Use blades to learn how to play!

[Tape]

Footnote:

that is such a good state ment! and i totaly agree but learning with blades with a 9:1 or better means any other iron feels like it has no feel!

[freshmanUTA]

I thought I would bring back an old thread instead of making a new one so here's what I have to ask.

 

This year I have a lot of free time and I would like to spent at least 4 hours each day, or at least every other day, practicing my golf game so I can get to a 1 to +1 handicap. I've been playing since I was young but only 1 time every couple years, and right now I'm playing off of a handicap that was from all 5 scores I had last year and it's 12M. My last score of the season was a 79 and my highest was an 88. I want a club that's going to force me to learn when I strike the ball correctly as, before they were stolen ):, my Nike vapor speeds didn't provide me a lot of feedback. 

 

Would blades be a horrible decision? I don't want to spend $1000 on clubs and I was fitted for standard length, lie and lofts that are around 42-44° for a 9 iron and decreasing/increasing by 4° each club in the bag. So, im looking at some used Nike VR pros, but I want to get a second opinion before I buy them. Would it be a bad idea to learn this way. Another problem that I have is the fact that I find it difficult to control distances because I can consistently hit my 3 iron 235 like I'm supposed to and sometimes I have a 3 iron that flies ridiculously hot off the face and can touch 290-300 yards. Obviously this is an issue if I'm going for a green that's 230 yards away. 

 

Am I wrong for thinking this? are blades a bad idea?

[SavvySwede]

22 minutes ago, freshmanUTA said:

Am I wrong for thinking this? are blades a bad idea?

Modern blades are relatively forgiving these days, but there are plenty of better player cavity backs that provide the level of feedback to know exactly where you struck it on the face.

27 minutes ago, freshmanUTA said:

I can consistently hit my 3 iron 235 like I'm supposed to and sometimes I have a 3 iron that flies ridiculously hot off the face and can touch 290-300 yards.

1. Your irons wouldn't be to blame for something like that.
2. I hate to be that guy but I don't see that actually happening unless you're getting major rollout/weather conditions/altitude. You should buy a laser rangefinder to avoid misjudging distances on the course.

[Club Rat]

34 minutes ago, freshmanUTA said:

Would blades be a horrible decision?

Not really. I suggest going to the golf store and hit several different clubs to enhance your thoughts.

Feedback of blades vary from different shafts. Most blades will feel similar and more of a personal preference.

 

[freshmanUTA]

4 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

Modern blades are relatively forgiving these days, but there are plenty of better player cavity backs that provide the level of feedback to know exactly where you struck it on the face.

1. Your irons wouldn't be to blame for something like that.
2. I hate to be that guy but I don't see that actually happening unless you're getting major rollout/weather conditions/altitude. You should buy a laser rangefinder to avoid misjudging distances on the course.

It's only happened twice and one was in a simulator. Exact yardage was 303 Happened Once on course but to be honest I was really trying to go for the ball, it was a par 5 and I wanted to go for it in 2 and I didn't have a 3 wood so I unlocked on a 3 iron. I didn't know I could hit it that far, and maybe it wasn't 300 but it was at least 280 because it was well over the back of the green which was 265 according to the yardage Book. maybe I can't hit like that and it's just the forgiveness working for me, idk.

 

I was was thinking about the VR Pro Combos, so I have actual blades in the clubs that are relatively easy to hit, but has forgiveness in the longer irons, I just don't like that it starts the CBs at a 7 iron.

[SavvySwede]

2 minutes ago, freshmanUTA said:

It's only happened twice and one was in a simulator. Exact yardage was 303 Happened Once on course but to be honest I was really trying to go for the ball, it was a par 5 and I wanted to go for it in 2 and I didn't have a 3 wood so I unlocked on a 3 iron. I didn't know I could hit it that far, and maybe it wasn't 300 but it was at least 280 because it was well over the back of the green which was 265 according to the yardage Book. maybe I can't hit like that and it's just the forgiveness working for me, idk.

 

I was was thinking about the VR Pro Combos, so I have actual blades in the clubs that are relatively easy to hit, but has forgiveness in the longer irons, I just don't like that it starts the CBs at a 7 iron.

You can always buy an old single blade iron off ebay to use as a training aid, you don't need to use blades all the time to reap the benefits.

[allenc]

For what it's worth I use Taylormade R7 CGB Max irons which are GI/SGI and I know where on the face I hit it almost every time.  I've have a second set of Callaway X-Forged which have very shallow, almost non-existent cavities and it's about the same.  Different sound and feel though.

[saevel25]

10 hours ago, freshmanUTA said:

I want a club that's going to force me to learn when I strike the ball correctly as, before they were stolen ):, my Nike vapor speeds didn't provide me a lot of feedback.

There is no club that will force you to strike the ball correctly. Getting a better swing is taking the advice from a good knowledgeable instructor and properly practicing to improve your swing. 

10 hours ago, freshmanUTA said:

Am I wrong for thinking this? are blades a bad idea?

Your a 12 handicap, you probably can get away with playing blade. Modern blades are much easier to hit than ever. 

I will say blade irons are more consistent on trajectory and ball speed. GI clubs can have hot spots due to their more 3-wood / drive face construction. 

I think the sweet spot on a GI Clubs can muddle the feel of what is a center'd strike on a clubface. If the same feel is spread out across the face, but there is only one true sweet spot. Where the CG is located relative to the ball. Then really off center hits can feel like pure strikes. 

[freshmanUTA]

19 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

19 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Your a 12 handicap, you probably can get away with playing blade. Modern blades are much easier to hit than ever.

I think the sweet spot on a GI Clubs can muddle the feel of what is a center'd strike on a clubface. If the same feel is spread out across the face, but there is only one true sweet spot. Where the CG is located relative to the ball. Then really off center hits can feel like pure strikes. 

I don't want to just get away with it, I actually want my scores to drop. Actually there's supposed to be a pro-am nearby that I'd like to play in at the end of the year and I'd like to be able to shoot a good score when I play in it. I'm perfectly okay with my scores shooting up until my swing gets settled.

 

I always have the projector set up to show me where on the face I struck the ball to help me out when I would go in and practice  and half the time I couldn't tell the difference in balls trikes unless they were massively away from center. The only way I could tell was when the machine told me! 

 

Also my contact now is much better than before as I was in on Saturday hitting blades and roughly 25 of the thirty shots I hit were near enough to center for a good flight and no loss in distance.

 

Edit: I'm just looking for reassurance that buying a set of blades isn't a horrible decision. Again I could find a set of pro combos and see how I hit those but I'm not a fan of the 7 being a CB.

Edited February 12, 2016 by freshmanUTA

[bigalun]

10 hours ago, freshmanUTA said:

 

Another problem that I have is the fact that I find it difficult to control distances because I can consistently hit my 3 iron 235 like I'm supposed to and sometimes I have a 3 iron that flies ridiculously hot off the face and can touch 290-300 yards. Obviously this is an issue if I'm going for a green that's 230 yards away.

This is quite common, especially in cast clubs, some argue this is why distance control is easier with forged clubs, you see it on tour sometimes, someone flies the green but he knows he hit it solid, I think they say it comes off a bit "hot" my local pro says its true but ive heard this happen many times.

 

In general whilst I agree blades are a pure form of club and id love to to put my old set of mcgregors in the bag but where do people stand on the difference between weight and how blades feel to practice with compared to practicing with their gaming clubs, wouldn't the difference (although small) make a difference?

[sirhacksalot]

I've commented on the topic of blades for beginners quite a bit.  And have always been "for" the idea, thinking that I missed something.  Now I think I was wrong.  For me personally the feedback caused me to not "be a stupid monkey".  On the range I would hit a few bad shots, then through lil tweaks and such, warmed up, etc.  I would start to hit good shots.  On the course I didn't get the chance to hit more than one shot.  So the "constant feedback" of bad shots led me to blow up my swing trying to fix things.  In all reality it was just lil tweaks going from swinging a driver to swinging a six-9 iron and I wasn't standing close enough to ball, or angle of attack to steep with such a sharp leading edge on damp course etc.  The blade argument used to make sense to me and the feeling is great like butter.  But I wasted a good part of a year chasing good feel off the face as opposed to chasing lower scores.

[saevel25]

12 minutes ago, bigalun said:

This is quite common, especially in cast clubs, some argue this is why distance control is easier with forged clubs, you see it on tour sometimes, someone flies the green but he knows he hit it solid, I think they say it comes off a bit "hot" my local pro says its true but ive heard this happen many times.

It has more to do with how thin the face is and how much weight is behind the ball. If you caste a club with the same design as a Titleist MB iron they would perform nearly identical. 

19 minutes ago, freshmanUTA said:

I don't want to just get away with it, I actually want my scores to drop. Actually there's supposed to be a pro-am nearby that I'd like to play in at the end of the year and I'd like to be able to shoot a good score when I play in it. I'm perfectly okay with my scores shooting up until my swing gets settled.

Blades will no make you better. They could hinder you if you struggle with hitting the ball on the center of the face. 

It just depends on your game. 

[Dave2512]

Improving technique and lowering scores is about pinpointing flaws and practicing to eliminate flaws. Can't say I've ever seen any talking clubs. Instruction is the road to improvement not equipment. 

I have GI long irons I know exactly where the ball comes off the face. Everything is wrong when I strike it poorly, the sound, the flight, the direction, the distance. The help offered isn't a disguise it's minimizing what could have been worse with a less forgiving club. All the bad shot clues are still there. 

[freshmanUTA]

18 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Blades will no make you better. They could hinder you if you struggle with hitting the ball on the center of the face. 

It just depends on your game. 

Well to be fairly honest I play an aggressive style so I try to power my tee shots assuming there's no danger(water, bunker, etc) and play my following shots as close as I can get. Last year my 3,4,5 iron rarely came out and if they did it was because I screwed up a tee shot or there was a long par 5.

 

Recently I've been striking really well and I think my flights have been superb, to me at least. my recent practice sessions have all been using blades and my flights are looking fine with them. The only thing is around 10 yards loss of distance but I crush my irons and I don't think I need the extra distance, and plus I was hitting dead range balls.

 

I'm getting new clubs anyway I just bought a filler set for 45$ after my speeds were stolen cause I needed something for a school 4 ball golf outing for charity coming up.

[Patch]

One of my practice regimins is hitting a Hogan 2i blade off of thin lies. I know that if I can get the ball airborn, hit it reasonably straight, that I am doing something good with my swing. 

[Tee2Trees]

I have a Northwestern "Shot Saver" muscleback 1-iron.  Loads of fun when you pure it (lasers) and I can put it out there about as far as a 3 hybrid.  Problem is, I can go through almost an entire bucket trying to hit it perfectly off of various lies and then my gamer sticks see no practice.  So I've stopped bringing it to the range.

[vangator]

I started with a set of Mason Rudolph signature blades that set me back $35 with the bag.  Had leather wrapped grips.  Shafts were pitted.  Man were those clubs terrible.

Edited February 16, 2016 by vangator

[inthehole]

I never "got" the whole you got have blades to feel / hear when you don't hit it pure & need good feedback.   I've always played cavity backed irons & can ALWAYS tell from the feedback I get where on the clubface I've mis-hit the ball.    I guess blades would be more penal, but I have enough trouble, don't need to torture myself ...