Equipment

Forum Thread of the Day: “My experience gaming blades as a mid-high handicapper…”

Published

5 years ago

Mar 14, 2019

Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from Andus, who shared his interesting experience gaming blades as a mid/high handicapper…

“A few months ago, I decided to buy a Mizuno combo set. I’m gaming 4-6 MP-18 SC, and 7-PW MP-18 MB. All of them have Modus 3 120 X flex shafts. To be honest, I almost wish I went 4-PW in the MB because I don’t find the SC to be any more forgiving than the MB; however, the feel is on par I’d say. My swing speed with driver is about 110MPH and with a seven iron is around 93MPH.

I was a pretty decent ball striker, but my handicap was awfully high due to my short game (putting & within 50 yards). I am a complete sucker for looks & feel, and those two attributes are probably most important to me when choosing clubs to play. With that said, the switch from GI irons to blades has been amazing for me. I personally don’t buy into the whole “forgiveness” thing too much. Sure, a big fat hunk of metal with much more toe weighting might help you pull a few more yards out of a mishit, but the reality is, regardless of the iron you’re playing the shot is going to be a bad shot whether you get five extra yards or not. Nevertheless, these irons have helped me find the middle of the club more often than not, and best of all have inspired me to play golf even more. Every time I see these irons in my golf bag, I can’t help myself put to go pull one out and just admire the beauty (I know, I’m a loser). Anyway, my point in writing this is to hopefully inspire somebody else on the fence about blades to give them a try. If you have any other specific questions, ask away!”

The post has garnered plenty of reaction from our members, who have been giving their advice and opinions to those mid/high handicappers out there who have been considering a switch to blades.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

bub72ck: “We get this topic frequently, and I have to say I disagree. “Good” ball striking is a very relative term depending on what you are looking to get out of your game. If you find enjoyment out of that perfectly struck shot from a blade that’s awesome, but to sluff off forgiveness between MBs and CBs is really painting with a broad brush. I don’t know what your handicap is (you only said mid-high), but I am not sure you know what consistently finding the center of the club is. I don’t think I do either. A round of golf for most anyone, save the top players in the world, is about consistency and quality of mis-hits. Losing 5 yards on a mis-hit shot is the difference between being on the green and off, or in a bunker, or in a water hazard. You said that your short game was weak. That weakness is going to be magnified by missed greens and further distance from the hole. The bottom line is you can do whatever you wish with your game, but more than likely playing blades is costing you strokes.”
Bimmer1: “I think about this topic often. Back in the early 80’s blades were pretty much all we had. As a 10-year-old in 1980, I started with blades and played my best golf a few years later as the high school team captain shooting in the mid-’70s with Wilson FG-17’s. A lot of great golfers started out as beginners using blades. There were no alternatives until Ping, Daiwa, and some others started making cavity backs.”
Lefty96: “There is nothing wrong with playing blades if they simply bring more enjoyment to your game. Whether that’s because you like the way the feel/look at address, or because you just like being “able” to play blades. But, if you get more enjoyment out of shooting your best score, then you may want to consider making a change. Like people above have pointed out, you’ll just hit more greens with a GI or players GI club then you will with blades. If score isn’t really important to you, by all means, keep playing the blades. They will give you a hell of a lot of feedback about your strike and maybe you’ll even learn to find the middle of the face more often because of it. Most importantly enjoy golf! They are a pretty set of sticks!”

Entire Thread: “My experience gaming blades as a mid-high handicapper…”

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Gianni Magliocco

Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

22 Comments

Brad

Apr 3, 2019 at 8:09 am

“Forgiveness” in irons is only relevant to a point. The blades of today are nearly as “forgiving” as many cavity backs from decades past. Besides, this guy has a swing speed of 110mph. He is probably hitting a wedge into most par 4s and no more than an 8 iron into most par 5’s after bombing it off of the tee.

The best sort of forgiveness comes from hitting clubs with more loft into greens from shorter distance. I’d say this guy has that covered. That’s why tour pros can kick your @r$e up and down the course, not because of their accuracy with mid or long irons, but their distance off the tee and wedge play for approach shots. They are simply hitting less club than you ALL of the time. That makes it much easier to have a much higher GIR than the average joe and putting it close to the pin makes putting easier too. Pretty simple.

Yeah, if you can barely hit the ball 200 yards off of the tee, then blades are probably not for you. No doubt about that. If you are hitting it 330 yards over the back of the green off of the tee and are chipping when everyone else is hitting 7 iron into the green – then you can probably play with a LITERAL butterknife and still score well.

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Dan

Mar 29, 2019 at 12:54 am

Ok folks here’s the skinny on all iron styles to clear up all the confusion. I’m a +2 and been fitting clubs since the mid 90’s. The sweet spot on every iron ever sold is the size of a dime(called the center of percussion) blade or GI iron. Forged clubs being of a softer metal spin the ball more due to the ball being griped by the grooves longer, so stopping spin and workability is high. Due to their high CG they rotate a lot on off center hits producing inaccuracies and distance loss. Pro’s play forged due to the amazing distance control of high spin reducing distance ( like a bag of wedges). Cast clubs are harder metal with spring like faces. The balls on the face a shorter time due to added velocity and so they spin less and go farther. The low CG rotates the club less when miss hit producing less inaccuracies and less distance loss. For forged the cb or blade option it’s purely a trajectory preference. Blade goes the lowest, cb a bit higher and so on towards hybrids. All irons are designed to fly properly as well so low trajectory blades have weak lofts and GI irons that go high have strong lofts. A 43 deg M6 pw still hits it higher than a forged mb 47 deg pw. Lofts aren’t strong for distance it’s for trajectory and distance is a welcomed secondary affect. Look at pro’s bags where it’s common to up the forgiveness of long irons due to tour green firmness. Go ahead and pick the weapon that fits your need and throw out your reservations. I play a rogue pro cast iron. Looks like an apex pro. Hits it like an M6 and reduces the high spin I have, their cheaper than forged and go easily a club + longer. That’s a win,win,win for me. If you don’t hit 7/10 balls solid don’t play forged, blade or not. Your welcome

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sal

Mar 28, 2019 at 9:50 am

To each his own. But I will say that when I have played cast cavity back irons, my game goes south after a few weeks because I’m not as precise, especially in the short irons.

FG-17 irons. Back in the 80s, wow! Caddy Shack and big hair golf. Thanks for the article.

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Michael Alonso

Mar 18, 2019 at 11:17 am

I’m a 19hdcp and play Mizuno MP-59s. My iron play has never been my issue. I hit the ball high and long and straight. Clubhead speed with a driver is 110 and with a 6i is 98. What’s keeping me from lowering my handicap is my driver and my putter. My putter’s been hot lately, so hopefully that will stay. I got fitted for a driver and will be receiving it next month. Hopefully, staying in the fairway will allow me to score better. As far as playing better/nicer looking/ player’s irons, I can’t see where I would gain anything from playing a GI iron. I recently hit my dad’s new set of Callaway Rogues with Catalyst shafts. Yeah, I can hit his 6i 210, but do I really need that? No. My gapping is fine with my set. Play what you like looking at or you’re not gonna wanna play.

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pelling

Mar 15, 2019 at 5:22 pm

Here’s the thing. If you took 4 clubs, say a 3 wood, a 6 iron, a wedge, and a putter out for 9 holes, your score would be about the same as if you had 14 clubs fitted with the the latest shafts and technology. So don’t sweat it.

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- Leftshot
  
  Mar 16, 2019 at 12:13 pm
  
  Just because you said it doesn’t make it true. You provided nothing to back up your opinion.
  
  Having played in dozens of 5-club and similar format tournaments and analyzed the results I think you are wrong. Here is what I conclude from this data.
  
  A mid to high handicapper’s scores does on average suffer more than a scratch or low single handicap. However, in a net score tournament, the winner is still most likely a mid to high handicap player. This IMO is due to the wild variations in scoring day to day of such players. The same thing happens in net score tournaments with 14-clubs.
  
  Scratch players generally have skills in this format that most mid to high handicappers do not. The ability to execute half and three quarter swings, knockdowns, vary ball height and sometimes shot shape, just to name a few.
  
  Reply Report comment
Tim

Mar 15, 2019 at 2:41 pm

My issue with blades has always been the stock shafts that most blades come with. I’m not that strong and have always hated Dynamic Gold shafts, they’re totally wrong for me. Now that fitting is so widely available, I’d like to try a Mizuno blade with lightweight steel shafts. Currently I use a Nippon Zelos shaft in my Titleist AP1 irons, but based on my results. I know I could play fairly well with those shafts in a blade. It’s a very girly shaft, but who cares; it works for me.

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Mike Cleland

Mar 15, 2019 at 1:11 pm

Whatever works. Both blades & game improvement clubs have positives & negatives. Most golfers, not scratch players, should be playing woods & hybrids down to a 7 iron anyway.

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Mike Cleland

Mar 15, 2019 at 1:07 pm

Whatever works.

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Under the roof

Mar 15, 2019 at 7:19 am

I really love the feeling of a well struck shot using a traditional blade, it is that “feeling” which is one of the reasons that I play the game. For me the issue with a full set of blades was at the long end of the irons; as the carry distances between clubs started to get compressed, thus leaving a large gap from my 4-I to hybrid.
-My solution to this gaping problem has been playing 7-pw cb as a degree strong, then 6/5 ap2 and a 4- as an ap3 into a hybrid keeping a 4 degree loft gap between clubs and letting the “more forgiving” faces of the longer irons keep better gaping.
I know it’s not the same as a pure set, but I’m not 32 anymore either.

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Brandon

Mar 14, 2019 at 9:22 pm

I’ve played every style of irons over the last 10 or so years and my scores have remained fairly consistently in the low 80’s with the occasional round in the 70’s or 90’s. A chunk is a chunk and a skull is a skull regardless of that club is in your hand. Hitting drives OB and duffing chips is where doubles or worse come from.

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- Kelso
  
  Mar 15, 2019 at 3:55 pm
  
  You nailed it.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Michael Alonso
  
  Mar 18, 2019 at 11:19 am
  
  AMEN!
  
  Reply Report comment
Swirley

Mar 14, 2019 at 4:47 pm

Guys, thank you for not making fun of Gianni. I can’t stand all the Gianni bashing. He is a good person.

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drew

Mar 14, 2019 at 1:54 pm

i’d love real strokes gained proof either way. Prove to me GI work to actually improve my game. Prove to me that blades hurt my game. I really don’t know, especially if you are comparing a well fit set of players clubs vs. a well fit set of game improvers. Until there’s good data, I really don’t care what irons any cap picks up as long as they pay out their bets after the round.

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- Straight
  
  Mar 14, 2019 at 5:45 pm
  
  Have you ever been on TrackMan? What a moron…
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Raj lp
    
    Mar 15, 2019 at 2:56 am
    
    Not a great comment “straight.” Makes you look more like what you’re calling someone who stated an opinion.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Tom Zanarini
    
    Mar 15, 2019 at 10:15 am
    
    Hey Straight, take a 7i AP1 and a 6i MB on Trackman. Check the lofts. Don’t go by the number stamped on the sole. Get back to us.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Brad
    
    Apr 3, 2019 at 8:19 am
    
    Ever heard of D-plane? Hitting a 7 iron with the loft of a 5 iron is NOT going to improve your scores. Yes, you will hit it further than the 7 iron with a more sensible loft, but that GI club with a 5 iron loft is also going to be as hard to hit consistently as a – 5 iron. Because fo D-plane.
    
    You’re only fooling yourself if you are playing Trackman golf aka “look how far I can hit this 7 iron, dudes!” If GI clubs improved scores so dramatically, then it would be expected that the guys depending on playing well for their livelihood (PGA Pros) would be playing the $h1t out of those GI irons all around the world. Funny though, because they don’t – at least not until you get down to low lofted long irons where even some of them can apparently use the help as well because of – D-plane.
    
    Reply Report comment
Sean

Mar 14, 2019 at 1:25 pm

I play Srixon 785s and 13hcp I love them. Recently went for a shaft fitting an he gave me jpx919 hotmetal and ap2 I struck them very badly compared to my own. My theory is you won’t improve strike unless you get feed back and you can’t get feed back from GI irons.

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TR1PTIK

Mar 14, 2019 at 1:16 pm

Play whatever you want to play/makes you happy. Enough said.

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P

Mar 14, 2019 at 11:22 am

This dude had 110 mph swing speed. Duh.
Most mid-high handicaps that the retail fronts sell those giant tech clubs are for the weekend hacks who swing at 90mph.

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Equipment

Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage

Published

18 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.

It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.

When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”

“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”

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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.

Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:

“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.

“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.

“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.

“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.

“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”

So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.

His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.

See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here

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Equipment

Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron

Published

19 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

Brian Knudson

It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.

We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.

From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.

“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.

TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°

TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

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Whats in the Bag

Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)

Published

19 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Check out more in-hand photos Collin Morikawa’s clubs here.

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)