191 replies to this topic

[fairwaysroverated]

First, a little history about me and my game. I have been playing golf for 2 years now. My strength is ball striking, tee to green. I'm a 16 cap and if I had any kind of short game I would shot well into the 80's consistently. It's not uncommon for me to be just off the green on a par 4 then chili dip a chip and three put for double boogey. Just thinking about that makes me want to pull my hair out, but onto my expirience.

  I recently switched from S56's to MP 59 and 69 combo set up (I used to hit my S56's great just for refference). I have the full set of both clubs, but mix and match according to how I feel that day. Since Ive switched I've been hitting what look to be beautiful shot's in the air and feel great off the face, but always fall short of the green. I've gone from hitting my I20 9 iron 160 yards, to my S56 9 iron 150 yard, to my MP 69 9 iron 135 yards. Talk about depressing. After this happening consistanly now for about 25 rounds, I realize that even though it feels like I'm hitting the center of the club face I must be just a hair off and it makes a huge difference on the distance.

After I played in a local tournament yesterday and hit only one green with my MP 59 4 iron from 208 yards I went straight from the course to my local golf shop and started comparing my blades to the JPX pro 825's and AP2's. I hit the JPX pro 6 iron consistantly 180 yards with 1 out of every 10 going for 190 plus. Took out my MP 69 6 iron and hit it 170 yards 1 out of every 10, and 1 out of 20 it went 180 yards. The AP2's were about 5 yards shorter than the JPX pro's, but just as consistent.

So I hope this saves someone out there thinking about going to blades and having the question we see on here all to often, "should I play blades" some money. I guess bottom line, if you have to ask wether or not you should play them, you should probably stick with what you have.


UPDATE 3/14/13: I guess since this tread wont die I'll update it. Now I'm back to playing blades or atleast CB blades, 2013 razr x forged to be exact. Wound up going see a professional and he fix my impact position and also I was giving a glancing blow to the ball as well. He also told me that anyone can play any kind of clubs they want as long as they're fit to them. Long story short, before spending loads of money trying to buy a game using clubs, go see a professional and buy one that way. Why am I giving advise again after some of the upedy guys on here saying a 16 cap has no room to give advice, I'm not sure. But once again hopefully this helps someone out there from spending money they don't want to.

Edited by fairwaysroverated, 14 March 2013 - 12:24 PM.

[Chief Illiniwek]

You don't lose 25 yards by being a hair off. If loft and length are the same I would think missing the sweet spot would lose you 5-10 yards.

[tbowles411]

But the point is valid...

[Jimbud]

Unless you're hitting 2000 balls a week anyone two years into the game deciding to play blades and expecting favorable results is getting bad advice from someone

[jwrogers]

I think using distance as the measuring stick is wrong.   I think the better discussion is consistency.

[Chief Illiniwek]

I've never played 69's, but you also say you feel like it's hitting the center of the clubface but you guess you're missing it by a hair. With every blade I've ever hit you KNOW when you did or didn't catch the sweetspot. Not wanting to offend you but if you can't "feel" it on a shot that's going to come up 25 yards short, ballstriking is not your strength.

[prestiege]

are you using different shafts between the sets?  what are the loft differences between the different iron brands?

[Nessism]

jwrogers, on 18 November 2012 - 08:48 AM, said:

I think using distance as the measuring stick is wrong.   I think the better discussion is consistency.

I agree completely.  Distance is hugely over rated, yet first and foremost on most golfers minds.  For me the number one priority is knowing where the ball is going, distance included.  I don't care what number is on the bottom of the club.

[Halebopp]

I'd agree with the posters above that distance isn't the measure for irons. Also, isn't S56 pretty much a blade in itself? At least it's closest to a blade Ping produces and by a pure guess, should be more difficult to hit than MP-59?

Take two clubs which give you the same distance and then move on to look at which one is more accurate for you.

[the.landshark]

jwrogers, on 18 November 2012 - 08:48 AM, said:

I think using distance as the measuring stick is wrong.   I think the better discussion is consistency.

+1 ...in his Taylormade commercial, Dustin Johnson hits the Burner 2.0 3-iron 254 yards (carried, 274 total), yet plays the MB's. Should he switch? Probably not.

It's fantastic that you gave it a go, and you should play whatever irons you feel most comfortable with (whether they're blades or not), but I agree with the previous poster, that distance shouldn't be the deciding factor. One of the dumbest questions I hear on the tee, is "what iron did you hit there?"... 'cause the honest answer is "doesn't matter". Play the yardage with whatever club gets you there consistently. Irons are about accuracy, not overall distance.

[NRJyzr]

Chief Illiniwek, on 18 November 2012 - 08:32 AM, said:

You don't lose 25 yards by being a hair off. If loft and length are the same I would think missing the sweet spot would lose you 5-10 yards.

If you only miss by a minute fraction, as described in the first post, you don't lose much, if at all.  The fabled "unforgiveness" of blades is BS, unless you're spraying it all over the clubface, like 1" towards the toe.

There has to be something else going on.

Blades tend to spin the ball more than CBs.  I've had this problem in the past with my MS-11 set, which I hit higher than the same numbered club in my Golden Ram set, in spite of being 3° stronger.  Combine "higher" with "more spin" and for some players, it's a disaster.  
(side note:  switching balls with the MS-11s for me resulted in gaining a full club distance.  It was ridiculous)

I wonder if there's a shaft difference at play?

[superman912]

jwrogers, on 18 November 2012 - 08:48 AM, said:

I think using distance as the measuring stick is wrong.   I think the better discussion is consistency.

I think the general consensus is that you should stop looking at the loft/number on the club and how far it CAN go, instead think about the distance you can hit with that club over and over again. Consistency > distance. But you are correct. I play MBs and catching balls even one groove up will feel totally different from hitting it flush. I'll lose at least 10 yards on a strike like that vs a flush strike.

[Big Smooth]

Basically re-iterating points, and no offense, but no 16 handicap is a "good" ballstriker.  But that is beside the point: irons are all about distance control, not raw distance - I've never understood why some guys like to brag about how far they hit their irons, it's kind of like bragging about having big balls...

[TMelectric]

I20 9 iron = 160yds. Why would you ever switch? the i20's are a great set of irons.

[Pack7483]

I switched from Nike Machspeeds to rac tp combos and may have lost distance based on lofts but gained a ton of consistency.  Don't worry about distance. I like traditional loft irons. I carry 5-pw,54*,60* and round out the top with a 19*,24* hybrids. I am covered from 215 yards and in.

[acquadiice]

Jimbud, on 18 November 2012 - 08:40 AM, said:

Unless you're hitting 2000 balls a week anyone two years into the game deciding to play blades and expecting favorable results is getting bad advice from someone

wise man right here...i was less than 2 years into the game before i switched over to blades but when you are good enough to play blades, there is no comparison but when your off... its gonna be a LONGGGG day...

[Halebopp]

TMelectric, on 18 November 2012 - 10:00 AM, said:

I20 9 iron = 160yds. Why would you ever switch? the i20's are a great set of irons.

Who wants to hit a 9i 160 yards? PW maybe 145 and then it's down to hitting full shots with wedges or half-shots, pitches and what not, which really are the inaccurate options distance-wise at the level the OP plays, only to add that he stated his short game to be terrible.

[NRJyzr]

Big Smooth, on 18 November 2012 - 09:47 AM, said:

Basically re-iterating points, and no offense, but no 16 handicap is a "good" ballstriker.  

I have to call BS on that.  I was a good ballstriker as a 20 hdcp.  I couldn't score worth a damn, but I could pound the center of the clubface.  I have a friend who swore I was better with a 4 iron in my hand than an 8 iron.

There are no absolutes in golf.

[Pack7483]

I agree. I want my 9 iron to only go 135 yards.  My course is 6400 and I rarely need a long iron on par 4s. I don't want 5 wedges.

[J13]

Why any golfer would really care what number is on the bottom of the club is beyond me.  The better player cares about one number and that's how many feet am I away from the cup.  WIth that said blades are not for everyone as forgiveness is not as good as a cavity back club plus you have much different sole widths to help a players faults.  My suggestion would be to get fitted for your sticks

[Fornesto]

oh blades v cavity backs...ive missed you *sniff*

[Fornesto]

oh yeah, what shafts are you playing?

[TheMoneyShot]

tbowles411, on 18 November 2012 - 08:36 AM, said:

But the point is valid...

You better think twice before playing those Miura baby blades next year man....

[somaplr]

NRJyzr, on 18 November 2012 - 10:31 AM, said:

Big Smooth, on 18 November 2012 - 09:47 AM, said:

Basically re-iterating points, and no offense, but no 16 handicap is a "good" ballstriker.  

I have to call BS on that.  I was a good ballstriker as a 20 hdcp.  I couldn't score worth a damn, but I could pound the center of the clubface.  I have a friend who swore I was better with a 4 iron in my hand than an 8 iron.

There are no absolutes in golf.

What's the definition of a good ball striker?  I think it varies person to person...but of you're a good ball striker I don't think my definition would be posting the occasional 100 as a 20 handicap. Good ball striking is a direct relation to your GIR.

[Bubb]

Nessism, on 18 November 2012 - 09:12 AM, said:

jwrogers, on 18 November 2012 - 08:48 AM, said:

I think using distance as the measuring stick is wrong.   I think the better discussion is consistency.

I agree completely.  Distance is hugely over rated, yet first and foremost on most golfers minds.  For me the number one priority is knowing where the ball is going, distance included.  I don't care what number is on the bottom of the club.

I agree that most big hitters who can't score should focus on things other than distance, but I don't think distance is over-rated. I'm usually the shortest hitter in my group and I routinely beat people who hit it longer, but my game is maxed-out. I've gotten down to a 3 hdcp, but I can't squeeze much more out of my game without adding more distance and, at my age, it just isn't going to happen.

Just like how you can't teach height in basketball or speed in football, I'd rather have the advantage of distance in golf and then work to dial in the other aspects. I can break par on occasion, but I can't bring a course to it's knees like some of the long hitters I play with. Distance is a big advantage, in my opinion. Short hitters can't prosper at the highest levels.

[topr]

If you're a "good ball striker" then why not just pick a set...of the six you're hitting, establish your yardages with that set, and call it good. If you continue to have yardage issues after that it may be time to re-think what good ball striking is.

[hoosiervolunteer]

It's OK.  You'll survive not playing blades!  I've been playing this game for a long time and see golf scoring like this:

- I don't care what clubs are in the bag.  If you can't get up and down to save some pars, you won't score.

- If you 3 putt every green you hit in regulation with magical blades or cavities, you won't score.

- If you find trouble on the majority of your tee shots, you won't score.

- If you don't know the exact distances you hit your irons the majority of the time, you won't score.


The brands and types of equipment take a backseat here.  Do the 4 things I've listed consistently and you will start scoring.  I guarantee it.

[Redjeep83]

The poster is telling the truth in his distance going down. I would bet money its because hes not getting the appropriate trajectory out of the bladed style irons, it really takes away your distance esp when you dont have the swing speed for it. i20's launch much easier and stay up there.

[ryancjordan]

One of the craziest things about WRX to me is that someone will switch all of their equipment because of a certain conclusion that doesn't really make any sense.  Bad day on the course?  New irons.  One set performed better than the other over 10 balls when you wanted to validate your findings? Validated.  Using distance as the measuring stick really doesn't make a lick of sense to me.

[Par Fore]

no offense here, I have been in a similar boat good ball striker, poor short game.  But if the short game is what is keeping your hdcp high, stop worring so much about your iron distance and start worring about why you chilli dip a pitch and then three putt.