...I
hit them ok..they felt great...had 84 off the stick...on a course
I didnt know that well...I did notice the blades went further
than my other irons...
fallen into a quality control issue (tho I'm
leaning hard here too)
. Of
course the only set he had available fit me like a glove!
(according to the guy in the shop 
)
which was outstandingly lucky as I'm 6'4!. I managed to
hack round for a few weeks with pretty good effect before getting
a coach who pi$$ed himself laughing at the choice in clubs. A
couple of weeks later I traded in for some Titleist 690.CB's
that are cavity backs and are a lot easier to hit.. The reason I
bring this up is because i feel technology has progressed so far
that the margin of quality feedback between a perfectly hit blade
and a perfectly hit cavity iron is getting smaller and smaller.
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any mid handicappers using blades and finding them ok?
Forums → Golf Equipment | 35 posts
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we've all heard blades are for good ball strikers only...but is it possible for say 12-18 handicapper to play well with blades...
why I ask..I borrowed some clubs today off my boss who plays off
4 as I'm away and didnt bring my clubs...they were titliest
mb somethings... was I just having a good day and is it possible to play with them all of the time...and has anyone around that 12-17 mark playing well with forged clubs...
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well they make a forged cavity now so you can get the best of both worlds, workability and forgiving. blades look good in the bag but thats about it.
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Actually, I remember talking to a Ping rep who told me that in the US, something like 80% of all blades are sold to players in the 10 to 14 handicap range. He said that at that range, most players begin to feel that they are good ballstrikers and that they are ready for blades. He also said that after those players go out by a few shots, they eventually realise their mistake and sell their blades and buy cavities again. I am sure that if you surveyed new blade buyers and compared their handicaps with those same players when they sell their blades the sellers handicaps would be slightly higher after their experiment with blades. I love blades and have played very well with them. But when I am striking the ball well it wouldn't matter what I am using. However, as a 9 handicapper I hit enough shots in most of my rounds where the cavities DO make a difference that it is probably worth a couple of shots per round. Even more when I am not striking it really well, which is a lot more often than not. I read an essay recently that suggested that cavities actually benefit better players more than they benefit the higher handicappers. Higher handicappers tend to not only hit the ball all over the face but they also hit most of their shots with varying face angles, swing paths and varying heights on the face (fat or thin). Better players on the other hand tended to have very consistent swing paths and face angle with the main variable being where they hit the ball on the face. A low handicap amateur or Pro might be attacking a front right pin situated just over a bunker and might hit it just a little toward the toe. The cavity back might just clear the bunker and finish on the green but a little further away from the hole than intended while a blade would finish short and right and in the bunker.
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There is a very good reason why my S59's are for sale... When I swung well - they were very good. When I was out of form they were awful.
So...any mid-handicappers want to take them off my hands?
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Exactly, there is a reason that almost ALL professionals play with cavilty back clubs...
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If you are hitting blades further than your shovels then you've either:
a) been incorrectly fitted (this is where my bet is) Now having said that, you can play off 13, hit every green in regulation and be the worst putter in the world. Handicap is not a reflection of ball striking ability.
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I play with Mizuno MP-32s, don't hit as many in the middle as I'd like to, and accept that I would most likely be a couple of shots better off using cavity backs (particularly when not playing at my best), but those MP-32s are just so dang gorgeous!! Having said that I do find that they don't go too badly when I miss the sweet spot anyway - I suspect these Mizuno cutmuscles are substantially more forgiving than true blades.
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I've been using my TA1's since i was off about 18. I'm down to 10 and yes when you hit them in the middle they are pure but it doesn't happen all the time (or even that often). The thing is the good shots (even though fewer than the bad) far outweigh the negatives. daacha
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not wrong. I could hit 1000 bad shots with blades and 1 good
shot, and that'd be more than enough to keep them in the bag
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As if your ratio was that good Ben.
Beware of cheap imitations - Especially from the US |
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hence i don't play blades
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Virge sums it up right there. if the best strikers in the world don't use blades, there is a reason for it. i got a set of taylor mb's because i thought i loved them. i figured i was ready for them, and also, i figured that it would force me to become a better ball striker, which it has. however, my next set will be cavitys, or at least a combo. i could use the little bit more forgiveness or days when i am not hitting them as crisp.
sven, i would have thought that you would have hit them a little
shorter than your cavitys. i borrowed a mate's crap ass
cavity a few months back, didn't flush it and it still went
further than my blades. maybe there is a reason those irons
aren't selling !
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The question of blades and who can or can't hit them pops up every now and then. All the experts will tell you get fitted with a good set of game improvement irons and you'll play better. The thing is if you like them and want to hit them, then just do it. The experts aren't paying your green fees. daacha
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I bought a set of Hogan Blades when I played off 3, I sold them when I played off 7. They were still my favourite clubs of all time when I was hitting it well though.
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I see a few of these half cavitiy backs or half blades if you like...do thy make a slightly bigger head in one of these (just normal mid size!) all of the blades I see look like your hitting it with a set of chop sticks from wang dings chinese take away... sorry if thats a tough question
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My experience with blades is that the feeling of a well-struck shot is one of the greatest feelings in golf, similar to hitting one out of the middle of a decent persimmon-headed driver. But as I hit maybe one in ten out of the centre of the club, they don't work for me. Wierdly enough, my dad, on the other hand (who hadn't played golf in 20 odd years) couldn't hit my shiny new Srixons and went out and bought a bag full of blades and wooden drivers from cashies for $10. Took him out to the course and he hit some pearlers straight off the bat. He just found the blades so much more familiar and easy to get along with. So I guess it's horses for courses... Col
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Blades will always be smaller as the mass is more concentrated around the COG of the head. Just stick to your awesome fusions which are the best, most fogiving and (now 2nd) longest head you've ever hit.
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Can't really answer your question, but I just wanted to
congratulate you for working in a mild ethnic slur into a
golf-related question.
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I have a set of blades, and I am by no means a great ball striker. I love my irons and in my opinion I don't loose much when I don't hit them stiff. I couldn't find (in my budget) anything else that set up so nicely. I freak out when I see a thick top line and ugly offset!
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ethnic slur..I love the chinese...welll the food is good
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I used to play of 23 this time last year (have been for years) and I was using my blades. In April last year, I bought a set of Srixon I302s and dropped to 20 within a month or so. Stayed there for a few months before I changed back to my blades. Another month or two later, the handicapped dropped and have been playing to around 15. Went back to the I302s (I also have Ping I2s and Nike Pro Combos) and didn't hit them well. All the clubs, except for the Pings are Flighted Rifle 6s. I have recently used them on various outings and the blades still feel nicer. The issue I have is with the driver and woods putting the ball in locations that no sane man should go. Today, I played 13 holes of a par 31 course (4xpar 4s, 5x par 3s) and about 2.7k long. Did not have to use any woods and came out scratch for the round. Now, if I can only hit my irons longer - I will not have to use the 'big dogg' and his mates at the 'real' courses I play at. Review of the course: http://www.iseekgolf.com/co... If you compress the ball nicely with a blade, it is sublime. However, there is a very small trade off in distance compared to the Nikes and I302s. The grind on the blades are better for crappy surfaces because you can get to the ball easier. The Nikes do feel closer to the Pro 100s. A friend of mine who plays of 3 prefers the higher ball flight of his Callaway X18 Pros to my blades. Ultimately, the choice to swing a club is yours. Once you have worked out how to swing the club, I don't think it matters which type of club you use as long as they are set up and balanced correctly. Aesthetics trigger a strong emotional response. If your emotions are in good order, it does help you to perform better. I don't know what the mix of emotion, technique and experience is to be a better player. For me, the blades are <u>currently</u> my favourite but that could change tomorrow if I see another set that strike my fancy. Regards
“There is no truth. There is only perception.” - Gustave Flaubert |
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i bought a set of mizuno mx-23s and used them for a while.. then
decided to try an mp-32 in store, and felt great.. bought them
online and found that i was hitting them better then i ever hit
the 23s.. thats still the case today.. dont know why, but at the
same time, dont question it
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I don't quite understand why all the mid handicap golfers playing blades seem to think that the alternative to blades are massive shovels. There are some fabulous cavity backs that look very traditional over the ball and offer so much more forgiveness, without sacrificing feel. My Cleveland's feel like butter out of the middle. Granted they don't allow you to move the ball as well as a blade, but isn't that the point. I've yet to meet anyone off a mid handicap that can honestly work the ball with any control and blades will just punish anything not sweetly struck, especially in the longer irons. If you play off a high handicap and use blades then great, but do so in the knowledge that you're sacrificing a couple of shots off your handicap. I get just as much satisfaction hitting a pure shot with my cavity backs, but to be honest I get far more satisfaction from doing it more often than I did with blades. I dropped 2 shots off my handicap when I checked my ego and dropped the blades.
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some great views in this thread... Im reallyhappy with my irons...it was always a case..gee I wonder if...as golfers we always wonder a bit dont we??
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Too right Sven!
My mates wondered what the hell I was doing when 3 weeks after
taking up the game I went for some 'expert advice' at a
local high street retailer about 3 years ago, only to walk out
with a brand new set of gun metal cleveland ta-1 blades Just my 2c but is this what everyone else experiencing?? Jon
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