Will blade irons improve your swing?

[grantc79]

Here is the biggest positive I can see for a 14 handicapper buying a set of blades. It'll help him or her work out quickly that they need to find a teaching pro and practice more.

Point taken but I picked up a club for the first time in May and I'm already down to a 14 handicap.

My coach is Rob Noel here in Louisiana who is constantly rated in the top 1 or 2 teachers in the state. My plane lines are perfect. I can work a draw or fade. The issue I have is that I don't pivot enough through the shoulders throughout which hurts my lag and costs me some distance and consistency. I don't swing down quite enough due to my lag issues. With my current clunky cavity backs I can hit any shot I want without concern with my current clubs with little to not hesitation. With blades that I have tried I find I focus a whole lot more not to catch the ball thin, swing more downwards rather than forwards, and other minor issues that I'm trying to correct. I'm hoping they force me to mind the small things.

[erwintrace08]

You know what's crazy. I just went to the range today to try the Stack and Tilt because I'm so inconsistent and chunk it a lot.

WOWOWOWOW. I can't believe how consistent I was able to get the "click" when I made contact. My trajectory is even too high now because I come down on the ball more. If you have to get more down on it, the S&T; worked for me.

I'm stacked...LOL

[hamletsdead]

I'm sort of at the same place you are. I have a set of MP-57s that I love and that are (to my mind, anyway) very blade-like even though technically they are considered cavity backs, and I also picked up a lightly used set of MP-67s that I've been fooling around with on practice rounds. The 57s are a little more forgiving, but frankly I like hearing the ugly "clack" sound when I hit the 67s thin or off the toe -- it's immediate physical feedback that I did something wrong, and that I need to adjust my swing. I think that over a (hopefully very short) period of time the feedback will result in swing improvements so that I don't have to hear the "clack" and instead just hear the perfect "tock" sound of the shot that flies effortlessly off the sweet spot.

[erwintrace08]

Very helpful. Do you know how the MP-60s compare to the 67s? Aren't the 67's less forgiving?

[NBGC]

I bought a virtually new set of MP32's so I could practice with blades. I have 57's that I bought about a month prior and love them but I wanted something to use at the range to force me to become a better ball striker.

I think that's an awesome idea. I think I'll follow that lead and buy a used set of 32's of at least a few blades to use at the range. I also have new 57's and this could solve 2 issues:

less wear and tear from hitting 1000's of range balls slow me down on those days i just bang balls so i'm committed to each shot. this should translate to the course when i use the 57's. Sorta like practice puttin to a tee so the hole looks huge during rounds.

[NBGC]

So I did a quick search for some mp 32's to use as range clubs and found this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Used-Mizuno-MP-3...d=p3286.c0.m14

Used Right handed Mizuno MP 32 #6 Iron only with Stiff Flex Steel Shaft with Standard length. This Club will be Prefect for Beginner Golfer.

Lol! Perfect for a beginner golfer! Damn, I shoulda bought blades to learn on.

[TinCupTampa]

So I did a quick search for some mp 32's to use as range clubs and found this:

If you want to buy single clubs... You can also try callaway golf pre owned. Good luck.

[cmay119]

I bought some cavity backed forged irons in '06 (see signature). I purchased them knowing I wasn't good enough for them yet, but I wanted to grow into them. I hit up the range as much as possible, and also played as much golf as possible. They have dramatically helped my game, not only because they give correct feedback on mis-hits, but also challenged me to get my swing up to par with these sticks.

In the first summer of owning them, I reduced my stroke average from mid-90's to mid-80's. I now can judge distance from iron to iron a lot better as well.

The only downside that I'm still trying to overcome, is iron shots out of heavy rough. These irons have much less weight behind the head then the previous oversize cast irons I was using before. I find it difficult, if the ball is rested below the grass line to really get the power necessary to get it out and still have substantial distance. I don't have a very high swing speed, so I usually need to club up quite a bit to get the results I'm looking for. Whereas with the previous irons I had, this wasn't as big of an issue.

[Zeph]

Most people will be able to play with any set of clubs as long as they give them enough time. There may be individual differences from person to person and club to club. Taking a few swings with each model on the range or at your local dealer is not enough to base a buy on, in my opinion. How a club feel at first may be different from how you'll play them later on. Playing with all the sets for a while won't do either, if you're not full of cash.

You could pick the club that feel the best during a test and end up with one that doesn't work as good some months later. This is of course impossible to predict, so you'll just have to rely on reviews and those swings you get to do at the dealer.

If you play long enough with blades, you'll learn to like them. If you play long with CB, you'll also learn to like those. At the same time you got lots of brands to choose from, making it even harder.

If you want to try blades, go ahead, but expect them to be difficult. It could give you that extra in the beginning to help you adapt. If you have the opportunity to test a set of blades, could be any brand for some time, that being from a friend or a dealer, it would give you a good idea as to how the clubs will work for you and your swing.

Some can pick up blades after playing with CG for years and play them great, others may need time and practice to get them down. If you've played for a long time, trying blades out won't hurt you, you could even try just buying one club and play around with it for some time. As I've read dozens of reviews on all kinds of golf clubs, the thing that stuck is that everyone is different. One may give a set 5 stars, the next one give it 1 star since he can't hit them well.

If you find a set of blades that has got good reviews, like Mizuno or Titleist, you know many players like them, it's up to you really if you wan't to try them out. They may give you a great time, or they may disappoint you. Just don't expect your game to improve, a new club won't magically fix your swing. What you should expect is to have some trouble in the beginning, but giving them enough time to learn how you must work with the club.

It's commonly accepted that blades are less forgiving, but give you greater pleasures when you really hit them well. Then it's all up to each and everyone if that sounds like something they want to try out. If you don't play that much, don't plan on going further down in hcp, I wouldn't recommend blades, they may work, but with the reviews of others, the chances of the clubs giving you a hard time are bigger than with fi. CB.

[jonanthans]

I have been playing for a tad less than 5 years, and have been playing blades for the past 2. No, blade irons will not improve your SWING, but they can improve your GAME, due to if you hit the sweet spots, you can work the ball so much more accurately with blades. Thats the #1 reason almost every tour pro plays a blade, for the workability. Many of my buddies have cavity backs, and I hit theirs on the range and they (try to) hit mine, and it's not even close, imo, on the ability to work a ball. With their cb's, I can hit a baby fade or a baby draw, and sometimes a cut shot. With a blade I can hit whatever shot I have in mind. But if you don't hit the sweet spot on the blades, you will definetly know it, in feel and visually, because they are not forgiving.

[deronsizemore]

I'm at the stage now where I can hit blade irons down to the 5 iron pretty well if I really concentrate.

Personally I don't believe the crap about blades MAKING you a better ball striker. It's true, they do give you better feedback on where you hit the ball. If you hit it off the toe or the heel, you'll instantly know. With the so called "game improvement" irons, it's harder to tell where you made contact and the ball still goes just about as far. The thing is this, if you're not a skilled enough golfer to hit the center of the clubface consistently, using blades won't change that. You will hit your blades of the heel/toe and it will still leave you with that helpless feeling of not knowing what to change to fix the problem. Golf just doesn't work like that.

For what it's worth, if you look in A LOT of touring pros bags, you'll see the forgiving cavity back irons, not blades. 10 years ago or more, yes, every pro played blades, but not now. In the end, it's your call. Don't let anyone change your mind. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of confidence and if blades give you confidence, go for it. Just trying to give you realistic expectations.

[Smilesy]

I have been playing blades for 6 years now. When i started i was around a 26hc, and i have found that the feedback that they give me has really improved my game, and makes me hit the ball cleanly. If only i could putt or chip now.

[brendant]

Go and get a fitting. The right shaft means you can use either blades or cavity backs, with the confidence of knowing that if you do duff one, it's you!

[shankapotamus]

Go and get a fitting. The right shaft means you can use either blades or cavity backs, with the confidence of knowing that if you do duff one, it's you!

Let the topic die man!

[Crafty]

I honestly feel that switching to blades, although it has not imrpoved the fundamentals of my swing (plane, position at the top, etc), has caused me to form a more repeatable swing. The lack of perimeter weighting and thus smaller sweetspot forces you to feel where the clubhead is at throughout your swing. I feel that this has made me a much more accurate ballstriker and overall better at creating different shots simply due to the fact that i am beginning to feel the "squareness" (or lack there of) of the clubhead throughout the swing.

[ks8829]

yes and no.

if you are a 15 handicap and lower golfer I believe that it will help your swing.

The blade will help you feel a solid shot or if you miss it by one groove too low or slightly on the toe or heel, if forces you to concentrate on every shot.

I would say its similar to driving a lexus LS400 sedan or driving an BMW M5 stickshift. When you drive the lexus you do not have to think about driving too much but when you are behind an M5 you need to be focus on driving the car.