What is your "blade story"?

[Love2Slice]

[quote name='LNS' timestamp='1318906205' post='3686473']
[quote name='NewGeneration' timestamp='1318905063' post='3686323']
Solid feel but players cav's are the best of both worlds.
[/quote]
Change of heart???

I don't really know if they'll get the spot because the 68's are butter and work well for me, also get some looks at the range when the old dudes see a 15 year old hitting blades well enough to fly 'em as long as most other golfers hit their irons.
[/quote]


Yeah maybe so, make you feel better? I'd take a set of MP-57's or 62's or 53's any day over what I've got. I love my blades but they really mess you up when you're not on it and right now my priority is getting my scores down, if a little help in some irons is what I need then I'll take it, might go back to the blades one day, they're still in my bag..

[BMC]

I rotate MacGregor '91 MBs, Srixon 701 Tours, and Ping Eye 2s. I score the same with all of them - 5 hdcp. The blades flight lower and are easier to hit from the rough because of their smaller heads. The CBs and Eye 2s fly higher and work better on heavily bunkered. modern style courses.

Rotating different clubs keeps the game fun and interesting. If I made my living with them, I would commit to one set.

[tembolo1284]

a few months before I moved to the states when i was 14 my grandfather gave me his set of hogan sunbursts. I haven't played anything but blades ever since. Moved to a set of macgregors for a long time after that...and in the past year moved to a scratch set that DW built identical the macgregors he also built for me. So i've been pretty loyal.

[Ripken08]

Here is my story:

[url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/454566-12-hc-gaming-blades-for-a-full-season-2011/page__p__3058103__fromsearch__1#entry3058103"]http://www.golfwrx.c..._1#entry3058103[/url]


I just got my new G15s yesterday for those days I talk myself out of blades, BUT I am planning on getting another set of 68s before they are discontinued. Gone back an forth all year and HONESTLY scores are totally dependent on driving, chipping and putting. I have had great rounds with the 68s and G15s and terrible rounds with both. Frankly the type of iron makes zero difference on score. [b]It makes a huge difference in confidence level though[/b].

Don't be scared by blades. They are truly not that hard to hit. A bad shot is a bad shot. Play what you like the look and feel of.

[Iggypop]

Well I played Titliest Tour Model blades for years.
I had a break from golf and on my return a couple of years ago I was playing ok and my dad gave me his driver & irons to try. It was like cheating!
So I march to the shop & custom order TM BURNER 09's and Burner driver.
Night and day - way easier to hit but..... I start playing pretty well and before u know it I'm eyeing up blades. MP68's for nearly a season & the penny drops, I've now got Mizuno 800 Pros, just as nice as the 68's (well ALMOST)...Way easier to hit.
Blades are for scratch and better IMHO.
Unless you just love how they look/ play, then fair enough!

[BCULAW]

I have been playing blades for the better part of 6 years now, and until recently would never considered a change. For me, it began a few years back when I started to get a feel for the game. My driving was very strong, my short game was good, my putting was not a liability, but my iron play was, by comparison to the rest of my game, very, very shaky. I kept switching to more forgiving designs in search of the forgiveness I thought I needed, and my iron play kept getting worse and worse. I was very steep into the ball - a definite "digger" with my irons - and I always felt as though the larger, more forgiving irons would bounce or twist at impact. The turning point for me happened quite by chance. My friend and I were playing a round together and decided to go to the range to warm up. I was hitting my recently purchased Callaway Hawkeye irons, and he was hitting a set of Titleist 680 blades. I could not hit the Hawkeyes cleanly to save my life. I became so frustrated that I tossed the club towards my bag and stormed around the range empty handed. My friend, who was playing near scratch at the time, decided to try to give me some pointers, and handed my his 680 5 iron to swing. I proceeded to start rifleing 5 iron shots pure as ever, one after the other. I played the entire round with the 680s out of his bag, and, though I had some shaky long iron shots, the fit for me was clearly better than the bulky GI irons I had been gaming. The trick for me was the turf interaction. First, his set was 2* upright (66*pw), and I had been playing off the rack lie angle, which, when combined with my steep position at impact, caused twisting and poor results directionally. Also, the thinner sole of the blade iron allowed the club to get through the turf better than the blunted, thick soles on the GI irons I had been using. My problem was not that I couldn't hit the sweetspot. My problem was that poor fit and poor turf interaction was causing me to have inconsistent results from my shots. I switched to blades immediately and saw instant imporvement in my iron game. Within a year, I was playing to a solid 8 hdcp. A year after that, I was under 5 and have been there since. Until recently, I never would have considered a move away from blades, but I recently made some swing refinements that have eliminated my tendencies to dig. As a result, I can effectively use many more of the current iron offerings. The key for anyone selecting irons, IMO, is determining (realistically) what aspect of any iron's design will best suit your game. For me, due to my digging tendencies, improved turf interaction was far more critical than the forgiveness I might obtain from perimeter weighting. Others may not interacxt with the turf as much, and would likely benefit from a firgiving design. Some lower swing speed players might need the additional trajectory offered by cb designs, while some higher swing speed players may need the opposite. If your miss is thin, the CB designs might give you a little more height and carry on your thin misses. If your miss is fat, the smaller, more precise sole traditionally seen on a MB design might allow more precise impact. Of course, the opposite might also be true if a larger sole allows you to skid into the ball instead of laying sod over it. Be realistic. Be willing to think outside of the box. Be willing to look beyond simple handicap ranges and examine specific tendencies with your iron game. IMO, blades are appropriate for a small portion of the golf population, but, for the highly skilled, or those with some quirky swing characteristics (like me), they may be the key to better iron play.

[Jeep1423]

[quote name='BCULAW' timestamp='1318947965' post='3687919']
I have been playing blades for the better part of 6 years now, and until recently would never considered a change. For me, it began a few years back when I started to get a feel for the game. My driving was very strong, my short game was good, my putting was not a liability, but my iron play was, by comparison to the rest of my game, very, very shaky. I kept switching to more forgiving designs in search of the forgiveness I thought I needed, and my iron play kept getting worse and worse. I was very steep into the ball - a definite "digger" with my irons - and I always felt as though the larger, more forgiving irons would bounce or twist at impact. The turning point for me happened quite by chance. My friend and I were playing a round together and decided to go to the range to warm up. I was hitting my recently purchased Callaway Hawkeye irons, and he was hitting a set of Titleist 680 blades. I could not hit the Hawkeyes cleanly to save my life. I became so frustrated that I tossed the club towards my bag and stormed around the range empty handed. My friend, who was playing near scratch at the time, decided to try to give me some pointers, and handed my his 680 5 iron to swing. I proceeded to start rifleing 5 iron shots pure as ever, one after the other. I played the entire round with the 680s out of his bag, and, though I had some shaky long iron shots, the fit for me was clearly better than the bulky GI irons I had been gaming. The trick for me was the turf interaction. First, his set was 2* upright (66*pw), and I had been playing off the rack lie angle, which, when combined with my steep position at impact, caused twisting and poor results directionally. Also, the thinner sole of the blade iron allowed the club to get through the turf better than the blunted, thick soles on the GI irons I had been using. My problem was not that I couldn't hit the sweetspot. My problem was that poor fit and poor turf interaction was causing me to have inconsistent results from my shots. I switched to blades immediately and saw instant imporvement in my iron game. Within a year, I was playing to a solid 8 hdcp. A year after that, I was under 5 and have been there since. Until recently, I never would have considered a move away from blades, but I recently made some swing refinements that have eliminated my tendencies to dig. As a result, I can effectively use many more of the current iron offerings. The key for anyone selecting irons, IMO, is determining (realistically) what aspect of any iron's design will best suit your game. For me, due to my digging tendencies, improved turf interaction was far more critical than the forgiveness I might obtain from perimeter weighting. Others may not interacxt with the turf as much, and would likely benefit from a firgiving design. Some lower swing speed players might need the additional trajectory offered by cb designs, while some higher swing speed players may need the opposite. If your miss is thin, the CB designs might give you a little more height and carry on your thin misses. If your miss is fat, the smaller, more precise sole traditionally seen on a MB design might allow more precise impact. Of course, the opposite might also be true if a larger sole allows you to skid into the ball instead of laying sod over it. Be realistic. Be willing to think outside of the box. Be willing to look beyond simple handicap ranges and examine specific tendencies with your iron game. IMO, blades are appropriate for a small portion of the golf population, but, for the highly skilled, or those with some quirky swing characteristics (like me), they may be the key to better iron play.
[/quote]

You said exactly what I meant. I carry those quirky swing characteristics....you articulated much better than I did though. I don't have issues with the center of the clubface...mine is all turf interaction. Well put, thanks!

[williamo]

I have been playing blades for the better part of 6 years now, and until recently would never considered a change. For me, it began a few years back when I started to get a feel for the game. My driving was very strong, my short game was good, my putting was not a liability, but my iron play was, by comparison to the rest of my game, very, very shaky. I kept switching to more forgiving designs in search of the forgiveness I thought I needed, and my iron play kept getting worse and worse. I was very steep into the ball - a definite "digger" with my irons - and I always felt as though the larger, more forgiving irons would bounce or twist at impact. The turning point for me happened quite by chance. My friend and I were playing a round together and decided to go to the range to warm up. I was hitting my recently purchased Callaway Hawkeye irons, and he was hitting a set of Titleist 680 blades. I could not hit the Hawkeyes cleanly to save my life. I became so frustrated that I tossed the club towards my bag and stormed around the range empty handed. My friend, who was playing near scratch at the time, decided to try to give me some pointers, and handed my his 680 5 iron to swing. I proceeded to start rifleing 5 iron shots pure as ever, one after the other. I played the entire round with the 680s out of his bag, and, though I had some shaky long iron shots, the fit for me was clearly better than the bulky GI irons I had been gaming. The trick for me was the turf interaction. First, his set was 2* upright (66*pw), and I had been playing off the rack lie angle, which, when combined with my steep position at impact, caused twisting and poor results directionally. Also, the thinner sole of the blade iron allowed the club to get through the turf better than the blunted, thick soles on the GI irons I had been using. My problem was not that I couldn't hit the sweetspot. My problem was that poor fit and poor turf interaction was causing me to have inconsistent results from my shots. I switched to blades immediately and saw instant imporvement in my iron game. Within a year, I was playing to a solid 8 hdcp. A year after that, I was under 5 and have been there since. Until recently, I never would have considered a move away from blades, but I recently made some swing refinements that have eliminated my tendencies to dig. As a result, I can effectively use many more of the current iron offerings. The key for anyone selecting irons, IMO, is determining (realistically) what aspect of any iron's design will best suit your game. For me, due to my digging tendencies, improved turf interaction was far more critical than the forgiveness I might obtain from perimeter weighting. Others may not interacxt with the turf as much, and would likely benefit from a firgiving design. Some lower swing speed players might need the additional trajectory offered by cb designs, while some higher swing speed players may need the opposite. If your miss is thin, the CB designs might give you a little more height and carry on your thin misses. If your miss is fat, the smaller, more precise sole traditionally seen on a MB design might allow more precise impact. Of course, the opposite might also be true if a larger sole allows you to skid into the ball instead of laying sod over it. Be realistic. Be willing to think outside of the box. Be willing to look beyond simple handicap ranges and examine specific tendencies with your iron game. IMO, blades are appropriate for a small portion of the golf population, but, for the highly skilled, or those with some quirky swing characteristics (like me), they may be the key to better iron play.

Cool! Thanks for a great write-up. It was kinda hard reading it and I almost got a headache since your whole text was all together but I made it through .

 

I do not have any typical mishit, I am hitting thin and fat shots with all types of irons but I have noticed that I take less divot with the blades than my AP2's when hit perfectly. It feels much better going through the turf with the blades when hit crisp but when I hit one fat it becomes really fat.

[mosesgolf]

In the past 12 months, I've gone back and forth from a set of Mizuno MP 67's to Cally Proto Muscleback back to MP 67 and now TM TP's w/ KBS Tour x shafts. I don't see much of a difference in scoring and I was more accurate w/ the 8-PW of the blades. I definitely like the mid to long irons of the TM TP's however. Just play whatever works.