so much feedback. I would hit shots with the i25, and they all sort of felt the same. No matter where I hit it. Always felt okay, never amazing, never terrible. With blades, you can tell. Heel, toe, high, low. Going to the range seems more productive because I get immediate feedback - good and bad. Will this actually make me a better ball striker? I would think so but time will tell.

[kiwii]

Best workability and feedback. Thinner sole works better for my swing. Also spray less side to side on a blade. Distance on mishits is worse though.

[tsecor]

"I play blades to p-iss off the people who hate when 10+ HDCP play blades" that's a quote from a buddy of mine

[tsecor]

Can golf wrx add some more advertisements? I haven't seen enough :)

[musclefront]

Looks, feel and versatility.