Making a transition to blades, recommended or not?

[KiawahConnor]

I'm just curious as to when everybody thinks it would be beneficial to start using blades or other players irons. I use callaway x20s and I've gotten to the point where I think I need to try some players irons because I am learning to shape the ball and my belief is that "game improvement" irons would make it harder to purposely shape a shot because they are designed to be more forgiving with mishits. I rarely chunk or top shots with my irons and I consistently hit them flush so I'm sure I could use the blades but how much different are they? Like if I get some nice titleist mb 712s, will they be ridiculously hard to hit or will I be fine if I'm already a good ball striker? Thanks everybody! Go gamecocks!!!

[x1mlf]

The golfing gods made it very clear to me that I should take advantage of technology and not to romanticize the classics.  I played with a forged gap wedge for many years trying to get it dialed in, so I could "feel" the difference.  Half of my strikes felt terrible or mis-hit.  Not from a perspective of results, but my hands just stung most of the time.  I picked up a cavity back ,and hit it three times without feeling that classic harshness.  Just what I needed.

My advice is this, if you want to hit blades because you have the swing to accommodate them, have fun, if not, stick to game improvement technology.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by KiawahConnor

I'm just curious as to when everybody thinks it would be beneficial to start using blades or other players irons.

I use callaway x20s and I've gotten to the point where I think I need to try some players irons because I am learning to shape the ball and my belief is that "game improvement" irons would make it harder to purposely shape a shot because they are designed to be more forgiving with mishits.

I rarely chunk or top shots with my irons and I consistently hit them flush so I'm sure I could use the blades but how much different are they? Like if I get some nice titleist mb 712s, will they be ridiculously hard to hit or will I be fine if I'm already a good ball striker?

Thanks everybody! Go gamecocks!!!

Personally don't think it's a good idea for anyone higher than a 3 handicap to use blades and even then....  Couple reasons: soles tend to be thinner with blades, so if contact is an issue, which it is for most players, blades will be less room for error.  Also the soles have less bounce/camber compared to other types of irons.  Again less room for error.

In terms of work-ability, the center of gravity location can shift slightly from GI irons to mid size to muscle backs, but that will have a small impact on the work-ability of an iron. It's more to do with the trajectory (height) of a shot, but you could make the argument that even that is subtle.  Point is a blade doesn't necessarily give you more ease to shape shots.

A lot of the best players in the world aren't using blades.  Having said that Callaway saw a big shift in their players going to the X-Prototype blades because of the added camber/bounce to the soles.  But there isn't a "time" a player needs to switch to blades.

[Golfingdad]

Personally don't think it's a good idea for anyone higher than a 3 handicap to use blades and even then....  Couple reasons: soles tend to be thinner with blades, so if contact is an issue, which it is for most players, blades will be less room for error.  Also the soles have less bounce/camber compared to other types of irons.  Again less room for error. In terms of work-ability, the center of gravity location can shift slightly from GI irons to mid size to muscle backs, but that will have a small impact on the work-ability of an iron. It's more to do with the trajectory (height) of a shot, but you could make the argument that even that is subtle.  Point is a blade doesn't [COLOR=222222] necessarily give you more ease to shape shots. [/COLOR] [COLOR=222222] A lot of the best players in the world aren't using blades.  Having said that Callaway saw a big shift in their players going to the X-Prototype blades because of the added camber/bounce to the soles.  But there isn't a "time" a player needs to switch to blades. [/COLOR]

Speaking of Callaway, they mentioned while we were there that JB Holmes was seriously considering a switch to the X Hot irons, which are cast and would fall into the GI category. Very similar to AP1's which Zach Johnson played last year. Mark Wilson won bob hope with i20's and the list goes on and on. (Those are just the ones off the top of my head). Point being what mike said ... You never really NEED blades unless you want them. EDIT: Sorry, I meant to say X Hot Pros . (X Hots look like Big Berthas or Diablos)

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by KiawahConnor

I am learning to shape the ball and my belief is that "game improvement" irons would make it harder to purposely shape a shot because they are designed to be more forgiving with mishits.

I rarely chunk or top shots with my irons and I consistently hit them flush so I'm sure I could use the blades but how much different are they? Like if I get some nice titleist mb 712s, will they be ridiculously hard to hit or will I be fine if I'm already a good ball striker?

1. Shaping - the data may have changed since I read about shaping shots in the late 90's-early 00's, but the thinking was that the size of the clubhead from heel to toe influenced shaping. The larger the size, the more difficult it was to shape.

2. The sole width, camber, and bounce (the grind) of the club head will have a large influence on ease.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

1. Shaping - the data may have changed since I read about shaping shots in the late 90's-early 00's, but the thinking was that the size of the clubhead from heel to toe influenced shaping. The larger the size, the more difficult it was to shape.

This is mostly in the height direction, there's only a negligible difference (virtually none) side to side with on-center contact.