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

[Zeph]

Yet some players get blades as beginners and progress just as well as someone with GI clubs. Go find a retailer and try different clubs. It's an individual matter, pick whatever clubs you hit best and find most comfortable and confident using.

Many players have gone from GI to blades at 20-ish handicap and not suffered from this.

[kfowler]

I currently play Cleveland CG Golds which are GI irons. I recently demo'd a Mizuno MP-57 and a MP-58. They had a Trackman out of the hitting bay so I got some really good data. Distance wise they were all very similar. For a 6i, I actually hit the MP-57 a yard or two further. Biggest difference was in dispersion. I had a much tighter circle with the CG Golds. Some of that may just be attributed to getting used to different irons. The Mizuno's felt lighter than my CG's.

[ks8829]

I would consider the blades since you can mix the set with your current cavity and play a mixture of PW - 8 iron blades and 7 - 4 iron cavity. I like the Mizuno mp33 and did the same thing you are considering 4 years ago and I have been playing them since and had my best rounds playing blades.

Try hitting them on check the results with your irons and decide for yourself and let the launch monitor and the inner voice decide for you.

[Phil McGleno]

Oh goodie! Another one of these threads!

Buy what you like. Don't listen to anyone else.

[James_Black]

Never thought about it like that.

I see what you mean.

But I think that once you can consistantly hit your game improving irons very well then you can think about moving into muscle backs and blades.

If you move straight to blades from being a beginner then you might lose confidence and start playing worse

[sean_miller]

Oh goodie! Another one of these threads!

This is an old thread that resurfaced.

[dreamsmith]

I am probably the oldest guy on this forum. I'm 72, and I've seen it all, and played them all in my 60 years or so of playing golf. Here's my take on all this.

1. My handicap is about 10. I don't play in a league any more, because I got tired of all the sandbagging and emphasis on winning. I don't need it, and I'm perfectly happy playing open golf with my lady (who absolutely LOVES the game-as I do).

2. We are serious about golf, and work at it almost daily. And being retired, we have plenty of time.

3. This year we both got new clubs. I got her Adams A4 OS ladies, and she loves them. She shoots about 80 average, but has gotten as low as 74. I got Mizuno MP-52 irons, the R9 460 driver, Adams woods and Cobra Baffler hybrids. Great set, except I had trouble with the Mizunos. I hit them fairly well, but every so often I'd chunk one or just hit a poor shot.

4. My most troublesome iron was the lowest in my bag-the 6-iron. I decided to try something, and bought a Callaway Fusion Wide Sole 6-iron. These clubs are, according to Ralph Maltby, the most forgiving iron made. I found out quickly why: they're fantastic! Easy (VERY easy) to hit, and long.

5. This made me re-think everything. I thought as many of you do, that I needed to go to the next lever with the Mizunos. After all, everyone said to work up to 'players irons'. You know what? Golf was less fun struggling with those. Like a dumb blonde: very pretty, but ineffective.

6. Obviously this is my opinion, but I have decided that I don't want to fight to get a solid shot; I want to enjoy the feeling of a perfect hit on almost every iron shot!!

7. So I traded in my new mizuno irons for a set of Adams A7 OS irons. Voila! Golf is fun again. And guess what? I'm playing better while enjoying golf more! AND, I can hit fades, draws, low and high shots!! Who needs player's irons?

8. I'll tell you who: macho guys who want to feel important by going to clubs more like the pros! It's ALL IN YOUR HEAD PEOPLE! The pros play golf all day, they can hit brooms and be effective. We can't

9. I'm sure I'll get flak for this; go ahead, I could care less about opinions from golfers who need to brag about the clubs they use to feel important. You are the same guys who love to tell you they hit a 9-iron on a 160 yard par 3. I don't need to feel like that, I'm perfectly happy hitting my 6 iron, as long as I hit a good shot.

10. The point is to hit good shots, not to become a 'shotmaker'! What a joke.

I hope I haven't insulted anyone. It's just my opinion. But if you'll notice, more and more pros are going to game improvement clubs, like hybrids, big drivers, and cavity back irons. And someday they'll play super game improvement irons, like the Callaway Fusion Wide Sole or Adams hybrid irons.

[iacas]

This is an old thread that resurfaced.

It wasn't when Butch commented. I just merged it into a bunch of old threads. And renamed it.

[sean_miller]

It wasn't when Butch commented. I just merged it into a bunch of old threads. And renamed it.

Aah - you know that word that Alan mispronounces a couple times in The Hangover (in reference to a movie character played by Dustin Hoffman). You know the word. I feel like one of those.

Merging was a good idea - I was thinking when I posted, "Why isn't this topic a sticky?"

[Neil]

I am probably the oldest guy on this forum. I'm 72, and I've seen it all, and played them all in my 60 years or so of playing golf. Here's my take on all this.

I agree with everything you say with the execption of point 5. I don't have quite as many years as yourself,however in my life I've found dumb blondes can be pretty effective!

[msd3075]

I think that a lot of people tend to think what is best for them is best for everyone else.

Some people enjoy the challenge of trying to hit a pure shot with a blade and can't understand the fun without that challenge. Other people want to relax and make "good" contact 95% of the time without having to worry about all the nit-picky details involved with a "perfect" swing.

Different strokes for different folks. It all just depends on what you are trying to accomplish and what you want to get out of the game.

[sean_miller]

I think that a lot of people tend to think what is best for them is best for everyone else.

Some people hit about the same with any iron and want what suits their eye. Personally, I like the way older blades fit together tightly in my older Sun Mountain carry bag - plus old sets are dirt cheap to buy and get re-gripped (I have to regrip new irons anyway - why do OEMs use such awful stock grips - is it to sell more gloves?).

[Chief Broom]

A couple of months ago I went from SGI irons (Wilson Staff Di7) to a players iron (Ping i10). I went into the Ping fitting with an open mind but figured I'd be getting something out of their G line (5's or 10's). But based on the results of hitting different clubs on the fitter's monitor and on how the various clubs felt to me I wound up buying the i10's. I was even more surprised to find out in practice that the i10's were just as forgiving as the Di7's and ironically the i10's perform better on mishits (fat shots and shots hit off the toe). With the Di7's a toe hit really stung and a fat hit lost distance quickly (the fatter the hit the shorter it went naturally). With the i10's toe hits don't sting. I know when I hit it off the toe but the shot feels a lot more solid. Fat hits with the i10's naturally don't go as far, but I still will manage to get more distance than I intially think I will. I wonder if this is a function of the stiff shafts? The Di7's were graphite uniflex and on those mishits it felt like the shaft bent a lot. The shaft in the i10's feels a lot firmer and that seems to translate into a better overall result on mishits. This is all anecdotal, but I do know that for me the i10's perform better.

[Shindig]

I'm shopping around for a new set of irons and am torn between what to get between blades or game improvement irons. I hear that getting blades at my handicap might not be such a good idea. However, I enjoy blades look so much more than anything else. I like my clubs to be very simple looking. My main question is, is it a terrible idea to get blades at my current skill level? I wonder how much I will handicap my improvement if I do decide to switch to blades.

Don't go for a false dichotomy: game improvement vs. blades. There is room in between.

For example, the MP-57s look like blades at address. I've heard good players refer to them as blades as well, although I wouldn't use that description for them. They have some cavity to them and are pretty forgiving. You may want to try them at a demo day or a store and see if you like them - look and feel. (I was in the mid-to-low 20s, handicap wise, when I switched to the -57s)

[billysandy]

This isn't related to the topic - but this poll is soooo close! WOW!

[Fourputt]

Don't go for a false dichotomy: game improvement vs. blades.There is room in between.

My feeling too... my forged player's dual cavity Titleist AP2's don't really fit into either category in the poll. Not a game improvement, iron, but not a true blade either.

[James_Black]

My feeling too... my forged player's dual cavity Titleist AP2's don't really fit into either category in the poll. Not a game improvement, iron, but not a true blade either.

They're called muscle backs.

They're slightly more forgiving than blades. edit: damn those ap2's are weird..... They're borderline between a muscleback and a half-cavity.

[bunkerputt]

I think that a lot of people tend to think what is best for them is best for everyone else.

Nail on the head... I love blades because they give a more accurate measure on the quality of my swing. It's always been a bit more important to me to have perfect technique rather than score well. I know if my technique is high quality I can just work on picking the right spots to put the ball on the course. The scores take care of themselves.

Wow. I just looked at the poll results: 209 for MBs, 209 for CBs. Talk about a polarizing issue.