Comments on Grouchy Golf Blog: Forged Blades Redux

Anonymous, I'm not sure if you can hit long i...

2013-08-15T09:36:06.104-07:00

Anonymous,

I'm not sure if you can hit long irons, but blades will truly validate whether you are indeed a good ball striker. Ignore people telling you you that can't play with blades due to your scores. Remember, there was a time where blades were the only irons made and people of all skill levels played with them.

Good luck!

I'm an incredibly good ball striker, I have a ...

2013-08-13T20:15:17.010-07:00

I'm an incredibly good ball striker, I have a swing speed of 116-119 but my short game is pretty horrible. Consequently, my scores are in the mid to high 80s. I want to play blades but people often tell me I can't due to my scores. If I can pure a 6 iron blade most of the time, will I be able to hit the long irons too?( 3, 4)

this whole thing is nuts

2013-01-06T08:37:49.406-08:00

this whole thing is nuts

I find the distances that some of the contributers...

2011-03-28T03:57:15.232-07:00

I find the distances that some of the contributers give are incredulous, come on guys be honest, carry distance is the figure to give for irons and be honest with yourself or you will always end up in the front Bunker.

Someone said if you're playing golf for fun, p...

2011-01-12T18:28:01.595-08:00

Someone said if you're playing golf for fun, play cavity back clubs and have fun. What? I play for fun which is why I prefer blades. When you "pure" a blade shot, the ball flies perfectly and yet you don't even feel like you made contact with it. I play for fun, not for money. Most of us won't make a nickel playing golf, ever. So why are we so worried that playing shovels (cavity backs) will allow us to pick up 3 strokes a round? I'd rather shoot a 92 with blades than an 89 with cavity backs. Because I know I earned the 92. I also know that if I keep playing them I will get better. A couple of years ago I was playing with both cavity back clubs and forged. I owned both. I decided to start playing the forged. They golfsmith pro forged. Really nice clubs. I used them for about 2 months straight. I shot my low round with them. A 76. I can still remember the guy I was playing with - a total stranger I got hooked up with - he said "wow, it's like watching someone on TV - you are moving the ball left to right and right to left at will." He enjoyed the heck out of watching it, and I enjoyed it even more. For some dumb reason I moved back to the cavity backs. Yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't gotten close to that score since. I'm up around mid-90's now. Talk about disgusting. So why did this happen. Simple. The forged irons make you a better golfer. I'm totally convinced of it. They're also a heck of a lot more fun. A 'pured' golf shot is worth 5 good shots with CB clubs. But that's just my opinion. I play the game for fun.

I feel like this blog is about myself. I learned t...

2010-08-20T11:22:53.277-07:00

I feel like this blog is about myself. I learned to play golf by myself about 4 years ago. I bought a crappy set of Orlimar and dedicated myself to learning the game. I constantly went to the driving range and hit 300 balls a day. Thanks GOD for the internet and the lessons that I was able to find.
Anyways, few month later after correcting my swing and understanding the techniques of golf swing, I was shooting in the mid90's to low 100's. Nothing to be proud of, but I was able to keep up with others on the field. About one year later my handicap was high teens. I was hitting the ball well and had solid contact... my issue back then was the approach and putting.
So, I decided to get myself new clubs that would improve my mid to short game. Obviously like the story that began this blog, "Callaways are the best irons out there", went to the store and got myself a new set of callaway x-20 with uniflex shaft. They are oversized, low center of gravity... They are good clubs, very forgiving, played well with 6-PW. My 5-iron and 4-iron were a nightmare. No matter how much I practiced and corrected the swing and ball flight at the driving range, on the course, I would slice pretty bad, and the ball would still be on the fairway. The problem is that is was the next hole or the previous hole fairway, never on the one I was playing. Decided to not use the 4 and 5-iron and I would choke on my hybrid if I need anything more than 160 yards.
About 6 month ago, I noticed that my 6 and 7 iron was starting to slice or hook, but never straight. I was about "THIS" close to throw them and retire from golf. It is suppose to be a relaxing game not frustrating.
One day I went to play with a buddy of mine and tried his Mizuno mx-950. His set consistented of 3-4 hybrid and 5-9 were standard size club head, similar to the looks of blades, but with muscles on the back for forgiveness. I noticed the clubs were lighter than my callaways and since they were forged, the sound and feel was like no other. I fell in love with his irons that I went the next day and got myself a set of mizuno MX-300 4-PW and GW with Dynamic gold s300 shaft regular steel flex.
went to the driving range a couple of times and all I got to say is WOW!!!! I can hit every single irons so friggin straight and the best thing is that it is consistent on distance to. Did I mention that I gained about 6-7 yards on each iron shot?
I can instantly feel if the shot is bad or good before looking at the ball flight. And it is at most 5 yards right or left of my target.
Maybe it is just a psychological thing, but the look and feel has def improved my game. According to my last 5-6 rounds, I shooting in the low teens. Maybe I will be a single in a few more month.

Hola Sir, You blog rocks. It is an inspiration t...

2010-08-17T05:01:37.402-07:00

Hola Sir,

You blog rocks. It is an inspiration to making my own bladesforged blog and I would like to link to you blog.

I love vintage blades. However I havent played any of the newer blades, but it is on my To Do list.

Thanks for you and your blog.

I agree with a lot of the comments above. I build...

2010-07-23T07:35:21.200-07:00

I agree with a lot of the comments above. I build my own clubs and play blades for 5-SW and modified cavity backs in my 3 and 4 irons. The big difference for me is ball control, trajectory and shot shaping. Cavity backs just cannot compete with blades when it comes to control the ball with the scoring clubs. However, if you are not a low single digit player stick with the cavity backs and the game will be much more enjoyable and playable.

Anonymous, If you are serious about golf and inte...

2010-03-24T09:25:50.784-07:00

Anonymous,

If you are serious about golf and intend to play if for a lifetime, then I feel that you will develop a better golf swing with blades in the long run due to the improved feedback.

Just remember, Tiger started golf playing with blades and he has developed a pretty darn good swing!

Good luck and feel free to email me directly if you want. Good luck!

GG

Ok, so i am a 14 year old who is struggling to bre...

2010-03-23T17:35:00.318-07:00

Ok, so i am a 14 year old who is struggling to break 100. I am desperate to get better. I just recentely bought new muscleback irons. I know that i might struggle in the beginning, but i am hoping in the long run that it will help me improve. Was is a smart move to buy the new harder to hit irons?

Love this blog! I've been playing for 5 years...

2009-08-16T14:55:13.257-07:00

Love this blog!

I've been playing for 5 years now. Started with a set of Forged Titleist 704.CB under recommendation from my playing partner/coach. The forgiveness was better than blades and I learned playability from them quickly. I now have a combo set of Snake Eyes 675B/C's I built. The blades 6-PW are deadly accurate and easily manipulated with a nice low trajectory. The Cavity backs 3-5 are more suited for center of green shots, but effectively keep me from over playing cut shots which can cause greater offline problems with their increased distances. I have been a scratch golfer for 2 years, and owe it all to great lessons, forged club accuracy and limited forgiveness. Concentration is a must and carries over to all the clubs in the bag. Plus, they feel so damn good. I hit some cast clubs at the local shop and hated them all.

If golf is just a fun exercise, buy forgiving clubs. If you are competitive, they'll never bring you complete satisfaction.

In general, thanks for this great blog. I'm sure I'll be back many times!

First off...great blog! Ok...here is my story...I ...

2008-07-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

First off...great blog! Ok...here is my story...

I have been playing the same set of cavity back "game improvement" irons for the past 10 years. I kept telling my wife that I want to buy a new set. Well 3 weeks ago, I did something I have never done...I lost a club on my local course...my PW! I was walking 18 with my son and somewhere along the line, I lost it.

Perfect excuse to use to buy a new set of clubs (to the wife of course!).

Onto my story...I hit the R7s, Pings, and all the oversize clubs that Dick's has to offer. I really didn't see much of a difference in the $300 irons compared to the $1200 irons.

So I decided that if I really wanted to take my game to the next level, then I need to invest in some blades. So I purchased the Nike Forged Irons with the Nike SV Tour 56 and 60 Wedges. (Ok call me a wanna-be Tiger, but hell, if the best golfer in the world plays them, then so be it (and yes I know he has his modified 1 degree per club, but whatever)).

Fortunately, I have been off the past 3 weeks from work. So basically I try to play everyday.

Well with hitting the range daily and playing roughly 5 times a week, I have been able to shave 6 strokes from my HDP!

I am not 100% sure if it's a mental thing or not, but I find myself thinking about each shot more. Again, not sure if I am more worried about miss-hitting a shot, but I am most certainly playing much better. I agree the bad shots are horrendous, but the good shots are phenomenal! And honesty, I find myself hitting less of those “so-called” bad shots.

If I am able to shave 6 strokes from my HDP in 3 weeks by switching to blades, I cannot wait to see what I will be doing in a year!

Daniel

Ian,The Tommy Armour 855s would probably not be co...

2008-06-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

Ian,

The Tommy Armour 855s would probably not be considered "player's" irons. However, they aren't super "game-improvement" irons either. They might help you improve your swing if your gamer clubs are super "game-improvement" irons. Good luck!

Interesting article.I'm thinking of getting a coup...

2008-06-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

Interesting article.

I'm thinking of getting a couple of practice clubs to try and improve my swing (I'm a high handicapper).

I've got an old set of Tommy Armour 855s in reasonable condition which I don't use.

Would these be considered 'players irons'?

I agree wholly, as does Bobby Clampett in his book...

2008-05-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

I agree wholly, as does Bobby Clampett in his book, The Impact Zone. One caveat, though: since I saw pix of young Tiger Woods playing Ping Irons, I switch my grandson to a set of Frank Thomas irons, just to build his confidence.
I conducted my own experiment of one, kept stats for several years, and found that my highest, and lowest, scores were with blades. I haven't played anything else for years. Now using Hogan PCs 2-SW.
Also using Persimmon Citation 1 and 3 woods, for similar reasons.

Hi Grouchy,Great Blog! I ran into this post per ch...

2008-02-04T07:08:00.000-08:00

Hi Grouchy,

Great Blog! I ran into this post per chance googling random golf thoughts. Interesting discussion. I've been playing this game for a few years now and the more I learn and the better I get, the more I realize how little I know, how much there's still to learned, and how much I need to unlearn. I definetely agree that if you want to improve your game then you should play blades. And your advise is sensible in that you don't need to get true blades, but don't go for the hyped up game improvement models with big fat heads.

The way I see it, there are three types of golfers. The weekend hacker, who's just happy to be out with their buddies and getting some excercise. Go ahead play the big fat cavity backs and "hit" the ball. The amateur golfer, that's trying to really improve the game and "swing" the club. These players are much better off with blade-like clubs/muscle backs, because that's what's going to get you away from the bad habits you have learned. And then the professionals...

I recently switched from x-18 tours to Cleveland CG1 black pearls. I'm about a 7 handicap, and not a great ball striker -- at least not as good as I want to be. I'm at a leavel in my game now, where it's not just about hitting a straight shot. I want to be good enough to really work the ball. Once you can hit shots on demand, you start playing a different game. It's not just about hitting it straight. You want to hit it straight and long and high, get the big berthas, and it'll do it. But if you really want to swing the low cut, high draw, or any number of shots it's only possible with a players iron. The game just isn't fun if you can't work the ball.

I say get the muscle backs and hit 'em straight. But once you got that figured out learn to work the ball and the game becomes much more enjoyable.

game improvement irons are a scam within the golf ...

2008-02-01T01:42:00.000-08:00

game improvement irons are a scam within the golf industry. the only way to improve ones game is to practice. infact if i were to use the so called game improvement irons my technique, in the long run, would worsen.

Hi all - Thanks for all your comments. I took you...

2007-09-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hi all - Thanks for all your comments. I took your advice and resisted the blades.

I visited my local driving range and tried a number of clubs. I could hit the blades okay, though soon realised how correct you all were.

I tried others and finally went for the Nike CCI forged (cavity backed) clubs. They felt the best for me. I had them custom fitted and are now awaiting on delivery from Nike. I can't wait - there's only so many reviews you can read. :-)

Also - took your advice on working on my short game. I practiced and practiced and then went round in a 81 (up to my usual 90's). Golf is so great when it's going good. ha ha

Just wanted to say thanks again for everyones help and thanks to Grouchy Golf!

Cheers

I think you can find an argument for any piece of ...

2007-09-26T05:04:00.000-07:00

I think you can find an argument for any piece of equipment. Basically, if it works for you then great. Consider this while we are on the topic of Bob Tway. He is ranked 375th in the world with $419,566...and he uses blades.

Now let us look at Mark Calcavecchia who is ranked 39th in the world with $2,925,332....and he uses 15 year old Ping Eye 2's.

This pokes serious holes in the 'blades make you a better player' theory. Bottom line is if it helps you card a 4 instead of a 5 then go with it!!!

Anonymous,I don't think that you can go wrong with...

2007-09-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

Anonymous,

I don't think that you can go wrong with cavity-back "player's irons." Whatever you do, I strongly suggest considering a lightly used set because of the dramatic depreciation. IMHO, most muscle-back blades are very similar in performance. I have been playing with the Nike Blades for almost 3 years now and I don't think that they are materially easier than other muscle-back blades. Good luck.

Hey there I thought I would chime in. In my opini...

2007-09-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hey there I thought I would chime in. In my opinion, blades are not going to make you a better ball striker. They can certainly allow a pure ball striker to work it easier both ways, but for 99.9% of the amateurs it will only make life more difficult both in fixing swing flaws and enjoyment of the game. A blade still won't fix a problem, but it will make it apparent much quicker.

Let me put it to you this way. I worked at the U.S. Amateur Qualifying at Avila in Tampa during '05. I met tons of the guys, walked the course all day and chatted w/them between shots. We talked equipment shop a ton as well. The vast majority of them used cavity backs and for that matter were old school. Had the same irons for years and stuck with them....tons and tons of Ping's, but did see some Nike cavity backs. Can't recall seeing any blades....one college guy had Hogans, but don't know if there were true blades.

Just a point of reference for you...these guys had to have an idex of 2 to get into the tournament.

Frank

Firstly - just like to thank everyone for all your...

2007-09-20T00:42:00.000-07:00

Firstly - just like to thank everyone for all your help...

Thinking about it.. You are all correct - I do agree in that my short game is not up to standards. 3 putts: yeah quite a few, maybe half the holes.

The reason why I'm thinking about buying new irons is that the ones I have at the moment require new grips badly. Sometimes I feel the club slipping in my hand when taking shots. Sure I could easily get them re-gripped though do feel it would be a waste of money - as the clubs really do need replacing as since I was a kid.

Sure I want the best score possible - and yes, I'm certainly going to look at my short game, but in the mean time I'm still going to buy some new irons. I'm still indecisive on which clubs to buy. I'm sure cavity clubs might be easier to hit but surely after (a lot) of practice wouldn't you get used to playing with blades? Plus there must be a difference in the blades themselves. Does anyone know if Nike blades are easier than other blades?

Thanks again.

For the guy here bombing 300 yard drives:In my opi...

2007-09-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

For the guy here bombing 300 yard drives:

In my opinion it all depends on what your goals are. Do you want to score as low as possible? If so I would take a real hard look at your short game. If you are sitting 300 in the fairway and not posting half your scores at sub 80 then you have the answer. As the above post suggests you need to hone your short game. At 300+ with your club head speed then you should have no more than a wedge/gap wedge to every par 4 and mid irons to the par 5's. Have you tried taking a half swing with an 7 iron? Seriously, with your lenght that's all you need to get putting most of the time and then it's 2 putts for par and off to the next tee. Play for bogey and you will make a ton of pars. Stop aiming at flags and just try and get on the dance floor. How many 3 putts do you have a round?

Anonymous,I would recommend that you consider a tr...

2007-09-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Anonymous,

I would recommend that you consider a traditional-looking cavity-back design, also called "player's irons".

In other words, irons that look similar to blades at setup, with some forgiveness from a cavity-back design.

Good luck.

Hey there to the 10+ year, new golfer. Here is wh...

2007-09-18T05:52:00.000-07:00

Hey there to the 10+ year, new golfer. Here is what I would recommend. I wrote the above post, 2 handicap, solid short game.

The best advice I have ever received was from an old coot my dad used to play with who couldn't hit a ball over 220 off the tee on a good day, but rarely shot over 80. "Son, you can't buy a golf swing". He pummeled me when I was younger b/c he was an automatic up and down from anywhere green high.

Get your short game razor sharp and you won't feel the need to obsess over blades, cavity backs, degrees of loft, shaft flex etc... It's fun to learn how all those things can affect a golf shot, but for the amateur it returns the smallest gains for the $, time and effort you put into it.

I promise, promise promise....if you get wickedly good around the greens and solid over 5 footers your game will improve dramatically. If you are truly bombing it 300+ off the tee and not breaking 90 easily then I can tell you one thing for sure....your short game is atrocious.

Saturday I hit 9 fairways and 11 GIR: shot 77 and didn't do anything special. Incidentally, I don't even carry a driver and hit my 3-wood around 235-250 depending on the day. My 22 year old Ping Eye 2's are better than I will ever be...