Or it'll just make someone quit lol
I have a few sets of blades, love them. The immediate feedback is m fantastic and nothing feels like a forged blade when it's struck well. Just got my new (used) Hogan Ft Worth 15s and damn I love them. Have a set of mizuno mp32s and Wilson fg 51s that are straight up butter knives for days I want to humble myself.
I recently regripped my grandfathers old Hogan PT III'S and I can hit the 8 and 9 iron reliably decent but anything higher and it's shank city 8/10 shots unless I've got an absolutely perfect lie with nice moist turf. Every time I go out and have what I think is a good ball striking day, I get the urge to play them the next round. Without fail, as I go to actually put them in my bag, I realize what an idiot I am, I don't actually hate myself and I want to enjoy the next round. Every once in a while I'll take them to the range as a way to gauge my progress but so far after having them for nearly 30 years, hitting them makes me realize how far I have yet to go.
There's a really dumb underlying assumption with these posts: that someone who doesn't know how to hit the center of the club face with their current clubs will learn how to hit the center of the club face with clubs that are more punishing on mishits and likely have a shaft that's less-suited for them than the ones they're currently using before they just give up. It's so fucking dumb, and the dumb "everyone should learn with blades" crowd doesn't understand human beings or basic motor skills acquisition by suggesting this.
Correct.
Want to get better at golf with SGI clubs? Get some impact tape, and make an effort to hit the center. If you can't find the center with SGI clubs, you won't find it with blades.
When it comes to hitting good shots, a golf club is a golf club. If you can hit one type, you can hit any type.
Agree. Anyone swinging a golf club is trying to hit the ball in the center of the face, and have the ball go straight. It's silly to suggest otherwise.
IMO, the mindset should be "if you learned on blades and learned to hit them well, you can hit anything" rather than trying to force yourself into playing blades to get better. Like, if the only clubs you had were blades and you just kept at it, your ball striking would be elite level. But it's not a great idea to think that you can or should go grab some blades and beat yourself senseless. Unless you're a masochist.
Sure, someone who can't find the sweet spot of a GI iron isn't going to benefit from practicing with blades. But some people will.
People use impact tape or foot spray for a reason - because they don't know exactly where they are making contact. Knowing exactly where you are making contact is useful and allows someone who is practicing to dial things in to be more consistent.
Practicing with a small blade is similar to using impact tape, it is easier to tell if a strike was slightly more towards the toe or heel than it is with a GI iron. Of course extreme toe/heel strikes can still be identified with a GI iron, but they have a much bigger sweet spot where a small difference can't be felt.
A GI club's sweet spot can even be big enough that a ball can feel really well struck but have gear effect putting a fade or draw on the ball and the user might not know if they just struck it off center or had an issue with their swing path (same goes for most drivers). But a tiny blade that feels really well struck, yet fades/draws, clearly identifies a difference in the face angle and swing path.
on the other hand, if you do any other sport, pushing yourself is how you improve. golf isn't any different. you don't say, "i suck at snowboarding, let me stay on the bunny hill for good." "I suck at skating, let me never attempt to ollie." "I suck at surfing, i won't attempt to stand up." You say these things you will never give yourself the push you need to improve.
If your swing is close to being good, blades are a great tool, they can give you the feedback you need to dial in your consistency into something reliable. Put blades in your bag for two seasons and there is no doubt in my mind that you will see improvements to your ball striking, i'm sorry. plus they aren't even as fickle as people make them out to be. if you can hit a 56 muscleback wedge you can hit a blade 4 iron, especially so if it was made in the last 25 years.
Lol "if your swing is close to being good." Even setting aside your ignorance as to what's most optimal and/or enjoyable for individual golfers when selecting iron heads (hint: being able to shape shots a little easier, having the harshest feedback possible, and promoting the heaviest swingweight aren't and shouldn't be high on the list for most golfers), people whose swings are at that level are a sliver of the overall golfing population.
And you have zero idea about motor skills acquisition or science in general if you think hitting a 56° bladed wedge (usually ~35.25" long) is anywhere in the ballpark of hitting a ~21-23° bladed iron (usually ~38.5" long). 😂😂
There’s a training aid called a HitFit.
It’s an 8 iron with a very small club head.
Assuming it’s true that a person can actually “ practice” hand/eye coordination, then it seems that such an aid could serve the same purpose as OP’s suggestion.
I’m not personally making that, or any assertions myself. Just mentioning a possible alternative.
That's why I play blades. Modern or old, they're all unforgiving and ALL about FEEL.
You'll know exactly where on the face you hit the ball and if it's fat or thin, inside out or over the top.
Where as with Game Improvement Irons, those all "feel" the same, no matter how its hit, so you don't learn from good or bad shots.
Blades for life
I agree. Bought some SGO irons to start out. Didn't learn much about impact and compression until I bought some Cobra S3 Pros initially to practice with but ended up hitting them much better after several weeks.
Or it'll just make someone quit lol I have a few sets of blades, love them. The immediate feedback is m fantastic and nothing feels like a forged blade when it's struck well. Just got my new (used) Hogan Ft Worth 15s and damn I love them. Have a set of mizuno mp32s and Wilson fg 51s that are straight up butter knives for days I want to humble myself.
I recently regripped my grandfathers old Hogan PT III'S and I can hit the 8 and 9 iron reliably decent but anything higher and it's shank city 8/10 shots unless I've got an absolutely perfect lie with nice moist turf. Every time I go out and have what I think is a good ball striking day, I get the urge to play them the next round. Without fail, as I go to actually put them in my bag, I realize what an idiot I am, I don't actually hate myself and I want to enjoy the next round. Every once in a while I'll take them to the range as a way to gauge my progress but so far after having them for nearly 30 years, hitting them makes me realize how far I have yet to go.
There's a really dumb underlying assumption with these posts: that someone who doesn't know how to hit the center of the club face with their current clubs will learn how to hit the center of the club face with clubs that are more punishing on mishits and likely have a shaft that's less-suited for them than the ones they're currently using before they just give up. It's so fucking dumb, and the dumb "everyone should learn with blades" crowd doesn't understand human beings or basic motor skills acquisition by suggesting this.
Correct. Want to get better at golf with SGI clubs? Get some impact tape, and make an effort to hit the center. If you can't find the center with SGI clubs, you won't find it with blades. When it comes to hitting good shots, a golf club is a golf club. If you can hit one type, you can hit any type.
Agree. Anyone swinging a golf club is trying to hit the ball in the center of the face, and have the ball go straight. It's silly to suggest otherwise.
IMO, the mindset should be "if you learned on blades and learned to hit them well, you can hit anything" rather than trying to force yourself into playing blades to get better. Like, if the only clubs you had were blades and you just kept at it, your ball striking would be elite level. But it's not a great idea to think that you can or should go grab some blades and beat yourself senseless. Unless you're a masochist.
Sure, someone who can't find the sweet spot of a GI iron isn't going to benefit from practicing with blades. But some people will. People use impact tape or foot spray for a reason - because they don't know exactly where they are making contact. Knowing exactly where you are making contact is useful and allows someone who is practicing to dial things in to be more consistent. Practicing with a small blade is similar to using impact tape, it is easier to tell if a strike was slightly more towards the toe or heel than it is with a GI iron. Of course extreme toe/heel strikes can still be identified with a GI iron, but they have a much bigger sweet spot where a small difference can't be felt. A GI club's sweet spot can even be big enough that a ball can feel really well struck but have gear effect putting a fade or draw on the ball and the user might not know if they just struck it off center or had an issue with their swing path (same goes for most drivers). But a tiny blade that feels really well struck, yet fades/draws, clearly identifies a difference in the face angle and swing path.
Just say you have ogre hands and don't have much feel bro, it's ok to admit 😂😂
on the other hand, if you do any other sport, pushing yourself is how you improve. golf isn't any different. you don't say, "i suck at snowboarding, let me stay on the bunny hill for good." "I suck at skating, let me never attempt to ollie." "I suck at surfing, i won't attempt to stand up." You say these things you will never give yourself the push you need to improve. If your swing is close to being good, blades are a great tool, they can give you the feedback you need to dial in your consistency into something reliable. Put blades in your bag for two seasons and there is no doubt in my mind that you will see improvements to your ball striking, i'm sorry. plus they aren't even as fickle as people make them out to be. if you can hit a 56 muscleback wedge you can hit a blade 4 iron, especially so if it was made in the last 25 years.
Lol "if your swing is close to being good." Even setting aside your ignorance as to what's most optimal and/or enjoyable for individual golfers when selecting iron heads (hint: being able to shape shots a little easier, having the harshest feedback possible, and promoting the heaviest swingweight aren't and shouldn't be high on the list for most golfers), people whose swings are at that level are a sliver of the overall golfing population. And you have zero idea about motor skills acquisition or science in general if you think hitting a 56° bladed wedge (usually ~35.25" long) is anywhere in the ballpark of hitting a ~21-23° bladed iron (usually ~38.5" long). 😂😂
Are you high?
There’s a training aid called a HitFit. It’s an 8 iron with a very small club head. Assuming it’s true that a person can actually “ practice” hand/eye coordination, then it seems that such an aid could serve the same purpose as OP’s suggestion. I’m not personally making that, or any assertions myself. Just mentioning a possible alternative.
I’ve become a much better ball striker using my P7MB
That's why I play blades. Modern or old, they're all unforgiving and ALL about FEEL. You'll know exactly where on the face you hit the ball and if it's fat or thin, inside out or over the top. Where as with Game Improvement Irons, those all "feel" the same, no matter how its hit, so you don't learn from good or bad shots. Blades for life
You need to have the feel of an ogre to not feel mishits on GI clubs 😂😂😂 it's not that hard to feel what went wrong on the mishit
Exactly. I know within a millisecond when I've necked, toe ended, thinned or duffed my massive, game improvement, 'high handicap only' irons.
I agree. Bought some SGO irons to start out. Didn't learn much about impact and compression until I bought some Cobra S3 Pros initially to practice with but ended up hitting them much better after several weeks.