is blade shaming real ?

[Louis_Posture]

It seems golf industry employees including club designers, sales reps, fitting experts, retail sales floor personnel etc... are all pushing new tech instead of muscle back blade irons. 

There are lots of different reasons that  a 15 handicap, 5 handicap, scratch player, or Tour pro prefers to play muscle back irons, and that's fine. I believe people should play whatever iron model they like and ignore any commentary from the haters.

My questions are (when looking at a bag filled with muscle back irons)  have you seen the eye rolls or heard the whispers? ...is  blade shaming a real thing ?

[philly2kuk]

9 minutes ago, Louis_Posture said:

It seems golf industry employees including club designers, sales reps, fitting experts, retail sales floor personnel etc... are all pushing new tech instead of muscle back blade irons. 

There are lots of different reasons that  a 15 handicap, 5 handicap, scratch player, or Tour pro prefers to play muscle back irons, and that's fine. I believe people should play whatever iron model they like and ignore any commentary from the haters.

My questions are (when looking at a bag filled with muscle back irons)  have you seen the eye rolls or heard the whispers? ...is  blade shaming a real thing ?

Nope. I have never once encountered blade or GI shaming nor have I encountered iron headcover shaming, poser bags and people actually caring what clubs you have in your bag (unless you’re playing well) in the real world.

[phizzy30]

I play blades and don't care what other people think.  I'm a 4 cap and I hit my mid and short irons pretty well.  Long irons get a bit squirrely.  I have a driving iron that's equivalent to a 4 iron but could use some help in the form of a CB in my 5 and 6 iron but I love the workability and feel of my MB. 

[MtlJeff]

I played blades last 2 years and nobody ever said anything to me. Obviously i'm a pretty good player, but i've also done probably 7-8 fittings over that time and a fitter has also never told me i shouldn't use them or hit his company's version of them. 

 

In fact the Srixon fitter said i might not like the ZX7's if i was used to blades , and wasn't judgy about it. 

 

I would imagine a 15 index or something doing a fitting , that's when it would be most likely to happen. I'm not sure i would call that shaming though

[fjk]

Yes. Get passive aggressive comments all the time when I wasn’t playing well. 
 

as if I would hit it that much better with a change in shape. 

[Louis_Posture]

1 hour ago, phizzy30 said:

I play blades and don't care what other people think.  I'm a 4 cap and I hit my mid and short irons pretty well.  Long irons get a bit squirrely.  I have a driving iron that's equivalent to a 4 iron but could use some help in the form of a CB in my 5 and 6 iron but I love the workability and feel of my MB. 

Has a fitter, salesperson, other player etc... tried to make you feel ashamed for playing muscle back blade irons ? 

I believe that when Rickie Fowler had a bag full of Cobra muscle backs and was missing cut after cut he noticed some eyerolls and had to answer questions about whether cavity backs might help him. This is just a guess, though.

I think it's easier for amateurs to play what they want but imagine the equipment vans at every Tour stop driving range could a make a pro feel pressured to use the most recent technology equipment.

[J_Tizzle]

In general I don't personally think they provide any advantage to 99.9% of golfers in terms of performance, however, looks and confidence are a part of it as well.  To me (personally) I think the players distance style irons are the best of both worlds, looks of a blade, performance of a GI iron.

 

I always loved the saying of "practice with the least forgiving club you can, and play with the most forgiving club you can stand to look down at".  

[jomatty]

Nope.  People only do stuff like that on the internet. In real life people don’t care at all what you or I am doing.  

[jomatty]

22 minutes ago, fjk said:

Yes. Get passive aggressive comments all the time when I wasn’t playing well. 
 

as if I would hit it that much better with a change in shape. 

You need to find different playing partners if the clubs you are playing make them act any sort of aggressive, passive or otherwise.

[tatertot]

No. Nobody cares. The salesman knows you'll score better in GI clubs. Lots of people will argue they won't, because they're a 20 handicapper with the iron game of a scratch golfer, or physics don't apply to golf, or some other nonsensical answer.

Edited August 20, 2023 by tatertot

[NoTalentLefty]

The only shaming I see is on golfwrx and usually it’s the other way most of the time. Things like do you really know what you’re giving up with GI or SGI? Or you just don’t understand…. Frick off to anyone who comes out here to make themselves feel superior.

[Pnwpingi210]

I think people only care in the real world if you can’t advance the ball in a timely fashion with whatever club you’re using.

 

example of you can fire 110 in 4.5 hrs using muscle backs and your happy then sweet.

 

if your holding up pace of play becuase you have to hack 8 times to get it to the green and you playing blades you probably going to hear about it.

 

 

[Neo1]

I honestly think the majority of amateur golfers who use a MB club don't really even have a consistent enough ball striking to even know what they're missing...it's like a bad swing is just a bad swing and no shape or thickness will solve that...90% of the 4 or below caps at my club don't use an MB, usually a players cavity or even a GI mixed. 

[Nixhex524]

9 minutes ago, Pnwpingi210 said:

I think people only care in the real world if you can’t advance the ball in a timely fashion with whatever club you’re using.

 

example of you can fire 110 in 4.5 hrs using muscle backs and your happy then sweet.

 

if your holding up pace of play becuase you have to hack 8 times to get it to the green and you playing blades you probably going to hear about it.

 

 

 

Yeah, this.  I don't care what people want to play, I think that is the fun in this game is the challenge and freedom to put whatever we want in the bag.

 

Will I chuckle a little if a 15+ cap has blades in the bag and doesn't understand why the game is so hard?   Yes.  Just keep it movin.

 

 

[philly2kuk]

18 minutes ago, NoTalentLefty said:

The only shaming I see is on golfwrx and usually it’s the other way most of the time. Things like do you really know what you’re giving up with GI or SGI? Or you just don’t understand…. Frick off to anyone who comes out here to make themselves feel superior.

I don’t think it’s as bad here as it used to be, but when I first joined people looked down their nose at you if you didn’t play blades. Now I think it’s more accepted to play what’s actually best for you and what you enjoy and reading some of the members threads about trying blades or GI irons is usually a good read.

[Louis_Posture]

A friend of mine who I caddie for once in awhile is highly skilled and can shoot under par golf from the back tee boxes. For about 5 years he had been playing Ping S55 and when the Blueprint was introduced I asked him if he was going to buy a set. He replied "I'm not good enough".

His comment got me thinking that blade shaming is  real.  If a legitimate + index tournament player think he is not good enough to play Ping's muscle back iron then who is good enough ? My guess is that he did not want to see any eyerolls or head scratching aimed his way so he ended up buying a set of Srixon ZX7 irons.

[doctor220]

Couldn’t care less what playing partners or competitors play. If they want to play a club that makes the game harder, so be it. 
 

if you aren’t deep + then you shouldn’t play blades in general, but be my guest. People have different goals, mine is to play as well as possible. 

[PJE]

To be shamed, you have to care about someone’s opinion. 
So, it’s real for some and for others it’s irrelevant. 

[Tapin0]

It is real but it only happens occasionally. I wanted to try T100 at PGA Superstore yesterday and I got shamed that 10 handicap shouldn’t even try it. He was certain I would run into back issues in a year or two. Then he would not let me even try T150 lol. I didn’t bother telling him I played MB for last 15 years with no back issue.

[fjk]

1 hour ago, jomatty said:

You need to find different playing partners if the clubs you are playing make them act any sort of aggressive, passive or otherwise.

Lol I mean that’s oversimplifying things, but I’m just answering OP’s question. 
 

plenty of people think that your game should match your equipment and ignore

 

1) play what you like and enjoy, everyone has different philosophies

 

2) if you’re an average or below average ball striker a SGI isn’t going to transform your game. It’s not going to put the ball in the center of the club face. It might help a little with scoring if you can get along with them but it’s not nearly as dramatic as people think. Just a little more forgiving off center. But it wouldn’t have changed my score by more than 1 or 2 strokes. 

[fjk]

31 minutes ago, Tapin0 said:

It is real but it only happens occasionally. I wanted to try T100 at PGA Superstore yesterday and I got shamed that 10 handicap shouldn’t even try it. He was certain I would run into back issues in a year or two. Then he would not let me even try T150 lol. I didn’t bother telling him I played MB for last 15 years with no back issue.

This. OP isn’t asking whether it’s justified. He’s asking if it happens. 
 

sure it does. But that’s other people’s problem (the ones saying anything), I have no problem still playing them. 

Edited August 20, 2023 by fjk

[Trippels]

I'll certainly start shaming people for using blades as soon as I stop using them myself

[Louis_Posture]

39 minutes ago, Tapin0 said:

 I wanted to try T100 at PGA Superstore yesterday and I got shamed that 10 handicap shouldn’t even try it. He was certain I would run into back issues in a year or two. 

Back issues ?

[Louis_Posture]

9 minutes ago, fjk said:

This. OP isn’t asking whether it’s justified. He’s asking if it happens. 
 

 

 

Yes, the thread topic is whether others try to cause  a player to feel ashamed for playing muscle back blades.

Also, how many people would like to buy and try a set of blades but fear shaming if they do so? I guess that is a large number of people.

[phizzy30]

58 minutes ago, Louis_Posture said:

Has a fitter, salesperson, other player etc... tried to make you feel ashamed for playing muscle back blade irons ? 

I believe that when Rickie Fowler had a bag full of Cobra muscle backs and was missing cut after cut he noticed some eyerolls and had to answer questions about whether cavity backs might help him. This is just a guess, though.

I think it's easier for amateurs to play what they want but imagine the equipment vans at every Tour stop driving range could a make a pro feel pressured to use the most recent technology equipment.

I've had random golfers ask me if my irons are blades before.  Shaming?  Never.  I find that people are usually too busy worrying about their own game/equipment to really care what others have in their bag. 

[Louis_Posture]

12 minutes ago, Trippels said:

I'll certainly start shaming people for using blades as soon as I stop using them myself

Refreshingly honest.

[hammergolf]

5 hours ago, Louis_Posture said:

It seems golf industry employees including club designers, sales reps, fitting experts, retail sales floor personnel etc... are all pushing new tech instead of muscle back blade irons. 

There are lots of different reasons that  a 15 handicap, 5 handicap, scratch player, or Tour pro prefers to play muscle back irons, and that's fine. I believe people should play whatever iron model they like and ignore any commentary from the haters.

My questions are (when looking at a bag filled with muscle back irons)  have you seen the eye rolls or heard the whispers? ...is  blade shaming a real thing ?

If anyone is making an equipment decision based on what other people might think or say instead of what they prefer or works best for them it’s a mistake. Yes, there are many “posers” out there who are playing clubs that don’t match their talent level, but in the end, it’s their money and can choose to play whatever they want. If their equipment choices make the game harder instead of easier for them, that’s their prerogative 

[NRJyzr]

2 hours ago, jomatty said:

Nope.  People only do stuff like that on the internet. In real life people don’t care at all what you or I am doing.  

 

I've had someone come up to me, notice the blades in my bag, and say something about how I'm doing myself no favors with my choice of irons.  Wasn't the first time. <shrug>

 

[NRJyzr]

2 hours ago, philly2kuk said:

I don’t think it’s as bad here as it used to be, but when I first joined people looked down their nose at you if you didn’t play blades. Now I think it’s more accepted to play what’s actually best for you and what you enjoy and reading some of the members threads about trying blades or GI irons is usually a good read.

 

I can't recall ever seeing that, other than people attempting (and failing) to be funny.

 

On the other hand, I've been called an idiot, delusional, etc, for daring to play blades.

 

[CROUSE99]

The closest I've come to being "blade shamed" is when I played the first hollow body Mizuno iron, the HMB, that looked like a solid forging.  A guy in my usual group asked "are you good enough to play blades?"  I said, "nope."