Theory on Player's Irons

[saevel25]

I was thinking, a player's irons have more response to them with regards if you know you hit or missed a bad shot. Do you think this feel helps the golfer get better when they are trying to get a better swing? Wouldn't the feeling of a good shot resonate with muscle memory over time, another one of the senses used to make the swing repetative. Because if you have forgiving club were if miss hits don't feet like you miss hit it but it ends up short right or long left, you don't can't relate to the sense of a hitting a good shot.

[O.B. Right]

I wonder about this also. My golf teacher says "no" definitively. According to him, the forgiveness of GI irons do not lead to bad technique or slower learning - just the opposite.

I still got some used Ping I5's instead of the G15's he was recommending, though because I just like the feel of the club better. I would have to admit they are harder to hit, probably, than the G15's and I don't think they're teaching me much on the course . .but I love the feel of about every 3rd shot :)

[Paradox]

I don't think the feel necessarily help you get a better swing...perhaps some people who use GI irons don't care to know whether they made a bad swing or not and just want playability. The only diff. between the two styles is that one lets you know and the other you have to look and see. A good shot on both clubs will still feel different than a bad one though, just one more than the other.

[dbuck]

I certainly don't think blades "help" you in the sense that it makes a better swing easier, but they do give better feedback and force you to be more precise--if you don't give up the game in the process! A good swing with either is a good swing, and a complete miss is bad with either. The GI clubs I think alleviate some frustration while you work on swinging better. A lot of decent players play with GI or forgiving "players" clubs, but still take a blade or two to the range to improve/maintain precise ball striking.

[sean_miller]

Okay, I'm gonna probably get some negative rep points here . . .

. . . a person buying players' irons for the sole purpose of being penalized for less than perfect shots in order to "improve his ball striking" is misguided (at best - possibly this person is a complete tool and a bit of a poser).

Choose the shaft and head style that suits your size, strength, and skill level. Choose the grind that suits your preferred style of golf game - or the type of game you want to play based on your local courses and your weather conditions. I use my Titleists when the courses are soft and/or water logged. Windy and dry is Hogan time. The best of all turf and weather conditions is my Misunos or Clevelands so they get the most playing time. For sheer enjoyment and a very personal (just shy of narcissistic) sense of accomplisment, this week I'm using (punishing myself) with a 50 year old set of Burkes with original leather grips - I can feel my ball striking improving with every stroke - lol.

If my golf score mattered (i.e. if there was something of value on the line) I'd be getting fitted for most forgiving irons I could stand to look down at 30 times per round.

[TourSpoon]

Okay, I'm gonna probably get some negative rep points here . . .

Well put. Now I will say that a person buying the same irons to elevate their game to a new level by being able to better control trajectory and shape is on the right track. The added benefit (or punishment) of feedback goes along with the territory and can help to hone a player's ability over time given the proper attention to practice and technique.

[upah]

I played a round last November in about 45 degree weather. I bladed a 4-iron on the first fairway and my hands stung until the 5th green. Shortly after impact, I was considerably closer to "F*%# me sideways that sucked..." than "Hmm, I think I hit that a bit thin, thanks for the feedback!"

Feedback doesn't do you any good if you don't have the experience to know what to do with it. The catch is that when you've got the experience, you don't need player's irons to tell when you've struck a ball incorrectly.

[golfro]

Well put. Now I will say that a person buying the same irons to elevate their game to a new level by being able to better control trajectory and shape is on the right track. The added benefit (or punishment) of feedback goes along with the territory and can help to hone a player's ability over time given the proper attention to practice and technique.

ding ding ding. couldn't have said it any better.

[sean_miller]

Well put. Now I will say that a person buying the same irons to elevate their game to a new level by being able to better control trajectory and shape is on the right track. The added benefit (or punishment) of feedback goes along with the territory and can help to hone a player's ability over time given the proper attention to practice and technique.

Somewhat implied in my post, but I suppose not exactly - yes a person can make a conscious decision to take a different patch in their game, but the purchase of player's clubs in and of itself, is a guarantee of nothing:

Choose the grind that suits your preferred style of golf game - or the type of game you want to play based on your local courses and your weather conditions

[shades9323]

I was thinking, a player's irons have more response to them with regards if you know you hit or missed a bad shot. Do you think this feel helps the golfer get better when they are trying to get a better swing? Wouldn't the feeling of a good shot resonate with muscle memory over time, another one of the senses used to make the swing repetative. Because if you have forgiving club were if miss hits don't feet like you miss hit it but it ends up short right or long left, you don't can't relate to the sense of a hitting a good shot.

I can feel when and where I mishit/flush my G5's. If I want to get better I am going to get some impact tape while practicing to see exactly where I hit them and go from there.

[M2R]

I was thinking, a player's irons have more response to them with regards if you know you hit or missed a bad shot. Do you think this feel helps the golfer get better when they are trying to get a better swing?

No ... yes ... maybe. It is my observation that some players (myself included) enjoy hitting shots even more than making scores. Some people are singularly interested in shooting lower scores and care nothing about the shot "

in and of itself " other than the fact that it leads to a good score. And of course there are players everywhere in the range between those two. I'm not working on my game to improve my scoring, I'm working on my game so I can hit more shots that come off the club, fly, move and land as I envisioned because that shot just makes my day. Doing it with a players club just heightens whatever that sense of euphoria is. So the players club is "helping" me not in the sense that it is forcing me to strike the ball better (a negative effect) but in the sense that it give me more ya-yas when I do (a positive effect) and that motivates me to keep working so I can get more and more of the same rush.

Wouldn't the feeling of a good shot resonate with muscle memory over time, another one of the senses used to make the swing repetitive. Because if you have forgiving club were if miss hits don't feet like you miss hit it but it ends up short right or long left, you don't can't relate to the sense of a hitting a good shot.

I think it's just such and individual thing and from my experience a moving target. As a 20 I was 100% in the just get the ball in the hole camp. As a 10 I've become totally fascinated with striking the ball and exploring the interactions of the ball, club, and turf. If I get to a 5 index, I will likely be in a totally different place. For example what Sean said about choosing a club for turf conditions, I far enough to know there is "something" there but I'm not at a place where I understand "exactly why" he said it. For me the only time sole grind and profile matter is hitting out of the rough other than that ... I'm still exploring.

[kpaulhus]

As a 20 I was 100% in the just get the ball in the hole camp. As a 10 I've become totally fascinated with striking the ball and exploring the interactions of the ball, club, and turf. If I get to a 5 index, I will likely be in a totally different place.

I have felt this experience as well.

[saevel25]

Interesting replies on this. I thought the same as well, but i was just curious as to other's opinions.

I am impressed you play with 3-4 different sets of clubs, oh i wish i could afford that ;b

[sean_miller]

I can feel when and where I mishit/flush my G5's. If I want to get better I am going to

If it was possible to agree more than 100%, I would. As someone with a very established swing, impact tape, lessons, and video all improve my ball striking. The easiest and fastest feedback though, was impact tape.

[jamo]

I think that anyone can play irons that are a little "harder to hit" than they maybe have been told to play, but to buy blades only for the purpose of enhanced feel is ignorant, especially when cavity backed players irons offer the same feedback plus added forgiveness.

[alo1984]

Now, in most cases a player who is not any good doesn't have any business hitting a players or forged iron at first. It will not make you better. But, I have a friend who boght a $5 6 iron blade at a closeout and he hit that thing for 6 months 3 times a week before he ever set foot on a course. He actually developed the most solid game I have ever seen for someone who had never played a round. He went out with a full set and shot a 98 first time out. If you have that kind of dedication then hitting a blade first should not hurt you at all.

[tristanhilton85]

I think that anyone can play irons that are a little "harder to hit" than they maybe have been told to play, but to buy blades only for the purpose of enhanced feel is ignorant, especially when cavity backed players irons offer the same feedback plus added forgiveness.

Exactly. There is a difference between buying clubs that you can "grow" into and buying clubs that you think will make you better. I can understand not wanting to buy SGI irons if you really plan on practicing and improving at this game as when your game does get better and you want to start shaping shots you'll want clubs to do this with and not want to put out another couple hundred dollars. If this is your situation, there are a lot of great "player's" cavity backed irons out there.

[ohiolefty]

I went to a more players-style iron (although not pure blades - I'm not that kinky, baby) because I didn't want all the offset and jacked up lofts and the fat-assed sole grind that most GI irons offer. They didn't make me better, but they took away a lot of excuses and extra thoughts (particularly on the range!) and made my mental game better. I can control trajectory, shape and spin better, I don't hit them as far as I hit my GI irons, but I like them better overall. People should play what they want - but you can get very good GI irons that don't look like a missing piece from a time machine.