Master "Forged vs. Cast" or "Blade vs. Game-Improvement" Iron Thread

[wachesawgolfer]

Your current clubs will tell you. If you have a quarter size wear pattern in the sweet spot and most hits are well within the grooves, your good to play blades. The thin top line is addictive and as stated, the modern blades are easy to hit with the lower center of gravity and expanded sweet spot to the center of the club.

[David in FL]

Personally, I think every mid-to-high handicapper should switch to blades......

....... especially those that will be playing me in a match.

[cigarnut81]

Anyone (including the pros) playing blades now is hurting their score. There is no reason to play with no forgiveness. I have a milled cavity forging & I can work the ball just as well as I could with a blade, but when I miss it a little it hits the green. Why make this game harder than it has to be. EGO is the only reason behind guys that play blades.

[Leftygolfer]

I am pretty sure the best players in the world can hit blades. They do not miss the sweet spot. I think a smaller cavity would be a better choice for the mid handicap. They have the players look and a little forgiveness. I have had mine for about 6 months and really like them. They make you aware of the strike in good and bad ways. Also, I do not think less loft is better for better players. I tried a 9.5 and hated it. I did not hit it as far as I hit my driver.

[mdvaldosta]

Anyone (including the pros) playing blades now is hurting their score. There is no reason to play with no forgiveness. I have a milled cavity forging & I can work the ball just as well as I could with a blade, but when I miss it a little it hits the green. Why make this game harder than it has to be. EGO is the only reason behind guys that play blades.

I don't really agree with that, even though it's said often. I went from playing the old DCI black irons to muscle backs and honestly I feel

very little difference in forgiveness. Before going with the 690MB blades I hit the Ping I10 and S58 extensively and the blades just feel better to me. With that being said I also hit the G10's and those things are the easiest to hit iron's in existance, they have to be. At any rate, these new blades aren't the same ones from the 70's that my Grandpa let me borrow when I learned to play. If you can halfway strike a ball you can play blades, and the feedback you get from them is priceless - especially if you're trying to refine your game. I think majority of the top 10 players are playing blades, last I checked. Does that make them better? Nope, but that does make a statement that some people prefer and may be (or become) better players with them. I won't argue that most golfers (including myself) may play better with cavity backs, but I think in the long run the OP (and myself) will be better ball strikers because of it. If not, and months down the road you're still not hitting solid shots regularly then maybe you should be using a game improvement iron or better cavity back. There's only one way to find out though, and that's to play what fits your game.

[65withatriple]

Do you honestly believe that???? They play golf for a living and are choosing equipment that isnt the best for them??? I know they are paid to play a brand but can choose any model and if they choose a blade I think thats whats best for them. Kinda of arrogant to think you know more about whats best for their game than them dont you think?

Anyone (including the pros) playing blades now is hurting their score. There is no reason to play with no forgiveness. I have a milled cavity forging & I can work the ball just as well as I could with a blade, but when I miss it a little it hits the green. Why make this game harder than it has to be. EGO is the only reason behind guys that play blades.

[Primate]

Kinda of arrogant to think you know more about whats best for their game than them dont you think?

Maybe that was the "EGO" he was speaking of ;)

I didn't mean for this to be a blade vs cavity thread. There are millions of them out there. I am asking if it is better to refine your swing on a less forgiving club vs a club that will correct your errors for you?

[cigarnut81]

Fact is the pros play the clubs they are payed to play. They do not play the clubs that fit their game. If you knew the things I know you would understand. I am a clubfitter & teaching pro. I do know more about golf clubs than most touring professionals. They have guys like me build their golf clubs & they only worry about how it feels & flies in their hands. Why would they bother with the knowledge when they do not need. Understanding how a golf club works & fits the golf swing is not their job it is mine. It is fine with me if you guys feel the need to play blades I will take my miss hits to 10 feet anyday over feedback. Best of luck to all of you this season.

[misty_mountainhop]

Anyone (including the pros) playing blades now is hurting their score. There is no reason to play with no forgiveness. I have a milled cavity forging & I can work the ball just as well as I could with a blade, but when I miss it a little it hits the green. Why make this game harder than it has to be. EGO is the only reason behind guys that play blades.

Fact is the pros play the clubs they are payed to play. They do not play the clubs that fit their game. If you knew the things I know you would understand. I am a clubfitter & teaching pro. I do know more about golf clubs than most touring professionals. They have guys like me build their golf clubs & they only worry about how it feels & flies in their hands. Why would they bother with the knowledge when they do not need. Understanding how a golf club works & fits the golf swing is not their job it is mine. It is fine with me if you guys feel the need to play blades I will take my miss hits to 10 feet anyday over feedback. Best of luck to all of you this season.

Sorry, it may be the wine talking but what a load of crap. You mention ego but I think it's your own you should be worried about. Don't tell me what to play and why I play it.

To the OP. Get what you want, for the reasons you want to. It's your game and your money. Just remember though; in; out. Practice, develop a good, repeatable swing and you'll be able to hit an old hickory shafted iron out of the sweet spot.

[iacas]

Anyone (including the pros) playing blades now is hurting their score.

Right. You should call Tiger Woods - he probably could have won The Masters and the Quail Hollow if only he'd been using the Splitbacks instead of the blades.

There is no reason to play with no forgiveness.

I could give you a few. And that's assuming blades have "no forgiveness." Clearly they have some - you hit the ball off the sweet spot and it still goes forward.

I have a milled cavity forging & I can work the ball just as well as I could with a blade, but when I miss it a little it hits the green.

If the center of gravity is higher as they tend to be in cavity backs, then no, you can't work the ball quite as well, nor can you take off quite as much spin as a higher-CG blade.

EGO is the only reason behind guys that play blades.

Riiiiight.

Fact is the pros play the clubs they are payed to play.

Most pro contracts don't stipulate a model, simply "play 12 of our clubs" (or whatever #). So no.

They do not play the clubs that fit their game.

Please, put down the crack pipe.

I do know more about golf clubs than most touring professionals.

What were you saying about ego...?

It is fine with me if you guys feel the need to play blades I will take my miss hits to 10 feet anyday over feedback. Best of luck to all of you this season.

I score worse with cavity-back clubs than with blades. Have tried it several times, and after a round or two of slightly better results, my swing begins to suffer and my scores go up.

I don't really agree with that, even though it's said often. I went from playing the old DCI black irons to muscle backs and honestly I feel

Word. The difference is minimal.

Look, cigarnut81, it's all about tradeoffs. For some, we prefer the "control/feedback" side of the spectrum rather than the "forgiveness" side. We hit the sweet spot reasonably often and appreciate the control and feedback a blade offers.

If you can halfway strike a ball you can play blades, and the feedback you get from them is priceless - especially if you're trying to refine your game.

Word. Again.

[golfbarefoot]

Some of these posts are cracking me up. It boils down to you as a player, period. I have played forged blades my entire life, so I guess I could be as biased as the others who are afraid to play antything that isn't part of the "hot list" from golf digest or isn't labeled game improvement..

Blades are more consistent than any iron and the forged feel cannot be duplicated. Blades tend to fly longer and are much easier to work. Also, most people whine about feel, on mishits... It's honestly one of my favorite things about blades, feedback. I know immediately when miss and how I missed, they make me better honestly. CB feel numb to be solid or not, feels the same.
I also like a thinner topline, not a shovel-look.

If you miss the dead center of the club face ANY club loses distance/accuracy, CB will help minimize this, a very small amount but they will because of the perimeter weight, but marketing has made people believe you must have this or that. Hogwash. And one last thing, pros play what they will win with. Period. There is a reason why the tour pros play blades..

Sum it up, it's up to you and your ballstriking.

[JetFan1983]

Some of these posts are cracking me up.

Haha, agreed. I love when iacas lays the smackdown. Except when it's on me.

PS- I like cigarnut's posts too, normally. I get his point, and its true that there are people out there who shouldn't be playing blades, but not everyone .

[JetFan1983]

Just one other point. I do know that Angel Cabrera had a Ping G-10 2-iron in his bag for the Masters. I remembered that since I use G10 irons. I don't carry a 2 obviously, but the three I'd imagine is fairly similar, and it's very hittable, even for me. I could see why you'd use it. Paul Casey uses split cavities on his 2-4 irons.

Anyways, I shouldn't have even chimed in on this thread, I don't use blades

[laxbballgolf]

Look, cigarnut81, it's all about tradeoffs. For some, we prefer the "control/feedback" side of the spectrum rather than the "forgiveness" side. We hit the sweet spot reasonably often and appreciate the control and feedback a blade offers.

Don't AP2's technically have small cavity backs?

My point is, the line between blades and player CB's these days is pretty blurry.

[RocketSauce]

I am a clubfitter & teaching pro. I do know more about golf clubs than most touring professionals. .

youre a teaching pro with a 9.5 handicap??? yikes

[tmf9]

youre a teaching pro with a 9.5 handicap??? yikes

lol I think someone got exposed

[Primate]

Also, most people whine about feel, on mishits... It's honestly one of my favorite things about blades, feedback. I know immediately when miss and how I missed, they make me better honestly

YES! this is what I am wanting. I constantly (and I hear others every time I play) say "What am I doing wrong". You go through the swing, drop another ball to try and duplicate it and of course you hit it perfect. I want and need that feedback to help me understand what I am doing wrong. Of course I don't expect the club to work miracles but with my current clubs I have to strike the ball very poor to understand what is going on.

[iacas]

Don't AP2's technically have small cavity backs?

Yeah. But I alternate between those and a few blades I've got. And if you read my AP2 review, you'll see they have the feel of blades.

Just the other day I had my RAC MB TPs in, for example.