The who is who, plays what, etc.

Let me kick this off :

My nickname as the very same as my own name : Gerald.

I live in the Netherlands, in the province Drenthe, but till mid last year I lived in Overijssel. The landscape of Drenthe is agricultural and lots of forests, so most courses are a mix of wide fields and narrow in the woods holes.

I started playing golf when I was about 25 and reached hc. 14 playing wit a set of 1986 Wilson Staff Fluid Feel Tour Blades within about a year and after my first year in which I practiced and played a lot I had less time and my hc. went up to 17 before I gave up golf, because of working too much, wife and kiddies, etc.

Last year (that is about 25 yrs later) I picked up golf again and went from no handicap to single digit in a few months....... currently my game is a bit of a struggle, I went through about 10 sets of irons and ditto drivers since, to find out I still like traditional blades most ...... I know the majority of golfers and even tour players move on to players cavity backs etc...... (they have to make a living and one stroke to much can be the difference between $100.000 and $1.000.000), but for me as a recreational duffer, playing with fun is most important I guess ...... and a traditional blade provides such !

Working hard to become better, but I make to many bogeys and to less birdies at the moment, or experience a chain of pars spoiled by a tripple bogey .......

I suffer from equipment fever and am always looking for the next better set, my latest are a set of Wilson Staff Ci9 and Mizuno MP-67 ....... Still hoping to bump into a nice set of Hogan Apex Blades or some Miura's ....

The about only thing I have to still to find is a driver that fires 300+ in the Fairway 14/14.

I keep on searching .........

Cheers, Gerald.

10,000 ft overview on who I am... I go by rebby on various forums including this one, that came from a high school nickname that I even got a domain name (rebby.com) for. It's been my "internet identity" ever since then. Anyway, I grew up in southern MN and have been golfing since I was a little kid. I started with various junior sets and when the time came to actually buy my first set of irons cavity backs were all the rage. I bought into the hype, thinking that I didn't have the game for blades, and got a set of square groove PING Eye 2's (that I still own). I gamed these throughout high school. After I graduated from high school I treated myself to a new set of irons as a "personal gift" for getting my handicap under 2. I liked the Eye 2's enough that I went with the PING i3 Blades (in name only). For the first time since I had a junior set assembled, I had a fitted set of clubs (albeit a static fitting). The new i3's were great clubs but, with the regularity that I was hitting balls on the range, I wanted something to push me to the next level. So, I made the jump and purchased a set of FG-17's with hard stepped X100's from a used-club bin at the local golf course. At first the FG-17's seemed punishing but once I got the feel for them, the i3's (my "gamers") never did seem to make their way back into my bag after a range session or practice round with the FG-17's. All of a sudden I really started knocking down pins and my iron play became extremely consistent. My handicap kept dropping week after week until I found myself at a rock solid +3.8! I was playing the best golf of my life with a 20+ year-old set of rebar shafted unforgiving forged blades, a driver that spun way to much, wedges with no grooves and a putter that didn't fit either. At some point in college, I let a friend take the FG-17's for a weekend and ended up leaving them behind when I moved. Boneheaded move on my part for sure. I'd love another set but just can't justify the cost (even though they can be had pretty cheap). With my beloved FG-17's gone, the i3's made their way back to my bag and I continued to play solid golf. I wasn't as consistent with my irons but my game was still pretty solid. I eventually made my way back to the "dark side" via an array of Titleist offerings (681, 695 MB, ZM's and others). The 681's were, by far, the best of that bunch but I was never completely happy with any of those. In the meantime I'd gotten married and had kids and just didn't believe that my game was up to a forged blade any longer and kept going back to the i3's. I bought the ZM's new and went through a self fitting on what I wanted for L/L/L and settled on a shaft. At this point, I knew that I wanted a forged blade back in my bag for good. Unfortunately, the ZM just wasn't doing it for me. In fact, I liked the beat up set of 695 MB's better. In all fairness though, the 695's had S400's (which I prefer over the S300). At this point I decided to dump every set of irons that I still had in the garage and get something that I'd truly enjoy (in the end, I did decide to keep my PING Eye 2's that I gamed in HS for sentimental reasons). I went through a number of additional fittings and read every iron review that I could fine. I hit iron after iron after iron. Even having custom boutique irons shipped to me to demo. After "hitting them all" (or so I thought), I settled on the Scratch SB-1 with S300's. I loved everything about them and was sure that they would be in my bag for many years to come. For whatever reason though, I continued to research irons, primarily "exotic" custom irons. For the most part, I was looking for a low cost set of backups. At the same time however, I did wonder if the grass was greener on another side... My builder suggested a set of Miura irons, Tournament Blades to be exact. It just so happened that he had a set of heads that he was motivated to move and I jumped on them. Wanting to get the ballflight down and static weight up as compared to my SB-1's, I made the move to hard stepped S400's. The Miura's arrived a few weeks later and that was the end of the SB-1's rein in my bag. During my first round w/the TB's, I hit 17 greens and never looked back. A week or so later, the SB-1's were for sale and I was lusting for a set of 1957's on the word of my club builder that they were even better than the TB's. I had to hit them, I simply didn't believe him. Less than a month later a set of 1957's arrived on my doorstep. I started with the 9-iron and my first thought was, "these are TINY! I'll never be able to hit the ball w/out shanking it." And shank it, I nearly did. I hit the first ball so close to the heel that if the ball were any bigger, it would have grabbed the hosle and headed straight right. The next shot was a little better, the next shot, better yet. By then, my anxiety cleared and I caught the next one flush. What a feeling! The Miura TB was fantastic but this was leaps and bounds better. The feel of this iron was unreal! Once I got comfortable I started trying to "play" with the ball. Fade, draw, high, low, etc, etc. After about a week of range time, the 1957's took over my bag, permanently. I kept the TB's as backups thinking that I may prefer to game those in the spring or at times when I just wasn't playing very often but it never did happen. So, just a few weeks ago, I sold the TB's and ordered a second set of 1957's to serve as my backups. For the first time since being separated from my FG-17's, I've finally found an iron that I can't bear to part with. Details on my bag can be found [url=http://thesandtrap.com/forum/thread/16789/witb-photo-edition/486#post_609260]in the WITB Photo thread[/url]. The TB's are still listed there but, with any luck, my second set of 1957's will be here any day. As for all the threads bashing blades and explaining why, in a 100 different ways, perimeter weighting is a must for anybody's game; bah! I still carry a 2-iron too! Just like my 1911, you'll have to pry my 1957's from my "cold dead hands!"

Hi everyone.  I live in the bay area in California and have been playing on and off for a while.  While in college in 1996, my roommates all worked at the Olympic Club.  Needless to say, they got me into golf.  My very first set is one of the old rental sets they had there that they were going to throw out.  It was a set of TM ICW5's.  Not the best beginner set by far.  It was actually missing the 7i so I got a Tommy Armour 845s Silver Scot.  You can probably tell which iron I hit the best.  I am not even sure how I got hooked given how hard these were to hit.  I almost killed one of my roommates with a wicked hosel shot.

I continued to play with the TM's for a little while and bought a new set of TM Firesoles.  Much better for a beginner.  I continued to play for a couple years until I graduated and had to stop once I joined the work force.

I started back up in 2008 with a set of Cobra S9's.  Pretty much had to re-learn to play.  Wavered around a 30-35 for about a year of not playing that much.  Late last year I started getting serious about getting better.  I picked up a set of the Burner 2.0s and got myself down to about a 16.  I was way to inconsistent with these and just picked up a combo set of TM TP MC/MB.  I think it is the best set yet.  Partially because I am a much better player now and partially because they look really nice.  The small heads are kind of forcing me to become a better ballstriker.  I am not trying to kill it like I did with the burners.

I am trying to get down to a 10 by the end of this season but I know it is going to be tough.  Putting sucks.

Guelph, Ontario, Canada checking in!

I only started playing last July but I moved quickly from a $150 play-it-again-sports starter set to some Cleveland GI clubs.  I found I was leaving a very consistent mark right on the sweet spot so I thought I'd try some old Taylormade Technicians my parents had laying around.  As soon as I hit the sweet spot the first time I was hooked!  I didn't want to spend a fortune buying new clubs so I was patient and managed to score some Mizuno MP-33 (3-PW) on kijiji and I'm never going back to anything but a Mizuno MP.  My handicap is currently falling past 16 and I hope to be a 8-10 by the end of this season.

My only misses are fat - and those only when I'm starting to get tired and don't get my weight forward enough.  I can't remember the last time I hit the toe or a hozel rocket.  Since my handicap has dropped steadily since I started using blades, I obviously don't agree with the attitude that only low handicaps can play them.

In the interest of full disclosure I suppose I should add that I play a 7 wood or 3H (course dependent) and a 4H than a 3i and 4i.

I play a 4 and 5 hybrid and recently put an R11 7 wood in the bag.  Best move I made so far.  I use it as my 210 yard club as I am not a very long hitter - 240 Driver.  The shallow face makes it really easy to hit off the deck.  I tried the titanium one but I didnt hit it as well because the head is slightly larger.  Still trying to figure out that club though.  I hook it badly off the tee but it goes dead straight off the deck.  I thought it was going to be the other way around.

When I use my 3W or Hybrid from the tee, I tee it up so low as if it was lying at a very good spot at the fairway, so I just put a wooden tee sofar in that only the straight edges are above the ground (believe my that is 300 percent better that without a tee). Don't swing it different from the tee than from the deck, you will be thinking "why didn't I figured that ou myself"

Cheers, Gerald.

I only recently started carrying the 7W myself and I have to say I absolutely love it.  I hit it 230 (220 or so off the deck) off the tee with a nice draw.  I love how softly it lands compared to my 3H.  There is an infamous short par 4 at one of the courses I frequent.  It's only 235 with a slight curve to the left and I've more than once just dropped it right in the middle of the green with that 7W!

Do I qualify, even though only my 8-LW are blades? :-)

hmmm . . . maybe if you put some lead tape on the cavity?!?

I am in the same boat.  Maybe a blade half-inado?

Maybe you find the inspiration here to at least start blades from 7, but at hc 1.5 who cares ...... Welcome !

This does present an interesting question. When gaming a combo set, when/where do you make the conversion from a blade iron to a cavity back? I strongly considered a combo set at one point a few years go and didn't end up getting one because I couldn't decide where to draw that line. At a minimum I'd likely draw the line between the 5 and 6 iron (5 iron CB, 6 iron blade) or even my 4 and 5 iron. For those of you bagging combo sets, where did you draw the line? Why did you draw the line at that point?

I've flip flopped on this too. I bought my Cleveland TA3s because I wanted to put together a combo set (I've seen club pros with this combo) but when I try it on the course I only end up with the TA3 3 and 4 irons and then TA1 5-P. Then I ended up putting the TA1 3 and 4 irons back in the bag anyway. I wasn't happy with the way they fit together in the bag (aesthetics and yardage gaps).

The best way I think is to get a combo set right from the factory that takes all that into account. If building one from scratch (from the factory), I'd go with 2 or 3-5 in CB and 6-P in blades. My wife's irons are 3-6 CBs and 7-P blades (Tommy Armour 845 CM forged - really nice sticks - I'm a little jealous) and that seems like a good place to switch, but she ends up leaving the 3 and 4 in the garage anyway and uses my WS Fybrid.

I used to play the MP-57 (PX 5.5) and still have them, they are more like a players CB, but the demand is higher than in a normal players CB.

Now that I am gaming the MP-67 (PX 6.0) I really like the pure contact (and yes the buttery feel is different than the buttery feel in the MP-57, for what the B%

It is probably the most stupid reason here but I chose to go with a 6 and 7 MC only because I didnt want to have one club that was not like the others.  I only play a 6-PW.  If I had all MB's and only one MC, the set would just look strange to me and honestly I probably wouldnt hit the lone club as well knowing it.  I could use a little more forgiveness in my 150 club anyway.

I guess that soon you be will asking your self why you didn't went with all MB's.

There is not a lot of difference in demand between a 8i and a 7i and also a 6i ........

I know you are using some hybrids, but as soon as you get better ...... add at least the 5i.

Getting your index below 10 (I am sure your new gear will force you to become a better ballstriker) you need to improve dispersion, You will notice there is less dispersion in the MB's, so moving up to MB's to let's say 5i (or 6i) will further improve your index (maybe not right now, but you'll see).

The hybrids (I use one myself too, which is about my 2i/3i/5W) is a great tool for those 200 yds shots that are very hard with a long iron, but at least for me lacks the consistent aim ....... it is choices of course but if you have 210 to reach GIR ....... shoot the hybrid and hope for the best (clearing the greenside bunkers on the right and missing the tree guarding the right front edge, etc........) OR hit a decent 5i or even 6i to a smart spot near the green, and go for an U&D.;

I had this problem with my hybrids initially as well.  They were nice and long and easy to hit but nowhere near as accurate as I wanted.  I was able to solve this by re-shafting them with the same shafts as my irons (DGS300 in my case) and cutting them down to the same length so they fit right into my set (so my 3H and 4H shaft lengths matched the lengths of the 3i and 4i respectively).  When I purchased the hybrids I made sure to match the lofts which also helped them fit in.  Sure I lost some distance over the original graphite shafts, but they're so accurate now that losing those 10 or so yards doesn't bother me in the least.

Yep I have built myself a Snake Eyes Q4u hybrid once with a TT DG300S shaft in it once, you are right about that, but problem was that the distance I got is about the same as from a matching lofted iron as far as I remember.

I feel the graphite shaft gives just that extra kick at a hybrid, still I saw some pro's at the US Open also hitting steelshafted hybrids.

So maybe it is a good thought to exchange the graphite shaft with a PX 6.0 or even a PX 5.5.