Theory on Player's Irons

[Jay-Bird]

There is something to the idea that (if one has the time and drive to work on their ball striking) - the brutal sting of a poorly struck blade will work as a sort of SHOCK treatment therapy - and could lead to a change in mental AND physical behavior over time. You get punished enough, you're going to adapt and change - and overcome. It's human nature.

Blades will make you better if you let them.

[TaylorMadeTaylor]

GIs make you play better, but blades make you a better player.

[lionking]

GIs make you play better, but blades make you a better player.

catchy, but just not true.

i'd venture to guess that given the usual time one needs to get used to a new set, most (not all) sub 15 hc's will score pretty much the same with any set of irons.

[laconic517]

Ive definitely become a better ball striker since switching to muscle backs several years ago. One could make a case that its just natural progression of improving but I noticed improved ball striking pretty rapidly after getting them.

[zeg]

Playing with player's irons on the course hoping that you'll miraculously find your scores dropping is, as seems to be the majority view here so far, misguided. IMO valid reasons to play them are if you actually have the ability to hit them and need the extra control you get, or if (as someone said above) you simply enjoy the act of hitting the shot more than you care about your score in the end. I'm someone who has an interest in both, so I sought some moderately forgiving irons.

However, if you want to improve your ballstriking, you must find a way to evaluate how you hit each shot you take. Using a club that stings on a mishit is one way to do this. Personally, I think the impact tape suggestion above seems like a better way since it's less ambiguous, but I've not personally tried either so I can't really evaluate that. Regardless, using a blade at the range when working on making solid contact doesn't seem like a crazy idea. So my opinion is that it could be part of a method for improving, but it's not going to give you a magical effortless improvement. Getting better takes focussed effort.

[Shorty]

GIs make you play better, but blades make you a better player.

Do you work in advertising? Complete BS.

[goblue107501]

My theory is play whatever you want. If you think players clubs will help and make you better that's great. If you think that GI clubs will help you and make you better that's great.

Everyone has their own reasons, and there isn't one of them that's incorrect. Some just like the way they look. Some like that it makes them look and feel like a pro. Whatever the reason, none of it matters, just play the clubs that you want to play.

I've seen a lot of people try and sway others away from a club 'because it isn't forgiving enough'. Again, who cares? I am perfectly fine if I miss hit a ball and it ends up 15 yards short. I didn't hit the ball well, so I don't deserve a good shot. It was my mistake, not the club's. I want to know that that swing didn't produce the desired result and have no question about it. Some will argue that with a more forgiving club, I could have only been 8 yards short. 8 or 15 it doesn't matter, I didn't hit the shot I wanted. I am more concerned about how good my good shots are, rather than how acceptable my bad shots are. My personal feeling is that I hit more precise, good shots, with players clubs than I would hit with GI clubs, so that is why I like using them.

[TaylorMadeTaylor]

Do you work in advertising? Complete BS.

Why, yes I do.

[Fourputt]

I'm going against the general grain of opinion here. I don't disagree universally, but there are circumstances where a less forgiving club CAN help a player improve. When I started playing golf, the first full set I owned was a set of Golden Ram blades bought brand new in 1974 or 75 at a golf course pro shop. (Those who are old enough may recall that at the time that was the only place you could buy brand name golf equipment.) Anyway, as the years passed and they became available, I went through about 4 or 5 sets of various GI cavity irons, thinking that was the best way to being a better player. I didn't realize that the GI irons along with my lazy streak were simply hiding some bad ball striking. Then a couple of years ago I was really struggling with my swing, to the point where I even broke down and took a lesson. Didn't seem to help.

I have to add the caveat that I am a fairly lazy golfer. I don't spend time on the range, I work a bit on my short game, but most of my time with the game is spent playing. The only thing I can think of is that the GI irons (King Cobra's were the most recent ones) I'd been playing had allowed me to develop some bad habits and get away with them to the point where I was struggling with everything except putting. I went club shopping with my brother - he was looking for new clubs and I was just along for the ride, but since we were there, I had to try a few things. I hit some TaylorMade TP's, several GI clubs, then the Titleist AP-2's. The best feeling clubs were the TP' and the AP-2. I ended up ordering a set of AP-2 irons through the pro shop where I work, and just from playing them and being forced to be more precise with my irons, I'm swinging all of my clubs better now.

So as one above poster stated, there are no real absolutes on this topic. A less forgiving club can help a player in eliminating some lazy bad habits by requiring him to strike the ball with more precision. It may not help all players but it certainly helped me, and I'm enjoying the game more than I had for several years.

[ohiolefty]

A cookie is just a cookie but Burners are SUPER-LONG!

[rogerw]

Man I'm either having a really bad deja vu problem tonight or I keep reading the same thread over and and over and over. I could have swore I just finished reading this thread like 3 threads ago.

[sean_miller]

Man I'm either having a really bad deja vu problem tonight or I keep reading the same thread over and and over and over. I could have swore I just finished reading this thread like 3 threads ago.

Speaking of 3 . . . how many hundred yards do you average off the tee?