blades or oversize playing off 18?

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farmergoggins

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i been been golfing for around 10 years now but have only really taken it up propley in the last 2-3 years playing in comps etc. my current handicap is 18 which i wish to come in the future. I know blades are normaly suited to low handicap players as they have little forgivness in them. I have been using OS clubs all my golfing life but now i feel i need to move up to blades at some point. Today i played a round with some bladed tour adams tight lies irons. i was hitting some really great shots off the tee and off the fairway and rough. the only bad ones hit were due to me drawing/hooking few which i do anyway! i even got back spin off a 6 iron from 170 on the green! also few weeks ago i tired out some titlist 735cb which are little less forgiving then the one si used to day as quite dew shots were mis-hits. So is it time to move blades or keep with OS clubs?
 
Neither mate!
Get some regular (not offset, not OS) cavity backed, preferably forged.
My clubs (forged cavity macgregors) would suit. Any of the Mizuno MP series would suit or even MX, but not OS types.
Welcome to the forum.....where are you ploughing the fields or tearing up the course?
 
Have to be brutally honest and say that off your handicap you are better off keeping the money in your pocket or looking for muscle back or smaller sized cavity clubs. 18 is too high to be a really consistent ball striker and even though blades aren't the butter knives they were in the 80's when I was using them there is still a much smaller margin for error.

There are numerouns clubs by most manufacturers that bridge the gap between OS and allowing a certain amount of playability and allow you to move the ball. Once you get down to say 12 or lower then I would say you are hitting the ball well enough to justify looking at them.

This is only my personal opinion and having never seen you hit a ball I can't say whether you could actually get away with blades. I just know from years of playing, experience and the comments of others on here that I wouldn't recommned it.

Other than that welcome to the forum. I look forward to chatting loads more!!
 
thanks for the warm welcome guys. I playing down in dorset but will be soon moving up to bistol in month's time to start uni. I did forget to say i did try some mizzy MX-25 and never really liked the weight of them or the feel. would say some Titleist Forged 775. CB be along line si shoul dbe looking for?

Thanks for the help

Chris
 
I think your question should be BLADES OR CAVITY BACKS ????

I think a good quality cavity back like Taylor Made R7's or Callaway X14,16,18,20's will be with you when your 'cap starts dropping whereas OVERSIZE will be getting traded in for a 'players' set.
 
I am off 12, and have been using muscleback / blades for the last 3 years.

I have now bought some Titleist ZBs, as I feel that while the bladed P to 7 are fine, more forgiveness is needed in the longer irons.

Off 18, I think you would struggle with consistency in the longer irons too.

Many pros now use players cavity backs, so why do you feel the need to 'move up' as you put it? It is your play which will bring your handicap down, not changing sticks to more difficult ones to hit.
 
Welcome farmergoggins,
I would recommend cavity or muscle back irons, I play off 16 and have the MX19s which are very much helping me. Once I know I have good consistency with my swing and my hcp down to 10-12is I may move to something that I can shape the shots better with, but the it would be something like the x20s, Nike Cgi or MX25s, not blades.

That said golf is about horses for courses and a mid hcp'er might want to use blades, I just prefer the easier options in golf and to see the benefits from this.
 
Backspin with a 6 iron??? Sure it wasn't your 9 upside down? :D

I play off roughly what you do and I play with x20's. These are great. I am quite a consistent striker of the ball with my irons and I believe its because I use cavity backs. I doubt I would be so consistent with blades.

Dont make the mistake of thinking blades WILL improve your game because they wont. If you were good enought to be using blades you would almost certainly be playing off half of your handicap.

A few people have said this in here lately and I really like what they are saying, so much so, its all I keep telling people who are after new clubs, and that is... You want a set of clubs that you can hit well on your worst days and not your best.

I would recommend booking your self in with a pro and maybe getting fitted for a set that best suits you, this will surely start to drop the handicap.

Let us know how you go on.

Welcome to the forum.
 
You could always go for an in between set like the Wilson Staff Ci7.

Being an 18 handicap and playing with blades is being a bit ambitious.
 
I pay titleist 755's and I am off 27 at the moment.

They would be ideal for you I think.

I can hit blades reasonably well but not consistently enough hence why I chose the 755's.

Once I get down to 12 I will then consider changing to a bladed club but only after trying them.
 
In my club, we have 750 members, of whom about 600 are men, of whom 1/3 play off single figures, so about 200 then (and about 20 are off 2 or less).

Of all the people I have played with (obviously not the whole club, but a fair proportion), I only know 4 who play blades (myself included). Handicaps for these 4 are 2, 5, 12 and 14.
There is no evidence to suggest that a) blades make you a better player, b) you need blades if you play to a low handicap.

The only reason to play bladed irons is because they are sexy. Any other reason is delusion.

Players cavity backs are the weapon of choice for most good golfers.

Out of interest, when I was at Titleist, the club that they are out of stock on is the AP2. This is selling like hot cakes to better players (Adam Scott uses them), and the ZB and ZM, although dead sexy, are very much in a minority in terms of sales.
 
I played with a man who had a mixed set - blades up to 7 iron and small players cavity backs to 3I, he got the 2nd hand and plays off 21.

He was hitting them ok - but had a few bad hooks due to swing faults - I tried them for a few shots and got on OK with them. Hovever, when I watched him I really did feel that he would be 4-5 shots lower if he used more forgiving clubs.

Personally I would love a set - but my hand eye co-ordination is never going to be good enough, perhaps some day players cavity's will be in the bag.
 
From the point of view of vanity I'd love blades myself or a compromise of muscle back irons. Yes they'dcertainly focus the mind I think to try & play better.

But I think the reason I've not taken the risk myself is knowing that any bad shot will be punished.

If you don't get frustrated & are quite prepared to put up with varying performance on occasion & you find the vanity of bladed clubs is more importent then go for it.

I do as it happens have a Tight lies 6 iron from a bargain bin & I think its a great club & tbh I hit that as well as & probably better than any other iron I have. Though not keen on the look of the tight lies myself I do like the size of the face & the feel.

Yes as everyone has said 18 handicap is perhaps too high to risk bladed irons, but if you've tried ones you like & get on with them, then why not, its your money.
 
I've got a set of Mizuno MP-60's, and a set of Taylor Made R7 TP's. They are muscle-back/cavity back respectively. They have smaller heads and a thinner top-line than "true cavity backs" but are more forgiving than blades.

They are surprisingly easy to hit. I would recommend something along those lines, rather than going for a true blade.

If you go onto the Golf Digest web-site (sorry GM), there is a What's In The Bag section. You will surprised at the number of top pro's who use cavity-backed or muscle-backed blades.
 
You will surprised at the number of top pro's who use cavity-backed or muscle-backed blades.
Click to expand...

Well spotted ... I think any choice of club has a certain "compromise" about it. If I could hand pick a set I'd probably go for 3 blades, 3 muscle back type, 2 whooping improvers irons and a hybrid :)

If I was to stick my neck out, I'd say that on a good day a decent striker of the ball could play with the sweetest (but unforgiving) set imaginable....but if things are a bit "off" that day.....a club that is easier to use than your h'cap might suggest could be the safest option.

My old old pro used the original Big Bertha irons for years. He maintained he just wanted to hit the ball as straight as possible and consistent distance.....he felt this was the best compromise......he frequently played between 3 and +3.
 
if you hit near enogh the centre of the face all the time you can get away with blades,whatever you play off does not matter as you dont put a score together with iron shots alone.my old set of irons were blades titleist 690mb but changed to a shallow cavity as i was useless with the long irons,the zbs would be perfect for me now
 
Which ever you hit best at the range.

Why are you an 18 handicapper?

If you have a good long game but putt like a fool (like me) then blades/muscle backs may be best.

If you putt & chip well but struggle off the fairway then maybe muscle/cavity backs will be best.

Handicap doesn't tell the whole story!

Tell us about your game.
 
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