Officially Made the Switch to Blades.

[Jeremie Boop]

I love how Shorty came in like Debby Downer, rofl... Really, you shouldn't care what he says because as long as you like them it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or says. Happy to hear that you're enjoying the new irons and hopefully it stays that way.

[mdl]

Because they want irons with a little more forgiveness when competing for millions of dollars. When they're strolling down the 18th fairway, mentally preparing for their approach shot that could win or lose them an enormous amount of money, they want a club that has that added forgiveness to give them that much more of a chance in case they mishit. I understand that completely. I'm not competing for loads of cash. I play golf purely for the enjoyment of the game and for that, I prefer and love to play blades.

@Shorty 's a bit grumpy about this (surprise!).  But this is the best answer IMO.  You understand you could shoot a stroke or two better on average with more forgiving clubs but just get more enjoyment out of having clubs that give you that pured blade feel when you hit good ones, maybe get more pleasure out of hitting pured shots cause you know it's not as easy to do with your club, and you enjoy your rounds more having prettier (to you) clubs in your bag.

I game the Titleist CBs, and I don't think I'd ever go to the MBs (or your Mizunos), but some version of yours seems about the only legit, self-aware reason to do so.

[flopster]

Ever wondered why Luke Donald and other Mizuno pros don't use the Mizuno blades, despite them lookiing beautiful?

Simple, they don't have egos to stroke, when someone can't play the way they want people to think of them the next best thing is to look like it. I had a friend who was a mid-high capper who wasted his money on a set of blades only to ditch the things after a few months, his mishits were just awful to watch and you could hear that horrible clanky sound of a toed shot, he asked me if I wanted to buy them I just said what for? do I look like I need any more frustration in my game? If the OP is happy with what he has then fine but I have been around long enough just like others to know you don't go and buy blades for forgiveness and consistency you buy them to work the ball, however the only payers who can do that on a consistent level are usually in + index range not 10-18.

[Jakester23]

So lets say you play blades and shoot a 95( this is all theoretical). How much better do you think it would be with lets say AP2's? And how much better with AP1's? Im just curious how much you guys think it matters to the 10-20 handicapper.

[Jeremie Boop]

So lets say you play blades and shoot a 95( this is all theoretical). How much better do you think it would be with lets say AP2's? And how much better with AP1's? Im just curious how much you guys think it matters to the 10-20 handicapper.

Nobody can really say, it's possible you could shoot the same score or worse. It's never necessary to switch to blades.

[Lihu]

So lets say you play blades and shoot a 95( this is all theoretical). How much better do you think it would be with lets say AP2's? And how much better with AP1's? Im just curious how much you guys think it matters to the 10-20 handicapper.

[quote name="Jeremie Boop" url="/t/74687/officially-made-the-switch-to-blades/18#post_993871"]Nobody can really say, it's possible you could shoot the same score or worse. It's never necessary to switch to blades. [/quote] I feel like my last round could have gotten me more GIR, and more par. Not sure if it would have helped, because my miss that day were hosel rockets. I would like to think 2.5 strokes per 9.

[David in FL]

So lets say you play blades and shoot a 95( this is all theoretical). How much better do you think it would be with lets say AP2's? And how much better with AP1's? Im just curious how much you guys think it matters to the 10-20 handicapper.

My guess, a 20 hcp will lose at least 10 strokes trying to play blades....

[saevel25]

My guess, a 20 hcp will lose at least 10 strokes trying to play blades....

So a 20 HDCP would play as a 30 then?

I don't think a 20 HDCP will suddenly go to a 10

[David in FL]

So a 20 HDCP would play as a 30 then?  I don't think a 20 HDCP will suddenly go to a 10 :-P

LOL. The former rather than the latter.

[Jakester23]

I guess im just curious how much different blades/GI/ & SGI's are. Im gaming G15's and I want to switch to more of a players irons so this thread intrigues me.

[iacas]

http://www.oobgolf.com/content/the+wedge+guy/golf+equipment/5-2032-Blades_Versus_Cavity_Backs_A_Golf_Club_Epiphany.html

Then I looked at the chart for the new Apex blade we were developing. On heel misses, it was slightly worse than the cavity back models.

On toe misses, the Apex was significantly worse (blades have very little mass out on the toe).

But on dead center hits - our shot pattern was about 1/4 the size of the cavity back pattern ! In other words, the perfect shots were much better !

So that got me thinking. My next round of golf, I dusted off my old set of Joe Powell blades, and I had an eye-opening day.

I was playing very well at the time, but not making that many birdies. That day I hit it within 10' of the flag a number of times, and while I did experience some misses that were worse than I had been getting with the Edge irons, my best shots were better than they had been in some time.

One of my friends who knows my game well exclaimed, "Where's that guy been ?"

He went on to explain that he had noticed I had not been "knocking down flags" for some time, which I usually did at least once or twice a round.

So, I made a permanent switch back to blade irons, my reasoning being that I will judge my rounds much moreby the quality of my best shots than the acceptability of my worse ones.

[isukgolf]

A bit confused ... The OP says he is excited about getting blades ... I think it is great that he is excited ... But then a debate breaks out on blades versus other type irons? If HE likes them, then HE likes them .... Right? :-D :-D :-D

[cipher]

@iacas that is interesting. I have been noticing that with my Edel 47 and 52 a lot. I was not sure if I would like the 47, but it has probably become my favorite club. Personally I don't think that I have the speed to play a blade type club, but I get the point. I got an s55 8 and 9 iron to test out and have noticed toe hits being pretty bad. I know these are not really blades, but are somewhat similar. Hit the nine this morning well on a par 3 though for my best shot of the day. I have been trying to figure this out. When you hit them well they seem to be better and grab the green more, but is it worth it for the miss hits? Interesting stuff anyway.

[Lihu]

I guess im just curious how much different blades/GI/ & SGI's are. Im gaming G15's and I want to switch to more of a players irons so this thread intrigues me.

i 25 would be fine. Blades will add strokes, and I agree with @David in FL After todays range session, I hate myself.

[Golfingdad]

Blades will add strokes ...

Perhaps .... if you tend to miss out near the toe a lot.  And even then, it may not be that much.

Consider this scenario:

I hit a good drive (with 460 cc metal, not persimmon ) and leave myself with 150 yards to the middle of the green for my next shot.  I hit a poor shot off the toe with my (awesome) i20's with the tungsten insert out on the toe and perhaps it flies 135 leaving me 5 yards short of the green.  I take the same swing with a blade and it only flies and rolls 120, leaving me 20 yards short of the green.  Either way, I'm pitching and need to get up and down to save par.  Certainly I will get up and down more often from 15 yards away than I will from 30, but by only a fairly small fraction, I would imagine.  I'd have to do that a few times a round to make much of a dent in my overall average score.

But then, when you factor in the info above about tighter dispersion with blades, how much do the few shorter birdie putts offset the toe misses?  All other misses (heel, fat and thin) tend to be pretty similar regardless of iron type.

Regardless, this probably is delving too far into a debate, and @isukgolf is right.  OP is excited, and he's more confident and hitting it better and that is really all that matters!  Good on you, OP!

[Lihu]

Perhaps .... if you tend to miss out near the toe a lot.  And even then, it may not be that much. Consider this scenario: I hit a good drive (with 460 cc metal, not persimmon ;-) ) and leave myself with 150 yards to the middle of the green for my next shot.  I hit a poor shot off the toe with my (awesome) i20's with the tungsten insert out on the toe and perhaps it flies 135 leaving me 5 yards short of the green.  I take the same swing with a blade and it only flies and rolls 120, leaving me 20 yards short of the green.  Either way, I'm pitching and need to get up and down to save par.  Certainly I will get up and down more often from 15 yards away than I will from 30, but by only a fairly small fraction, I would imagine.  I'd have to do that a few times a round to make much of a dent in my overall average score. But then, when you factor in the info above about tighter dispersion with blades, how much do the few shorter birdie putts offset the toe misses?  All other misses (heel, fat and thin) tend to be pretty similar regardless of iron type. Regardless, this probably is delving too far into a debate, and @isukgolf is right.  OP is excited, and he's more confident and hitting it better and that is really all that matters!  Good on you, OP! :beer:

My miss is closer to the heel, but you never know on different lies. Playing my son's i20 is way easier than the blades. Its usually over 140-150 yards. 8i and shorter makes almost no difference. So, the OP is a lower handicap on verge of single digits. Probably fine on the majority of the courses.

[Shorty]

What are you gaming shorty?

TaylorMade Rocketbladez Tour

Previously Adams CB2

Previously Mizuno MP57

Previously Mizuno MP60

[moparman426]

Blades will add strokes,

I lost about 8 strokes off my game after switching to my 695MBs, in one half season.  I was previously playing Titleist 755s, and before that, Big Bertha monster cavity backs.  The Berthas were hook machines, the 755s were much better but I was still pretty inconsistant, and the current 695MBs are never leaving my bag.....  Maybe it has more to do with better suited shafts, but I have never hit so many nice shots and my misses are much more manageable.  My 4, 5 and 8 are my go-to irons and use the 3 quite often after hitting an errant drive.

Just played my first round of the season today.  Played to my index, and could have been better if the range was open to work on my driver, as it lost me 2 balls today.

I just think your statement is a pretty vague generalization...