Bella Woods, on 06 January 2013 - 02:11 PM, said:
astamm is probably right about the length of time since pros in general played irons as sharp as the 1950s & 1960s
blades. Probably at least since the 1970s/1980s. Wasn't Johnny Miller playing 25 year MacGregor old irons in his
mid 1970s heyday? I was referring to the personal/custom grinding of clubs done by some pros, more or less bounce
and rounder or sharper edges - probably more so on wedges than anything.
You won't find any modern club designer say that sharp leading edges are easier to hit in general. But I can see how
somebody that picks the ball with little or no divot might prefer sharp leading edges just because they do.
And obviously since I am a hickory player, I can see people wanting to play "technologically disadvantaged" clubs
just because they want to or enjoy doing so.
I may be one of the guys the OP is referring to who has expressed disdain for sharp edged soles.
Regarding the Miller irons you mention, I remember reading an article that he wrote about the work he did on those clubs, and doing a lot of rounding of the soles was one of the things he did, along with cutting off the hosels and adding "gobs of lead tape" to make up for it.
Spalding was famous for their 4 way roll tour grind on the irons their staff players used. The models offered to the general public were sharp enough to shave with in many cases.
IMO, the reason most stock clubs were made this way is that it was simply less labor intensive to do so. I've been playing for 40 years (public courses), and the sharp edged stuff worked a lot better back then than it does now. The first courses I played as a kid were burnt to a crisp most of the summer. Now tee shots back up in the fairways in the middle of August. I have a lot of lag and a sharp angle of attack. Some irons tend to get stuck in the ground even when the ball is hit first. It's hard on the wrists when you're coming in with that kind of speed and everything crashes to a halt.
Obviously, I don't care what anyone plays, and would never criticize a playing partner's choices. I just think some classics are better than others. Wilson tended to have wider soles and some bounce. H&B had a very nice sole grind. Hogan offered some rounded sole irons. I tend to gravitate toward those, and avoid most of the others. My "modern" bag has Ping I3s with a ton of bounce. That's just what works for me.
Edited by Shallowface, 07 January 2013 - 06:43 AM.
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