Should i play blades

Well, for a long time the perception has been that the best players in the world — such as those who compete on the PGA and European Tours — use blades, therefore amateur players who do likewise must be pretty handy.

But the biggest question many golfers have on this topic and one that has likely brought you to this article is: can you play high-level golf with game improvement irons, or should you learn to play golf with blades in order to become a better player? Learning to play golf with blades — otherwise known as forged muscle-back irons — is not a requirement to becoming a good player.

While they offer more control to shape the ball in the air, they are less forgiving and are harder to hit than game improvement or cavity-back irons. In fact, only around percent of the top PGA Tour players used blades as recently as the season. In fact, of the Top 50 PGA players in strokes gained: approach to the green in , 44 percent actually gamed cavity-back irons, 30 percent play a mixed set, and the remaining quarter used blades, according to research conducted by Golf Magazine.

Another article by Australian Golf Digest revealed that at the Players Championship there were 26 players who used a full set of blade irons, however at the tournament — a decade later — the number of players gaming a complete set of muscle backs was just 13 a decline of 50 percent. A blade iron is forged out of a block of steel, meaning there is no weight dispersion — what you forge is what you get.

By comparison, a cavity-back iron is hollowed out so that the weight can be distributed around the perimeter of the club head. This provides more forgiveness, meaning off-centre strikes with cavity-back irons will deviate less from their intended target line than a blade iron might.

Most golfers think that as your game improves, you should graduate from playing cavity-back irons to blade irons. They think that moving into muscle-backs will help them became an even better player — one who strikes the ball flush every time they hit a shot, and is able to bend the ball left and right at will like Tiger Woods.

But having done a lot of reading and spoken to professional club fitters — most recently when I bought my new set of Srixon ZX7 irons — I can say with certainty that my views on this have definitely changed. Forgiveness: Or rather the lack thereof. Early morning dew-sweepers in April have experienced this bone-rattling sensation. Blades are manufactured with more loft than game improvement clubs, which is why better players with faster swing speeds use these clubs. Distance and ball flight control is not an issue for the blade category player.

The center of gravity in a game improvement club is placed much lower in the clubhead making it easier to get the ball in the air. Playability: especially when it comes to longer irons, blades can be downright elusive. No wonder many top professionals still use 3 and 4-iron cavity-backs. Forgiveness: With a meaty profile and overall larger clubhead, cavity-backs are easier to hit, offering exceptional forgiveness on poorly struck shots.

Trajectory: Cavity-backs tend to launch at a higher angle as a result of their wider sole and having more discretionary weight transferred to the perimeter of the clubhead——ideal for players struggling to get the ball in the air.

Turf interaction: Their shallow, round soles allow cavity-backs to easily glide through turf and reduce unwanted dig, meaning a less than ideal swing path can still produce a solid strike. If every strike feels generally decent you may not be getting the feedback you need to make necessary adjustments and shape shots accordingly.

Feel: One of the issues golfers face when playing cavity-backs is that they can feel clunky and cumbersome. Manufacturers are working to remedy this problem, offering tighter profiles and thinner muscle-back options.

There is no bad choice when it comes to choosing between the two, but there are definitely advantages to selecting the right model for your game. I played mp5s and then jpx Recently purchased mp18s. The look of the smaller blade head is so much more attractive than the only slightly larger jpx. Would you still reccommend a cavity iron for me? If you want to play MBs, play MBs. I just struck them better than any of the cavity backs I tried and had better dispersion. I often have a sore back not necessarily because of golf.

However, my hcp only went up a wobbly Just turns out that I use a shorter, more controlled backswing, swing in a better rhythm, turn my body properly. With the GIs I tend to just hit hard, not nice. All over the place. Being shorter but straighter is one thing. But if you play a good round and start puring irons… that blade-only feeling is the very definition of a golf shot and the closest feeling in golf to ZEN.

And worth more than whatever your score card says. See the light ;-. I recently moved from Minnesota to South Carolina, and the grass down here is very different than up there. In Minnesota I would sweep the ground more with my irons. If you try and sweep the ground at all you end up chunking it.

Does that sound like a reasonable belief? Second question first: just like with wedges, the type of turf you play on can certainly have an impact on the type of irons that perform best for you. Thanks so much for this article. According to most media outlets, I should hit cavity back irons.. BUT I love the classic look of the blades. I like what you said, do what brings you joy.

The only club I really enjoy from the whole set is the gap wedge which is a forged blade anyways. But they stuck in my head… So I went to a local golf shop and hit them again in the simulator, and also hit my f7s as well as a few other irons both gi and blade back to back. My dispersion in the high irons was almost identical. Going to get fit properly for shaft but those are going in my bag.

Then had a major accident, broke legs, ankles ribs shoulders and arms, bad yeah, but save my life, found a brain anyurism when the did a scan to see of I broke my neck , would definitely have killed me. Playing on a 11 now, reading your article has helped me make up my mind, My MB Forged blades are coming out of the box , and the pings are going cheap, so to any one out there do not let people tell you what you should hit, you hit what you like. Good golfing, from this little country at the bottom of the world NZ.

Great article and comments! I play to around an 8 and have gone full circle with irons. Old s blades are my favorite so I currently bounce between ping eye 2s and ping karsten 1 from Absolutely love them. I found that all the GI irons I have tried make no difference other than they are a club longer than old ones…..

Not a fan of them. But I have an odd love affair with vintage blades. Way more accurate. This was a great article and great comments as well! Play whats comfortable and what we enjoy makes golf soooooo much better and found that I score lower with old s blades than I do with new stuff…..

They are in really great shape although I think they were first manufactured around or so. Anyhow, I wanted to see how I would hit them.

Very balanced feel. That smaller head takes a bit of getting used to but now my previous clubs Taylor Made Speedblades feel heavy and clunky by comparison. No big deal … instead of hitting a 7, I hit a six instead.

Off-centre hits just go shorter left or shorter right. Bad mishits are embarrassing however shanks, hooks. Shots seem to check-up better on the green. Important to just let the club do the work I know … easier said than done.

The biggest surprise so far for me has been the PW which has been deadly closer-in. It seems like I hit a least one pin every round with it. I am 40 years old. I picked up the game at 8, so blades were the thing right then. Not the best ball striker, playaed lots of cavity backs.