Bladed irons & the higher h/cap

[ruff-driver]

I recently made the switch to a full set of blades.

My last set were the nike pro combos, which were 8,9,pw in a blade & the rest in cavity back, fitted with px 6.0 rifles.

I hit a very high ball and was hoping that a bladed iron with an even stiffer shaft may help with a lower flight, not the ideal cure i know but easier than a major swing change. ( which i've tried & failed)

So trawling the interweb i found some original nike vr TW heads, 3-pw, and had them fitted with px 6.5 flighted shafts.

I've had about 3 rounds with them and the feedback off the face is awesome, o.k the miss hits are less forgiving but i certainly know what went wrong with the strike over a cavity back which may not let me know so much.

I feel more controlled in the swing now knowing that it must be a purer strike rather that hoofing at it.
Dropped some swing speed for consistency, now around 85mph for a seven iron.

With these being tougher to hit i feel that i'll focus more on the shot which in time will lead to lower scores, we'll see where i am at the end of the season.

Currently cat 3, off 17 h/cap :mmm:

Anyone else off high cap use blades, or i am alone

 

[Deleted member 18121]

I learnt with blades....it meant I had to get "good" very quickly and was quickly down to around a 14 handicap.....these days though I like use Callaway X2 hot pros. Not a strict GI club but not a blade either.....I think we all need a little help and why make the game more difficult.

But what works for you, works for you.

 

[SugarPenguin]

Whatever works for you.
Sexy looking clubs I will give you that!
It depends how talented you are and how much practice you can put in. If you are naturally a good ball striker then it will be a good move for you. If you can practice with them then it will also improve your game in my opinion.

 

[shewy]

I did something similar for a while, bought some Kane blades, lovely to hit but i hit them just as high and they were not as forgiving. If your hitting high then it's the quality of strike not the clubs.
btw I still hit it high.

 

[Hacker Khan]

Personally I find it a difficult enough game already so need all the help I can get, which usually means cavity backs. But as others have said, if they work then why not. Also I'd argue that you are not actually a high handicapper but more of a mid handicapper at 17.

 

[Stuey01]

How high is too high?! The best players in the world hit a high ball...
I can think of more times when hitting an iron where I am worried about getting the ball up quickly to clear an obstacle than I am about it going too high.

 

[Maninblack4612]

I think you're kidding yourself. I think that anyone above a 5 or 6 handicap can do with all the help they can get. My current iron set are out & out game improvement clubs & I've never hit the ball better. I can see the sense in distributing the weight as far around the sweet spot as possible. My sketchy knowledge of physics tells me this is the right thing to do. The logic of putting most of the weight behind the sweet spot escapes me.

 

[garyinderry]

When handicap golfers hit irons too high they do not have much negative angle of attack and present too much dynamic loft.

Pros on he other hand hit down sufficiently enough with enough power to make the ball go high.

It's about finding the right balance of hitting down and speed to get the desired flight.

Recently I have been trying to present more loft at impact to get higher flighted iron shots as I do not swing as fast as your typical pro.


There wad a recent article on golfwrx about this.

 

[tugglesf239]

Similar situation as me

I'm an 18 H/C that has always been a pretty good ball striker. My issue is that i am wild and long off the tee, leading to blobbed holes and lost balls.

I had an itch to scratch and want to try more bladed irons with stiffer / heavier shafts.

I was using TM Rocketbladez Tours but was very lucky to be offered a set of Cobra Amp Pros from Bluewolf on here.

Now these are not full on butter cutter blades, however they are as close to it as i am willing to try.

The results have been mostly positive, however i do struggle with the 4 and 5 iron, whilst being pretty good with 6 and above.

I did have a little forey with some MP59's in the hope that i would get the same lovely feeling, low flight and looks as my Cobras. Problem was they just ballooned the ball leading to a pretty severe loss in distance (both clubs had s300 shafts)

Back OT

I find that these are really helping me to understand more about my swing. The feedback is instant and tells me how well i have done.

I have also found that my practice time has increased as i am desperate to replicate the lovely solid feeling of a perfectly middled forged iron shot. This desire was somthing that i never had with my TM's or any club previously.

Now only after around 4-5 months am i really seeing the benefit on course. This has been a combination of a handful of lessons, some hints and tips of a few guys on here and LOTS of practice.

I do think that having harder to hit clubs has increased my ability to learn and to groove a better swing though.

My plan was always to play a season with them then make a decision next year. Perversely i know that if i was to trade to something like an i25 type club, then my scores would be better. However i know that this is because i have put in the hard graft with the Cobras.

So the Cobras stay for now and i still love hitting them. I do have some concerns over hitting the 4 / 5 iron but will just keep up the lessons and hope to get better that way.

It helps that bladed clubs are (imo) so good looking and sit a treat behind the ball. They also look amazing sat in my bag, but i aint as shallow as to keep them purely for aesthetic reasons......

Honest....

 

[la_lucha]

When handicap golfers hit irons too high they do not have much negative angle of attack and present too much dynamic loft.

Bit of a wild sweeping statement there.

 

[ScienceBoy]

If they work then great. My irons are also aimed at better players but they are all I have. The better I swing the better my game, nowhere to hide!

Play what feels good but don't make the game harder than it needs to be. Mine feel good and it would take a special situation for me to change.

 

[garyinderry]

Bit of a wild sweeping statement there.

Not at all. 9 times out of 10 that is exactly what will be happening.

Some people might balloon their irons but I'd wager it's these things first. If you can control these then you can control the flight.

 

[garyinderry]

http://www.golfwrx.com/301644/why-you-dont-need-more-lag-or-more-forward-shaft-lean/

 

[Hacker Khan]

Similar situation as me

I'm an 18 H/C that has always been a pretty good ball striker. My issue is that i am wild and long off the tee, leading to blobbed holes and lost balls.

I had an itch to scratch and want to try more bladed irons with stiffer / heavier shafts.

I was using TM Rocketbladez Tours but was very lucky to be offered a set of Cobra Amp Pros from Bluewolf on here.

Now these are not full on butter cutter blades, however they are as close to it as i am willing to try.

The results have been mostly positive, however i do struggle with the 4 and 5 iron, whilst being pretty good with 6 and above.

I did have a little forey with some MP59's in the hope that i would get the same lovely feeling, low flight and looks as my Cobras. Problem was they just ballooned the ball leading to a pretty severe loss in distance (both clubs had s300 shafts)

Back OT

I find that these are really helping me to understand more about my swing. The feedback is instant and tells me how well i have done.

I have also found that my practice time has increased as i am desperate to replicate the lovely solid feeling of a perfectly middled forged iron shot. This desire was somthing that i never had with my TM's or any club previously.

Now only after around 4-5 months am i really seeing the benefit on course. This has been a combination of a handful of lessons, some hints and tips of a few guys on here and LOTS of practice.

I do think that having harder to hit clubs has increased my ability to learn and to groove a better swing though.

My plan was always to play a season with them then make a decision next year. Perversely i know that if i was to trade to something like an i25 type club, then my scores would be better. However i know that this is because i have put in the hard graft with the Cobras.

So the Cobras stay for now and i still love hitting them. I do have some concerns over hitting the 4 / 5 iron but will just keep up the lessons and hope to get better that way.

It helps that bladed clubs are (imo) so good looking and sit a treat behind the ball. They also look amazing sat in my bag, but i aint as shallow as to keep them purely for aesthetic reasons......

Honest....

Have you tried hydrids?

 

[One Planer]

I have MP63 irons and play off 14.

Although not blades, they aren't all that forgiving.

I have no issue hitting anything from the PW right up to the 3 iron.

As with many things in life, if they work for you then great, but don't let your ego get in the way of your scoring.

 

[tugglesf239]

Have you tried hydrids?

Yes pal.

I use a 2 and 3 hybrid and can hit them very well. I can still hook the absolute bejesus out of them though when not careful

I can hit 4 iron no problem from my previous set of TM's and have no issue when using my mates sets.

I don't struggle for height. Just consistency.

I'm trying to get better though. There are two holes at least on mine when a 4/5 iron is the best approach shot

I won't give up till I nail one onto the middle of the green

 

[pendodave]

We play for fun, so ultimately just do what gives you the most enjoyment.

For the life of me though, I fail to see why anyone would expect to score better with equipment that's less forgiving.

As regards practicing more to improve, I only have a limited amount of time to practice and I think that it's most productively spent getting drives straighter and making sure that the short game/putting are functioning. If I have to spend longer practicing iron striking, I spend less on what I consider the more important parts of the game.

 

[Dando]

I have a set of 80's Mizzy TP Original blades and I am playing better (off 17) than I have for a long time.

you can't beat the feel of a crisply struck blade

 

[Stuey01]

Play what makes you happy.
It's a hobby, it's supposed to be fun. For me the equipment is part of that. I "upgraded" from mizuno mp53 (quite forgiving) to mp64 (not blades, but not forgiving) for no other reason than I fell in love with the looks and I wanted them, they were on a great deal which helped...

I don't think they have improved my game, but I'm pretty sure they haven't made it worse and they sure look nice

I have them 4-pw and don't have any trouble hitting any of them.

 

[ruff-driver]

We play for fun, so ultimately just do what gives you the most enjoyment.

For the life of me though, I fail to see why anyone would expect to score better with equipment that's less forgiving.

As regards practicing more to improve, I only have a limited amount of time to practice and I think that it's most productively spent getting drives straighter and making sure that the short game/putting are functioning. If I have to spend longer practicing iron striking, I spend less on what I consider the more important parts of the game.

Me too, but...since i have used them i have shot below my h/cap every time, including sunday which was a blustery wet day, ended up with 7 shots spare.

I have a confession to make, a decade ago when i was playing regularly i was of 11,
had 8+ yrs away from the game but it is coming back in dribs & drabs,
i'll stick with these irons for a season and see where it takes me,
one thing is certain , if i ever go back to cavities they should be easy peasy lemon squeasy