why blades?

[tennis transfer]

I'm a beginner (started about 8 months ago but i usually shoot around 100) and I play with the titleist zb forged blended set (3-5 full cavity, 6 & 7 half cavity, 8-P full blade) and I love them. When I screw up I know it. For now I'd rather have a club that tells me when I do something wrong than one that hides my faults and helps me get a lower score. I want a low score because I'm that good, not because my clubs do a lot of the work for me. And most of my trouble comes from getting it in the cup from inside 100 yards, so it isn't my irons that are causing me problems.

To each his own. If you want to play with blades, do so. If you don't, don't.

[1dayIllBaPro]

I like the feel of the blades. Also the size of the club head. I really don't feel comfortable looking at those oversize irons we have these days. I started playing golf 15 years ago, and the size of club heads back then were small, and I like it. And I have been using the small club heads for all my life.

Whatever you are using, if you feel comfortable with it, use it. If don't...then find one you feel comfortable with. It's a good start.

[RocktimusPryme]

  tennis transfer said:

I'm a beginner (started about 8 months ago but i usually shoot around 100) and I play with the titleist zb forged blended set (3-5 full cavity, 6 & 7 half cavity, 8-P full blade) and I love them. When I screw up I know it. For now I'd rather have a club that tells me when I do something wrong than one that hides my faults and helps me get a lower score. I want a low score because I'm that good, not because my clubs do a lot of the work for me. And most of my trouble comes from getting it in the cup from inside 100 yards, so it isn't my irons that are causing me problems.

Dont take this the wrong way because Im not trying to talk you out of playing with what your comfortable with.

But dont kid yourself going to a set of cavity backs isnt gonna make you a single digit handicapper. This game is hard, "game improvement" clubs dont improve your game all that much. And trust me most of the time you still know you hit a bad shot, and have a pretty good idea of why even with full cavity backs. I always thought they were more of mental tool than anything because they are easier for beginner players to get into the air. Thus building confidence in your stroke, which is vital to getting better. Everything comes in time, but it will come faster if you stay positive and keep your head on straight.

[tennis transfer]

I didn't mean to imply that I think the game improvement clubs alter your game all that much. I think they can alter the feel a great deal though, and I get my irons into the air just fine. Part of it is that I can't even swing a lot of the cavity backs. I come from playing tennis for many years and for whatever reason that seems to help my swing. But swinging a lot of cavity backs - especially the larger ones - is impossible to me. They feel clunky and I never seem to get as clean a hit with a big cavity back as I do with my irons.

[RocktimusPryme]

  tennis transfer said:

I didn't mean to imply that I think the game improvement clubs alter your game all that much. I think they can alter the feel a great deal though, and I get my irons into the air just fine. Part of it is that I can't even swing a lot of the cavity backs. I come from playing tennis for many years and for whatever reason that seems to help my swing. But swinging a lot of cavity backs - especially the larger ones - is impossible to me. They feel clunky and I never seem to get as clean a hit with a big cavity back as I do with my irons.

Honestly man I wasnt singling out your game, thats why the first thing I said was dont take it the wrong way. I do agree that a perfectly struck shot feels better with a players iron than it does a super forgiving iron.

[mako224]

If you have a good repeatable swing blades really aren't any more difficult to hit. A couple of thoughts to add to what has already been said.

Blades will make you a better player. If you practice and play with blades the feedback is so strong that you will instinctively know when you have hit a good shot without even watching the ball. Smaller head and smaller sweet-spot woll teach you/force you to hit the center of the clubface.

I have been playing Titleist 690mb blades for a few years now. This fall I bought a set of Titleist 755 cavity backs to keep at our winter home in Florida. I took them to the range a couple of times and they just feel absolutely dead in my hands. The profile looks very similar at address, the ball flight and yardages are about the same but the 755s don't give me any feedback at impact.

Blades are not for everyone. I would say only play blades if you are someone who practices religiously. 9 months out of the year I practice or play 5 or more days a week either on the range or on the course. Blades are not for the weekend golfer or once a month guy.

[ks8829]

I play golf once a week and sometime 3 time if I am not busy. I practice my short game at least once or twice a week and sometimes more if I have the time, but usually a day before I play 18 holes.

[i-Guy]

  mako224 said:

If you have a good repeatable swing blades really aren't any more difficult to hit. A couple of thoughts to add to what has already been said. Blades will make you a better player. If you practice and play with blades the feedback is so strong that you will instinctively know when you have hit a good shot without even watching the ball. Smaller head and smaller sweet-spot woll teach you/force you to hit the center of the clubface.

Very well said...I also feel like blades help you set up better at address...think about how many times you went to the golf store and set a blade down and thought I can hit that club but did not buy for some other reason...I feel that is one of the problems with SGI irons if you aspire to have a quality repeatable golf swing...SGI irons allow the player to set up incorrectly and still help the player square the club face...just my opinion!!! I recently changed my clubs (see signature) with the guidance of my Pro because I could not seem to get set up at address with GI irons...I hit various types of blade irons in my quest and now play

ZM and love them...

  mako224 said:

Blades are not for everyone. I would say only play blades if you are someone who practices religiously. 9 months out of the year I practice or play 5 or more days a week either on the range or on the course. Blades are not for the weekend golfer or once a month guy.

Again I agree...I am at the golf course a minimum of 5 days a week to either practice or play...

[David in FL]

  brahl said:

I've agreed with everying LBB has said in this thread. Look at me: I just picked up the game, and I'm gonna' be hitting muscle back blades from '91! Why? First, because I want to, but more importantly, my equipment was all hand-me-down. I'm not going to be investing a ton of money into this game until I really, really begin to enjoy it, and I think it becomes necessary to have it.

Just a thought, but if you're new to the game and can't break 100 consistently, it might be a loooonnnng time before you get to the point where you really

enjoy the game if you're punishing yourself with a set of 15 year old blades. A decent set of irons, more suited to your game doesn't have to break the bank......and I can guarantee you'll enjoy the game more if you're not fighting your equipment. Just one guy's opinion.....

[wachesawgolfer]

I play blades in the summer and cavities in the winter, only because our course doesn't overseed and is boggy, grassless mud in the winter in alot of places. I play blades when I can as they are much easier to hit than the cavites off most lies. All the nonsense you hear about blades is just that. Get fitted, get fitted. All the off the rack blades come in S300 or 6.0 PX, etc. Most people cannot hit those shafts. For me NS Pro 950 S and a 5 iron at 37.5 inches, which makes the 3 iron 38.5 inches and I am good to go.

[anthonykim3]

i had made this thread beacause i was a my local golf town and i tried all the blades and well i couldnt see anything better besides fell and response to where you hit and i think the reason i didnt get blades is cause i didnt want to do the whole trasition between irons but i mean all to his own but i am a 8.4 and i am at the course 6 days a week in the summer mine you i live in canada so no winter golf and well i did have a little bit of trouble hitting them so are blades a type of club you have to learn to hit?

[i-Guy]

A very good player once told me that the only real difference between blades and a good cavity back player iron is working the ball...he always said the difference is it is easier to work the ball with a blade...if you have no desire to work the ball and hit it straight then he would always say you should play a cavity back??? What does everyone think about that advise?

[smith5606]

I feel the need to rant for a minute so feel free to ignore this post if you wish. Threads about the relative merits of blades vs. cavity backs and equipment in general seem to generate more posts that almost any other topic on this and other golf forums. This may well be because an increasingly large segment of the golf community has come to equate golf with hardware - dangerously so, in my opinion. A golfer's ability to score, to play successfully, and to enjoy and foster the game should never be a function of his or her equipment. This seems to be an increasingly hard concept to sell however. Cavity-backed "game improvement clubs" and other "revolutionary innovations in clubmaking technology" have made equipment increasingly expensive and recreated unrealistic expectations in the minds of a gullible population. If you doubt this, compare the cost of the top-of-the-line GI irons to the cost of the very best forged blades. Forged blades are less expensive but of no less quality, club for club, than their GI competition. What explains the incredible differences in price? I believe that it is because forged blades cannot offer anything except quality, workmanship, and the opportunity to work harder at the game. These components don't seem to carry much of a premium, however. I believe that the difference is, in fact, the price many of us will gladly pay for the ultimate golfer's dream - the promise of immediate gratification and lower scores without concomitant skill or committment.

All of this might be acceptable I suppose if the dream translated into reality - either quantitatively or qualitatively. I haven't seen any evidence to convince me that either is the case. Quantitatively, I have been around golf long enough to remember wonderful golf being played with equipment that most of us would laugh at. Admittedly that equipment was wielded by very skilled golfers. For instance, I have see replicas of Bobby Jones' clubs. His clubs were barely more than glorified dowel rods but in his wonderful hands, they sang. I have read that he was even able to hit an occasional 300 yard drive with a persimmon headed driver. Imagine, no graphite shaft or titatium head. Likewise, Gene Sarazins' famous "shot heard round the world" in the 1935 Master's tournament was a 235 yard 4 wood. Not bad even by contemporary standards.

Qualitatively, we inherited our game from people despirately committed to playing golf but without benefit of our modern, miracle technologies to aid them. I suspect that because of their equipment limitations, they hit their share of clunkers, a chili-dip or two, and a shank into the woods every once and awhile. But these golfers loved the game so much they forged ahead, building a wonderful sport inspite of the dreadful limitations of their equipment. Consider what they accomplished. They created wonderful courses, tournaments, and traditions that withstood wars, depressions, and even Democratic administrations. Seems that being skilled and committed may have something to be said for it.

Many people who have posted on this topic have said (paraphrasing Lee Trevino) "it's the archer not the arrow". For my part, I gladly admit that I have plenty of arrows. I know I would be a better "archer" by practicing with the equipment I have rather than worrying about the equipment I wish I had. This "archer" needs to build a repeatable swing not an encyclopaedic knowledge of shaft frequencies, MOI's, and whatever technical nonsense that comes along next. They won't make me a better golfer or a more faithful custodian of our golfing heritage. This archer needs to work more diligently to make sure that I have done everything in my power to leave golf in better shape than I found it. This "archer" should nuture a climate of good sportsmanship, respect and maintain the traditions of golf, and work to increase the accessability of the sport to all.

In 50 years no one will care what equipment I play. Future golfers will hold me accountable though for helping keep the sport alive. If I put half of the money and energy I expend chasing the ephemeral promises of excellence through technology, into supporting and volunteering with youth golf and other organizations that promote and nurture the sport, I would do just that. It seems a much better use of my limited resources.

[tjy355]

  mako224 said:

...

I guess I don't understand? Blades make you better? Or is it PRACTICE that makes you better?

[zeg]

Not to put words in mako's mouth, but I think he's saying PRACTICE WITH BLADES makes you better due to the feedback. Putting the options in order:

Best
practice with blades
practice with GI
little practice with GI
little practice with blades
Worst

Makes sense to me, assuming you're skilled enough that the regular practice will enable you to hit the blades well at all. If you can do that, the feedback will help you go from a mostly-square hit to near-perfect in a way that the GI's reduced feedback won't.

[tjy355]

  tennis transfer said:

I'm a beginner (started about 8 months ago but i usually shoot around 100) and I play with the titleist zb forged blended set (3-5 full cavity, 6 & 7 half cavity, 8-P full blade) and I love them.

I agree, to each his own, but I really have to LOL when I read a beginning golfer that shoots around 100 make absurd statements like this.

[tennis transfer]

If you think it's absurd because it sounded like i think 100 is a good score, you misunderstood/I wasn't clear. I guess I should have said I want a low score someday because i'm that good...

[misty_mountainhop]

  Shindig said:

I don't play blades, and for that matter, neither do a majority of professionals.....

Where, on Earth, did you get this statistic from??

  anthonykim3 said:

i mean like play them as in a game i would use baldes as a training aid but the ego one is silly since 70 percent of tour uses cavity back claims a ping rep

Ditto!

  pshizz said:

isn't the answer kinda ovbious? i mean the mojority of golfers that play blades shouldn't, and the only reason they do is so they can try and look macho stepping up to the first tee, with blade irons.

Don't be silly. Jealous that you can't strike one correctly?

  RocktimusPryme said:

I sorta think the majority of players who play blades (high handicappers who want to play Tiger clubs aside) Are people who just grew up playing them, which I can understand. If your used to looking down at a particular shape it may mentally throw you off to put a different shape under your nose.

Indeed. I know I did and aesthetics matter to me.

  kyldo said:

Personally I can't hit a club consistently if I don't like the look of it at address. I hit my mp-32's far better and more consistent than my old callaway x-12's and my titleist 704 cb's. I know an mp-32 isn't a "true" blade, but it's the closest thing you'll find in left handed. Besides, it looks damn near identical at address.

Absolutely. Agree with this wholeheartedly.

  wachesawgolfer said:

I play blades in the summer and cavities in the winter, only because our course doesn't overseed and is boggy, grassless mud in the winter in alot of places. I play blades when I can as they are much easier to hit than the cavites off most lies. All the nonsense you hear about blades is just that. Get fitted, get fitted. All the off the rack blades come in S300 or 6.0 PX, etc. Most people cannot hit those shafts. For me NS Pro 950 S and a 5 iron at 37.5 inches, which makes the 3 iron 38.5 inches and I am good to go.

Good point re. the shafts especially the PX6.0s. A lot of people would find blades a whole lot easier with R300s or PX5.0s in them. Lighter shafts would also be a benefit to a lot of people rather than "tour" weight shafts.

  smith5606 said:

I feel the need to rant for a minute so feel free to ignore this post if you wish. Threads about the relative merits of blades vs. cavity backs and equipment in general seem to generate more posts that almost any other topic on this and other golf forums. This may well be because an increasingly large segment of the golf community has come to equate golf with hardware - dangerously so, in my opinion. A golfer's ability to score, to play successfully, and to enjoy and foster the game should never be a function of his or her equipment. This seems to be an increasingly hard concept to sell however. Cavity-backed "game improvement clubs" and other "revolutionary innovations in clubmaking technology" have made equipment increasingly expensive and recreated unrealistic expectations in the minds of a gullible population. If you doubt this, compare the cost of the top-of-the-line GI irons to the cost of the very best forged blades. Forged blades are less expensive but of no less quality, club for club, than their GI competition. What explains the incredible differences in price? I believe that it is because forged blades cannot offer anything except quality, workmanship, and the opportunity to work harder at the game. These components don't seem to carry much of a premium, however. I believe that the difference is, in fact, the price many of us will gladly pay for the ultimate golfer's dream - the promise of immediate gratification and lower scores without concomitant skill or committment.

Great post! Best I've read in a while.

FWIW, having played some clubs other than forged blades for a while and having now returned to them, I won't play anything else again in a hurry. For me, the set up of a low offset blade is much better, more accurate and easier than a cavity although some of the newer models of "player" cavities are getting closer. The feel of a ballstrike off my current set is leagues better than the Ping S59 Tours I was playing. The feel may be the forging so I'm open to the idea of trying some "player" forged cavities sometime (when I get my pension maybe) but for now it's forged blades (and practice!) for me.