Blade irons

[keller19xc]

How do you know if your ready for blade irons?

[TourSpoon]

You just know...

I wouldn't consider them until you can consistently hit the sweet spot on your irons. You can always grab an old 7 iron and take it to the range to practice. That will give you good feedback.

[keller19xc]

So say I go to a golf store and try out some blades and hit them consistently for the most part, would this benefit my game much more than cavity back irons?

[Hanny]

Hi there.

I am a beginner (Sept 2012) and I decided to start with blade irons because they tell you exactly how you are hitting the ball - i.e. you get the most feedback from these kinds of irons.

Also they look nice

[keller19xc]

Yes I live the look of them, I feel like I can just hit the ball so perfectly. I'm going to go test some

[Bird E3]

Get a progressive set. I have no problem hitting my 7-pw pretty solid most of the time, but 3-6 I like a little more forgiveness. I used to play a progressive set, than I just bought Adams forged CB1s. The head is relatively small, which I prefer, and they are workable. I feel like I hit those big, ugly, chunky looking irons all over the place, from the toe to the heel. Somehow, I think it's much easier to hit a solid, middle of the face shot with a smaller club head.

[MS256]

I've never had any blades but every time I ever hit one that somebody else had I hit them with more ease than my R7 irons.

The oversized perimeter weighted clubs are more "forgiving" on an impact off of the sweet spot but take more energy to rotate back to square (because of more weight further from the hosel). That in itself can actually cause the missed sweet spot in the first place.

Some clubs ought to have on the label: We'll give you a forgiving club so you will hit a pretty good shot away from the sweet spot, and then we'll put the weight farther out to make sure you do miss the sweet spot because you can't square it up.

[NM Golf]

Not really a progression type of thing. You don't wake up one day and go, "I'm ready for blades now!" Some very good players never use blades. There are many guys on the PGA Tour who do not use blades. My personal opinion is most amateurs are doing themselves a disservice by using blades. This is especially true for anyone with a double digit handicap. Blades are harder to hit, therefore more skill must be used to hit them correctly.

I also think its silly when people say they started with blades to learn how to hit the ball because blades give more feedback. A good set of cavity backs will still give you all the feedback you need and will help make the game slightly more enjoyable in the meantime.

With that said, I play blades and I love them. I am glad though that I cut my teeth with a nice set of forgiving cavity backs until I had a good enough swing to hit my blades. I still remember a time when my first set of clubs were stolen. I had been playing golf for maybe a year I was shooting in the mid to high 80s. My buddy gave me his set of blades until my new clubs came in. I hated those clubs. My ballstriking just was not consistent enough at that time to use blades.

[keller19xc]

I'm using callaway diablo edge irons right now and I just can't stand the thick sole and top line, I just don't have confidence, I've stood over some blades and just felt so confident, have never hit any though. Confidence plays a big part am I right?

[stealthduffer]

I had convinced myself that I wanted blades but wouldn't be able to hit them properly.  So I built the 5 Iron of the Golfsmith forged blades (the 685X) just to prove that I couldn't handle them.  Absolutely loved it so I built the rest of the set and think they are great.  Wish I'd built the 4 iron as well but didn't and now heads aren't available.

So, long way of saying that if you get a chance to try a club or clubs on the course that would be better than just demoing them at a store.

[460CompMark]

if you are not a 4 handicap or less, don't waste your time.  i see that you are a 10 handicapper.  i would stick with a good forged cavity back.  im a 2 handicap and i use cavity backs.  you mishit a blade and you will feel it all the way up your arm into your shoulder.  mishitting a CB is not nearly as bad.  unless you hit the screw 95% of the time, you are hurting yourself going blades.  CB's have come a long way since the 90s.  a lot of pros use CB's.

[NM Golf]

Originally Posted by keller19xc

I'm using callaway diablo edge irons right now and I just can't stand the thick sole and top line, I just don't have confidence, I've stood over some blades and just felt so confident, have never hit any though. Confidence plays a big part am I right?

There are many cavity back irons out there with thin top lines and soles. I never liked extreme cavity backs either. Go with a club like the Ping i20. Still a forgiving cavity back, but with some playability.

[keller19xc]

Maybe ill look into some thin cavity backs, I used to have Adams rpm clubs and it was slightly thinner I then jumped to callaway diablo edge and am not happy. Maybe ill take a look at the rocketbladz, considering those aren't actual "blades"

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by keller19xc

How do you know if your ready for blade irons?

I would agree with the above posters who say you are "ready" for them when you can hit the sweetspot darn near every time.  That said, the biggest difference in results of blades v. cavities is with hits off the toe.  If you don't tend to miss toe-ward a lot (I do!) then you'll probably be fine with blades.  But again ... you don't need them.

Quote:

So say I go to a golf store and try out some blades and hit them consistently for the most part, would this benefit my game much more than cavity back irons?

Not in the least.  There is nothing that blades provide you that you can't get from cavity backs.  People who play blades do so because they prefer them, and because they don't need the help that cavity backs offer.  They hit the sweetspot nearly every time.

Originally Posted by NM Golf

There are many cavity back irons out there with thin top lines and soles. I never liked extreme cavity backs either. Go with a club like the Ping i20. Still a forgiving cavity back, but with some playability.

No surprise here (see my signature) but I highly agree with this recommendation. :)  More proof that you never "need" blades:  Lee Westwood (the winner of the 2013 Masters - that's right, I said it!!) plays Ping i20's.

And he's just one example.  There are several Tour players (quite possibly a majority) who play cavity backs.

[460CompMark]

Steve Striker plays Titleist AP2's.  i think Zach Johnson does as well.

[keller19xc]

Has anyone heard of the tw vr pro combo blades They are like a mix of blades and split cavity back. Blades for the 8,9,pw and split cavity for 7,6,5 and I believe cavity for 4 and 3

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by keller19xc

Has anyone heard of the tw vr pro combo blades

They are like a mix of blades and split cavity back. Blades for the 8,9,pw and split cavity for 7,6,5 and I believe cavity for 4 and 3

They are very similar to the Titleist 735 cms that I play. It's the best of both worlds.

[dbuck]

To me, a 10 is somewhere around the "cut line" for blades as far as really getting any benefit. At 10, you probably are a pretty consistent ball striker and won't see much difference in your score by switching to blades after a little period of acclimation. If you are serious about your score, you would be better served by the combo set you mentioned. They are designed to have forgiveness on the longer shots and feel on the shorter ones. Its not how good your best shots are, but how good your bad shots are. I think the main advantage of blades is ability to work the ball, so if you don't work the ball a lot, you will be more consistent with at least a forged cavity with some forgiveness. Nothing feels better than a purely struck blade, nor worse than a poorly struck blade! I believe there is some benefit to practicing with say a blade 5 iron. I like the look of blades and the feel of a well struck one, as well as the feel of well struck persimmon. I have a set of classic blades and a few persimmon woods that I play on occasion. I have had them for years and am used to them and I accept that my score may be a stroke or two higher(though not always). The point is, if you want to try blades, have at it but they will not necessarily make you better. If you like them, go for it.