# Blades vs GI Irons



## ger147 (Jul 22, 2013)

Is it really that much harder to play with blades vs GI irons e.g. the new Mizuno MP-4's vs JPX825 Pro?


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## patricks148 (Jul 22, 2013)

oh yes.

I've had Mizuno MP 62 and switched to JPX pro this year... far easier to hit and go further.


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## One Planer (Jul 22, 2013)

I found I played better with the less forgiving club, but then again, I am a bit weird


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## ger147 (Jul 22, 2013)

I'm just curious as when I was a wee boy learning to play at first, there was no such thing as GI irons so I played with a half set of mixed blades.

Now, all of these years later and with all the Technology kicking around, ordinary every day golfers are still struggling with the same issues they've always had.  So I'm just curious why blades are now a complete no-no unless you are a scratch golfer or very close to it.


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## Foxholer (Jul 22, 2013)

I don't find it any more difficult to hit blades well from the fairway or semi.

Elsewhere on the course, more forgiving irons have a distinct advantage when the rough gets thisk or juicy!


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## granters (Jul 22, 2013)

Ive just switched back to blades. Definitely not as forgiving but they fly the way I want them to. Even blades are more forgiving now though,there's no reason anyone shouldn't be able to hit them, other than marketing. My handicap has gone up since switching to "more forgiving" irons! Horses for courses


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## BoadieBroadus (Jul 22, 2013)

the difference between the two is hugely overrated in my experience. a bad swing with a gi iron will still produce a bad shot, they are certainly no cure all for a ropey swing.


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## cookelad (Jul 22, 2013)

Borrowed a set of GI clubs when I came down to visit me old man a couple of years ago and didn't bring my clubs with me - I couldn't hit the damn things, give me the butterknives any day!


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## woosey (Jul 22, 2013)

interesting thread, i'm currently playing with some 708 AP2s with PX5.5s, and the amount of launch i get is silly, it's knocking 10 - 15% off my distances compared with my MP33's with DG S300's. How much is shaft i don't know, but the MPs launch like a missile!


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## Alex1975 (Jul 22, 2013)

Gareth said:



			I found I played better with the less forgiving club, but then again, I am a bit weird 

Click to expand...


he is.....


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## One Planer (Jul 22, 2013)

Alex1975 said:



			he is.....
		
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You're all heart :thup:


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## granters (Jul 22, 2013)

I'd RATHER my bad shots didn't go as far.less likely to get into the deep stuff. That's how I see it anyway


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## sev112 (Jul 22, 2013)

There's GI irons

And then there are PINGs


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## HomerJSimpson (Jul 22, 2013)

I have gone from better player clubs (TM Tour Preferred) to GI (Ping G25) and wished I'd done it ages ago. Hitting better, more often and more consistently


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## stevek1969 (Jul 22, 2013)

Seriously looking at the G25 irons have been hitting a 7 iron lately and its quality ,nice and solid.


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## SwingsitlikeHogan (Jul 23, 2013)

Love my John Letters F-7 blades.  Catch the ball right and it just rockets away beautifully...but I'll add I've played blades from the word go so no I've no idea what a a well struck ball using a GI club feels like.


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## kid2 (Jul 23, 2013)

There will probably be a 50/50 split on this one...... Pro's and Cons to each.....Or marketing would have you believe....
I play Wilson Staff Fg Tour Irons.....Although not a Blade in the true sense of the word but they will let you know when you aint hitting the sweet spot.....
Iv tried a lot of different category clubs but iv settled on these.... I had them off a 21 handicap and thought they were too much for me....Club Hoing and all that.......Went through about 4 sets of GI Clubs and just couldnt get used to the size of them......
I like a small clubhead behind the ball......Im more of a traditionalist in that sense but im only playing the game 5 years.....

The way i see it is this..... Iron choice is obviously a matter of personal preference....But i think that its more down to what you want...For me i think that Blades or Tour Irons are the true game improvement clubs...... Like has been said above if your not swinging right then i dont think any club will be of use...... If your able to find the sweet spot ( or centre ) of a players iron at least on 75% of shots then in time you will learn to hit that club properly...... I find that you need to focus more with a smaller headed iron.....
You could have a low handicap player who wants a higher ball flight that might benefit with a GI Club.... You might have a high handicap player who is strong and has a fast swing speed that might do better with Blades or more of a tour style iron.....


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## duncan mackie (Jul 23, 2013)

kid2 said:



			There will probably be a 50/50 split on this one...... Pro's and Cons to each.....Or marketing would have you believe....
I play Wilson Staff Fg Tour Irons.....Although not a Blade in the true sense of the word ............
		
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They are a GI club, in the same way as the entire Ping range and 95%+  of the clubs on the market.....

Yes there are degrees of GI, but why people have such a problem with admitting to playing a GI clubhead rather than a blade still confuses me. Blades no longer dominate the Tour either, and haven't done for about 5 years. As with the manufacturers ability to engineer a golf ball to perform over a range of chareteristics, there are clubheads that help a little here and there without sacrificing underlying workability in the right hands.


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## kid2 (Jul 23, 2013)

duncan mackie said:



			They are a GI club, in the same way as the entire Ping range and 95%+  of the clubs on the market.....

Yes there are degrees of GI, but why people have such a problem with admitting to playing a GI clubhead rather than a blade still confuses me. Blades no longer dominate the Tour either, and haven't done for about 5 years. As with the manufacturers ability to engineer a golf ball to perform over a range of chareteristics, there are clubheads that help a little here and there without sacrificing underlying workability in the right hands.
		
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Completely agree Duncan....... Mine have little to no offset but there is help in that they have a shallow cavity....... If i miss near the toe then im 15 mtrs short of where i wanted it but still in play...... Miss off the toe of a larger club and it'll probably still travel the required distance.....
I dont have a particular issue with playing a GI club....The only thing i like is a smaller head.....Which for the most part are in more players type clubs.


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## Dave B (Jul 24, 2013)

I don't like a large or over size head on my irons or fairways however wanting to progress from GI irons I decided I was going to by some Nike TW blades which were on sale in my local pro shop. They had a demonstrator 7 iron and I asked if I could take it on the course.

To put it bluntly it looked superb sat in the bag and behind the ball but the reality of it is that I lost distance, lost consistency and didn't get away with miss hits especially on the longer irons. The accuracy on a good shot was great however it wasn't significantly better than using a good game improvement iron.

I now use a set of Ping i15's and couldn't be happier with them as feedback and accuracy are exceptional. They also look good to my eye. Westwood uses the i20's which are marginally more forgiving so if players of his ability can se see the benefit that's all the recommendation required.


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## MashieNiblick (Jul 24, 2013)

I grew up playing blades. That's all we had. Probably helped me in the long term but I wish I had had the choice that's available now.

I have a couple of true blades (MP68 and MacGregor V-Foil M) which I hit now and again on the range and my experience is that there is a real loss of distance and flight on even slight mis hits compared to the cavity back irons I usually play. You also know as soon as you hit the ball that it isn't off the middle.

The thing to do is get hold of an ex-demo blade from e-bay or a local shop and give it a go.


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## duncan mackie (Jul 24, 2013)

Dave B said:



			I don't like a large or over size head on my irons or fairways however wanting to progress from GI irons I decided I was going to by some Nike TW blades which were on sale in my local pro shop. They had a demonstrator 7 iron and I asked if I could take it on the course.

To put it bluntly it looked superb sat in the bag and behind the ball but the reality of it is that I lost distance, lost consistency and didn't get away with miss hits especially on the longer irons. The accuracy on a good shot was great however it wasn't significantly better than using a good game improvement iron.

I now use a set of Ping i15's and couldn't be happier with them as feedback and accuracy are exceptional. They also look good to my eye. Westwood uses the i20's which are marginally more forgiving so if players of his ability can se see the benefit that's all the recommendation required.
		
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excellent summary, and one that I suspect many people will relate to.


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## One Planer (Jul 24, 2013)

I said in my previous post I was a little weird, to which Alex agreed (Thanks pal  ), and I feel this a little more now.

Previous to playing a blade type club (MP32's) I had Taylormade R7 GI irons. Then I moved from the R7's to the MP32's, I actually gained distance.

The gains were quite simple to explain. I had a GI head with a light, 90g, steel shaft. GI clubs launch the ball high anyway, couple that with a light shaft, the ball almost came down with snow on it.

The MP32's being a 'players' club, launched the ball much lower. Couple that with a much, much heavier shaft in TT DG R300 (127g) my ball flight was much more penetrating and much more forward as opposed to up.


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## Fish (Jul 24, 2013)

I'm not sure my MP-52's are blades per se, they are a double muscle back but they are certainly far more better looking when at address than my chunky G20's ever were.  My striking of the ball has improved a lot since I changed and I find myself concentrating much more with them and more importantly, you don't need to help them in any way, a clean strike and you feel everything and off they go, their a joy to play with and I have increased my iron yardages with them.  I honestly cannot remember the last time I fatted a ball taking a divot since having them, whereas, with the the G20's that could occur at least once in any round!


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## sev112 (Jul 24, 2013)

My name's steve, and I used to play Blades ; now i am on the path to recovery and i now play SGI irons

I used to think I could handle blades, I told my self they were "real" game improvement clubs as you had to get better to play with them, and I thought I did as my handicap dropped a bit.  
But I was an addict.
I was tempted by their shiny looks and what I thought everyone thought about me when they saw my Mizzys in my bag.

I tried to wean myself off -I tried a forged progressive set, and I realised there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
My handicap dropped to 11 and it was the forgiveness of the perimeter weighted lower irons, as well as the support of my playing partners that got me to that stage.

I am now on the path to salvation.  The good Samaritans at GM and PING took me out of the wilderness and showed me the way of the SGI iron.  I have not looked back since. No longer does the temptation of a shiny small headed club tempt me back.  I can look at my Mizzys and Hogans without fear- I even take one out now and again in the garden and chop down a few dandelions to remind myself of those dark days of the past.

But I have been saved.
Hallelujah.


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## duncan mackie (Jul 24, 2013)

sev112 said:



			My name's steve, and I used to play Blades ; now i am on the path to recovery ..................
Hallelujah.
		
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on of the best posts this year - brilliant


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## Snelly (Jul 24, 2013)

A top quality post by sev112!

My summary would be that blades are for people that like blades.   Irons that are not blades are for people who don't wish to make the game of golf any harder than it already is.


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## Foxholer (Jul 24, 2013)

sev112 said:



			My name's steve, and I used to play Blades ; now i am on the path to recovery and i now play SGI irons

I used to think I could handle blades, I told my self they were "real" game improvement clubs as you had to get better to play with them, and I thought I did as my handicap dropped a bit.  
But I was an addict.
I was tempted by their shiny looks and what I thought everyone thought about me when they saw my Mizzys in my bag.

I tried to wean myself off -I tried a forged progressive set, and I realised there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
My handicap dropped to 11 and it was the forgiveness of the perimeter weighted lower irons, as well as the support of my playing partners that got me to that stage.

I am now on the path to salvation.  The good Samaritans at GM and PING took me out of the wilderness and showed me the way of the SGI iron.  I have not looked back since. No longer does the temptation of a shiny small headed club tempt me back.  I can look at my Mizzys and Hogans without fear- I even take one out now and again in the garden and chop down a few dandelions to remind myself of those dark days of the past.

But I have been saved.
Hallelujah.
		
Click to expand...




Snelly said:



			A top quality post by sev112!

My summary would be that blades are for people that like blades.   Irons that are not blades are for people who don't wish to make the game of golf any harder than it already is.
		
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These 2 posts should be pinned!

I still pay homage to blades by using them as part of a Combo set!

Best of both on some days; worst of both on others!


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## ger147 (Jul 25, 2013)

MashieNiblick said:



			I grew up playing blades. That's all we had. Probably helped me in the long term but I wish I had had the choice that's available now.

I have a couple of true blades (MP68 and MacGregor V-Foil M) which I hit now and again on the range and my experience is that there is a real loss of distance and flight on even slight mis hits compared to the cavity back irons I usually play. You also know as soon as you hit the ball that it isn't off the middle.

The thing to do is get hold of an ex-demo blade from e-bay or a local shop and give it a go.
		
Click to expand...

Thanks for the idea, just picked up a mint 2nd hand MP-69 6 iron for just Â£10, so I can have a go with it at the range and stick it in my bag as a 15th club for bounce rounds and see how I get on with it vs my JPX 800 Pro 6 iron.


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## ger147 (Jul 31, 2013)

My MP-69 6 iron for Â£10 from eBay arrived today.

Hit a few balls in the park next to my house tonight but a bit early to make any judgements.  We'll see how it goes over the next few months.


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## In_The_Rough (Jul 31, 2013)

ger147 said:



			My MP-69 6 iron for Â£10 from eBay arrived today.

Hit a few balls in the park next to my house tonight but a bit early to make any judgements.  We'll see how it goes over the next few months.
		
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I use the previous model MP-68 and they are great. the control and feel you get from them are second to none really. I do not find them that bad really to hit, it is only when you get to 4 iron that it starts to get really tricky. I do not think they are anywhere near as hard to hit of blades from10+ years ago


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