Equipment
Kevin Na: “I don’t see a reason why you’d want to play a blade” – GolfWRXers have their say
In our forums, our members have been reacting to Kevin Na’s recent comments that blade irons are too difficult to hit and that he last played one in his 20’s when he was “dumb”. Speaking on Golf.com’s Fully Equipped podcast, Na said
“I can’t play a blade. It’s too difficult, and I’m a pro golfer. I think a blade goes shorter. Off-center hits aren’t going to perform as well as cavity-backs. I don’t see a reason why you’d want to play a blade. I really don’t. I played blades in my early 20s, maybe one year — when I was dumb. But I’m wiser now and play a cavity-back.
In the longer irons, I even look for more — I don’t want to say a high-handicapper club — a more forgiving club.”
Our members have been sharing their thoughts on Na’s comments in our forum.
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.
- llewol07: “If you have not figured it out already, golf is all about playing the equipment that suits you, the game that suits you and really playing your own game. The thing I like about Kevin Na is that he seems a bit cocky and can hold his own as seen when watching him on television. That being said, most tour pros end up playing a combo set anyways and rarely do I see too many blade players. Even pros need an edge to make the game that much more easier to reproduce. Lesson here is to play what works.”
- the bishop: “Na’s remarks need to be taken in context. He makes a living playing golf. If you gave him a set of Apex MB’s and an hour on the range and went out and played with him, you’d probably say he plays blades just fine. But for him, the difference between blades and cavity backs could mean a 25 place difference in his proximity to the hole from 150 yds ranking or something similar. As ThinkingPlus said, “he plays what makes him money”.
- golfpros1: “Play the bag that fits the course and game you play. There are pros and cons with everything. Do what works for you. Most good amateurs can play blades well because they play courses that are 6500 or less with little rough. They have 7 iron or less into most greens. You don’t have to be a pro to get a short iron blade into a receptive green. Start playing 7500-yard course and hitting 4 irons into greens, and you’d be silly to play blades if you do it for any other reason than it makes you happy. It’s all relative. I’ve played blades, CBs, GIs… really didn’t make much of a difference. I found the closer to a blade, the better the short irons would be. The closer to game improvement, the better the long irons would be. So for most people, a mixed bag makes the most sense. Best of both worlds.”
- mcc0819: “Kevin Na is a relatively straight ball hitter from what I’ve seen from him. So it makes sense that a cavity back would work best for him. But someone like Tiger has a blade, and he loves to shape his shots in every which way possible. So I think it depends on the player. If you are a low handicap/scratch golfer, your ball striking would be good enough to play blades especially if you shape your shots. Blades to me equal easier shot shaping but also easier to mishit. So the question is, are you willing to take the hit on the occasional bad strike? I’m a 3 handicap and still playing CB’s because I’ll take any advantage I can get. At the end of that day, that’s what I believe works for me. If you’re a 15+ handicap and want to play blades then, by all means, go get yourself fitted for some blades.”
- soap1984: “I like Na generally, but he’s saying you’re dumb for playing blades which I’m not sure is fair. Like Tiger and Rory play them, and both mis-hit the ball the odd time, the idea is why give up “forgiveness” for no gain, even if you only mishit one shot a round. Blades shouldn’t even exist I guess in his world. If I stink with blades, I will for sure go back to the ap2, but my numbers were not statistically different on mis-hits. If Mizuno made the jpx 919 tour in lefty, I’d prefer to play those, but I want new sticks and just can’t play clubs with thick soles, so my options are limited.”
Entire Thread: “Kevin Na vs GolfWRX”
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Whats in the Bag
Wesley Bryan WITB 2024 (May)
- Wesley Bryan what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 50 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 60 X
Hybrid: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus Rescue (19.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Takomo 101U (4), Takomo 101T (5), Takomo 301 CB (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 52-08F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (58-A)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: L.A.B. Golf DF3
Grips: SuperStroke, Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
More photos of Wesley Bryan’s WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
Why Wesley Bryan is playing two 4-irons this week
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
…Flash forward to THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson 2024 at TPC Craig Ranch in Texas, and Bryan is still playing with a mixed Takomo set, except he’s added a new 101 U 4-iron, plus a Titleist T200 4-iron, and he’s dropping his 5-iron.
That bears repeating: Bryan is switching to an iron setup that consists of two 4-irons and no 5-iron.
On paper, that looks wrong, but when you look at yardage gapping instead of the number on the sole of the iron, things start to make more sense.
As Bryan explained to GolfWRX.com on Tuesday in Texas, his Takomo 301 CB 6-iron goes about 195-200 yards. Then, his new hollow-bodied Takomo 101U Driving Iron, which he recently started testing “a couple weeks ago” and bent about 2 degrees weak, goes about 220 yards, and the Titleist T200 4-iron goes about 235 yards.
Speaking on his new Takomo 101U Driving Iron, which sells for $119, Bryan had this to say:
“It’s super forgiving and launches high, and it has a bit longer of a profile to where it looks really good,” said Bryan. “If people are willing to play something that doesn’t have an expensive price tag on their club…[I started testing it] in the last couple weeks and it’s in the bag.
“I just made it like 2 degrees weaker. Basically that gap from 205 to 225 I was in a little bit of a dead space, so I’m going to try and fill that gap better.”
Check out Wesley Bryan’s full WITB here.
Read the rest of the article at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Most forgiving players irons? – GolfWRXers discuss
In our forums, our members have been discussing players irons. WRXer ‘NorthTXGolf’ is on the hunt for some new irons but is putting a priority on forgiveness, and has reached out to fellow members who have been sharing their thoughts and advice on the subject in our forum.
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.
- Sam217: “i230 has got to be one of the most forgiving players irons available. Cobra King Tour another. Don’t sleep on the New Level 480 DB coming out soon.”
- RangeBaller: “ZX5/ZX7 and i230 should definitely be in your testing pool.”
- YAMS49: “Another I210 homie here… Very highly recommended if you want/need spin and a consistent yardage.”
- golf-RN: “I second the Cobra King Tour irons. I am not the greatest ballstriker by any stretch of the imagination and I find the King Tours very forgiving. Toe strikes might lose 5 or 6 yards with no directional loss. You definitely feel the miss though lol but mishits from the center aren’t punished too hard regarding distance.”
Entire Thread: “Most forgiving Players irons? – GolfWRXers discuss”
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Pingback: Do blades negatively impact performance? Or is it all in our heads? – GolfWRXers discuss – GolfWRX
Pelling
Apr 24, 2020 at 10:27 am
I don’t think blades or cavity backs would have made much a difference when Na carded the 16 at the Valero Open…
Vas
Apr 24, 2020 at 9:56 am
I play a combo set of 785s and Z-Forged irons. Should I play all 785s? Probably, but I’ve found very little performance difference between the 7-PW in both models… and the blades look and feel better and are more fun. If I have a great weekend, the difference (if any) may be a $350 pro shop gift certificate instead of a $500 gift certificate. Eh… whatever. My old MP-29s were blades. These Z-Forged are “blades”. The performance these days is really pretty close to the player cavities anyway.
Alex
Apr 23, 2020 at 10:30 am
Kevin Na is a tool, but I couldn’t agree with him more on the blade thing.
drkviol801
Apr 23, 2020 at 8:40 am
Lmao will you look at that, golfwrx braniacs arguing with a tour pro who’s won. What does Kevin Na know about golf?
Dave r
Apr 24, 2020 at 11:07 am
Could not agree more. I never thought I was good enough or had anything to prove to hit ” blades”. Tried them once my fingers are still numb.