Can I hit blades?

[AndyinCincy]

I apologize as this has probably been asked and answered many times, but I am new here and couldn't find what I was looking for in the search. 

 

About me: I'm 47 years old, 5'9" and 195lbs (still carrying my winter weight.) I have played for a long time but kind of irregularly. It gets cold here so I basically take 5 months off every year. Those other months, I'm about a 12 handicap. I'm a good ball striker but lack consistency in my short game. I've been playing 2019 Taylor Made P790s with Project X 5.5 shafts, which I believe those are 115 grams. 

 

From age 10 - 20, I played blades until I got some Tommy Armor 845s. I always felt like I hit the blades well. I'd sometimes even play a 2 iron. My ball flight has always been on the high side with a draw. Misses are usually left. Today, with the 790s, my 7 iron goes about 165-170 with the occasional flier going 180. Other than the occasional flier, I like the 790s, but still find myself staring at blades in the store. They're so damn pretty. But all I hear or read online is that they're only for "elite ball strikers" and "most PGA Tour pros don't even play them."  So, clearly not for me, right? BUT...I just came across a great deal on some brand new Mizuno 221s with Project X LS 6.0 shafts at 120 grams. I want to pull the trigger and buy them and I figure if I can't hit them I can always resell them and go back to the 790s, but am I being stupid? Is it just a waste of money?

 

Ideally, I'd go try them out first but by the time I found a place that has them to hit and make an appointment, the ones I'm looking at will likely be gone. Should I pull the trigger? Thanks!

[southpaw72]

Buy them if you want them. 
 

Anyone can play blades. Maybe they’re not the best for everyone, but that’s beside the point. We play golf for fun. If they make you have fun do it. 

 

You said you’re not a pro so maybe they’re not for you, but since you don’t make your living playing golf that’s all the more reason they ARE for you. Life’s short. Play what makes you happy. Play blades. 

[bogeypro]

Anyone can hit blades.  Obviously , there are more forgiving clubs out there.  Golf is about enjoyment.  If you like them, play them.  

Edited February 23 by bogeypro

[PJE]

Of course you could play blades.
Blades just don’t go as far as other classes of clubs on mishits. 
 

[PARETO]

I’d say it all depends on what you’re after in your golf. Blades look amazing in the bag and this alone could inspire. Anyone can play blades if that’s what brings fun to their game. 

[craz-e]

YES YOU CAN!

[teedub21]

Buy a used set, play around with them, then when your post count is high enough sell them here on the BST.  And you could also search out the other 4,566,345,981 posts already made on this same topic.

[roundersmitty]

3 minutes ago, teedub21 said:

Buy a used set, play around with them, then when your post count is high enough sell them here on the BST.  And you could also search out the other 4,566,345,981 posts already made on this same topic.

4,566,345,980 of those posts are locked….

[lefthack]

I play blades because they are fun. My score wouldn't change much with something less fun and I'd have less fun. 

[nsxguy]

2 hours ago, AndyinCincy said:

I apologize as this has probably been asked and answered many times, but I am new here and couldn't find what I was looking for in the search. 

 

About me: I'm 47 years old, 5'9" and 195lbs (still carrying my winter weight.) I have played for a long time but kind of irregularly. It gets cold here so I basically take 5 months off every year. Those other months, I'm about a 12 handicap. I'm a good ball striker but lack consistency in my short game. I've been playing 2019 Taylor Made P790s with Project X 5.5 shafts, which I believe those are 115 grams. 

 

From age 10 - 20, I played blades until I got some Tommy Armor 845s. I always felt like I hit the blades well. I'd sometimes even play a 2 iron. My ball flight has always been on the high side with a draw. Misses are usually left. Today, with the 790s, my 7 iron goes about 165-170 with the occasional flier going 180. Other than the occasional flier, I like the 790s, but still find myself staring at blades in the store. They're so damn pretty. But all I hear or read online is that they're only for "elite ball strikers" and "most PGA Tour pros don't even play them."  So, clearly not for me, right? BUT...I just came across a great deal on some brand new Mizuno 221s with Project X LS 6.0 shafts at 120 grams. I want to pull the trigger and buy them and I figure if I can't hit them I can always resell them and go back to the 790s, but am I being stupid? Is it just a waste of money?

 

Ideally, I'd go try them out first but by the time I found a place that has them to hit and make an appointment, the ones I'm looking at will likely be gone. Should I pull the trigger? Thanks!

 

My friend, you are too far 'round the bend. Nobody's going to change your mind - you're just looking for encouragement.

 

Just get them, give them a real try, and go from there.

[philly2kuk]

Play what you want, nobody in the real world cares what’s in your bag. Anyone can hit blades, just comes down to whether you can hit them repeatedly.

[moostache]

I say play what makes you happy, as long as you keep up with the group in front of you 😂

[caloosajo]

Food for thought: I’m building a half set to carry in my Mackenzie comprised of my T150 4 iron (bumped by TSR3 4h this season), 620MB blades (6/8), my worn out Vokeys, and TeI3 NP Long Neck from way back. Just add my gamer 3 wood and head out the door. 
 

Scratches the blade itch when I’m sneaking in a quick round before/after work or when getting my daughter out on the course. But takes off the stress of fully committing to that blade life haha. 
 

2nd Swing randomly has single iron blades from most current offerings—sometimes Mint—if you want to scratch the itch in this way.

[rooski]

Hot take, I've anecdotally never seen anything that proves to me that any level of forgiveness in irons makes any difference at all to anybody's game.

 

The less perimeter weighting you have on an iron I do think the toe shots get quite a bit worse and shorter, but if you mainly miss on the heel, f*** it, play blades if you want them. I honestly think the difference between blades and P790s are maybe a couple strokes on the worst days.

 

Driver and wood forgiveness is a completely different story though, I'm a believer in that.

Edited February 21 by rooski

[Port and Starboard]

5 hours ago, AndyinCincy said:

I apologize as this has probably been asked and answered many times, but I am new here and couldn't find what I was looking for in the search. 

 

About me: I'm 47 years old, 5'9" and 195lbs (still carrying my winter weight.) I have played for a long time but kind of irregularly. It gets cold here so I basically take 5 months off every year. Those other months, I'm about a 12 handicap. I'm a good ball striker but lack consistency in my short game. I've been playing 2019 Taylor Made P790s with Project X 5.5 shafts, which I believe those are 115 grams. 

 

From age 10 - 20, I played blades until I got some Tommy Armor 845s. I always felt like I hit the blades well. I'd sometimes even play a 2 iron. My ball flight has always been on the high side with a draw. Misses are usually left. Today, with the 790s, my 7 iron goes about 165-170 with the occasional flier going 180. Other than the occasional flier, I like the 790s, but still find myself staring at blades in the store. They're so damn pretty. But all I hear or read online is that they're only for "elite ball strikers" and "most PGA Tour pros don't even play them."  So, clearly not for me, right? BUT...I just came across a great deal on some brand new Mizuno 221s with Project X LS 6.0 shafts at 120 grams. I want to pull the trigger and buy them and I figure if I can't hit them I can always resell them and go back to the 790s, but am I being stupid? Is it just a waste of money?

 

Ideally, I'd go try them out first but by the time I found a place that has them to hit and make an appointment, the ones I'm looking at will likely be gone. Should I pull the trigger? Thanks!

I had 3 different sets of  (MacGregor  M85) blades in the bag on and off for 20 years. Loved them.  Being the club ho that I eventually turned into....  I played Ping Zings, Ping G5's, Ping G15's Hogan Edge Pro's, Taylormade R7's, Titleist T100's, along with a few others.   None of these head profiles either hurt or helped my hdcp.  

 

Matching myself to a shaft was far more important than what head was epoxied to the end of it.

[hook_or_slice]

9 hours ago, AndyinCincy said:

........... BUT...I just came across a great deal on some brand new Mizuno 221s with Project X LS 6.0 shafts at 120 grams. I want to pull the trigger and buy them and I figure if I can't hit them I can always resell them and go back to the 790s, but am I being stupid? Is it just a waste of money?

 

...., the ones I'm looking at will likely be gone. Should I pull the trigger? Thanks!

 

The way you are asking this question,  the horse has left the barn, the can of worms is open.

 

Just buy them.

[Llortamaisey]

After you get through your blade phase and you’re looking for a compromise to help get you back down to a 12 handicap, look at the 225 or the 245. Those irons will be more in line with what will give you the look and performance you’re searching for. Don’t go back to the 790s. Until then, congrats on the new irons and enjoy the blades!

[mjguzik]

Look toward a combo set with a mix of blades after your wedges in the short clubs and transition to a cavity back at the point where the club length starts to affect your ball striking.  Not any different than why we have blade wedges are our shortest clubs for use around the greens.  Personally, would not enjoy much success with a muscleback 3 iron in my hands on a forced carry into a green. Enjoy the game!

[NRJyzr]

11 hours ago, rooski said:

Hot take, I've anecdotally never seen anything that proves to me that any level of forgiveness in irons makes any difference at all to anybody's game.

 

The less perimeter weighting you have on an iron I do think the toe shots get quite a bit worse and shorter, but if you mainly miss on the heel, f*** it, play blades if you want them. I honestly think the difference between blades and P790s are maybe a couple strokes on the worst days.

 

Driver and wood forgiveness is a completely different story though, I'm a believer in that.

 

Your post is a memory trigger...

 

Several times over the past 20 years, I've spent extended periods playing persimmon, several months in a given season.  Over that time, something I've found very interesting, my tee game is considerably better with the persimmons.

 

When I was close to my peak in tee game length, I found there was very little max distance difference between the two (I've come to learn it was spin related).  Obviously, there was an average difference; a 190cc to 250cc persimmon can't compete with 450cc+ metal woods for MOI.  But the directional component was almost shocking, in favor of the persimmons (or laminates).

 

Which begs the question, why didn't I just play them full time?  🤔

 

It came down to me chasing that 115% tee shot, sadly.  In those days, I'd hit one 300-320 a couple times per round using my Ti drivers.  I would see that once or twice a month with the lumber.

 

These days, that distance difference is no longer true, as I've lost speed due to age and excess spin is no longer limiting my Ti driver tee game.  But, I *do* still hit persimmons/laminates better.  As a side note:  I play them all at the same length, swingspeed is the same, but ballspeed is definitely in favor of the moderns.

 

With apologies for the topic deviation....

 

To be briefly topical to our OP, @AndyinCincy, you'll never know until you try.  Give it a shot.  Might work, might not, but if you don't give it a real shot, you'll always wonder.

(I've been there, it worked for me, for what that's worth)

 

[benz5521]

I’ve never had blades, but I feel like I hit smaller clubs better because it’s an aim small miss small kind of thing. I also feel like smaller clubs interact with the turf a lot better. 
 

So I’ve been thinking about buying a set to try out even though I have no business playing them. Or maybe like a small CB like T100 or something. 

[JetSpeed79]

12 hours ago, rooski said:

Hot take, I've anecdotally never seen anything that proves to me that any level of forgiveness in irons makes any difference at all to anybody's game.

 

The less perimeter weighting you have on an iron I do think the toe shots get quite a bit worse and shorter, but if you mainly miss on the heel, f*** it, play blades if you want them. I honestly think the difference between blades and P790s are maybe a couple strokes on the worst days.

 

Driver and wood forgiveness is a completely different story though, I'm a believer in that.

Agreed. I’ll add to this. 
 

I recently switched from a set of players distance irons to a set of CNCPT CP-02s. Not exactly blades but smaller heads and much less forgiving than PD irons. But also much more feedback. The feedback has been huge for my game. I had no idea how sloppy the PD irons were allowing me to be with my swing. The forgiveness was covering up some swing flaws. The feedback my new set provides has really been helping me tighten up my swing. I’m not sure this ever would have happened without the switch. 
 

So counterintuitively, for the right player in the right situation - looking to make the jump to the next level in their improvement - irons that are a little more difficult to hit can actually help your game.
 

It has for me. 

[jrdubbb]

Play the blades, yeah you might not hit them perfectly every time and you might lose some distance (mostly from loft). Besides the obvious negatives, the positives are enjoyment, control, and feel. I couldn't bring myself to stop playing blades in the scoring irons at least because the super soft feel of that perfect strike brings me back, the control of hitting that draw into a back left pin, and the feel of a pure shot and knowing where your misses are for next time. Those are the reasons that playing blades make the game fun, even if that toe strike leaves you a little short on the fringe a couple times. 

[me05501]

For most of last season I used a combo set with Srixon ZX7 mid irons and Srixon Z Forged short irons. 

 

I really, really enjoyed having the short irons in the bag, especially for practice sessions but also on the course. 

 

I didn't find them unforgiving in terms of distance, and the size of the heads was generous for a muscle-back club so they weren't the least bit intimidating to use. 

 

What eventually caused me to let them go was the exaggerated curvature of a lot of shots, mostly over-drawing approach shots and costing myself strokes. I swapped into a set made up of ZX5/ZX7 heads and my misses got better. 

 

For shorter clubs, the biggest difference between muscle backs and cavity backs is CG location. A muscle-back 9 iron has a CG more behind the ball where a cavity back has a lower CG. 

 

 

[Pepperturbo]

Plenty of people mess around with blades, but that doesn't necessary mean they enjoy the experience.  They take a great deal more practice than most other clubs.  I attribute Blades and my attention to details, as reasons I still solidly strike the ball well.  Blades helped me to develop distance, spin and trajectory control. 

 

Thing is, I would NEVER 🤞 suggest blades to anyone, as they take an inordinate amount of practice to feel skilled with them.  Tinkering only garners frustration 😫 that which leads to ugly thoughts and night crying, 😭 they may even mess up your game with your other clubs; only time will tell. LOL 

 

I've played blades since the 90s, most of my golf life; still have two sets.  Played Titleist 620 MB 3-PW from 2019 to last August  2023, when I moved to new T100, 3-PW.

 

If you want a set, go for it...  But if you find after a while that you play like poop with them, but haven't put in the practice, do us blade guys a tiny favor, 😛 don't come back here and whine that blades were too much for ya, and poo-poo them?  One man's thoughts on blades. 🙂

 

[vman]

I’m going to say play blades with loft, 7 or 8 upwards and get some forgiveness in the longer irons, 4-6. This is the way.

[loki993]

This is GolfWRX, Im currently staring at 3 different sets of clubs just as I sit at my computer. 

 

If you had to write a dissertation to explain why you want blades to us, you really should just go buy them lol.  

 

 

Not saying that in a bad why, but you've already made your decision and then came to ask a group of club whores to validate it for you. 

 

buy your blades, be happy, lifes short. 

Edited February 21 by loki993

[Chunkitgood]

Please forgive me for being frank.

 

Golf club performance as I understand it is largely a matter of COG placement, MOI, and length of face.  The vast majority of people, even many who hit the ball consistently on a certain area of the face and without a lot of curvature, and who might consider themselves decent ball strikers, nevertheless fail consistently to hit the ball first, add loft, and contact the ball too far out on the face.

They benefit in the short term at least from a low COG and long face.

 

There seems to be a fairly large difference between your present clubs and the particular set you have in mind, per Mr. Maltby as I read his charts.  As I understand it, the higher COG of the 221’s means they are best used by people who hit the ball with a descending blow with sufficient speed so as to generate lift by spin as opposed to having a high initial launch angle and less spin.

 

If the first paragraph above describes you, and if you want blades, you might look for some with a lower COG, which have existed for a long time, or better yet get the 221’s and do some work on your swing.

 

[GHIN n Juice]

[subrew]

Biggest struggle I always had with blades wasn't really mishits, it was that they were almost always paired up with heavy and stiff steel shafts.  At a similar age and size to the OP, I have pretty average swing speeds across the board.  And a stiff flex 120+ gram steel shaft pretty much meant I got really low launch/flight with really low spin numbers.  A well hit 7-iron looked like a 4i.  I just didn't have the swing speed to properly use what is often a higher and more forward CofG.  

 

One day I came across a set of MP14 heads being sold locally, in great condition.  I decided to take a bit of a gamble and found some new older model Fujikura senior flex graphite shafts that were cheap.  At a 37.5" 7-iron length, the shaft came in at 55 grams.  Managed to hit a D2.5 swing weight which is in the wheelhouse of what I like.

 

What a massive difference in my ability to hit the ball and have useable ball flight.  The 7 iron actually launched like a well hit 7 iron, had more spin, and could hold greens.  Believe it or not I can actually get some elevation with the 1 and 2 iron.  It is a night and day difference trying to hit a true blade with a lighter weight/flex shaft.  

 

Many of my more recent builds I've been using some demo Bassara W50 shafts that came as an upcharge on older Titleist hybrids.  7 iron length shafts come in at 45-47g.  I'm really enjoying hitting musclebacks like Honma 717M, PRGR TR blades, 712MBs etc.

Edited March 8 by subrew

[ajbillings]

I like what John K Solheim said about blades in one of the Ping podcasts..he said with blades he noticed that he'd hit his intended target line more often. On mishits he said in his experiences with game improvement irons you'd still get a lot of the distance but it would be more offline (his miss is left and with game improvement irons it was left and long) and with blades it would hold the line better and just come up shorter. When I played G25 irons vs now with i59/Blueprint S irons I can kind of see what he is saying. With the players irons/blades the Trackman report will show the grouping closer to the target line but maybe a little bigger dispersion north to south and where with a game improvement iron the line has more consistent distance (north to south) but bigger dispersion east to west. Sole design, delivery, etc. all are in play as well and YMMV