Are blades really “punishing” or do people swing too hard?

[Chunkitgood]

I just heard a guy on tv quote John Anselmo (?) who apparently taught Woods to the effect that “you can hit the ball as hard as you want as long as you hit the center of the face and stay in balance.”

 

If people followed that rule, would they have to worry about “punishing” mishits?  Shouldn’t they, instead of getting more forgiving clubs, just stop swinging so hard they cannot hit the center of the face?

 

 

[BagofToast]

I find that a lot of the time I’m not hitting the center I’m just swinging too fast so I’d agree with swinging too hard  

[rd1959]

17 minutes ago, Chunkitgood said:

I just heard a guy on tv quote John Anselmo (?) who apparently taught Woods to the effect that “you can hit the ball as hard as you want as long as you hit the center of the face and stay in balance.”

 

If people followed that rule, would they have to worry about “punishing” mishits?  Shouldn’t they, instead of getting more forgiving clubs, just stop swinging so hard they cannot hit the center of the face?

 

 

That idea wouldn't fly today. It makes way too much sense 😁

Edited August 2, 2022 by rd1959

[iknowbagu]

It's not mutually exclusive. Yes, blades are more punishing on off-center strikes. Yes, people swing too hard. 

[gents15]

36 minutes ago, Chunkitgood said:

I just heard a guy on tv quote John Anselmo (?) who apparently taught Woods to the effect that “you can hit the ball as hard as you want as long as you hit the center of the face and stay in balance.”

 

If people followed that rule, would they have to worry about “punishing” mishits?  Shouldn’t they, instead of getting more forgiving clubs, just stop swinging so hard they cannot hit the center of the face?

 

 

But what if they made clubs so you could swing as hard as you want and not have to worry about hitting the center of the face as much? 

[Cwebb]

56 minutes ago, Chunkitgood said:

I just heard a guy on tv quote John Anselmo (?) who apparently taught Woods to the effect that “you can hit the ball as hard as you want as long as you hit the center of the face and stay in balance."

 

 

 

This is also the advice that Davis Love's father gave him.  He was a top PGA instructor back in the day.  Davis could generate about 125 mph of club head speed using a steel shafted driver, with a balanced finish.

 

 

Edited August 2, 2022 by Cwebb

[NoTalentLefty]

19 minutes ago, Cwebb said:

 

This is also the advice that Davis Love's father gave him.  He was a top PGA instructor back in the day.  Davis could generate about 125 mph of club head speed using a steel shafted driver, with a balanced finish.

 

 

Saw him in 1993.  His swing looked like he was barely swinging but when he connected the sound and distance was unbelievable. He looked like a pencil too. 

Edited August 2, 2022 by NoTalentLefty

[SheriffBooth]

If only swinging slightly easier was the key to always hitting the center of the clubface and staying in balance.  Or, in the alternative, if only I had the inherent talent of Tiger Woods or Davis Love III.

[Cwebb]

12 minutes ago, SheriffBooth said:

If only swinging slightly easier was the key to always hitting the center of the clubface and staying in balance.  Or, in the alternative, if only I had the inherent talent of Tiger Woods or Davis Love III.

 

Just swinging easier wasn't the advice though.  It was "swing as hard as you want, as long as you can finish in balance"

[ChipNRun]

1 hour ago, Chunkitgood said:

“you can hit the ball as hard as you want as long as {insert your favorite cosmic advice...}.”

 

"...as hard as you want as long as..." has been around since the 1960s, like when I was in grade school.

 

Golfers have been fed an infinite variety of dubious advice beyond the phrase "...as long as..."

 

27 minutes ago, SheriffBooth said:

if only I had the inherent talent of Tiger Woods or Davis Love III.

The Sheriff has identified where most golfers are. It takes a certain amount of clubhead speed to launch blades, and athletically talented golfers don't seem to realize this.

 

Mostly, I see remarks like this as a bid by golf's self-appointed real amateurs to demean double-digit HDCPers at happy hour.

[puttingmatt]

Blades are only punishing on off center strikes, CB's are only  to a smaller percentage  punishing on off center strikes. Both  punish on misses. 

Boils down to what the golfer can  accept in performance losses.

Also , a golfers own physical abilities to swing an iron play a large part.

Edited August 3, 2022 by puttingmatt

[MtlJeff]

52 minutes ago, SheriffBooth said:

If only swinging slightly easier was the key to always hitting the center of the clubface and staying in balance.  Or, in the alternative, if only I had the inherent talent of Tiger Woods or Davis Love III.

 

Yup pretty much this....

 

Swinging slightly easier might make you slightly more able to hit center of the face....but for 95% of golfers that's not nearly enough

 

I got nothing against blades, MtlJeff plays blades....But they are not for everyone

[jomatty]

Blades are punishing.  I’m not sure that most players do better when they try to swing easy.  As long as my tempo stays good and I don’t get quick from the top my most consistent strike, with everything wedges, is one that is very close to as hard as I can swing.  If I try to make that same hard swing and my tempo is bad or if I try to make an easy swing and my tempo and sequencing is bad then I have lots of problems.

[SBH9458]

55 minutes ago, SheriffBooth said:

If only swinging slightly easier was the key to always hitting the center of the clubface and staying in balance.  Or, in the alternative, if only I had the inherent talent of Tiger Woods or Davis Love III.

So very true. Plus tempo. Perfectly true. 

[Benkross]

1 hour ago, gents15 said:

But what if they made clubs so you could swing as hard as you want and not have to worry about hitting the center of the face as much? 

Yes those are the T100 or Srixon ZX7 

[roundersmitty]

I can’t hit the centre of the face every time with a 3 foot putt…..

[ThinkingPlus]

Old school blades are punishing because the CG is high and tight to the hosel.  Narrow soles are a challenge as well.

 

The closeness of the CG to the hosel helped no one ever.  Bad design that hasn't been necessary for nearly 50 years.  The high CG is OK for high swing speed folks, but is certainly punishing for those not so endowed.  If you play in a swamp, the narrow sole will be death.  Play on fast and firm it won't be so bad.

[BombinJim]

I think many people misinterpret swing hard as “yanking the handle”. If I transition properly and get to a decent slot, I can swing as hard as I want. If I try to slow down my swing I have a tendency to manipulate the face to try and hit it square and rob myself of speed, face control, and consistency because I don’t have gifted hands.

 

Blades aren’t for everyone but I love them and don’t care what anyone else plays as long as they are happy with their choice, whether it be SGI or blades.

[GHIN n Juice]

OP…it’s f****** August!  Save it for January when we’d all take hitting a blade over shoveling snow.

[Phabs]

Believe tigers dad said that to him, not a coach

 

Swing speed had nothing to do with contact point.  I can swing slow and hit a ball like crap,  or I can swing out of my shoes and have the same result.   Having a consistent predictable tempo is what makes ball striking a hell of a lot easier. 

Edited August 6, 2022 by Phabs

[GolfTurkey]

Phew, I was worried we weren't going to have a blades vs cavity backs thread this week.

[EastTNGolfer]

13 minutes ago, GolfTurkey said:

Phew, I was worried we weren't going to have a blades vs cavity backs thread this week.

Haven't you heard? 20 cappers can play blades they just need to finish in balance. 😂 😂

[iknowbagu]

22 minutes ago, GolfTurkey said:

Phew, I was worried we weren't going to have a blades vs cavity backs thread this week.

 

 

[OnTheBag]

32 minutes ago, ThinkingPlus said:

Old school blades are punishing because the CG is high and tight to the hosel.  Narrow soles are a challenge as well.

 

The closeness of the CG to the hosel helped no one ever.  Bad design that hasn't been necessary for nearly 50 years.  The high CG is OK for high swing speed folks, but is certainly punishing for those not so endowed.  If you play in a swamp, the narrow sole will be death.  Play on fast and firm it won't be so bad.

I agree with everything you said, except the narrow sole part.  Maybe it's because of the equipment era in which I learned the game, but I have always struggled with wide soled irons.  I feel it has a lot to do with each golfer's mechanics.  I'm a picker, so I prefer an iron that is easier to manipulate and control.  

 

But yes, a set of Dynapowers or Muirfields were about as punishing as you could get on mishits.  The margin of error was half the size of a dime.

[nicoy3k]

A blade 2-5 iron are

[Ger21]

Blades are really only "punishing" way out on the toe. Or the hosel.

[ThinkingPlus]

53 minutes ago, OnTheBag said:

I agree with everything you said, except the narrow sole part.  Maybe it's because of the equipment era in which I learned the game, but I have always struggled with wide soled irons.  I feel it has a lot to do with each golfer's mechanics.  I'm a picker, so I prefer an iron that is easier to manipulate and control.  

 

But yes, a set of Dynapowers or Muirfields were about as punishing as you could get on mishits.  The margin of error was half the size of a dime.

I agree sole width is the least concern.

[phizzy30]

No such thing as swinging too hard.  Just really crappy swings, haha.  In all seriousness, a golfer can play whatever he/she wants, but should know that playing small blades in this day and age of perimeter weighting is getting the short end of the stick. 

[rd1959]

4 hours ago, gents15 said:

But what if they made clubs so you could swing as hard as you want and not have to worry about hitting the center of the face as much? 

For me, that would take most of the skill out of golf. I'd either quit playing or never buy new clubs again.

[tsecor]

You either have the skill to hit the center of the face or you dont.

 

"forgiving" clubs are mainly for marketing purposes since golf is such a hard game to master. It makes the amateur feel like he has a shot at being decent at this sport. lol

 

Ive played blades for years, learned on them and played my best golf with blades.....then i moved to T100-S.  The ONLY difference i have found is, feel off the toe area.....punishments are exactly the same but the T100-S feels a little bit less harsh......but the result is the same as a blade.