Forged muscleback/blade irons: when to start using them?

[RichF]

Some advice from the low/scratch-handicappers, please!

A little bit about me first - I'm 36, 6'3", 215lb, have been playing solidly (2x a week; 3x a week driving-range) for the last 3 months since a long, 9-year layoff golf altogether. I bought myself a set of Mizuno MX-19 irons (custom-fit, extra 1" in shaft) and pretty much the day I got them, started nailing every club, 3-PW, flush.
I've had 8 one-hour lessons with one of my local golf-club Pros and in his words, "you have a fantastic swing for someone of a playing such a short space of time".
Then I started playing on the 9-hole and 18-hole courses, and at first needed to steady my swing to achieve the same contact-success rate I had on the driving range.
Now, today, I can swing each club and guarantee a straight, long shot with each every time (I also make a habit of checking the clubface for any noticable off-center marks when possible). I feel very confident when hitting 3 and 4-irons off the tee on long Par4s now.

Okay, enough of that - my question: will buying a full custom-fit set of forged blades force me to develop and groove my swing even more - or are blades beyond my skillset?
I know some people can mentally crumble when their swing goes slightly awry - confidence can be shattered and I'm sure using blades / musclebacks can magnify such negative thoughts exponentially.

Advice, thoughts, rants, etc?

[pippin2717]

I had the same thoughts when I first switched to blades and have gone through the ups and downs of my golf swing and have even gone through the shanks with blades, but all in all, it what you feel comfortable with. I feel the most comfortable and confident looking down at a thin top line even if I am not hitting the ball well. One of my best friends who is a better ball striker than I am plays Taylor made OS 2 irons because the smaller club head physics him out. It’s very personal trying to figure out when to start playing better clubs and I suggest you try to see if you can rents some for a week or so and see how they feel not so much from a playing perspective but from a visual and mental perspective.

[RichF]

Well, I answered my own question tonight when I had a demo with Titleist 695-MB s and Mizuno MP-67 s.

These are fantastic clubs to hit with - I used the 4, 6 and 9irons and they felt fantastic!! I reckon out of a bucket of 100 balls, I shanked/topped maybe 10% , which is no more or less than using my oversized cavity-backs - I couldn't belive how easier they are to hit than I've been led to believe - I love the way the ball just hangs in the air!!

I was born to use blades!!!!

[crazy_horst]

One of my best friends who is a better ball striker than I am plays Taylor made OS 2 irons because the smaller club head physics him out.

Exactly - it's all in your head. A golf club's a golf club. If you want blades, buy blades.

[RichF]

Exactly - it's all in your head. A golf club's a golf club. If you want blades, buy blades.

I am.

The family will be getting an orange and some walnuts in a sock for their Chritmas presents this year.

[grant_the_tank]

What set are you going with?

[SwingBlade]

Good question. I always suggest that potential blade players pick-up a single blade iron on e-Bay or in a club barrel at a big shop and go hit it on the range for a few weeks. Most folks will lose 20-40 yards when first hitting something like an MP-33 6 iron. However, with a little patience you may find that swinging a blade smoothly will help to groove your swing even if you decide that blades just aren't for you at this time. Start with a 1/2 swing and have fun with it.

[RichF]

What set are you going with?

For the first few shots with each, I'd be inclined to say the MP67's were

margainally better on contact. However, after 30 minutes with these and switching between the two, I honestly couldn't tell which of the two I was hitting with.

[RichF]

Good question. I always suggest that potential blade players pick-up a single blade iron on e-Bay or in a club barrel at a big shop and go hit it on the range for a few weeks. Most folks will lose 20-40 yards when first hitting something like an MP-33 6 iron. However, with a little patience you may find that swinging a blade smoothly will help to groove your swing even if you decide that blades just aren't for you at this time. Start with a 1/2 swing and have fun with it.

Which is exactly what I did - no fuss, no forcing the issue - I just let my normal iron-swing do the business and the clubs did the rest.

I also threw in my MX-19 cavity-back as well to try and gauge distance/trajectory comparison and there wasn't anything noticably alarming. I think if I tried to bust the ball with the blade then I would experience a whole lot more mishits.

[greenail]

The number of >10 handicaps I see playing blades is almost none, and the ones I have seen are horrible ball strikers. I'd advise a cavity back but not super improvement club but it seems like you already made up your mind. I made the switch to my CG4 tours when my handicap was still high and I think they will be a good fit for my swing until I get < 3. I average around 7 GIR per round and consider myself a good ball striker.

[sweet adeline]

rich, is your index correct? i'd never suggest that someone who was a 20 should play with blades.

[AnalogAG]

Hi,
I am somethingin between the two last posters.

I switched from the cleveland ta5 to the mp32.

This is a huge difference!!!

But I do like it. Of course I notice that I will be punished for misshits and pleased for he sweet spot.

For myself, I know that I did not bought the best irons for today, but they help me getting better.

By the way, I didn't notice higher scores after switching!

[mtrevors]

I wouldn't even consider getting blades/forged irons until you have a single digit handicap. In order to use blades you have to make consistent contact with the sweet spot. I've been checking out the "player irons" as of late; even gone so far as demoing a couple sets on the course. I feel strongly that if you jump into blades too early you'll get worse before you get better; perhaps to the point of quitting the sport all together.

[NM Golf]

The cavity backs vs. blades argument rages on and on. There seems to be two schools of thought basically. Some people think who cares, a little forgiviness never hurt, I use whatever gets it in the hole the best. Other people believe that forgiviness breeds inconsistancy and playing blades helps keep their swings from getting loose.

Which is correct? Well both really. I mean choosing an iron is a big decision. And its based almost entirely on feel. Its a personal decision that has to be made by the individual, not by what someone else thinks.

I can say this, on the PGA tour cavity backs outnumber blades almost 4-1. Among the top 10 in the World Golf Rankings 6 play cavity backs.

If I were to venture a guess, (and it is exactly that, a complete guess) why the PGA tour has more cavity backs than blades. I would think when your livelyhood depends on your score and nothing else, you probably want something that gets it in the hole even when you maybe haven't made your best swing.

I personally like a iron that straddles the fence. I want enough feedback to give me feel and enough forgiveness to let me get it into the hole with as few strokes as possible.

Just remember, at the end of the day when the strokes are being counted, noone ever wins for having the most good swings, they win for having the fewest number of strokes.

[RichF]

rich, is your index correct? i'd never suggest that someone who was a 20 should play with blades.

SA - yes, I pretty much play off that index, and I've being playing seriously since June this year znd I usually go around in 90-95, so I may be higher....

Anyway, so I'm back from my first-ever blades-test. First off, I played the 9-hole course with my Dad who looked at the blades I'd loaned from the club and just raised his eyebrows and said 'good luck'. (to be honest, I was more inclined to see how I got on with the Callway FT-i Tour as I also loaned that club also - it worked out really good, but that's another story.) Anyway, onto the forged blades....I was using stock/demo Titleist 695-MB , (3-9 Irons only) as I was on the driving range and to be 100% blunt about it, the only noticable difference I could gain from using these clubs on a golf-course against my Mizunos was I was consciously trying harder to keep my swing in control. Each time I forced the issue, I suffered, whether it was using a 3-Iron off the tee (hard) or chipping-on with a 9-Iron. Good points: * using blades definately concentrates the mind more....as I said above, I found myself having 4 or 5 practice swings before the actual shot as opposed to walking up, aiming and swinging. * Also, I noticed I was hitting divots out the ground...I never do this with cavity-backs and as a result, approach shots using blades were great: ball just seemed to hang in the air more and I also got more backspin on them. * I found I didn't bust the ball as much as I would with CBs....it's almost like caressing the ball to the desired spot. Bad points : not a lot, to be honest. * The only mishits, topped or shanked shots were where I got cocky and thought I could land the ball on the dancefloor only to see it roll 80-100 yards along the ground. * 3 and 4-Iron, were, as expected the bad-boys of the bunch - mainly in distance and getting the ball airborne - very hard to achieve either. My 2 tee-shots with the 3-Iron didnt go anywhere but along the ground...but I didnt get any nasty vibration as a result. * Distance-loss was more noticable when playing on grass. I reckonf I lost maybe 10-15yards with each club than I would with my cavity-backs, especially with Irons 3-6......7-9 were absolutely fine. It was a good experience using blades for the first time, they really do makes the contact on the ball feel as though you're hitting a ball made of vulcanised rubber or something....it's almost un-noticable when you hit flush. But...as it is, I'm not going to rush out and buy a set of blades just yet.... I'll wait until December. P.S. The FT-i Tour is monstrous !

[sweet adeline]

rich, sounds like you may want to test out a set of the combo irons. you said that 7-9 with the blades you were money but were having more trouble with the longer irons. the combo irons are more cavity back on the longer irons and more forged blades as you get closer to the shorter irons.

something to consider.

[crazy_horst]

The number of >10 handicaps I see playing blades is almost none, and the ones I have seen are horrible ball strikers.

I'd tend to agree with that, but more of your handicap has to do with short game than ballstriking. I play MP-32's and switched to them as I was still over a 20. I've knocked over 10 strokes off my game playing them. While it's quite possible that CB's would be "easier" to hit, with blades you have to learn the ball

well . I think going to the 32's has accelerated my learning.

I average around 7 GIR per round and consider myself a good ball striker.

Not to be critical, but that doesn't make a tremendous amount of sense. I'd put a good ball striker at about twice that number.

[NM Golf]

rich, sounds like you may want to test out a set of the combo irons. you said that 7-9 with the blades you were money but were having more trouble with the longer irons. the combo irons are more cavity back on the longer irons and more forged blades as you get closer to the shorter irons.

You know all irons can be ordered this way. You can always order blades PW-7 iron and then 6-3 iron cavity backs. We do it all the time at the course. I just ordered them for a guy the other day. Titleist 695 MB short irons and 695 CB long irons. It makes a nice set.