New to Site, Lovin It!

[Golfnut15]

Hey everyone I am new to this site, and really diggin it!  It started out as a simple google search for vintage clubs, and here I am, haha.  Anyway.  I am a golf lover, always have been.  Played young, got married, had kids, left for a little, and now that kids are older, I am WAYYYYYY into it again.  Cant get enough of it.  Quick question....does anyone else out there hit the older (talking about 70's 80's) blades with the small heads better?  I used to make my own clubs and that was fun, but I am very tempted to but the Taylor Made Speedblades, but dont want to pay for clubs that may only go 10 yards further.  Plus, playing old clubs is so dam fun, and nostalgic.  Anyway, anyone else caught up in this, where you still can hit old stuff but wonder if the new stuff will make a big difference?   

Edited September 3, 2019 by Golfnut15

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, Golfnut15 said:

Hey everyone I am new to this site, and really diggin it!  It started out as a simple google search for vintage clubs, and here I am, haha.  Anyway.  I am a golf lover, always have been.  Played young, got married, had kids, left for a little, and now that kids are older, I am WAYYYYYY into it again.  Cant get enough of it.  Quick question....does anyone else out there hit the older (talking about 70's 80's) blades with the small heads better?  I used to make my own clubs and that was fun, but I am very tempted to but the Taylor Made Speedblades, but dont want to pay for clubs that may only go 10 yards further.  Plus, playing old clubs is so dam fun, and nostalgic.  Anyway, anyone else caught up in this, where you still can hit old stuff but wonder if the new stuff will make a big difference?   

Welcome to TST! There are people here who play older clubs for sure. 10yds for each club is pretty significant. The new technology is pretty advanced over the old stuff for sure. Of course it really comes down to you, your preferences. You could take your old 7i for example and hit it along with a newer model and see what you come up with.

You are likely to see a significant difference in the long irons being easier to hit with the newer models. If you’re a high handicapper for sure. 

[dennyjones]

Welcome to TST!

[iacas]

I use muscleback blades, so they're basically the same as the clubs from the 80s.

[Piz]

I play older clubs...whatever that means.  The only difference I can discern is that a 9 iron, from one set, is a pigeon wedge in another.  It doesn't matter what you hit...it's how you hit it.  

[Patch]

Welcome to TST. Glad you found the site. 

Older clubs, assuming the shafts, and grips are still in decent shape will work just fine when used in conjunction with a golfer's good swing.

Personally, I like the looks of the smaller heads. I have a muscle back, skinny 6i I sometimes practice with. Found it in a Thrift Store for a dollar. Had to have it. 

[Bonvivant]

Welcome, and glad to see someone else with a slower swing speed that uses blades. I have 2 sets of Sam Snead Blue Ridge (hardware store clubs from 60s-70s) irons that I love. One was set was my playing set up until recently. I found a cheap set of the Nike Forged Blades (2003 before the foundry change) on eBay and snagged them because I love the look and wanted to continue playing blades. They definitely aren't as vintage as my SSBR but they are in much better condition and I have really enjoyed them.

One of the reasons that I still play blades is that I dislike how strong the lofts are on modern clubs. I love having a 49 degree PW that I can hit a knockdown 80-90 yard shot with, as opposed to playing a 45 degree PW with a hot face that requires partial swings to bring it under 100 yards. I do believe that I hit blades better than cavity backs, and I think it has to do with concentration or visualization. Having a big club head at address looks borderline offensive to me and I think my body rejects it.

For reference, I'm only 30, but I have been swinging a club off and on since I was 4. My 2 junior sets were 4 irons each out of a 3rd SSBR set (one set odds and one set evens), so I have never known anything else except blades/MBs. I don't have a super powerful swing and prefer to swing easy for control. I hit my 37 degree 7 iron about 150 yards on my normal swing, but with the newer lofts/faces/forgiveness, a 7 iron would probably be 165-170 for me.

Another interesting idea are the combo sets. I would be more interested in trying a cavity to mb range as opposed to all cavities. The only iron I really have trouble with in the Nikes is the 3 iron. I know a couple of companies have made them over the years.

TLDR: Welcome, and keep on swinging those oldies! There's nothing like playing the old stuff

Edited September 4, 2019 by Bonvivant
added last paragraph

[Golfnut15]

19 hours ago, Piz said:

I play older clubs...whatever that means.  The only difference I can discern is that a 9 iron, from one set, is a pigeon wedge in another.  It doesn't matter what you hit...it's how you hit it.  

So true, and for the life of me I cant believe I hit the older ones better, makes no sense but I am not complaining! haha

[Golfnut15]

37 minutes ago, Bonvivant said:

Welcome, and glad to see someone else with a slower swing speed that uses blades. I have 2 sets of Sam Snead Blue Ridge (hardware store clubs from 60s-70s) irons that I love. One was set was my playing set up until recently. I found a cheap set of the Nike Forged Blades (2003 before the foundry change) on eBay and snagged them because I love the look and wanted to continue playing blades. They definitely aren't as vintage as my SSBR but they are in much better condition and I have really enjoyed them.

One of the reasons that I still play blades is that I dislike how strong the lofts are on modern clubs. I love having a 49 degree PW that I can hit a knockdown 80-90 yard shot with, as opposed to playing a 45 degree PW with a hot face that requires partial swings to bring it under 100 yards. I do believe that I hit blades better than cavity backs, and I think it has to do with concentration or visualization. Having a big club head at address looks borderline offensive to me and I think my body rejects it.

For reference, I'm only 30, but I have been swinging a club off and on since I was 4. My 2 junior sets were 4 irons each out of a 3rd SSBR set (one set odds and one set evens), so I have never known anything else except blades/MBs. I don't have a super powerful swing and prefer to swing easy for control. I hit my 37 degree 7 iron about 150 yards on my normal swing, but with the newer lofts/faces/forgiveness, a 7 iron would probably be 165-170 for me.

Another interesting idea are the combo sets. I would be more interested in trying a cavity to mb range as opposed to all cavities. The only iron I really have trouble with in the Nikes is the 3 iron. I know a couple of companies have made them over the years.

TLDR: Welcome, and keep on swinging those oldies! There's nothing like playing the old stuff

 

Hey man, great post, and I agree 100% with everything you said!!  I around a 10 handicap, mostly 83 to 80 consistently.  I used to be in the 70's back in my late 20's but havent been in the 70's since.  Very frustrating.  Anyway, trying new stuff here and there and scores never change.  So I tried blades again and as you said, I cant hit cavity backs either.  No idea why, but the small club heads appeal to me and I love the set up.  I also think its in my head that I struggle with the offset clubs but I know I hit blades pretty well.  I am 45, and at this point I think I have learned that distance is great, but its the accuracy that really matters.  I remember being around 13 or so going to play the 9 hole course near us in Philly, and me and a buddy were always around par - using blades, not caring at all other than enjoying ourselves!  Getting back to that, and will never deviate again.  Too many options with clubs and clever marketing these days, but I am a believer that you really have to stick with what works for us individually.  

[Golfnut15]

20 hours ago, Piz said:

I play older clubs...whatever that means.  The only difference I can discern is that a 9 iron, from one set, is a pigeon wedge in another.  It doesn't matter what you hit...it's how you hit it.  

So true, as I replied to someone else earlier and commented that I have tried all kinds of new clubs over the years and scores stayed the same (80-83 consistently).  In my late 20's I would be in the 70's for about a year or so, then had kids, got married, went back to school, etc..   Ironically this hitting old blades started for me at the driving range about two weeks ago, as I saw an old club and wanted to see if I could still hit them.  Glad I tried, and felt like I could control the ball much better, and did not really care about distance, as most of them were straight, or if I butchered a few, they were not as bad as when I hit my offsets.  Anyway, I like what you said, "It doesn't matter what you hit, its how you hit it"...so dam true!

20 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Welcome to TST! There are people here who play older clubs for sure. 10yds for each club is pretty significant. The new technology is pretty advanced over the old stuff for sure. Of course it really comes down to you, your preferences. You could take your old 7i for example and hit it along with a newer model and see what you come up with.

You are likely to see a significant difference in the long irons being easier to hit with the newer models. If you’re a high handicapper for sure. 

Hey there, thanks for the response.  To be honest, I have no idea what the difference in distance is.  I just assumed.  So I hit my blade clubs (the old ones) and was actually hitting them farther than my offset Pings.  Have no clue why, but I really do love blades.  I tend to slice bad with the offsets and dont have a good feel like I do with the blades.  I am around a 10 handicap, usually around 80 to 83 or so, and most of my bad shots are irons, or hideous chips.  Still working on that, haha.  I hated my old irons and was getting fed up, as I dont want to spend a fortune on new ones, only to have the same issues (its not just the club, its me).  That being said, I still may treat myself to new blades for xmas, just to see.  I only spent 29 bucks on the blades I am using from the 80's, so I got that goin for me, haa.

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, Golfnut15 said:

So true, as I replied to someone else earlier and commented that I have tried all kinds of new clubs over the years and scores stayed the same (80-83 consistently).  In my late 20's I would be in the 70's for about a year or so, then had kids, got married, went back to school, etc..   Ironically this hitting old blades started for me at the driving range about two weeks ago, as I saw an old club and wanted to see if I could still hit them.  Glad I tried, and felt like I could control the ball much better, and did not really care about distance, as most of them were straight, or if I butchered a few, they were not as bad as when I hit my offsets.  Anyway, I like what you said, "It doesn't matter what you hit, its how you hit it"...so dam true!

Hey there, thanks for the response.  To be honest, I have no idea what the difference in distance is.  I just assumed.  So I hit my blade clubs (the old ones) and was actually hitting them farther than my offset Pings.  Have no clue why, but I really do love blades.  I tend to slice bad with the offsets and dont have a good feel like I do with the blades.  I am around a 10 handicap, usually around 80 to 83 or so, and most of my bad shots are irons, or hideous chips.  Still working on that, haha.  I hated my old irons and was getting fed up, as I dont want to spend a fortune on new ones, only to have the same issues (its not just the club, its me).  That being said, I still may treat myself to new blades for xmas, just to see.  I only spent 29 bucks on the blades I am using from the 80's, so I got that goin for me, haa.

$29...lol! That’s awesome. I would imagine if you like blades you’ll find some real nice ones that have the look you like and feel very nice as well. The Titleist MB, Callaway MB and Mizuno MP-18 for example...My first set of irons were the Northwestern Thunderbirds. Looking at them now they look like dominoes glued to a stick!

[Nave]

Welcome to TST!