Is it all in the mind?

[Mattyboy]

My I15s are definately harder to move in the air than my previous forgings.

However, yes, alot is in the mind. Address a blade and you might think. Got to hit it flush. Its harder to get this 3 iron in the air. Better try to hit it harder. q the scoop at it and a fat or thin.

Also, theres this talk of handicaps not improving as technology does. So theres the evidence. Theres only one way to make sure peoples handicaps reduce and thats to make the hole larger!

 

[Alex1975]

I would love to know the answer when you guys thrash it out.

I play a players iron anyway as I am a tart but honestly I played so well yesterday that you could have given me a full blade and it would not have mattered.

I am more scared of hitting the ball high than I am about hitting it along the ground.

 

[StrangelyBrown]

I agree, but how much difference would it make to your game if you used blades and swung them the same as your present set?

My fingers would be sting more, I reckon.

 

[bladeplayer]

Rest easy my old pal. Just a change in posture to a much more upright position without so much lean with the back and a focus on turning and not sliding. I think Geoff is away until at least next week and so we won't be playing until the 26/27th at the earliest and it'll be a seamless process by then. Hitting the range this week and I'll schop it round in the roll up next Saturday and see how it stands up. I know my main man has the game to cope anyway

Only played golf with you the once mate didnt seem to be a whole lot wrong with any of your game , why are you tinkering with it ?

As per the Op Bob , started with blades still use blades , dont know any different , just like they way they sit at address , others look "heavy & clunky" , tried a few & i hit them too high .. bout a club shorter than my own

 

[Oddsocks]

A very interesting thread this. on a recent visit to the range i was having a look at the razor forged irons from cally. No the club in question was a 6iron, and it was without out doubt miles smaller than my 4iron (tm burners). after a few swings i started really ripping this club, in fact id go as far to say some of the best ball striking ive experienced. the pro asked if id like to demo a set, but instead of giving in to the new shineys, i went and got my 4iron out my boot. and proceeded to work on hitting that. while the longer shaft no doubt has something to do with it.. like bob said if you can pure a club that is smaller and less forgiving than something in your set it has to be in the mind to a degree.

Ive since worked hard on 4 & 5iron drills at the range and they are quickly becoming consistent clubs.. all because i now stand there with a 5iron or 4iron in my hand and have a bit of faith that i have some idea where it may land. id like to get an old bladed 3/4i just a range club... if i can find the middle in that ill find the middle in anything.

 

[Swinger]

I do think people over estimate how hard blades are to hit however having seen a few of the movements some people try and put on the ball I don't think it's quite all in the mind.

 

[One Planer]

OK here's a question (in line with Bobs OP)

I have 2 Mizuno Mp Fli-Hi irons in the bag (2 & 3 Iron) The rest of my Irons are a regular Cavity back (TM R7's). The sole on the Mizuno clubs is as wide as the M25, yet it has a cut muscle back (I think that's the correct term).

I play off 18 and hit really well, in all fairness, I can probably his the MP 3 Iron sweeter than my CB 4 iron. based on this could I play MP-59's if I wanted to?

 

[patricks148]

OK here's a question (in line with Bobs OP)

I have 2 Mizuno Mp Fli-Hi irons in the bag (2 & 3 Iron) The rest of my Irons are a regular Cavity back (TM R7's). The sole on the Mizuno clubs is as wide as the M25, yet it has a cut muscle back (I think that's the correct term).

I play off 18 and hit really well, in all fairness, I can probably his the MP 3 Iron sweeter than my CB 4 iron. based on this could I play MP-59's if I wanted to?

No reason why you can't, but the HIFI is a bit more forgiving than the mp57/59 that they are based on. The thickness of the sole is about double to aid getting the ball up in the air. They are long iron replacements for these sets anyway, why not compare the two next time you are in a shop that sells Mizuno, you will see the difference.

 

[sev112]

It's not one or the other - it really depends on the individual, but the mind is a big factor - all you have to do is read teh majority of threads on here to see that many of the forummers suffer from their inner demons and are suscpetible to the marketing promises

But here's a take on the clusb facet.

About 8 years ago i bought my first "Proper" set of irons - they were Mizuno Zoid True Blades ? Musclebacks.
I tried them out 3 or 4 tiems and also tried cavity irons. My handicap was about 16 to 14 then. I loved them to death - they were small headed and felt beautiful. But i was always a short hitter so i worked on my swing and became an accurate player. I took the 3 and 4 irons out of the set and switched them for the original 18 deg and 24 deg hollow Fli His. Never ever got on with the 5 iron either really. Handicap dropped to 11 ish, but stagnated/stabilised.

2 years ago i decided i needed something that gave me more forgiveness up to the 6 iron. I toyed with buying teh Mizuno Mx900s - a real SGI club, but couldnt get a good deal anywhere. Eventually i found a set of HOgan Apex FTXs - a forged progressive set, from cavity at 3i and 4i up to blades at 8, 9, W. I added a set of hogan blade wedges as well. The Hogans were a revelation in the low-mid irons, and were lovely in the 7i and up. I really hit the ball well. Didn't get any more distance, other than the 3, 4 5 and 6i, where my mishits were going a long way further and straighter than the Mizzy bloades ever did. The only distance improvement i did see (and it was not much) was due to the lofts being less than the equivalent Mizzy iron.

i became an even more boring player - fairways and greens, very consistent, quite accurate.


The GM kinldy got Ping to give me my current set of G20s - now there is a SGI club and a half.

It took me 2 rounds to see the difference. The lofts are the same as the hogans but the distance increase was between 1 and 2 clubs. Mishits now reach the green and pushes and pulls are only at the edge of the green. I wont go back to my Mizuno and Hogan blade wedges, because even these fat soles wedges hit the ball noticeably straighter.

I have seriously fallen in love with these SGI clubs. The handicap is now 9.5, and i am playing to it week in week out. The overall consistency and reduction of dispersion is amazing. Compare a really good shot with the SGIs to the blades and there probably isnt much in it. Compare the mishits and we are worlds apart. My average iron shot is more often than not, up there.


So there you go - one person's story only i know.

 

[One Planer]

Kind of my point Patrick.

The lead you on with looks, play really nicely, then you have to ask how much is the sole and other tech' factoring into these shots?

 

[patricks148]

Kind of my point Patrick.

The lead you on with looks, play really nicely, then you have to ask how much is the sole and other tech' factoring into these shots?

Well as i said the hifli were replacements for the MP60/57/59 and are easier to hit than those irons than 2,3,4 that come with the sets. They were made to look like what they are replacing apart from the size.

I got talked into the 3 iron when i was custom fitted and if i'm honest would have prefered to keep the 3 iron with the set. At the time i had a very flat swing and didn't get much hight on my long irons.
Once i had had lessons and was more upright and started hitting down on the ball the hifli when way to high to the extent i was losing distance.

I couldn't use GI irons now, they go too high. I had a set of MX17 as my first proper set which i sold to a mate for
£50. One of the guys i play with at Tain uses the same mx17 with stiff shafts in during the winter and i had a go with them yesterday.

The result; they did go a bit further than my mp62 but way higher, just as well there was no wind, the flight was at least 20% higher and for the conditions i usually play in that would be no good at all.

 

[One Planer]

I don't have a problem getting the ball into the air so SGI/GI irons probably wouldn't suit my game. I'm getting some very good, consistant results with my R7's just now so it would take something special to get me to change at the minute.

As for the Fli-Hi's, my swing is pretty flat, but I have to say I love the ball flight I get with these. Mid, penetrating flight and plenty of roll (Ground conditions dependant).

Having said that I turn 30 next year so may have some more shineys as a present

 

[patricks148]

I don't have a problem getting the ball into the air so SGI/GI irons probably wouldn't suit my game. I'm getting some very good, consistant results with my R7's just now so it would take something special to get me to change at the minute.

As for the Fli-Hi's, my swing is pretty flat, but I have to say I love the ball flight I get with these. Mid, penetrating flight and plenty of roll (Ground conditions dependant).

Having said that I turn 30 next year so may have some more shineys as a present

I was the same with the HIFLI great ball flight, got rid now though.
The r7 are gi so they are helping a bit with the hight i would img.
You are prob sweeping the ball away with not much spin at the moment.

Get hold of a blade or sim from a pro shot and have a crack with that and see.

 

[Essex_Stu]

As a 28 handicapper am I insane to even think of getting a set of mx200s?. I hit my cobra s2 max stupidly high and very consistent. Is it in the mind they are too good for me or are they a level above what I should be playing?